Chapter 18

Lachlan

We had an awkward truce by the time we touched down.

Silas and his team were there and waiting for us.

"Is he okay?" I heard him ask Michael.

I knew damn well he was referring to me.

"I don't know. I don't have a clue what to do about it."

"We had a somewhat similar issue with Jake. I get it."

"It may be best if he works with you for this one."

"It's really that bad?"

"I'm afraid so. I know Walker has to lie low on this. I was even considering sending him over to Elliot to work with Echo."

"That would definitely lower the risk of exposure here. And they've worked together in the past. I think it could be a good idea."

"Walker was the one that physically sedated him. I know Lachlan is not just going to get over that. It should have been me though."

"It'll blow over. Just give it some time."

"Who do you have working with Taylor?"

"Grant. He pretty much insisted on it."

"What's the cover?"

"Brother helping her after the loss of her husband. We kept it simple."

"Gross."

He chuckled. "As long as no one catches them making out, then it will be fine."

"Lachlan's an Aussie. He could blend in well here if you want to put him in."

"How bad is he? Be honest?"

Even from a distance, I could see Michael cringe.

"Better."

"Why? What aren't you telling me?"

"His mate wasn't a Campbell dingo. She was just in Campbell territory. She's actually a King."

Silas considered that for a minute. "But they met in Campbell? That's why we switched, right?"

"Yup."

"There were only two King canines there that I know of. So was she the King girl, or the friend?"

" The girl."

"Well shit. And we sent her right back home."

"Yup."

"And there were no issues?"

"No, actually. Though he did plead with her father to see reason, without outing himself as her true mate. They came to some sort of agreement."

"What does that mean?"

I walked over to them and smiled. "It means my girl is safe and protected outside of any territory. The distance sucks, but I have a mission to finish, and I am confident in her safety."

"And they led me to believe you were irrational. That's the most level-headed thing I've ever heard coming from a mating male, especially a canine one."

"Thank you," I told him, glaring at Michael.

I still hated being away from her and the separation was already weighing on me, but that was just motivation to wrap things up quickly. Find Chelle, get her out of here, reunite her with Aiden, so I could have my girl without causing an international war. There was too much at stake for me to screw this up.

"You up for helping Taylor and Grant today?"

"Definitely."

"You're sure about this?" Michael asked Silas.

"Sure, why not. Maybe keeping him busy will help keep his mind off things. Look we've all been through this before and not one of us handled it well. Give him a little slack and pray he doesn't hang himself or anyone else in the process."

I had no idea why the gorilla was helping me, but I was grateful to him for it.

If I were overly ambitious, I would take this opportunity as a trial to prove myself in the hopes of switching to Bravo team. They were the most elite and top group of all the Westin Force teams. But Delta was the Pack's unit. It wasn't often that we traveled this much. The majority of our expectations were all in San Marco. If Tilly agreed to moving there to be with me, I knew I would want to stay on Delta in order to ensure I was home as much as possible.

Then again, if she refused to relocate to California with me, then I would be moving back to Australia and none of it would matter anyway.

I certainly wasn't going to admit that to either of these team leaders right now.

When it came time for assignments, I was moved to Bravo, going in undercover with Taylor and Grant as Logan, their British friend and travel companion after it was agreed that my accent wasn't Aussie enough after so many years in the States.

That was debatable and really depended on how many Australians were working this thing. But I did not argue with them. I would play my part however they asked as long as it meant finding my mate's sister.

No one had seemed surprised by the move which told me Michael had already prepared our team for it—without me.

Since Walker was already back on the plane and headed to King territory to meet up with Echo who was making rounds through the top six largest dingo shifter tribes, that left only four remaining on Delta. Because of this the decision was made to merge the two units under Silas's authority.

As mad as I was at Michael for orchestrating everything that had happened, there was still a part of me that felt bad for the temporary demotion. That was probably because I knew it was all my fault.

"Okay, any questions or concerns?" Silas asked at the end of our first merged meeting.

I looked around to stare down Michael, Linc, Colin, and Tucker, each in turn, daring them to comment any concerns about me. None of them seemed keen to speak up though.

"Great. We'll break off into small teams to coordinate specific roles then. I don't think I have to explain to any of you what's at stake here. Charlie and Echo are working hard to prepare the Tribes while we shut down these Collector's once and for all."

"Lachlan, you're with us," Taylor said as others began breaking off and pairing up too.

"Hey."

"Let's head back to the hotel and hang out in our suite. Tarron already swept it for any monitoring devices and there's a dampener in there as well as this new distorter that Elliot's team created. If anyone tries to put a bug nearby, that thing will successfully block it. It's pretty awesome," Taylor gushed.

"Echo has all the coolest toys," Grant explained.

We chatted and caught up as their driver took us back to their hotel where they were staying in the penthouse as would be expected if not renting a house or small compound for someone in their position, or at least for the character Taylor plays, aka Tayla Grimes.

She'd been undercover as a wealthy Collector with that alias for quite some time. Her now late husband, Walter Grimes, aka Walker, was snatched up and flown away during an auction in Venezuela by a rare witch. He was perceived to be dead. The witch in question was actually Lindsey, his mate, but the humans weren't aware of that. To them, Tayla was now a widow.

It made it pretty screwed up that Grant was now playing the role of her brother when in actuality, he's her mate.

"And you will be Sir Logan Fritzbank III, a wealthy, aristocratic friend of mine who is looking into starting a collection. I already have you cleared and Archie is tightening up your security background should they run a check."

"Sir Logan Fritzbank?"

"The third," she corrected.

"That is an absurd name. Where do you come up with these things?"

"Hey now, that was my contribution. And you're welcome," Grant said. "I am Graham Breckinridge, Tayla's favorite brother."

He turned and waggled his eyebrows at her before silencing her giggles with a kiss.

Seeing them made me long to be back at my parents' house with my own mate.

When they stopped kissing, I quickly changed the subject.

"Why did you choose Tayla? I know it's spelled differently but it's pronounced the same as your real name. At least down here it is."

"Taylor and Tayla do not sound remotely the same," she argued.

"They are exactly the same. I know from being in the U.S. for too long that you guys pronounce it differently, but to us here they are basically the same name."

"No, Taylor rhymes with sailor. Tayla rhymes with Kayla."

" Tay-la Say-la. Tay-la. Kay-la. Yup, all the same."

"No way, dude. Tay-ler. Say-ler. Tay-la. Kay-la. Very distinctively different sounds," Grant insisted.

"The way you say it maybe, but not around here it's not," I argued.

"So s-a-i-l-o-r is pronounced say-la here?" Taylor clarified.

"Yes."

"What about t-a-i-l-o-r?"

" Tay-ler, like the Americans pronounce your name."

"But tailor and sailor are the same sounds. Literally it's the same spelling combination. So that makes no sense."

"Don't even get me started are how many ways you guys can screw up words like that."

"Touché. He's not wrong there, T."

"Whatever, Graham."

"Where did Logan come from?" I asked.

"First L-name I could think of," Taylor confessed. "I always prefer to use the letter of our names because people are more conditioned to tune into that sound and less chance of blanking out and not realizing someone's talking to you."

"I thought she was full of shit at first, but there's some truth to it," Grant said.

Taylor punched him. "Keep talking like that and you won't be getting any tonight."

"Gross. I cannot condone incest."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Grant asked.

"Maybe a little too much."

"We heard about you finding your mate," Taylor blurted out.

Grant shot her a disapproving look.

"It's okay," I assured him. "And yes, I did. It's complicated."

He snorted. "It always is. Did you know that when I found T she was in disguise on a mission of her own—as a man?"

"Seriously?"

"Shit you not. I seriously thought I was gay for a hot minute."

She giggled. "Should have seen the looks the team gave him. They thought he'd lost his mind."

"But at least your team didn't sedate you and fly you away from her."

That sobered them up quickly.

"I heard about that too. That was bullshit, but having watched others go crazy and cause some major shit during mating, especially on missions, I can also understand why they felt they had to do that," Grant told me.

I sensed he wasn't looking for a fight, but was being honest with me. Maybe I was too close to the situation to see their side of it.

"We almost lost Jake when he took Alaina for a mate."

"That's a bit different. They're human. They had a choice."

"I know it doesn't feel like it, but so do you," he said.

I considered that for a moment.

"She may be forced to mate another," I said sadly.

"What? There's another man?" Taylor asked. "We didn't hear about that part."

"They probably didn't know that for sure when they told you."

"How are you even here right now? Are you like superhuman or something?" Grant asked. "I want to lose my shit on your behalf. She is your true mate, right?"

"She is."

"But she might mate someone else?" Taylor asked.

"She might."

"And yet you're still here?"

"Like I said. It's complicated."

"But she would actually choose a compatible mate over you?" she spat out.

I sighed. "I'm not even sure how compatible they are. More like an arrangement. It's a Tribal alliance thing and she would be the future she-Alpha of Campbell. I can't offer her that. It's the highest Tribal ranking any female of my kind can reach and it's a great honor, even in an enemy Tribe."

"The Campbells and Kings are enemies?" Grant asked.

"Not exactly, but they aren't allies either."

"It's complicated," the three of us said at the same time.