12. Mai

Chapter twelve

Mai

S o, this was awkward. I wasn't letting her up though and scanned the crowds that were starting to gather around us.

"I haven't seen her in months, but..." Jase continued as he shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "Amara, what the fuck have you gotten yourself into?"

"What have I gotten into? What the hell are you doing? Last I heard you were a delivery boy. Now you're attacking random women at the market!"

"We need to get her out of here," I said, not liking the murmurs around us. I was going to have to pull the Alpha card soon to stop anyone from interfering. Then the fact that we took a girl from the market would be all over the Three Rivers, and Ghost would know we were closing in.

A car screeched to a halt in front of us, and Evelyn leaned out.

"Need a ride?"

"Goddess, yes!" I pulled the girl up, twisting her arm behind her back. "Try anything and I'll break it. "

The girl turned her head to sneer at me before saying to Jase, "This your new girlfriend? Bit of a bitch, ain't she?"

"Actually—"

I shut him up with a look. I had probably been recognised but on the off chance that I hadn't, I didn't want everyone with werewolf hearing to overhear who I was.

I hauled the girl into the back of the car, making sure to snag the haversack from the ground, and followed her in. Jase jumped in the other side, boxing Amara between us, and Evelyn hit the gas.

"What happened?" I asked Evelyn as we turned off Otter Road and headed to the Alpha compound.

"We lost the dealers. They both headed straight for an exit and were picked up by different cars. We managed to get the plate for one, and I've sent it to Shaw Investigations to see if they can track it down. We did manage to get the stall holder. Woman named Greta. My team is taking her to the cage room now. I figured if the other two were picked up at the exits, maybe your mark would be too. So I jumped in the car and headed round."

Amara was looking from Evelyn to me to Jase. "Cage room?" she squeaked. "Are you guys working for the new Alphas?" Her eyes widened. "Fuck! Let me out now! I don't want anything to do with the new fucking Alphas. I heard they're worse than that old one, Oliver. Jase, you gotta help me! I don't want to end up wolf meat for their next meal!"

I turned my gaze on her and let my wolf out a bit. I don't know what she saw in my eyes, but she cringed away from me.

"Fuck! You're her, aren't you? Fuck! "

Jase snorted. "You always did know how to make a memorable first impression, Amara."

Her scent changed; before she was angry but now waves of extreme fear were rolling off her.

"This isn't funny, Jase. You don't know… you don't know."

"Relax, Amara. I don't know what you've heard or who you've heard it from, but we don't really eat wolves. Ask Jase. You know what kind of person he is. Would he be here, working for me, if we were that bad?"

"You don't understand. You have to let me go," she said quietly. "Please. I can't be seen with you."

"Why?"

She shook her head, eyes downcast. A single tear trickled down her cheek.

What was going on?

"Evelyn, change of plan, take us to Thomas's."

I didn't want to come in hard with Amara, and Thomas and Jase might be our best bet to get her to open up.

Evelyn pulled the car up to the curb outside Thomas's house. As we climbed out, the front door opened, and Thomas stepped out. I don't know how it did it, but he always knew when I arrived. I kept a firm grip on Amara's arm, but she didn't resist.

"Mai, Jase, Evelyn," he greeted with a nod. His gaze settled on Amara, who was still wedged between us, her shoulders hunched and her eyes down, though they were darting nervously. "Amara, isn't it? "

She nodded.

"Have you met Amara before?" I asked.

Thomas frowned. "No, but I knew her parents."

"Knew?"

"Yes, they died last year."

"I see. Well, Amara's…involved in a situation we're investigating. We were hoping you could help us out."

Thomas's expression softened, and he stepped aside, gesturing for us to enter. "Of course. Please, come in."

As we crossed the threshold, Wally emerged from the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Amara, but gave me a wicked grin. "Mai, always a pleasure. Are you back for more of my delicious lasagne, or time with my sparking personality?"

I returned the smile, feeling a little of the tension ease from my shoulders. "As much as I love them both, Wally, we need to borrow Thomas's expertise."

Wally dramatically put a hand on his heart, "Ah, you wound me, Mai. I always knew you liked Thomas more than me!"

Amara was staring wide-eyed at Wally, as if she had no idea what she'd walked in to. Wally caught her looking and winked at her.

"Come, please," said Thomas, "before Wally starts listing all the ways that he's better and prettier than me—all of which will be true, by the way."

Thomas led us down the hall to his medical room. "Amara, why don't you and Jase wait in here for a moment? I just need to speak with Mai. "

Amara hesitated, her gaze flicking to Jase uncertainly. I gave Jase a pointed look. "Keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't try to run off. We won't be long."

Jase nodded and guided Amara into the room, closing the door firmly behind them.

Evelyn and I followed Thomas out into his garden, making sure we were out of earshot.

"What can I do to help?" Thomas asked, turning to face me.

"We caught Amara with this." I held up the blue haversack, opening it to reveal several bags of small, round red pills, each one marked with a distinctive three-wave emblem. "We think this is ripple. I was hoping you could run some tests, see what you can find out about it."

Thomas took the haversack, examining the pills with a furrowed brow, before opening one of the bags and cautiously sniffing inside.

The strong scent of salt and a dark, musky smell wafted out.

"I'll do what I can, Mai. I have some equipment here that should help me get started."

"Thank you, Thomas." I hesitated, glancing towards the closed door. "There's something else. Amara...she's scared, really scared. More than just being caught. I was hoping you and Jase might be able to get her to talk, find out what has her so terrified. How she ended up involved in all this."

"I'll do my best." Thomas's expression softened. "Unfortunately, I have bad news. Norman Adler killed himself this morning."

"The addict whose home we searched?"

Thomas nodded.

Fuck! Fuck fuckity fuck fuck!

"What about Garth and Liam? "

"It's touch and go. Liam is recovering, but Garth is not out of the woods yet. He can't Shift which is a worrying sign after only one dose. But we'll get to the bottom of this, Mai, one way or another. Now, I suggest you head out through the side gate, unless you want Wally to insist on feeding you and regaling you with his many finer points."

"That doesn't sound so bad. But I do need to take a rain check. Next time?"

"Next time," Thomas agreed.

With a final nod, Evelyn and I headed for the side gate, my mind already racing with the next steps. We had lost our first Pack member to ripple, but we now had the drugs and a potential witness. But I couldn't shake the feeling that we were still only scratching the surface of something much larger and more sinister.