13. Mai

Chapter thirteen

Mai

I sank into one of the plush leather armchairs in Jem's study. Greta, the human stall vendor, was secured in the cage room downstairs. Ryan and his brothers had come back about an hour ago with the news that Jem was not at Brock's property and the bastard had left a message just for us.

Frustration and despair clawed at my insides. Every lead, every hope, seemed to slip through our fingers like sand. Time was running out, and with each passing hour, the chance of finding Jem grew dimmer. A feeling of hopelessness sat on my chest, like a lead weight, threatening to drown me.

Shift. Run.

My wolf wanted out. It had been a while since we'd been able to be in wolf form, and she was getting impatient.

Not yet. Soon.

She rubbed against my insides, making her displeasure known, but I didn't have time right now.

Soon , I repeated, and she went quiet .

Ryan stood at the bay window, staring out into the forest, deep in thought. He was working through his anger that he hadn't found Jem, that I'd gone to the market without telling him, had followed drug dealers, and ended up in a fight with a teenager. If we were going to be the Alphas we needed to be, then we were going to have to find a way to make this work. I needed to be able to make on-the-spot decisions, and he needed to trust that I'd be okay.

Ryan shifted to the side, and my eyes fell on his perfect ass. It was honed, pert, and oh-so-touchable; I wanted to nibble on it, then clasp it tight as he drove his cock into me. Goddess, his whole fucking body was so beautiful, strong muscles sculpted from hours of training and fighting. And it was all mine.

"We're running out of time," Mason said, interrupting my thoughts as he paced before the cold fireplace.

No shit.

"Taking Amara to Thomas was not the best idea. She could have had vital information we need to stop Ghost and shut down ripple here. We need her here so we can interrogate her."

"She isn't a hard-core dealer, Mason. She's a scared teenage girl."

"But we don't know what information she has. In operations like this, intel is often time-sensitive. Whatever she eventually gives us might be too late. Getting it now might give us the piece that cripples Ghost's operation and saves countless lives down the road."

My jaw tightened. I stared at Mason, and he immediately lowered his gaze.

"Is that the kind of Alpha you want me to be?" I asked. "Willing to torture a child? I won't inflict that on someone just because it's convenient. Every member of this Pack matters. "

Mason grimaced, raking a hand through his dark hair.

Ryan finally turned to face us. "Mai's right. We have to show the Pack what sort of Alphas we intend to be. And torturing Amara is not it."

I looked at Ryan, really looked at him for the first time since he got back and told me the news that Jem hadn't been there. He was paler than usual. I checked our bond and pulses of tiredness shot through it. He looked worn out. Since we took over, he'd been balancing searching for Jem with trying to stabilize our Pack and protect me at the same time.

I stood up, walked out the door and across the hall into the kitchen.

Sylvie was sitting at the breakfast bar, flicking through recipe books and writing in a notebook in front of her.

"Ah, Mai, I'm glad you're here. Do you think hamburger soup sounds like something you would want to try?"

I pulled a face.

"No? No, I didn't think so either. I'll keep looking. Can I get you anything?"

"Ryan needs something to eat. Is there anything I can grab from the fridge?"

"Och no. Don't you bother yourself with that. I'll bring something in right away, something you can all eat. It's my job to feed you all up after what you've been through."

I stepped toward the fridge. "Oh, don't worry. You keep searching for alternatives to hamburger soup. I can just grab something."

Sylvie held up her pen threateningly. "Step away from the fridge, before I have to use force. And I will, you know! Go and sit down. I'll bring you all food in a moment! "

I froze, then smiled. This was the first time since we got back that someone had talked to me like the old Mai and not the Alpha. It shocked me just how much I appreciated it.

I nodded my head to her, a smile still on my face, and walked back to the study. I went straight to Evelyn, who was seated on the sofa beneath the bay windows. "Did you recognize those dealers back at the market?"

"No," replied Evelyn, her green eyes darkened with concern. "I've never seen them before."

Derek spoke up from where he was leaning against the desk, brows furrowed in concentration as his eyes flickered over his tablet screen.

"I'm pulling the security footage from the market," he said. "I should have something in a minute."

There was a knock on the door and then Sylvie walked in carrying a tray piled high with meat sandwiches, chips and salad.

Ryan's stomach grumbled in response.

"Sylvie, you're a star!" I said. "Thank you."

"It's no problem at all. That's what I'm here for. There's plenty more as well, so eat up, all of you."

The others thanked her as she left the room. I was relieved to see Ryan walk over, take a plate, and fill it with food. Then he put the plate in front of me.

"You need to eat." I pushed the plate toward him.

"And I will, after you."

"Ryan!"

"Mai."

"Can one of you take a bite so the rest of us can eat, please?" Sam chipped in, a grin on his face.

I sighed and took a bite of a ham sandwich. The ham melted in my mouth and I almost moaned with pleasure.

"Does she get that look on her face when you put things in her mouth, bro?" Sam teased Ryan.

Ryan glowered at his brother. "How about I slam my fist into your mouth and see what kind of face you pull?"

Derek and Mason laughed. This was what we needed to break the tension in here. Food and laughter. And to forget for a moment that we were Alphas. It felt good to know that we would still have these times, when our closest family and friends didn't defer but still felt they could tease us.

"Your turn," I said to Ryan, my mouth still full of food.

He filled another plate and sat down at the desk to eat.

Silence invaded the room as we ate. Werewolves took our food seriously.

After ten minutes, I'd eaten enough to voice a question. "Any news on the car that picked up one of the dealers?"

Sam wiped his mouth. "Nothing doing. We didn't have enough of the plate number to get a match. I have some of my guys going through all the partial matches. It's gonna take some time, though."

"I think I have something," said Derek. "The image quality is grainy, but take a look."

He passed over his tablet. A blurry black-and-white video materialized, showing the crowded farmer's market. Derek fast-forwarded until the time stamp matched the confrontation with the dealers. We watched the grainy shapes move across the screen, tension mounting as it all played out.

"That's it. There are no cameras on the exits that the men used. "

"I don't recognize either of them," Ryan said in frustration. "Let's see what we can get out of the stall owner. Mai, Derek, you're with me."

I nodded, rising from my chair with renewed determination. Hopefully, Greta could give us a lead.

The temperature plunged as we descended into the basement, the sterile lights casting shadows across the concrete walls. This area was reserved for containing unstable or dangerous members of the Pack; it was supposed to be cool and calming, far removed from the activity of the main house. The isolation prickled my skin, though, evoking memories of Brock holding me down here not long ago.

Greta sat calmly on the floor of the farthest cell, her legs folded into a supple lotus position despite her age. Iron-gray hair was scraped back in a tight bun, sharp eyes peering out at us. They fixed unnervingly on me as we approached.

"Well, if it isn't the Alpha pair themselves, to what do I owe the honor?" she said dryly, her accent betraying Eastern European roots.

"Let's not play games, Greta," I said, folding my arms across my chest. "You're going to tell us everything you know about Ghost and his new drug shipments."

The woman's wrinkled face remained impassive. "I run a vegetable stand, nothing more."

Ryan stepped forward and leaned his shoulder against the bars. "I'm not buying the innocent old lady act," he said in a low voice. "You're a conduit for Ghost's ripple distribution in this area. You're going to give us everything you know."

Greta met his menacing stare, entirely unmoved. "Or you'll do what, exactly? Kill a helpless human woman? I think your mate might take issue with those methods. I hear she couldn't even order Korrin dead after he ambushed you on a road."

Her pale eyes slid to me knowingly.

She was right. If I couldn't sanction Korrin's death, or Amara's torture, I wasn't willing to sanction the killing of Greta, either. Of course, she didn't know that. Not for sure. I felt my frustration rising, but kept my tone level.

"You don't know me. Or what I'm capable of. I've seen what ripple does to Shifters. I know what it will do to our communities. I'm pretty sure you do too. So, don't make assumptions about me. I will do whatever it takes to get ripple shut down. If that means the torture and death of one old lady…" I shrugged, hoping she wouldn't see through my bluff. "I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."

Greta considered me for a long moment, then flicked her gaze to first Ryan and then Derek, before sighing. "Very well. I will tell you what I know. But I warn you, it's not much."

She shifted on the floor, wincing slightly as she unfolded her legs. "Two years ago, a man approached me with a business proposal. My stall would become a transfer point for certain deliveries he arranged. I was to receive a crate with his delivery every Saturday morning. It would arrive on my back porch before dawn. Sometime later, another man would come to the market to retrieve it. The pick-up men were always men, very rarely were they the same."

"And you didn't think these deliveries were suspicious?" Derek asked.

"I learned long ago not to ask dangerous questions," Greta replied calmly. "The compensation was generous. I provided a simple service."

"But you knew it was drugs? "

Greta shrugged. "I suspected, but I didn't get to be my age by looking in boxes I'm being paid handsomely not to open."

"Two years? They're using already established drug lines to ship ripple in," Ryan said.

Greta smiled wryly. "I suspect that also. Your mate is right, I have heard about ripple and what it does. I don't know for certain if, or when, they switched out the usual drugs for ripple, though."

My fingers curled impatiently around the bars. "You must have some useful information. Who was your initial contact? How were you paid?"

The woman considered for a moment. "My initial contact was someone called Elias. A wolf, though not from your Pack. He handled all the details. About a year into our arrangement, I was informed by one of the pick-up men that Elias had met an...unfortunate end, but the deliveries would continue as normal."

"And you never saw or heard from anyone after that?" Ryan pressed.

Greta shook her head. "Only the weekly pick-up men. Whoever has taken over Elias' operation keeps their identity well hidden."

Derek and I exchanged a look. We needed to dig up details about this Elias.

I opened my mouth to ask another question when my cell phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket. I hesitated, then drew it out, frowning when I didn't recognize the number.

"I'll be back," I said quietly to Ryan and Derek before slipping from the room.

"Hello?" I answered cautiously, pressing the phone to my ear as I moved down the shadowy corridor for privacy .

Static hissed across the line, followed by muffled noises that put my senses on high alert. Then a voice I never imagined hearing again spoke my name.

"Mai?"

My heart stuttered. "J-Jem?"

"Listen closely," the voice continued. "I don't have long before..." His words dissolved into a violent coughing fit.

"Jem, are you okay? Where are you?"

His breathing was labored on the line when he regained composure.

"I'm alive...for now."

"How do I know it's really you?"

There was another coughing fit, then the voice said, "Remember our apartment, Mai? When mom and dad were alive? When you were five, I promised you I'd sneak into the kitchen at midnight for a week to make you an ice cream sundae. You insisted on coming with me. We got away with it for two nights, but on the third night, Mom caught us. You remember how we got out of it?"

"We pretended to be sleepwalking," I whispered.

"That's right. No way Mom bought it, but she went along with it and guided us back to bed."

I could feel tears running down my cheeks. This really was Jem. He really was alive.

"I'll get you out of this," I promised.

Jem coughed again, his voice getting weaker. "Don't. Protect the Pack. That's your job now."

Before I could respond, another voice replaced Jem's on the line. My blood ran cold at the silky tones .

"Now, now. Don't listen to him, Mai. Not if you ever want to see him again."

"You fuck-face! Put Jem back on the line!"

"Really, Mai, is that how you talk to your Wolf Council representative? We'll have to do something about your manners soon. So, how is Alphahood treating you? Finding it as easy as you thought?"

"Let Jem go!" I demanded harshly.

"Of course. Just as soon as I have a seat on the Wolf Council. You have precisely forty-eight hours left to uphold your end of the deal. Don't let Jem down."

My jaw tightened, fury raging through my veins.

"And if we don't?" I challenged.

"Then your beloved brother will finally meet a rather grisly demise. I'll send him to you after. What's left of him, anyway."