22. Ryan

Chapter twenty-two

Ryan

T he late morning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Alpha House kitchen, casting a warm glow over the granite-topped island where Mai and I sat eating lunch. We'd gotten about two hours of sleep before my phone started ringing. Sylvie had stopped by, stocked up the fridge and left us a pre-made lunch of salmon and cheese sandwiches. I was enjoying the serene quietness of the kitchen, of being here with Mai. Not talking, just being near each other. I sipped my coffee, and thought about going down on Mai this morning, right here, on the countertop, and how fucking gorgeous she looked when she came with my tongue inside of her.

Mai, seemingly lost in her own thoughts, played with her food, picking it up, then putting it down again without taking a bite. I reached over, covering her hand with mine, feeling the connection that always seemed to calm the storm inside me. She looked up, offering me a faint smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Something was on her mind, something more than the usual Pack troubles .

Before I could ask, Mai's head turned at the sound of the front door swinging open.

Derek and Mason strode into the kitchen, their expressions a mix of fatigue and tension. Mason's jaw was set in a hard line, and his eyes had a distant, angry look. Whatever had happened in Bridgetown, it was clear he wasn't happy. The question was, was his unhappiness to do with what he found out, or with Shya?

"How did it go in Bridgetown?" I asked.

Derek leaned against the counter. "We talked to a few of Elias' friends, if you can call them that. Elias was not the sort to have friends. More like people he often fucked over. None of them were exactly heartbroken about him being dead." Derek eyed the sandwiches on the table, and I nodded. He picked one up before continuing. "We managed to find out that Elias was deep into supplying drugs in the northeast. He was a major dealer. Had the supply lines set up and secure, had runners and low-level dealers working for him. He was an established player. Then about two years ago, this Ghost character came into the picture."

I put down my mug of coffee. "Ghost?"

"Yeah, he started muscling in on Elias' operations. Elias was none too happy. Apparently Ghost wanted to monopolize the drug routes into the northeast. He eventually came to Elias and told him that he had the resources and the backing to take over and Elias should give it up."

"I'm guessing Elias didn't respond too well to that?"

Derek shook his head. "Fuck no. Elias hit back and hit back hard. It started six months of war between the two. "

"And Michael and Camille knew nothing about it?" I found that hard to believe. They prided themselves on having a territory that not only welcomed human tourists, but encouraged them to visit. They stomped down on any threats that would scare the tourists away and having a drug turf war happening in their territory would be high on their list of no-nos.

"Nope, but get this," Mason chimed in from where he stood by the window. "Tristan was the Beta then. It was his responsibility and according to Elias' contacts, Tristan apparently knew all about it and covered it up."

No wonder Mason was in a bad mood. Just saying Tristan's name set off the rage inside him these days. Tristan had convinced Michael and Camille that he was Shya's fated mate. Hell, he'd even convinced Shya of it for a while. He'd gaslit them all, and when Shya realized, she'd told her parents. They'd taken Tristan's side and told her that she just needed time to accept him. Back then, Tristan had been their golden boy. The trusted Beta who would be a perfect match for their only daughter. Eventually, the truth had come out, but Shya was scarred by the whole thing and had no interest in trusting another wolf ever again. Unfortunately, Mason entered the picture soon after, and was having a hell of a time trying to convince Shya that he was really her fated mate and that she should give him a shot. Tristan had escaped the last time we'd fought him. He was still out there, and still claiming that Shya was going to be his.

I tapped my fingers on the countertop. "Tristan was covering for one of them."

Mason nodded.

"Which one, Elias or Ghost?" Mai asked .

Derek shrugged. "Without asking Tristan, we don't know. The war ended when Elias was found dead in his home about eighteen months ago. Since then, Ghost has taken over all his routes and contacts."

"Any clues at all as to Ghost's identity?"

"No. No one knows who he is, but two people saw Elias arguing with Tristan the day before he died."

Tristan. Was it a coincidence? Was he working with Ghost, or was he Ghost?

For fuck's sake. Each time we made progress, it just threw up more questions.

We'd need to get in touch with Michael and Camille, see if they had any more intel on what Tristan was up to these days.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Sam.

Waylen's got something.