5. Mai

Chapter five

Mai

T he Wheel Deal Car Loans sign flickered erratically as Jase and I pulled into the parking lot, the garish light seeming to mimic my own unsettled state of mind. I took a deep breath, trying to push down the argument with Ryan that was still roiling inside me. I knew he loved me, but his overprotectiveness was unbearable sometimes. We were supposed to be partners, equals in leading this Pack. Yet at every turn, he sought to shield me, to take the dangerous roles while keeping me safely in the shadows. It was maddening. I wanted to kiss him and kick him in his perfect fucking jaw at the same time.

Jase glanced at me tentatively as we got out of the car. "You okay?"

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. "Of course."

He didn't look convinced.

"Really, Jase, there is nothing for you to worry about."

Jase nodded, and I knew I wasn't fooling him. He would be discrete, though. The last thing I needed was the Pack whispering about discord between their new Alpha pair. Ryan and I would work through this somehow. We had to, for everyone's sake, his included—if we didn't, he'd have to hire a good surgeon to wire his jaw back in place.

Steeling myself, I pushed through the front door of the rundown building, a little bell tinkling overhead to announce our arrival. The interior was a study in contrasts—posters of luxury cars and dream vacations stuck onto dingy walls amid worn furniture. The atmosphere felt strangely suspended between ambition and weary resignation.

All chatter stopped as we walked in, and the whispered "It's the Alpha," fanned out. A dozen wary gazes swiveled our way. I could smell the apprehension from the workers clustered in the cramped office space. Their expressions ran the gamut from dutifully blank to thinly veiled dread. It struck me then how terrifying I must seem to them, an unknown and unproven Alpha sweeping in unannounced.

From the uneasy glances Jase and I received, I gathered my glower wasn't inspiring much confidence. This wasn't how I wanted our Pack to look at us—with distrust and trepidation. I had to fix that, starting now. I tamped down on the anger still simmering within me, not wanting to give these people any more cause for fear.

"My name is Mai. We're not here to make any trouble. We're just looking for some information about Norman."

Finally, a tentative voice broke the heavy silence. "Is Norman okay?"

I turned to see a lanky young man, his height accentuated by his slender build, watching us from a cautious distance. His posture was slightly hunched, as if carrying an invisible weight on his shoulders. His eyes, large and expressive beneath a mop of untidy brown hair, flickered with a mix of curiosity and unease. Worry was etched deeply into his boyish features, the kind of worry that spoke of genuine personal concern rather than mere professional obligation. Kyle, his nametag declared in plain, unassuming font.

I softened my voice, hoping to set him at ease. "Kyle, right? I'd like to ask you a few questions about him, if that's okay. Somewhere private."

Surprise flickered across Kyle's face, but he nodded. "Yeah, okay. We can talk in the break room."

"Jase, see what you can find out from the others."

He nodded at me, and I turned and followed Kyle down a short hallway to a dingy, windowless room containing a few rickety chairs and a coffee machine that looked older than me. He perched tentatively on the edge of a chair, while I took the one opposite.

"So..." Kyle began hesitantly. "Is Norman okay? We were all real worried when he didn't show up for work."

"He's safe. He's with Thomas and getting the help he needs," I assured him. Kyle visibly relaxed.

"That's good to hear. Norman's a real decent guy, you know? Always ready to help out when someone's having car trouble or anything. He doesn't deserve whatever's happening to him."

I studied the young man thoughtfully. "It sounds like you two were close."

Kyle gave a sad little smile. "Yeah, I guess we were. He was nice to me. Helped me out when I started here. Showed me the ropes, you know? He didn't really have anyone else since Marsey left."

"What happened with Marsey?" I asked gently. "It seems her leaving really affected Norman. "

Kyle glanced down at his clasped hands. "I probably shouldn't speak ill of her. But Norman was real good to Marsey and those kids. Treated them like his own family. He was even saving up to buy a ring, wanted to make it official."

Kyle shook his head bitterly. "But I guess Marsey got bored or something, slumming it with a Shifter. She up and left without warning, went running back to her ex out west. Took the kids. It tore Norman up. He started drinking, missing work. He was depressed as hell."

In the sterile facts Derek had told us about Norman's life, it was easy to overlook the human heartbreak at the root of his downward spiral.

"When did you notice him start to change?"

"A couple of weeks after Marsey left. At first it was just the drinking, coming in late looking like shit, not having shaved or washed. But then..." Kyle hesitated, like he was debating whether to continue.

"It's okay, you can tell me. Anything you say here, I'll keep confidential."

Kyle glanced uneasily at the door before answering. "Well, Norman started talking kinda crazy. Paranoid stuff about people watching him and whispering lies about him. His moods were all over the place—pissed off one minute, laughing the next. It wasn't like him at all. I think he'd started using whatever new drug is going around. Messed him up bad."

"Do you know where Norman got the drugs?"

Kyle shook his head slowly. "I have no idea. I asked him once, when it was getting really bad. But he just muttered something about ghosts and demons. Wasn't making any sense. "

"You've helped more than you know, Kyle. Truly. If you do happen to hear anything that could help us find the suppliers, please let me know. Anything at all."

Kyle kept his gaze on the ground, but he nodded. "I will. I want to do right by Norman. He deserves that."

I thanked Kyle and gave him my number, hoping he might remember some clue that could unravel this mystery. I went back to reception where Jase was talking to some of the others. He heard me coming and walked towards me.

"They don't know anything, but those two are acting particularly dodgy."

Jase jerked his head toward the doorway where two other young employees lingered.

I paused, watching the pair. The shorter one, Garth according to his name tag, was a wiry young man with sharp, angular features. His hair was cropped close to his head, and his eyes, a piercing shade of green, flickered with a mix of fear and defiance.

Next to him stood Liam, a head taller and with a broader build that suggested physical strength. His face was round, with a softness to it that suggested he hadn't stopped growing. His hair was a tousled mass of dirty blond, falling haphazardly over his forehead, and his green eyes shifted nervously, avoiding direct contact with everyone.

Garth and Liam exchanged an uneasy glance between themselves, but it was the smell of fear coming off them both that convinced me that Jase was right.

I went over to them and kept my tone gentle but firm. "There will be no judgment or punishment. But if you have any information about where Norman got the drugs, it could help save lives. "

Garth's words spilled out in an anxious rush. "We only tried it once, the other night, after things ended with my girl. Bradford sold it to us. Over on Cotton Street. Please don't make them fire us!"

I exchanged a pointed look with Jase. This changed things. These two needed a medical evaluation, and we had to shut down Bradford, fast.

"Thank you for your honesty," I told them. "You won't get fired, I promise, but you both need to come with us, get checked out by a doctor. Just to be safe."

Garth and Liam didn't argue as we ushered them out to the car. I was hoping that we'd gotten to them in time, before the hooks of ripple addiction sank too deep.