The alpha 10, p.11
The Alpha 10, page 11
“Did you recognize them?” I asked.
“No.” He shook his head. “In fact, it was rather the opposite. I’d never seen anyone like that in my life, and regardless of the fact that I live and work with other shifters, people of that size and nature intimidate me. I often stay clear of men like that. I was about to ask them about the nature of their visit, but then they pushed right past me before I could mutter a single word. It was very rude.”
“They pushed past you?” I asked with a bite of anger in my voice. “What, right into the house?”
Benji seemed to lose all interest in his robe as the look on his face darkened to a murderous one.
“Yes.” Mordaine nodded. “There was one man in particular who appeared to be in charge, and he knocked over a picture of my mother without giving a damn! Now, apologies for my offensive language, but he was a bit of a butthead. I disliked him from the very second I opened the door.”
“Did they hurt you?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, and I wouldn’t say they physically hurt me, but they…” Mordaine paused for a second. “They applied some pressure, if you get my drift. The lead man in question pinned me against this very seat, and he told me that they know I work for you. They know I’m your lawyer, and they want me to break business with you.”
“Motherfuckers,” I growled.
“You’re right, he is a butthead,” Benji said with a straight face, but I could smell the restrained anger coming off him as he listened to Mordaine’s story.
“I tried to mutter out a few words to clear the air, but it wasn’t worth my breath,” Mordaine sighed. “The man spent ages berating me, citing my moral obligations as a lawyer, all that. Then he said that I needed to cut ties, and to stop dealing with your assets. He said they’d find out if I didn’t abide by their demands, and they’d return and do more than just… apply pressure. I don’t dare think about what that could include.”
“Okay…” Benji nodded a few times. “Should I kill them immediately, then, or…?”
“Let’s get all the facts first,” I muttered and shot him a glance.
“They roughed up Mordaine!” he scoffed. “His hair was a mess, you saw it! That’s all the facts I need.”
Mordaine instinctively reached up to make sure every wispy strand was in place again, but before I could reply, my werewolf omega walked in again.
“Here you go, Arthur,” Hailey said as she returned to the room. “I made it a bit stronger than it said on the tin.”
“You know the way to a man’s heart, my dear.” Mordaine smiled as he accepted the mug. “Now, where was I? Aah, yes. Once the main man had added in his two cents, a second man stepped forward. He wanted me to know that it was their mission to stop you from killing alphas, Jesse. They needed my assistance with that, and they hoped you’d put a stop to the killing spree if I no longer managed your accumulating assets.”
“But I’m only reacting and killing these assholes because they’re trying to kill me!” I groaned as I threw my arms up in the air. “If the SDD, or whoever the fuck is behind this, can stop throwing alphas in my direction, then I’d see no reason to kill them. Blackmailing my lawyer isn’t going to stop anything, for fuck’s sake.”
Blair and Azalea placed caring hands on my shoulders, and their comforting touches were enough to control my anger, but I still had the desire to hunt down these motherfuckers and show them exactly who they’d messed with.
“And do you know if these men were shifters?” Arielle asked, and I appreciated her stepping in until I cleared my head a little.
“It was hard to tell, my dear,” Arthur sighed as he took a small sip of tea. “They could have masked their scent, and there really was no way of knowing if they were shifters or not.”
“Heart rates,” Benji mumbled under his breath, but I could tell he didn’t want to make Mordaine feel like a simpleton for not thinking of it. The avian had never trained with my army, so he wouldn’t have thought to approach things as in-depth as we did.
“Do you know if these men work for the SDD?” Brenden asked.
“It would make sense if they do, given that they were interested in my lawyer.” I shrugged. “But I’ll leave that up to you, Arthur.”
“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Arthur sighed. “They didn’t have any ID badges on them, and it all happened too quickly for me to work out who they were, or for me to ask for any form of identification. But if anything, the men almost reminded me of bodyguards more than anything else.”
“Bodyguards?” I frowned.
“Yes,” he replied. “They weren’t wearing suits, but they were wearing cargo pants and vests, polo shirts, and big boots. All black. It was really quite intimidating.”
“And would you recognize these men again if you saw them?” Brenden asked.
I wanted to ask if Mordaine would recognize the men as they were lined up at the end of my rifles, but I kept quiet.
“I think I would, yes.” Arthur nodded. “One man had the biggest, bushiest beard I’ve ever seen in my life. I struggle to even grow a mustache! The other, the leader of this little group, had a scar beneath his left eye. But it was their height and build that shocked me more than anything.”
“Well, hopefully George, Oliver, and Luke can get some information,” I said as I ran one hand over my face. “How many men were there in total?”
“Seven,” Mordaine replied. “But some of them stayed outside.”
“Seven men and five SUVs…” Arielle mumbled. “Unless my calculations are wrong, it doesn’t seem like they’d need that many cars for seven people.”
“No, you’re right,” I said. “Even if these men are as big as you said, Arthur, they wouldn’t need five cars.”
“I don’t see much point in that if they’re all going in the same direction,” Nikita agreed.
“So what are you thinking, Jesse?” Brenden asked.
“I’m thinking there might have been more than just the seven men,” I replied. “Perhaps they had some of them stay by the cars, or keep watch, and then the other seven came up here.”
“Do you think it’s possible they noticed Christopher and Zane were on their way?” Azalea questioned. “Because they left at some speed.”
“Maybe…” I paused for a second. “Christopher and Zane were only a couple of minutes away when the cars went past. Perhaps these other men were situated in different areas along the road, so they were able to get in contact with these seven men when they noticed Christopher and Zane.”
“They didn’t appear to be in a rush when they left,” Mordaine spoke up. “The leader just said they’d return if they had to, and then they walked out the door. Left it wide open, too. No respect for old bones and the chill that a damp draft can cause.”
“Assholes,” Benji grumbled and pulled his robe tighter around him in solidarity.
“If they are shifters, they could have silently informed their companions about Christopher and Zane,” Blair said. “They’d know to keep a straight face and then walk out like nothing had happened, when in reality they were in a rush to get out of here.”
“But I can’t work out why they’d need seven in the first place,” Benji replied. “No offense, Mordaine, but… you’re not the most intimidating shifter I know.”
“No offense taken, my boy,” Mordaine chuckled and reached over to pat Benji’s arm.
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter how many there were, but it does make me question a few things.” I frowned in thought. “Like, why would they need so many men if they’re just delivering a threat? They only really needed two of them, especially if the other five men just stood in the background the whole time.”
“Maybe the bald eagles will be able to see how many men are in the cars,” Brenden said. “If there’s, like, twelve or more, then we know the others were up to something while the threat was being delivered. I mean, I doubt many people go down this road, so there was no need to stand guard beside their cars.”
“Like with visitors, it’s rare I see or hear cars passing,” Mordaine said as he drank more of his tea. “And the men were only in here for… three minutes? Possibly a little more than that. They would have been away from their cars for no longer than ten minutes. I don’t see the reason for the added security.”
“Unless the main man, the one with the scar, is important for some reason?” Hailey suggested. “Maybe he’s also an alpha, but he disguised himself to look like one of the bodyguards, too? But there’s no real way for us to know that, not unless we get their names.”
“We’ll soon have more theories than answers,” I snorted. “But right now we need to think about you, Mordaine. Do you feel safe staying here, or would you prefer to stay somewhere else until this gets sorted out?”
I felt slightly bad for putting Mordaine at risk like this, and the man wasn’t exactly a fighter. He was older, too, so he was more vulnerable than others. If keeping him away from the cottage was going to offer protection, then I was more than happy to find somewhere for him to stay.
“Well, I won’t stop being your lawyer, that’s for certain,” Mordaine chuckled half-heartedly. “You’re The Alpha, and my most important client, so I won’t be stopping that any time soon. Personally, I think I’ll be just fine staying here, and I can still continue going over your paperwork as planned.”
“Uhhh, I disagree,” Benji scoffed at once, and I nodded.
“Yeah, what if these men return again?” I asked. “We should take their threat seriously. I don’t want some roided out assholes knocking you around and causing you any sort of injury. I’ll have betas patrolling this area, so your cottage will be safe, but I’d sleep better knowing you were out of here.”
“Yeah, no one roughs up our lawyer and gets a second shot at it,” Benji agreed, and the avian smiled as if he’d never received such a thoughtful compliment.
It still took a few more attempts to persuade Mordaine, but then he finally accepted the offer. I told him to pack a bag, and that he could return to the cottage if he needed to get a couple of things, but he had to have someone around him whenever he went anywhere.
And I had the perfect safehouse in mind for him already.
While Mordaine pottered around upstairs, I asked Brenden to message the betas who lived in Max Jansen’s previous mansion. The house was in Everleigh, so it was close enough to the cottage, which Mordaine had requested. It was also teeming with betas, so the avian lawyer would be safe.
No one could get anywhere near the mansion without someone in my pack finding out well ahead of time, and the same couldn’t have been said for Mordaine’s cottage. But that was going to change soon.
Arthur returned a few minutes later with a leather suitcase in hand. He fussed around the living room as he collected his book, slippers, and spare pair of glasses. He also collected a photo of his mother, and then he began to poke at the fire like he was trying to kill it.
“Don’t worry about the fire,” Brenden said with a smile. “I can lock up the cottage and make sure it’s safe, but it’s most important that we get you out of here.”
I hadn’t heard anything from the captains outside, so I assumed that meant we were alone, but I still didn’t want to keep Mordaine here any longer than necessary.
“Okay…” Mordaine said as he walked back into the living room. “I do believe I have everything, and don’t worry, I made sure to pack some tea, too. I’d be like a drug addict having withdrawals without it!”
“You only need the essentials,” I laughed.
“Of course.” He nodded. “But speaking of essentials, I made sure to pack the most important item of all.”
Mordaine tapped his leather suitcase with one hand, and then he glanced around the room as he looked at everyone in turn.
“What’s in there?” I asked.
“Why, Jesse, your file, of course!” He grinned. “You didn’t think we’d postpone the meeting, did you?”
“I mean, yeah,” I snorted. “I thought you might want some time to recover first.”
“No, no, no.” Mordaine shook his head. “Like my mother said, there’s always work to be done, and our working day never ends. Especially when there’s money involved.”
“How much money are we talking?” I asked casually.
“Well…” Arthur’s eyes shone with excitement. “Let’s just say, you can buy yourself a superyacht very soon…”
Benji gasped and whipped around at these words, but I promptly shoved him out the front door before he could plan another wildly expensive vacation for me.
Chapter 7
Arthur continued to talk as we drove toward Mulaney Street, and he repeated the same story about the asshole “bodyguards.” He reminded us that those men knocked over a picture of his mother, and they left the door wide open when they left.
Although it didn’t seem like the worst thing those men could do, they were pivotal points of the story for Mordaine. And if it angered him, then it angered us even more.
Those motherfuckers were going to get what was coming to them, but I had to make sure Mordaine was safe first.
“What a gorgeous place this is,” Arthur said as we pulled up outside Max Jansen’s previous home.
Mulaney Street reminded me of the streets I saw on the reality TV shows my omegas liked to watch. Perfectly manicured lawns, three-story houses with white trim, and lawn ornaments added in for good measure. I also imagined freshly-baked apple pies sitting on pristine countertops.
It screamed wealth and sophistication, and I remembered feeling exceedingly poor when I first came here to hunt down Max Jansen.
That thought was now laughable, especially since I had enough money to buy the entire street if I wanted to.
“I think you’ll feel quite comfortable here,” Arielle said as she stepped out of the car. “And safe, too. That’s most important.”
“Of course.” Mordaine nodded. “There’s nothing more important than safety.”
The red-brick house was surrounded by a large iron gate, and as we walked up the path, a couple of my werecat betas came out to join us.
“Hey!” Annika smiled brightly as she skipped over to greet us.
“Is everything okay?” Eliza asked. “Mordaine, how are you feeling?”
“I’m as strong as an ox,” Arthur chuckled as he flexed his feeble arms. “There’s no reason for any of you to panic.”
“Uh-huh…” Benji muttered.
“Oh, Benji, I love your robe,” Annika giggled. “It looks… beautiful on you.”
We had a bag of spare clothes in the car for Benji to wear, but he refused to take the silk robe off, much to my omegas’ dismay.
“I know, right?” Benji straightened out the robe. “Mordaine, dude, how much are you asking for this thing?”
“Asking for what?” Arthur frowned.
“The robe,” Benji replied. “How much money would you like for this thing? I simply can’t part with it now.”
“Oh, don’t be silly!” Mordaine chuckled. “It’s yours. Take it.”
“Fuck yes!” my half-brother cheered. “You’re a good man, Mordaine.”
“Shit,” Blair whispered as the avian headed up toward the house ahead of us. “We should probably get used to seeing that lying around the house…”
“Kiri’s going to love it,” Hailey giggled.
“Kiri’s going to love burning it, too,” Nikita whispered.
“Aww, Nik, come on now.” Benji tapped the omega on her shoulder. “You’ll learn to love it, too. And, bro, Mordaine still has the spare robe in his cottage if you want it…”
“Ooh, twins!” Azalea said in a high-pitched voice.
“Alright, let’s go inside,” I sighed. “I want to get Mordaine settled.”
Annika and Eliza shared a smile as they led us inside. It was the first time Mordaine had ever been inside this house, so the old avian glanced around the shiny floors, the vaulted ceilings, and the gray walls.
“This really is beautiful.” He smiled.
“Make yourself at home,” Annika replied. “There’s an entertainment room through there if you’d like to watch a movie, or we have a pool out the back for the sunnier days. Eliza and I have made up the guest bedroom, too, so we’ll take you up there later.”
“A pool?” Mordaine’s eyes widened. “My, my, my. The life of the rich and famous, huh?”
“Yeah, man, did you remember to bring your sunscreen?” Benji snickered.
“I don’t go anywhere without it,” Arthur said with a serious tone. “I burn very easily.”
“Did your mother ever say anything about wearing sunscreen?” Nikita asked with a hint of a smirk.
“No…” Arthur glanced off in thought. “No, she never said anything about that. I think sunscreen, and protecting your skin in general, is just a given.”
“That makes sense.” I smiled. “Now, how about we get this meeting over and done with, and you can get a proper tour of the house later?”
“Yes, by all means.” Mordaine nodded. “I know how excited you are to hear this news.”
“Just a little,” I snickered.
I’d planned for more of my beta captains to be with us when I went over my file, but sometimes life got in the way, and there wasn’t much I could do about that.
My two werecat betas led us toward the grand living room, and just the atmosphere alone was completely different compared to when Max owned the house. It no longer smelled like a frat house, it didn’t have red Solo cups littering every surface, and there wasn’t loud music playing during all hours of the day.
My betas took great care of the mansion, which I appreciated.
The living room was much the same as the rest of the house, with the dark, shiny floors and gray walls. It also came with black leather seats set out in a U shape, with a coffee table in the center and an enormous television mounted on the main wall.
There was a French vanilla candle in the center of the coffee table, and I could just imagine Mordaine making himself comfortable with his tea of choice and the book about love and adventure.
