27. Daniel
Daniel
The door to Tess's room clicks open, pulling me from my thoughts. I look up from the sterile white windowsill I've been staring at for the last few minutes. It's Gray. He looks as tired as I feel, but his professional mask is firmly in place, his expression calm and neutral.
"Hey," he says, his voice a low rumble that doesn't disturb the quiet beeping of the machines. He steps inside, his eyes scanning the room. "Where's Mara?"
"She went to the vending machines," I tell him.
"Wanted to get a water or something." The truth is, she fled.
The moment I walked in, she mumbled something about giving me space and practically sprinted out of the room.
I could still smell the sharp, sweet tang of her fear, a scent that's now permanently etched into my memory.
Gray nods. He walks over to Tess's bed, his movements fluid and confident. "Hey, superstar," he says, his voice softening as he picks up her chart from the end of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been run over by a snowplow," Tess rasps, but she manages a weak smile. She's propped up against a pile of pillows, an IV tube snaking from her hand to a bag of clear liquid hanging on a metal pole.
"Completely understandable," Gray says, his eyes scanning the chart.
He makes a few notes, his pen scratching against the paper.
"Your vitals are stable. The fever is down.
The IV is doing its job of rehydrating you.
You just need to rest and let your body fight off this nasty bug.
" He puts the chart back and pats her leg gently.
"You're going to be fine, Tess. But you have to promise me you'll take it easy when you get out of here.
No more running yourself into the ground. "
"I promise," she says, her voice already sounding a little stronger. "Cross my heart and hope to… well, you know. Not die."
Gray chuckles, a warm, reassuring sound. "Good. I'll leave you two to talk," he says, giving me a meaningful look before he turns and walks out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.
The silence that follows is heavier than before. My sister, who is now sipping gingerly from a juice box like a small child, turns to me, her eyes sharp and perceptive. "What was that about?"
"What do you mean?" I ask, feigning innocence, but I know exactly what she's talking about.
"Don't 'what do you mean' me, Daniel," she says, her brow furrowed.
"Something is going on between the three of you.
You, Gray. And Mara. First, I call her, and she sounds all weird and upset.
Then she basically sprints out of my room a minute ago.
And now Gray walks in looking like he's about to perform a major surgery, and he's all concerned, and…
something is going on." She fixes me with her best "I'm your little sister and you can't lie to me" stare. "Start talking."
"Nothing is going on, Tess," I say, my voice a little too firm. "We're just worried about you. And Mara's been through a lot. We're trying to look out for her."
She's not buying it. She reaches out and takes my hand, her small fingers wrapping around mine.
Her skin is still a little clammy, but her grip is surprisingly strong.
"Daniel," she says, her voice softening, becoming more serious.
"I'm your sister. If something was going on, you would tell me, right?
If you were in trouble, or if one of the guys was… you'd tell me?"
I swallow hard, a lump forming in my throat. Where would I even start? Telling her that I'm into Mara? That my whole pack is? That we're trying to save her from a contract with a pack of abusive Alphas?
It's too much. Too dangerous. And it would put her right in the middle of something she has no business being anywhere near.
But her question gives me an idea. A way to get the information I need without revealing the whole truth.
"There is something," I say, choosing my words carefully. "And it does involve Mara's ex-pack. I'm trying to look into it, legally."
Tess's eyes widen. "Look into it? What do you mean?"
"I mean… the Academy. The way they operate. The matching process. I know you just got a job there, and you were a student there. I'm just… I'm looking into it. From a legal perspective. How do the matches work exactly? As a student, what were you told?"
She sighs, leaning back against her pillows.
"It's… complicated. On the surface, it's all very elegant.
They call it the Showcase Gala. It's this big formal event at the end of your final year.
They invite all these high-ranking Alphas and Betas, from powerful packs, wealthy families.
We spend weeks preparing—etiquette lessons, how to walk, how to talk, what to wear.
It's less like a graduation and more like… a ball."
Her voice is laced with a bitterness I've never heard from her before.
"The packs pay the Academy these huge placement fees.
It's all very legal, very above board. They get a list of the 'available' Omegas, and they can express interest. And then…
you mingle." She looks at me, her eyes full of concern.
"Is this about Mara's pack? Jonathan and his guys? "
I nod. "Yes. They paid her fee. They have a contract. I'm trying to find a way to get her out of it."
Tess's face pales, and she looks away, her gaze fixed on the IV drip. A heavy silence hangs between us, thick with unspoken fears. "Oh, Daniel," she whispers, her voice trembling slightly. "Be careful. Jonathan's pack is… they're powerful. And the Academy… they protect their own."
"I have to try, Tess," I say, my voice firm. "I can't let them… I can't let them have her."
She takes a deep breath, and when she looks back at me, her eyes are filled with a new kind of terror, a personal one. "Daniel," she says, her voice a desperate, ragged whisper. "When you say you will look into it, what exactly do you mean?"
"I'm not really sure yet. The guys and I are thinking of the best way to handle this. I can subpoena the school for records. We can get all the matching details from them."
"Won't that cause a scandal? I know some of them are love matches. And almost everyone I know will go through the same process, so if you blew it wide open, then what?"
"Tess. If this is dangerous for the Omegas in the school, then we can fix it. I think there is a corrupt official at the top who is fucking the entire system up, and that's what I want to get to the bottom of."
She swallows audibly. "Does this mean you would get the staff involved too?"
I take her hand. "You just joined. I promise you will not be implicated in this."
"It's not me I'm worried about. It's… you can't. You can't look into it. Not too deeply."
"Why? What are you talking about?"
Tears well up in her eyes, spilling over and tracking down her pale cheeks.
"Because… because I've been hooking up with one of the professors," she confesses, the words a rush of shame and fear.
"Professor Alden. The one who hired me. It's…
it's been going on for a while. Before I even got the job. "
The world tilts on its axis. Professor Alden. The ex-military Alpha who taught Behavioral Dynamics. The one who made half the class cry. The one who now holds my sister's career in his hands. A cold, protective fury, so much more potent than anything I've felt before, surges through me. "Tess…"
"No," she says, cutting me off, her grip on my hand tightening until it's almost painful.
"You can't do anything, Daniel. Please. If your investigation leads to them losing their job, or the school being closed up…
He'd ruin me. He'd make sure I never work in academia again.
He'd destroy my reputation. Please, you have to promise me you won't do anything. "
Her begging is a physical blow. I'm a lawyer. My whole life is about fixing things, about fighting injustice. But this… this is my sister. Her future is on the line.
"Besides," she continues, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "Jonathan's case was independent.
The Academy's involvement ended the moment the placement fee was paid.
Whatever you're accusing them of, the abuse…
unless you have concrete evidence, Daniel, things could go very, very badly.
For you, for Mara… and for me. They could sue you for slander. They could ruin you."
I stare at her, at the terror in her eyes, and the full weight of the situation crashes down on me. This isn't just a legal battle. It's a minefield. And my sister is standing right in the middle of it.
"Can I ask you something?"
Tess sniffles, her gaze fixed on the thin hospital blanket covering her legs. "Is it about Alden?"
I nod. "Yeah. It's about Alden." I lean forward, planting my elbows on my knees, trying to ground myself.
"Okay, let's slow down. Start from the beginning.
And use small words, because my brain is currently short-circuiting, and if I'm about to plan a guy's demise, I need all the gory details.
" I try for a lighthearted tone, but it comes out as a growl.
"What do you mean, 'hooking up'? Because if he's hurting you, Tess, you need to tell me.
I don't care who he is or what he does. I'll make sure the bastard rots in prison for the rest of his life.
I'll bury him under so much litigation he'll be digging himself out with a plastic spoon. "
She wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, a gesture so childlike it makes my chest ache.
"It's not… it's not what you think. It's not just some affair.
" Her voice is a whisper, a conspiratorial thread meant only for me.
"He says he's in love with me. He's going through a separation.
His wife… they've been living apart for months.
He says it's over, that he just has to wait for the paperwork to be finalized. "