Chapter 32 #2
“His name is Falcon, and he’s the lead Alpha in my brother Shayne’s pack.”
“That doesn’t mean he didn’t try to break into Lana’s school. He’s still an intruder.”
Shadow looks at me in exasperation. “Ignore him, please. He’s not being intentionally rude.”
“Sure. He’s British. They all sound like that,” I joke, shrugging when Shadow’s eyes widen.
Pete snorts, and I gesture toward him.
“See?”
Shadow lets out a breath and his shoulders relax.
We walk the rest of the way in silence, not passing another soul enroute.
It’s clear to see how Falcon was able to get through to this side of the building.
All the security guards seem to be positioned at the opposite side of the ballroom.
Shadow’s Alpha managed to locate him pretty quickly anyway.
We come out of the corridor, into a big, brightly lit reception area that I assume indicates where the front door is located.
“Almost there,” Shadow tells me. “You know, it’s kinda funny that you two came out here to see a girl and now you’re meeting my whole pack.”
I smile back at him. “It’s a strange coincidence, but I’m glad you’re doing so well.”
“I really am. I don’t have any complaints, that’s for sure.”
Pete snorts, and Shadow rolls his eyes.
“Okay, maybe I have one complaint. There are three malls out there in the city, right on our doorstep, and I’m only allowed to go shopping once a month! That’s torture.”
“It’s called a compromise,” Pete says, a wry smile on his lips when he stops at a door and turns to us. “A two-day spree once a month is generous, if you ask me.”
“That’s because he can’t stand shopping,” Shadow tells me. “Anyway, we’re here.”
Pete opens the door and walks into the room.
Shadow follows, moving quickly. “Everyone, this is my brother, Shayne. He’s the only one in my family I wouldn’t push out of a moving vehicle, given the chance.”
I step into an office filled with Shadow’s pack, and I give a wave as all eyes fall on me.
The dark-haired woman sitting behind the desk at the back of the room must be Lana Cole.
She smiles as she gets to her feet. “Nice to meet you, Shayne.”
There’s a guy wearing medical scrubs and a white lab coat standing beside her, and a blond man in a leather jacket leaning against the wall halfway into the room.
Falcon is sitting on one of two sofas that are set up in front of Lana’s desk, with a small coffee table in between them.
I can tell he’s not happy right now, but it’s impossible to know if that’s because he got caught snooping around or because he still hasn’t gotten the chance to see the girl he helped rescue.
“I’m Lana,” the woman introduces herself as she comes out from behind her desk. “This is Ezra and that’s Owen.”
She gestures to the doctor, and then the guy leaning against the wall.
Shadow snuggles into her side when she stops in front of me, wrapping his arms around her waist, and leaning in to rest his head against her shoulder.
“It’s nice to see Shadow found his true mates,” I confess.
Ezra and Owen are both Alphas. Pete is definitely a Delta, which is a classification that doesn’t officially exist any longer, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have Alpha DNA in his bloodline.
He’s more than a Beta, and I think this woman might have a hint of Alpha in her blood, too.
Most leaders do, and as head of the most elite Omega academy in the country, chances are she has more Alpha tendencies than Beta.
I don’t need to worry about my little brother.
He’s found an incredibly strong pack to call his own.
“Apparently that’s thanks to you,” Lana says. “Shadow told us you’re the one who warned him when your parents were ready to send him to an Omega Academy. Since he still considers you his brother, I’m willing to let go of the fact that you and your lead Alpha snuck in here.”
“That’s no small mercy,” Owen mutters, his gaze cold as I glance at him.
“The Academy and the people who live here are mine to protect,” Lana goes on.
“I take that very seriously. I’ve been informed that you two came here for a singular reason that doesn’t pose a threat to anyone, and I’m willing to help you find the woman you’re looking for.
If she’s still here, I’ll reach out and ask if she’d like to meet with you.
If she already left, then she’s in good health and she’s with her family now so I’d ask that you respect that and move on. ”
I nod slowly. “I understand.”
Her gaze moves past me, and I glance to the side to see Falcon get to his feet.
He moves to my side, his attention on Lana. “It shouldn’t be too hard to identify her.”
His tone isn’t exactly warm and friendly, but his anger is under control, at least.
“Oh?” Lana asks, raising an eyebrow as she looks back at him. “What makes you say that?”
I watch as his jaw tightens and he starts to frown.
Why does it feel like he doesn’t want to tell her?
Whatever it is, if it’ll help, he should want to say it.
Seconds pass before he finally blows out a breath.
“She’s the only Beta.”
“Beta?” I echo in shock.
It doesn’t make sense. That rescue he helped with was all about saving Omegas who’d been sold to creeps. Betas weren’t mentioned. They weren’t a part of it.
At least, as far as I knew.
Falcon’s hard stare moves to my face, and suddenly all I can think about is the waitress I bumped into in the ballroom.
“Am I missing something here?” Lana asks, sounding vaguely amused.
It’s got to be the same woman.
“Does she have red hair?”
Falcon sucks in a breath as his eyes widen. “How …?”
“I think I might have just met her,” I admit, before I turn back to Lana.
She clears her throat. “I know who you’re talking about. She’s doing well now. Was that all you needed to know?”
“No,” Falcon says. “I waited for the alliance to update me for weeks. It’s not enough anymore. I need to see her to know she’s okay.”
Now, I get why he’s been so agitated. It’s all starting to make sense.
I knew something was off, but I didn’t come out here expecting to meet another true mate.
Why didn’t he tell me?
Is it possible he didn’t know?
How the hell could he not know the instant they met?
Questions fill up my head while Falcon stares at Lana, waiting for her to respond.
She seems hesitant. Obviously, she’s concerned for the Beta’s safety.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to admit she’s our true mate.
Surely, she won’t try to interfere if we have a fated connection.
But I can’t say it.
Not when I’m ninety-percent sure Falcon hasn’t figured out she’s ours.
There’s no other reason he’d be so irritable about this whole thing.
Yet, somehow, he hasn’t felt the bond.
He needs to see her.
It’s there, I felt it.
He’ll feel it this time.
I know he will.
“What’s wrong?” Shadow murmurs softly at Lana’s side.
She presses her lips together, frowning at Falcon. “I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with the alliance. They’ve been given updates at every stage of this. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t update you when you called them.”
Great. She’s suspicious of Falcon.
He’s still agitated as fuck.
She’s worried about the Beta, and honestly, I don’t blame her.
I might be Shadow’s brother, and she could be happy enough to trust me from what he’s told her, but she doesn’t know Falcon one little bit and she’s not sure she can trust him.
“It wasn’t the alliance, exactly,” I start, not sure if it’ll help or not. Guess it depends if Jeff is one of the guys she talks to a lot. “It was his alliance contact. The guy seems a little flaky. He stopped answering his calls.”
It’s not a lie, and she trusts me, so maybe she won’t question Falcon further.
“That makes a little more sense,” she admits, smiling wryly. “Who was your contact?”
She looks to Falcon for an answer.
His jaw is tense, and his gaze is stone-cold. Clearly his patience is running close to empty.
But he manages to spit out the name, “Jeff Walker.”
“Huh,” she murmurs. “I don’t know the name, but I’ll make sure I ask about him next time I call.”
She sighs softly. “It’s not that I don’t want to let you see her. It’s just that she’s had a lot on her plate these last few days. I’m not sure she’s even interested in visitors. Do you really need to see her?”
She has no idea how much he needs this, and I doubt it would help to demonstrate that.
This is down to Falcon.
He’s going to have to try to convince her.
I glance back at him, and he looks defeated.
“I don’t want to upset her,” Falcon says, finally losing some of his venom. “But if she would consent to a short visit, I’d appreciate the chance to see for myself that she’s doing well.”
It sounds like he’s already resigning himself to going home without seeing her.
Maybe I should have told Shadow I felt a fated connection with that waitress.
We can’t leave without Falcon realizing what she means to us.
“She’s working in the kitchen tonight,” Lana finally reveals. “So, if you hadn’t decided to snoop around, you might actually have met her in the ballroom.”
Falcon blinks. “She’s working?”
“Shayne already bumped into her in the ballroom.” Shadow grins at me. “Omega, remember?”
Holy fucking hell. He knows.
He felt it. Of course, he did. He’s an Omega.
I give him a silent warning with my eyes, and he rolls his.
The last thing we need is for my little brother to let the cat out of the bag.
His mate who runs this place is protecting the Beta because she’s gone through some seriously awful stuff. There’s no way she would be fine with us meeting the waitress if she thinks we’re going to immediately try and stake a claim on her as our mate.
Not that we’d do that, but Lana doesn’t know us well enough to tell.
“I’ll go talk to her,” Lana decides, hugging Shadow back before letting him go. “If she wants to say hi, I’ll let you know. If she doesn’t want to see you, then you’re going home with my guarantee that she’s safe and well. Agreed?”
I nod when she glances at me.
It’s not something we have a choice in, and I know it.
It’s down to her now.
Falcon barks out, “Fine.”
He folds his arms across his chest, and I move out of Lana’s way as she takes a step forward.
“This shouldn’t take long,” Lana tells us.
“I’m coming with you,” Pete adds, holding the office door open for her.
They leave the room, and the tension Falcon is trying to bury starts to thicken immediately.
If he’s bursting to know why I knew who she was when I bumped into her, he doesn’t ask.
I knew something was going to happen tonight.
I had no idea that something would be a new true mate.
I’m getting a taste of what it must have been like for Falcon for all those weeks of waiting and wondering after he first met her and left her at Goldcrest to be looked after.
He didn’t want to leave her then.
I don’t want to leave her now.
Too bad it’s out of our hands.
All we can do is wait.