Chapter 40

BETA XAVIER

I leaned against the edge of my office desk, arms crossed, watching Rebecca carefully. She looked uneasy, perched on the edge of the chair like she might bolt if I said the wrong thing.

“We let you into this pack because you’re Ivan’s mate,” I said, keeping my voice calm, even. “But that doesn’t mean I can ignore the fact that you used to run with rogues. I need to know if you’ve heard anything—anything at all—that could help us stop these attacks.”

She hesitated, eyes dropping to her lap as her fingers twisted the edge of her sleeve. “I don’t know anything for sure,” she murmured. “But…back when I was living in that human town, I heard whispers.”

My attention sharpened instantly. “What kind of whispers?”

“About someone,” she said slowly, like the words were dangerous. “Not a rogue. Someone else. I don’t know who, but they’re supposed to be working on some kind of…murder plot. Targeting high-ranking members of your pack.”

My stomach dropped, though my face stayed still. I forced myself to stay composed, to think like a leader, not a man under threat. “Did you hear any names?”

She shook her head. “No. No names. It was all rumors—bar talk, half-whispered, like people were afraid to even say it out loud.”

Whoever this person was, if they were real, they were smart enough to stay hidden. That alone made them dangerous.

“I wish I had more,” she added quietly behind me.

I looked back at her. “You gave me something. And right now, something is more than I had.”

She looked up at me then, still unsure, but maybe a little relieved. I didn’t return the expression. I couldn’t afford to.

Not when someone out there was planning to kill my people.

***

“You still think it’s a good idea to have a rogue inside the pack?” I heard Marquez ask Samuel as I got myself a few guns. We were preparing to confront whoever was paying the rogue who crashed into my car.

After Samuel decided to take Rebecca in, Marquez was still a little skeptical, but there was nothing he could do since her background was clean.

“I have someone keeping a close eye on her, so relax, Marquez,” Samuel said as he handed over the silver bullets.

After I packed my bag with all the necessary equipment, I walked out of the pack house to wait for Marquez. The sun hasn’t even risen yet, but I know we need to get there before anyone else shows up.

“Where’s the asshole rogue?” I asked Marquez as I loaded the bags in the car.

“He’ll be transported in a van with five warriors.”

“Okay, then let’s get going,” I said.

We made our way to the car. I sat in the passenger seat, and Marquez sat in the driver seat, and we were soon off. The location that the rogue said was a three-hour drive from my pack.

“Why didn’t Ivan come with us?” Marquez asked me after a while.

“It’s Rebecca’s initiation ceremony today. I told him to stay back,” I answered, but Marquez looked angry at the mention of Rebecca’s name.

“Why do you look like you are about to chew someone’s head off?” I asked.

“Shouldn’t we have kept her on surveillance for a month before allowing her into the pack?”

“I know you’re still skeptical about her. But her records are clean and her story wasn’t fabricated either. I have a feeling that she will be useful. Plus…you know, Ivan and her are mates,” I said.

“Oh? Since when have you been on the mate train?”

I shrugged.

“Sex that good then?”

I shoved Marquez’s shoulder slightly, and he chuckled.

“Well, while I’d love to hear all about it, we’re here,” Marquez said.

We were entering a small human town that I had never been to before.

As we entered the town, I noticed the streets were decorated—clearly, some kind of festival was happening today. People were already starting to fill the streets.

“He’s quite smart,” I said. “There’ll be a lot of people and probably plenty of distractions. It’s the perfect cover.”

“Should we go in or park somewhere here?” Marquez asked me as the place began to get crowded.

“Let’s park the vehicle and walk,” I said.

I mind-linked the warriors about our plan. After finding a suitable place to park, the rogue was brought to us. I handed him the cap and sunglasses.

“Don’t try to fool us or run away. If you even think about it, I will press this little button.” I showed him the remote in my hand. “And the silver beads inside your body will explode. Got it?” I asked him, and he nodded his head.

I was about to leave when I saw Benjamin among the group of warriors. I raised a questioning eyebrow at Marquez.

“He wanted to join the team, Xavier.”

Benjamin walked toward me and bowed his head. “I know you’re skeptical about me, Beta Costa. But I want to make up for my mistakes,” he said.

“Fine,” I said, but I mind-linked Marquez to keep an eye on him.

Marquez and the warriors spread out in the streets while keeping a close look out on the rogue. I sat inside a coffee shop and looked out at the busy street. The rogue sat on a lone bench while people walked past him.

The seconds slowly turned to minutes while we waited.

“~Where the hell is he?~” Marquez mind-linked me after an hour.

“~I told you it’s a waste of time. He must have already figured out that we caught the rogue.~”

“Let’s wait a bit longer. If this works out, it could be huge,” Marquez said, so that’s what we did.

Two hours passed by, and when I was about to give up, I saw a black BMW speeding into town. It stopped a few meters away from the rogue.

A sense of suspicion crept over me as I spotted the expensive car parked in this otherwise modest town. It stood out too much.

A few minutes later, a tall man stepped out and adjusted his coat. His face was mostly hidden beneath a mask and a low-pulled cap that concealed his hair and features. He moved to the back seat, pulled out a briefcase, and began walking toward the rogue.

“~We have our target,~” I mind-linked everyone.

We stayed put but were ready to pounce when needed.

The man walked closer to the rogue and handed over the suitcase. He was telling him something, but I wasn’t able to hear what he was saying. The rogue looked frightened, and I knew that things weren’t going well.

“Let’s move in,” I commanded, and quickly got up from my place and walked out.

Just as we were closing in, the man’s back stiffened, and he dropped the suitcase and started running.

“Go after him!” I yelled as the warriors began chasing him as I quickly grabbed the rogue, dumped him inside our van, and chained him in. “You guys watch him,” I told the two warriors inside and ran in the direction the man fled.

Marquez managed to grab a hold of the man’s shirt, but he was fast. He stabbed Marquez using a silver knife and ran.

“Marc!”

“You go after him, Xavier. I’ll be fine,” he reassured me, and even though I didn’t want to leave him like that, I knew we needed to catch that man.

The man was quick and deadly in his movements, but I knew he wouldn’t be a match for me—not if I caught up to him.

I was closing in when, out of nowhere, a wave of people surged from all directions. The festival was in full swing, and the streets were filling fast. Within seconds, the crowd became a wall between us.

I pushed through the sea of bodies, trying to keep him in sight, but the deeper I went, the harder it became. And then he was gone.

~Shit!~

I frantically looked everywhere, but he had just vanished. And he didn’t have a scent for me to follow.

“Xavier, did you get him?” Marquez mind-linked me.

“No, he escaped,” I said and walked back to our parked vehicles.

When I arrived back at the van, I saw that Marquez had a bandage wrapped around his stomach.

“Now what are we going to do?” he asked me.

“We’ll figure that out,” I said, and that was when I saw the rogue. “What did he tell the rogue?” I asked him.

“He was threatening him. He asked him why he couldn’t even finish a simple task. But he still gave the other half of the money,” Marquez said, and I nodded my head.

“Let’s go back to the pack,” I said and helped Marquez to the passenger seat of the car. After everyone was inside their respective vehicles, we were off.

Something felt off with that man. There was absolutely no scent from him, which confused me. Was he a werewolf or a human?

“Did you search his car?” I asked Marquez after a while, but he shook his head.

“When we got back, his car wasn’t there. I think he must have come there with someone else.”

“But I only saw him inside the car.”

“I was wondering the same thing. Maybe that person was already there.”

“Maybe. Damn it. We were close,” I mumbled.

Even though this was a failed attempt, I know that we’ll catch him soon. I’m confident in my warriors, and we keep getting closer.

The moon shone bright in the sky by the time we reached the pack, and instead of going home, I drove straight to the pack hospital.

“Why are we here?” Marquez asked me with a frown on his face.

“You go inside and get this properly treated,” I told him.

“But I’ve already wrapped it with a bandage, Xavier. I’ll be fine.”

“He stabbed you with a silver knife. So, you get out of this car and get that properly treated,” I warned him.

“Fine,” he groaned as he got out of the car and walked into the hospital.

I put the car back to drive and drove to the pack house.

After parking the car, I walked into the pack house. As I reached Samuel’s office, I knocked on his door and waited until he called me in.

“Come in.” I pushed the door open and walked inside.

“You didn’t catch him?” he asked me while looking at the papers that were on his desk.

“No, he ran away,” I said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Samuel got up from his place, made his way to his liquor cabinet, and poured two glasses of whiskey. He handed one glass to me and started sipping from the other one.

“He’s not someone ordinary, Xavier.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked him.

He walked toward his table and placed the briefcase on the table. That was the same briefcase that the man gave the rogue.

“The warriors dropped this off. The man must have asked the rogue to do something else. Otherwise, there’s no way he would’ve handed over the money,” he explained.

As he opened the briefcase, he took out all the money and placed it on the table. Finally, he took out a small packet that had a few diamonds inside.

We chatted about strategy options, and I finally convinced Samuel to let me talk to the rogue in the dungeons again. After he gave me the go ahead, I went straight to the dungeons.

As I walked closer to the interrogation room, I heard the rogue screaming. When I pushed the door open, I saw that Marquez had already started his work.

“Did he say anything?” I asked him, but he shook his head.

“He keeps saying the same thing, and it’s getting on my nerves.”

“And what’s that?” I asked Marquez.

“I’m telling the truth, Beta Costa. He didn’t tell me to do anything. All he said was my job here was done,” he said, and I saw the look of sincerity in his eyes.

I analyzed the rogue. “I don’t think he’s lying,” I told Marquez.

“Maybe we can look at the CCTV footage of that street,” Marquez suggested. “Shall I send a few warriors to go and take a look?” he asked me, but I shook my head.

“That would just be a waste of our time. He won’t be there,” I said

“But we can try, Xavier.”

“He’s not some rogue that we can easily catch, Marquez. He’s intelligent, he knows strategy, and he knows how to escape without getting caught.”

“So, what are you suggesting?”

“I think he belongs to a pack.”

“But who could it be, and why use rogues?”

“That’s what we have to find,” I said. My glance turned toward the rogue.

“What are we going to do about him now?” Marquez asked me.

This piece of shit had the nerve to try and kill my mate, so it was only fair that he got properly punished.

I took the small remote from my pocket and pressed the button, instantly breaking all the silver balls inside his body.