A Curse of Fate (Shifter City Fated Mates #1)

Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

SLADE

“ A ny chance you plan on gracing us with your presence at work today?”

Hunter was one of the few shifters in the world who continued to exist after speaking to me like that, but it didn’t mean I wouldn’t beat his ass as a timely reminder of our true power structure.

“I found her mother.” My statement halted his next smartass remark as he crossed to where I was perched against the island counter, drinking my tea.

“What did you find out about her?”

I let him stew in silence as I took another sip, the earthy herbs of the Wild Bane tea reminding me of home. One of the few reminders which didn’t have me ready to raze civilizations to the ground.

“Her name was Morgan Anders. She was born outside of the pack cities to two rogues.”

Hunter’s face took on a darker hue as his rage simmered in a low burn. “Emme’s really never been part of the packs.”

“I believe they flittered in and out of them over her younger years, but without any real establishment or records kept.”

“What happened to her mother?”

My hands curled, and even though I’d hardly applied pressure, the mug cracked beneath my hold. “Third one this week,” Hunter said with a laugh that eased the tension.

Discarding the broken shards in the trash, I wiped away the spilled liquid. “The information about the mother and her offspring is limited. Limited in a way I’ve never encountered in all my years of hacking systems. But I did find a few members of her mother’s old pack. The two that made it through my database are alphas, and they’re on the council in Silver City. They’re going to have answers, so I might make a trip over there and have a little chat .”

Hunter raised an eyebrow. “And do you have a plan where they stay alive?”

“No. Not really.”

With a shake of his head, he grabbed a mug and poured himself coffee, most likely needing the caffeine to make it through this conversation. “Why don’t we send someone else to question them. I’m sure there are ways to get the information we need without shattering their bodies.”

A smirk pulled at my lips. “Possibly, but where’s the fun in that?”

My oldest friend was well aware that I was a monster in a human vessel, not the other way around. I’d never thought like the others, but I had learned what was and wasn’t acceptable in the world, which allowed me to keep my brothers safe.

“I assure you, no one would miss them.”

Information about this pack was limited, but I had unearthed one hospital record for the daughter, with injuries too extreme for shifter healing.

“What about her father? Is it one of her mother’s former pack?”

A snarl ripped from me in irritation at the thought of her and those alphas. “No. There’s no record of them being part of that pack until the omega was about four. The father is unknown. While there’s very little information on her mother, Emmeline’s father is a ghost. I can’t find one instance of Morgan making ties with any shifters until she met her pack.”

Hunter rubbed his hand over the bridge of his nose, and I was mildly bothered by the exhaustion I saw on his face. “I’ll be at work today,” I said offhandedly. “We can go over that issue in warehouse five, if you’d like.”

His wolf flashed in his eyes, and my beast lazily curled in response. “I need to run this morning or I’m going to be fucking useless as an alpha.”

I generally let my beast out in the dead of night when we could hunt and watch over the sleeping city. But I could keep up in my bipedal form if he desired company. “I smelled her on you when you came home last night. I’m not sure there’s a distance you can run that’s going to help with that problem.”

His glare melted into confused frustration as he barked out a harsh laugh. “She’s intriguing and exasperating in all the fucking ways. I’m off to fire Bradley today too. There’s a chance I’ll rip his head off while I’m at it too. Not that our omega was going to tell me anything about how he treated her. Every conversation with her is a battle, and even when I make progress, she retreats just as quickly.”

I felt a flicker of respect that she had a will strong enough to resist our powerful pack, but a larger part of me wanted to punish her for daring to fight back. She had no true strength here, outside of her illusion of control.

Hunter sighed. “She still plans on running.”

Cold indifference settled over my features. “I’m aware. Now that I’ve got her digital identity though, there’s no place in the world she could disappear to that I wouldn’t find her.”

Hunter pinned me with a glare. “Would you find her though?”

I shrugged, unsure of the answer. Maybe I’d be the one to hide her from our lives, before she destroyed everything.

As if to prove my point, Kellan and Finley burst into the kitchen a few seconds later, arguing over who was driving to practice today. “I need to make sure Emme gets to work,” Kellan griped, “and if you can’t be civil to her in the car, you’re going to have to get your own way to the rink.”

There was a rumble as the bear slammed the palm of his hand on the island. “She doesn’t get to come in here and screw up our routine. You’re going to cost us the season with this shit. You know that, right?”

Finley took superstitions to an entirely new level. It was more than just the games; he also incorporated it into training as well.

Kellan, usually annoyingly chipper, turned deadly serious. “I don’t give a single fuck about the season. Not in comparison to Emme. I’d quit today if it upset her even in the slightest.”

The bear took a staggered step back, his mouth opening and closing. “Are you fucking serious?” he finally choked out, looking like he was about to throw up. “You would destroy your career for the bitch who coldly rejected us?”

This triggered Kellan, who moved super fast, grabbing a fistful of Finley’s hair to slam his head against the cabinets behind him. A crack rocketed through the room, and by the time the bear returned the hit, that cabinet door was torn from its hinges.

Hunter sipped his coffee and silently watched as they exchanged blows, each of them getting angrier and angrier. “Don’t call her a bitch. I swear to fuck, I will suffocate you in your sleep.”

“Where’s your fucking loyalty, Kel. You’ve known her for less than a damn week. We’re brothers!”

Kellan’s fists moved faster and faster. “That—” Punch. “Never—” Punch . “Changes.” Punch punch.

Both were covered in cuts and blood, but we didn’t interfere. This shit needed to be worked out of their systems before it infiltrated deeper into our bond.

“We’re always brothers,” Kellan huffed. “You fucking know that. But she’s our scent match and the final piece of our quintet. She fucking completes us.”

He slowed and let Finley get in one last hit, before they both slumped against the wall. “I will do whatever it takes to keep her in our lives.” It was a whispered promise from the youngest, and generally happiest of our pack.

Kellan had a safe and secure upbringing, with a family who adored him. There were only a few specks of darkness in his past, unlike the rest of us who’d drowned in it.

Finley looked like he’d been gutted as he curled in on himself. His eyes were hazy with the demons that plagued him, and I understood all too well. I’d tamed my demons, but they still remained with me through every aspect of my life.

“I’m not sure I can do this,” Finley admitted hoarsely. “I thought I could ignore her, but her scent is fucking everywhere except my room.”

It wasn’t in my territory either. There were never any scents but my own in my room, as even our housekeeper knew not to enter. I had my own means of keeping everything clean.

Hunter placed his dirty cup in the dishwasher. “Fin, you need to pull yourself together. I know having Emme here is new and disturbing to your routine, but you’re going to have to figure out how to deal with her. She’s not going anywhere.”

Finley looked too wiped to argue. “Yeah, okay. I know. Fuck, I’ll figure it out. Just… try to keep her out of every damn room. I’d like to be able to use the gym in peace at least.”

So far, the omega had shown no interest in our gym, more content with her ridiculous and sloppy paddling around the pool. I wasn’t surprised she couldn’t swim, judging on what I’d learned about her past. Even my patchy information was enough to know she’d missed out on a lot during her younger years, and then her older years were spent running and surviving.

I needed to take one of the jets to Silver City and track those alphas down. It shouldn’t be hard to persuade the information I required from them to further my understanding of the omega.

Hunter was wrong to assume I’d kill them straight up. The dead don’t speak. But they absolutely didn’t require their hands, which would be an excellent incentive for them to tell me what I needed to know in a timely manner.

I was destroying them either way, but it was in their best interest for me not to take my time. Or get creative.