Saved By The Alpha
Chapter 15

When I woke up in the morning, Iris had already been up for hours, and it seemed Remus had been awake for a while as well. Bella was sitting next to them on the couch, watching TV as the two of them studied something on Remus’ tablet. I couldn’t help feeling a strange pang of jealousy, seeing them working so closely like that, but as soon as I walked in, Iris vacated her spot so I could sit next to my half-brother and have a look.

Agent Foxrun had continued to run searches overnight, though the report she had sent over was less than fruitful. More of the same. She hadn’t come up with any new information on Maverick, either — I wasn’t sure if I was relieved that he wasn’t in the United States government’s system or just more stressed that we still didn’t know what was going on.

In the end, we decided it was best if we kept monitoring what we assumed was Dr. Brenner’s home. As Iris had pointed out, if the person inside was handing out files, they had to be quite important, and Remus was right. It didn’t make sense for that person to be in the Raven Brothers’ hierarchy. At this point, it seemed unlikely there was someone else calling the shots other than Brenner.

Getting confirmation would still be best though.

With Luna unable to come and watch Bella today — Remus had mentioned their children were not having a very good day — Iris opted to stay at home with her, which left Remus and me to drive back out to wooded suburbia. The ride over was silent, and I stared out the window as Remus drove, replaying what Iris and I had observed yesterday over and over and over again.

Despite everything, I just couldn’t make myself believe that Maverick was double-crossing us. In a way, I dreaded that we were going back to this log cabin at all. I didn’t want to see anything else that might implicate my childhood friend as a traitor. I didn’t want to have to believe that he had turned his back on shifters — and on me. I swallowed, my mouth dry, and stared firmly forward.

Remus cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “You know,” he said slowly, as if he were trying to be careful, “you’re welcome to tell me anything if you need to get something off your chest.”

I frowned, turning to stare at him. Why the hell would he bring that up now? We have work to do. It was so out of left field that I was almost tempted to ignore the comment entirely and pretend I hadn’t heard him say anything.

“I’m fine,” I said a beat later, staring back out the window again. “I don’t need to talk about anything.” I had turned to look at him, after all. Pretending I hadn’t heard anything would have been a hard sell.

The older man shrugged. “Okay,” he said, his eyes never leaving the road. “I just wanted to make sure you knew I was on your side. You can tell me anything. Or nothing. Whatever works.”

My scowl deepened. What the hell…?

“Seriously, there’s nothing to talk about,” I said, fighting the urge to snap at him.

This must be about Maverick. He must feel bad that his agent friend couldn’t turn up any information, and he feels sorry for me. He thinks my friend is a traitor.

The idea of his pity made my skin prickle and my wolf bristle, but I stamped both down. We were about to go on an observation, after all, and getting into a fight with Remus minutes before wouldn’t help either of us. If Maverick was innocent, I needed to be at the top of my game so I could prove it.

More importantly, I didn’t want to talk about it. Not until this case was over, and maybe not even then. It was my business and no one else’s. It certainly wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with the sibling I didn’t even know about until about a year ago. If he wanted to pull the big brother act now, it was far too late for that.

For better or worse, Remus didn’t seem to agree. The silence stretched on until he cleared his throat. I grimaced, hunkering down before he even began to speak.

“You know,” Remus said slowly as if he were picking each word individually. “I’ve been looking at potential homes for Bella so she can get settled once all of this is over. I think Iris might be interested, though she won’t really say either way.”

“Oh?” I frowned, glancing over at him. “What did she say?”

Remus shifted his attention to me. “That she deserves a two-parent household…but that’s not all there is to it, is there?”

“No.”

Brock and Viola’s house had never been a home. Hell, even when my parents were together, it was far more contentious than when it was just my father and I living on the Archer estate. The number of adults had nothing to do with it.

She must be thinking of her own parents.

Iris didn’t talk about them often, but I knew she loved them. I knew she still loved them. When she thought of a loving family, surely that was what she thought of — that was what she’d want for Bella. Hell, she had even confessed to me she was hoping the little girl’s parents were still alive. I knew why, but…

My heart twinged, and I looked away, annoyed with Remus for trying to plant this seed. I didn’t want to talk, be it about Iris or Bella or families or whatever else. If he felt guilty about Maverick, he could just sit and stew in it or get over it. I didn’t care either way.

“Just some food for thought,” Remus said.

I grumbled and said nothing.

As if I need more than that. It feels like Iris is all I think about anymore. And frankly, I didn’t mind that. Not at all. The trouble was what came after all of this. I had gotten so used to Iris’ quick quips and her biting sense of humor. I knew it would feel strange to suddenly be bereft of that.

And Bella…

I was one of the youngest of the Archer cousins. I’d never had to look after anyone or babysit. When Iris first arrived with Bella, I had been terrified of the prospect of being responsible for her. I could admit that now, at least to myself.

But that little girl was so special, and so much had happened to her already…

I can’t imagine just letting her go with someone else.

That was the thing, though. What was the alternative to that?

Keeping her? Adopting her? If Iris wants to stay with her — would she want — what if we —

I couldn’t let myself finish those thoughts. There were too many what-ifs there, and Remus and I still had a job to do.

We satin the woods for hours. There was someone moving around inside the cabin, but they never came outside — and they never came close enough to a window for Remus and me to get a good look either. No one pulled up to the driveway. Even the mailman drove right by.

How the hell does Iris do this regularly?

It was excruciatingly boring. I hadn’t noticed it as much when I did a stakeout with Iris but sitting next to Remus with only the occasional birdsong between us was starting to drive me mad. I knew, though, that if I said anything, he’d probably start right back on that “You can tell me anything” bvllsh!t, and I really wasn’t in the mood for his play at being an older brother.

I rubbed my face and sighed. “Maybe Iris was right,” I said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Remus tipped his head in my direction.

“Before the first stakeout, she was asking how Agent Foxrun could be certain this was Dr. Brenner’s home.” I waved in the general direction of the log cabin. “He hasn’t left. If he’s running Project Night Moon, he’d have to go back to the facility, wouldn’t he?” I paused, making a face. “Besides, from everything Iris told us, he hardly seemed like a log cabin sort of guy. The files Agent Foxrun showed us made him seem more like a penthouse suite type.”

Remus snorted, looking back at the house in question. “Indeed, they did,” he agreed, sighing.

“Shouldn’t he have guards?” I said after a moment, l!cking my l!ps. “I haven’t seen anyone else — but I haven’t smelled or sensed another living soul here, either.”

“Now that you mention it…” Remus said, trailing off. His frown deepened. “I can’t sense anyone else, either.” He narrowed his eyes, squinting at the cabin. “Perhaps he has a security system set up inside — or outside — and we just can’t see it.”

“Maybe…” I frowned. “But that would just identify who’s on the property. I don’t think that would stop someone who really wanted to break in and do him harm.” I glanced around the forest. “What if he doesn’t ever have to leave?”

“What do you mean?”

I shrugged. “Maybe he has an underground tunnel connecting him, so he never has to go out in the open.”

Remus looked puzzled for a few moments before shaking his head. “No, I don’t think so, given how long it took Iris to reach us and how far she estimated she walked. Even if she was off by quite a bit, that would still be over twenty miles. That’s far too long to have a tunnel, I think.”

“Damn it. Yeah, you’re right.” I frowned, annoyed I hadn’t thought of that myself as I tried to think of some other reason this man hadn’t left his house yet. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and shifted my position, expecting yet another bird somewhere in the woods, when I realized it wasn’t an animal. I nudged Remus and hunkered closer to the forest floor. “Look,” I hissed. “There’s someone at the side of the house.”

He mirrored my movements, sinking alongside me. “Stay here,” Remus said, starting to creep forward. “I’ll try to get a better look.”

“What are you doing?” I hissed, leaning forward. “Remus!”

“There could be someone else here,” Remus whispered back, frowning. “Keep your eyes peeled, and don’t let anyone sneak up on me.”

I scowled but didn’t stop him, settling back into position as he disappeared into the shadows. My skin prickled uncomfortably, and I turned. There was something dark and moving quickly.

I dodged the fist out of sheer instinct, growling as the man grappled for me. He wasn’t alone.

Two other men had all but materialized out of the forest, trying to encircle me. Something glinted in one of their hands, and I realized at once what it was: a hypodermic needle. Dread raced through me. These are the Raven Brothers, and they want me alive. If they didn’t intend to kill me, it was for one reason alone. It was only a matter of time before they moved on from immature alphas to fully grown adults — I was their next target.

My wolf snarled as I kicked out at the nearest man. He grunted in pain as I connected with his ankle, falling back into the foliage. As soon as he was down, a different man pushed forward, trying to jab the needle into my neck. I narrowly dodged to the side, only to replace myself in the arms of someone else.

I wrenched forward, slamming my elbow into a chest, guts, anything. They seemed to be coming out of nowhere. As soon as I fought one off, another appeared.

My pulse began to quicken as I tried to pinpoint an escape route. I could hardly see past the black tactical gear. I couldn’t even see where Remus had gone or what had happened to him.

Sh!t. What if they’d already got him?

I didn’t have time to follow the thought as someone grabbed my shoulder and wrenched, knocking me off balance. I snarled and swung, my movements becoming less controlled. Another swept their foot beneath my legs, knocking me off balance. The man with the needle jabbed again, just barely missing my neck. I heard the rip of my shirt as I hit the forest floor. No sooner had I hit the earth when a boot aiming for my face missed.

There was a popping noise, and someone fell beside me. I didn’t wait to see what happened, scrambling to get to my feet. I heard the pop again as I slugged a man in the face. They stumbled backward. Another pop, and he shouted, grabbing his leg. A moment later, another followed, and the man fell sideways, a hole in his head.

I stumbled backward, looking around wildly to see the gunman in front of me.

My heart stopped.

Maverick.

As I gawked,Maverick reloaded his pistol. I realized, at that moment, that the popping noise was the sound of his gunfire. There was a silencer attached to the weapon.

As my mind whirred, Maverick was all business. He found one of the other guards I had knocked down and dispatched him with a single bullet to the head before he checked the others. My brain finally kicked into gear.

“Maverick!” I hissed, hurrying after him. “What the hell! Why did you kill them? We could have questioned them!”

Maverick turned and scowled, looking at me as if I had grown a second head. “Because if anyone figured out that I helped you avoid capture, we’d be in a world of hurt,” he hissed back, already walking away as he began patrolling the area. “I was supposed to help kidnap you. I’m already going to have to come up with a pretty convincing story about how you got away.”

I hurried after him, cursing under my breath.

Before I could ask any other questions, a large wolf burst out of the nearby shadows, slamming his bulk into Maverick’s body. Maverick snarled as he stumbled. The wolf twisted as soon as his paws hit the ground, lunging for the hand with the gun. His jaws snapped shut over Maverick’s wrist as he snarled, dropping his weapon almost at once.

“Remus!” I called, rushing forward to try and grab my half-brother before he injured Maverick any further — or before Maverick could turn on him. “Remus, stop!”

The wolf growled and shook his head, wrenching Maverick’s arm farther. The only indication the other alpha heard me at all was a flick of his ear in my direction. I reached forward and grabbed thick fistfuls of his dark fur, jerking him as I tried to get more of his attention. Remus snarled, but it was enough of a release for Maverick to rip his arm free, b***d pouring from the wound.

“Remus! Stop — he killed the guards,” I insisted, torn between not alerting anyone in the cabin and finishing this fight before it went any further. I gave the wolf a little shake.

Thankfully, Remus took a step back, his sides heaving as he tipped his head, finally looking at me instead. A relieved sigh escaped me, and I released Remus’ fur. He took a few steps away from us, and in a blink, the man took the place of the wolf.

He said nothing else as he approached again, eyeing Maverick as the man cradled his arm, clearly inspecting the damage Remus had done. Without another word, my half-brother lunged forward and planted a fist into Maverick’s face. There was a crack, the unmistakable sound of something breaking, and the man slumped to the forest floor, out cold.

“What the f**k!” I hissed, stunned. “He f*****g stopped the guards, Remus!”

Remus regarded me coolly before he knelt down at Maverick’s side, confirming the other man was unconscious. “We need the truth, Eli,” he replied quietly, “and we need it now. We just cannot trust him.”

“He stopped them, Remus,” I snarled.

Remus’ expression never wavered. “I understand,” he replied, infuriatingly calm. “But just because he was sentimental enough to protect you doesn’t mean he won’t harm Iris or Bella. He doesn’t know them, and as you said, he has a cover to keep. Men will do a lot to protect those they care about, and that might include sacrificing others. He doesn’t know them, Eli. They might be a cost he’s willing to pay for your sake. We cannot trust him. Not yet.”

I paused, stunned. He’s right. F**k. He’s right. Maverick doesn’t know Iris or Bella from a hole in the wall.

The last thing I wanted was for Maverick to trade one of them for me. I ground my teeth together and gave a short nod. “Fine,” I bit out, not willing to say anything else on the matter. “Let’s get the hell out of here before anyone figures out what happened.”

Remus stood, already pulling out his phone. “I’ll get someone to take care of this.” He nodded toward the other bodies. “We’ll take Maverick to the Silver Streak holding facility. You let the others know.”

“Right,” I muttered, looking down at my friend’s unconscious form.

Maverick, what the hell have you done?