The Alpha 8: Protect. Procreate. Prevail., page 20
“I’m getting to the point where I’m almost positive,” I said. “The timing adds up, the reason we haven’t seen anyone around us when those feelings occurred makes sense, plus everything that Connor said. We’re hours away from wherever the eagles live, so why come all this way to then stop at an invisible border and not actually fly over the houses? To me, that sounds like they’re trying to watch to see where we go.”
“Plus, if they saw me talking to you last night, then they’d know to hang around near the forest to see if you come over here,” Connor said.
“That makes sense,” Benji replied. “But that still doesn’t explain what they’re even doing here.”
“Have you had any conflicts with them recently?” the werecoyote asked.
“No,” I replied. “The only avian we know is my lawyer, and I certainly don’t have a conflict with him. It’s also been nearly a month since our last fight, and that was against a pack of werewolves. So I don’t have any idea why the eagles have turned up now.”
“Maybe they knew Theo?” Blair shrugged. “I know they’re different species, but Theo was well-known in the shifter community.”
“Yeah, maybe they were friends with him,” Arielle added. “Maybe they’re annoyed that you killed Theo, but it’s taken them this long to track you down?”
If a lightbulb going on in my head was a real thing, then it would have been the fucking Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
Because as soon as Arielle said that, everything fell into place.
“Maybe my first theory isn’t too far from the truth,” I mumbled as I glanced at the people around me. “Perhaps it isn’t just the eagles that we need to worry about.”
“What do you mean?” Kristina frowned.
“Regardless of whether the eagles were friends with Theo or not, I know of someone who definitely was,” I explained. “Someone who knows exactly where I’m going and what I’m doing.”
“The SDD,” Hailey whispered.
“Exactly.” I nodded.
“You also said that Hazel Wise hasn’t received any assignments lately,” Nikita said. “Maybe the SDD knows she’s friends with you, so it’s all linked together?”
“It certainly seems strange that Hazel has been sitting around, waiting for a new case to cover,” Aunt Eva agreed.
But even if that was the truth, and I had solved this mysterious puzzle, it still didn’t explain everything.
In fact, I was left with more questions than answers.
Had the SDD really sent someone to spy on me?
But not just agents, had they sent other shifters that posed a threat to me?
Because if that was the case, then my pack and I had found ourselves in a very dangerous situation.
Chapter 12
I did my best to put the SDD and the bald eagles to the back of my mind throughout the rest of the evening.
We actually had a really nice time with the werecoyotes, and I managed to meet a few more of my new betas, too. We had some burgers, some beers, and just sat around the fire pit as we properly got to know each other.
I found out that Cayden had wanted to be a mechanic before he realized he was a shifter, so he was the guy to go to if we had any car troubles. And Gia dreamed of becoming a chef and owning her restaurant, which was why she always offered to cook for everyone.
Arielle and Gia quickly hit it off, and they spent hours talking about food, recipes, and even their favorite chefs.
Nayeli was a proud Native American from the Yurok Tribe, and she knew everything there was to know about her culture and her family’s history. But as well as that, she loved nature, wildlife, and could happily watch nature shows all night long with a bowl of popcorn. So of course, as soon as Hailey heard that, the two of them began to talk.
Hailey even mentioned that we were friends with a pod of killer whale shifters, and how Hydra had offered to take them swimming one day.
Nikita, Blair, and Kiara also became good friends when we realized that Kiara loved any and all vehicles, and she always drove over the speed limit.
But despite how lovely our evening was, and how much I enjoyed watching my omegas smile and become friends with the new betas, I couldn’t fully distract myself from the potential threat at hand. I constantly wondered if there was an eagle somewhere in the trees around us, and if they were secretly passing on messages to the SDD.
Connor reassured me that the eagles were nowhere to be seen, because they never came this far into the woods, but I still wasn’t sure about that. The eagles might not have had any interest in Connor and the others, hence why they never flew over the houses, but that could have all changed as soon as I’d stepped onto the scene.
Before we left, I made sure Connor and the werecoyotes would keep a close watch around the area, and I gave them my number so they could phone me if anything happened, or if they saw any of the eagles again. They knew about the performance the following evening, and the werecoyotes promised to do whatever they could to keep the area safe while my betas and I were preoccupied.
The drive back from Harnsey to Eureka was fairly quiet, but that only caused more issues with my spiraling thoughts, and I couldn’t seem to distract myself from the daunting theories.
I messaged my pack back at home to tell them about my new theory, and to warn them to look out for any bald eagles hovering above Monroe. But typing out the words that filled my head only seemed to make the constant confusion even worse.
What the fuck was going on?
My biggest worry was that the SDD really were behind everything, and that they were the reason the eagles had arrived in the first place. Because if that was the case, then they could have been using shifters, even weaponizing them, to get what they wanted. And that sure as hell was not what the department was supposed to do.
I thought they were meant to be out there protecting shifters, and making sure the threats didn’t get too out of hand. Even Hazel Wise thought the SDD simply kept track of shifters, not sending out other shifters to do their bidding for them.
But why would they do that?
Did the SDD have immoral intentions? Because that’s what it felt like to me.
Especially after all the weirdness with Theo Finch’s connections.
It felt like shifters were being fooled into thinking the department had our best interests at heart. But the worst part of it all was that Hazel Wise probably had no idea this was all going on.
So did I tell her my theories?
Or would that have put her at more risk, especially if her boss somehow managed to find out?
I decided to sleep on the idea, and I’d come back to it in the morning.
I knew I couldn’t allow these thoughts to stay in my head for too long, and I had to focus on nothing but the performance, but that was easier said than done.
Still, I tried, and as I woke up on the morning of the first performance, I ran through the thrilling opening notes of Beethoven in order to calm myself down.
“Today’s the day, Jesse!” Hailey squealed as she threw herself onto me. “Are you excited?”
“I’m sure I’ll get there as the day goes on,” I yawned as I wrapped my arms around her. “But I know I wouldn’t be able to get through it without you all cheering me on in the audience.”
“You won’t even need the mental connection to hear how proud we are,” Arielle said with a smile. “We’ll be clapping, cheering, and most definitely crying throughout the entire thing.”
“Shit, that reminds me,” Blair gasped as she jumped out of bed. “Did I pack my waterproof mascara?”
“Don’t worry, I have some,” Nikita replied. “I cry at fucking dog commercials lately, so watching the man of our dreams on stage is going to be a mess.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve got it!” Blair called out as she held up a red makeup bag. “What time do we need to be at the concert hall tonight?”
“About six o’clock.” I shrugged.
“Okay…” the lynx mumbled. “It’s currently eight, so… I’ll have some breakfast, spend some time in the pool, and then I’ll start getting ready.”
“Good idea, me, too.” Hailey grinned.
“How long are you going to be in the pool for?” I laughed.
“About an hour,” Blair replied. “I don’t want to be in there for too long.”
“But…” I frowned. “Is it really going to take you that long to get ready?”
“Jesse,” Nikita giggled. “We started getting ready yesterday. We’re just adding the finishing touches.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever understand the inner workings of a woman and her makeup,” I snickered.
“Just as long as you look good, which you always do, then that’s all that matters,” Arielle said. “But we have to make sure our nail polish hasn’t chipped, we might not like our outfits when we come to try them on… And don’t even get me started on the winged liner.”
“Eyeliner is just like our eyebrows,” Hailey replied. “They’re sisters, not twins.”
“Sisters?” I asked. “You know what? I’m just going to have a shower and leave the conversation there.”
“Good plan,” Blair chuckled.
I had no idea what they meant about sisters and twins, but I’d realized early on that it was best not to question the omegas when it came to makeup. To me, eyebrows were just eyebrows, yet now they were the most important part when it came to their makeup routine, and Blair said she often felt naked when she hadn’t “drawn them in.”
Which also confused the shit out of me.
Blair’s black eyebrows were fairly prominent, so why did she have to make them bigger and bolder?
Either way, I left them to do what made them happy, and I took a quick shower before I had to leave for the concert hall. We weren’t going to have a rehearsal, but Jack Nolan wanted to meet with everyone before the show and just go over a few details.
Benji, Raina, Seth, and Thalia offered to come with me to the performance center and hang around the area, and Aunt Eva, Gemma, Harry, and Caleb would stay at the hotel with the omegas. Because it was just a conversation with Jack, there was no reason for other family members to come along, so I would have stood out even more than I already did if my aunt, girlfriend, and her sisters came along with me.
As I walked toward the concert hall with my mother’s violin in one hand, and my security casually walking behind me, I decided to phone Hazel Wise. It was a Saturday, so I knew she wasn’t working, but I also wanted to make sure everything was okay back in the city.
I wasn’t necessarily going to tell her about my theories, and I would have preferred talking to her about the SDD in person rather than over the phone. But I was interested to see if my file had changed at all since we’d last spoken.
I made sure to call her burner phone, and I was only waiting for a handful of seconds before Hazel answered.
“Hello?” she asked in her sweet voice.
“Jessica Henderson?” I smirked at the fake name.
“Yes, hello,” Hazel replied. “How is everything?”
“It’s… fine,” I hummed. “How about you?”
“It’s no different than the last time we talked,” Hazel sighed. “Still twiddling my thumbs.”
It still pissed me off that she hadn’t been assigned any new cases, and I really hoped her boss wouldn’t cut her pay because of her lack of jobs.
“Well, I was hoping you could maybe do a little job for me,” I said casually. “Do you remember what you told me the other day? About a… sudden change?”
We had to be vague, even though it made the conversation slightly harder.
“I… Oh, yes, I do,” Hazel replied. “Do you want me to look at it again?”
“It’s like you can read my mind, Jessica.” I smiled. “I just want to see if there have been any new updates, or if additional information has been added.”
“Should there be an update?” she asked.
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “I know I’m unbelievable, and you constantly remind me of that, but this really has to stay with me for now.”
“Of course, I understand,” Hazel replied with a smirk in her tone. “Just give me a second to get logged on, okay?”
“Take your time,” I said.
Although I didn’t have that much time, because I could see the concert hall in the distance. But Hazel could get easily flustered, so I didn’t want to rush her.
Fortunately, she returned to the phone before I had even reached the end of the block.
“I don’t see anything here,” she said. “The most recent update was from two days ago, and nothing has been added since then.”
“Okay, thank you.” I smiled, even though that wasn’t the answer I was after.
I wanted to know if the SDD knew about Connor joining my pack, because when he’d submitted himself to me, my betas hadn’t caught on to anyone outside, so there definitely weren’t any SDD agents hanging around the house.
If the department knew about the change to my pack, and my file had been updated, then the information would have to have come from the eagles. So the lack of changes confused me, and it almost made me want to return to the drawing board.
Unless the SDD did know, but they didn’t want to give anything away, so they held onto the private information for now?
Fuck, maybe I was overthinking this. I felt like my mind was running in circles.
“Oh,” Hazel suddenly said and brought me back to the real world. “Before I forget, good luck this evening. I’m sure you’re going to be wonderful.”
“Why thank you, Jessica.” I smirked. “There might be a spare ticket if you decide to get a last-minute flight?”
It sounded like I was joking, but I was actually being dead serious.
It would have been nice to see Hazel again, and it wasn’t the same teasing her over the phone as it was in person.
“I would, but unfortunately I can’t,” she said, and I thought I caught a hint of sadness in her voice. “But you’ll have to tell me all about it.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” I promised her. “I’ll try to phone you again tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she replied. “See you later.”
“Bye, Jessica,” I said.
As I ended the call and placed my phone back in my pocket, I heard the recognizable sound of Benji snickering from somewhere behind me.
Dude, she’s so fucking whipped, he laughed. Wait ‘til Blair hears about this.
Yep, and just wait until Kiri hears about what happened last night, I retorted. I bet she’d love to know how you just about crapped your pants because you thought there was a snake on the ground. But it turned out to be a stick.
Hey, I don’t like snakes, okay? Benji huffed. Especially big ones.
Yep, big wooden ones, I chuckled. And speaking of big wooden ones, you should probably get yourself prepared, because I bet Kiri’s going to look great tonight.
I hate you, Benji grumbled.
Love you, too, bro. I smirked.
I had to wipe the smile off my face as I walked into the concert hall, and I joined everyone on stage to hear what Jack had to say.
We weren’t there for very long, it must have only been about an hour, but I could sense the nerves in the air as Jack gave us a rundown of the evening. He wanted us to arrive half an hour before the main doors opened, and he reminded everyone of the dress code. Black dresses for the women, and black suits and ties for the men.
“Also, there is a bar upstairs where we can all meet for a drink after the performance,” Jack added at the end. “The buses will arrive outside the hotels tomorrow at two to take us to the next destination. Then we’ll have another rehearsal on Monday to get ourselves prepared for the next round of performances. You’ll find that the rehearsals will lessen as the tour goes on, but if any of you feel like you need to have another run-through at any stage, just let me know, okay?”
Everyone around me nodded their heads, and then we were given the opportunity to ask any questions we may have had.
Once that was done, and Jack had given us a few more words of encouragement, he told us all to go back to the hotel and relax before we met back up again this evening.
My hands began to tremble at the thought that the performance was actually happening, so I just prayed I could calm myself down before the evening. The last thing I needed was to have shaky hands while trying to play the violin.
Sometimes that added a nice touch, but not when the bow skidded all over the strings.
I had a feeling I was going to be okay, but nothing was set in stone, and I wasn’t going to know that for certain until we began to play the first symphony.
“Hey, Jesse,” Kyle called over as we left the concert hall.
Just like the first time I’d met him, Kyle wore some beige shorts and a t-shirt that desperately needed ironing. It wouldn’t have even surprised me if he wore the same outfit to the performance, despite the strict dress code.
“Hi.” I smiled. “Are you ready for this evening?”
“Part of me has been ready for years,” he chuckled. “But the other part of me is wondering why I’m here in the first place.”
“I know that feeling,” I snorted. “I was fine until ten minutes ago.”
“And you’re part of the first violins.” Kyle let out a deep breath. “I thought my sonata was nerve-racking. I mean, at least I don’t have the weight of the orchestra on my shoulders.”
“Thanks,” I snickered. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“You know I’m only playing,” Kyle laughed as he slapped my shoulder. “You’ll be great, man. As soon as you play that first note, everything will fall into place, and you’ll start to wonder why you were even panicking to begin with.”
“Let’s hope that happens,” I replied. “Are you heading back to the hotel?”
“I am, but I’m going to meet Cassie for a coffee first,” he said. “You could come and join us if you want?”
