Crossed Fates by Lexi C. Foss

Alaric

“Neo’s dead.”The Elk Neck Beta flinched as he said it, his gaze lowering in a subtle display of apology before returning to the camera. He cleared his throat. “From the scene, it’s obvious someone hunted him down and slaughtered him.”

My jaw clenched.

All the alphas and betas had assembled in their various offices, their stances solemn and tones quiet. Many of them had looked to me to kick off the conversation, so I’d started with the obvious question: Have you found Neo yet?

And, well, they’d found him.

Dead.

What the hell?

I wanted to rage and demand he tell me how the hell his team had let that happen—how the fuck they’d managed to let our best lead die—but my father stepped in, giving me a moment to collect myself.

“Word obviously got around when we sent the information to all of the packs,” he said from his chair beside me. He’d pulled over one of the two from a table in the corner, sharing the executive desk with me and facing the camera and screen against the wall. “Don’t blame yourself, Beta Mavi. I’m sure you did what you needed to do. However, I recommend that all of us evaluate who had access to that information and assess if they could have warned someone with ties to Neo.”

I nodded in agreement and took a few slow, deep breaths, then I moved on to other topics.

We each shared what we knew, which wasn’t much, with the other packs. I told them some of the information we’d gathered from Jude’s files and explained a few theories Makayla and I had come up with along the way, as well as the fact that I’d been specifically singled out by the initials carved into the victims’ feet.

“We decided that I’m needed here, and Makayla pointed out that if I go to the city, I’ll be playing by their set of rules,” I added, feeling oddly hollow without her nearby.

She really should be here, I thought, noting all the males on the screen. Not a single female in sight. What is this sexist bullshit?

Makayla’s agreement brushed my mind, causing me to bite back a smile. I thought you weren’t talking to me, baby?

She started humming in response, and the smile broke free, curving up my lips.

“Alaric.”

The sound of someone saying my name pulled me back into the meeting. I glanced at my father, who’d been the one to grab my attention, and cleared my throat. “Sorry.”

I’d never heard of Bitten mates acquiring telepathic links, so this development would take some getting used to. Same with the mark on my chest. Although, I kind of liked the reddish-brown wolf tattooed into my flesh.

I probably shouldn’t since it just tied me down more, but I couldn’t really argue destiny’s choice here. Sure, fate had essentially castrated me, but now that I’d tasted Makayla, I understood why. The woman had effectively ruined me for all other females, because no one would ever come close to comparing to what we’d experienced last night. I was absolutely determined to have her beneath me again just as soon as I figured all this shit out.

Which would work a hell of a lot faster if I focus on the conversation at hand, and not my dick,I thought, forcing my attention back to the meeting.

Beta Mavi was providing a report on the Elk Neck Pack count, just as all the others had. “No one is missing,” he concluded. “And we’ve enforced a strict curfew and lockdown.”

“Good,” my father said, his tone conveying full alpha authority. “Unfortunately, Silver Lake wasn’t as fortunate. We’re missing one of our own, Tyler’s former consort—Savannah.”

Consortwas a fancy term for a non-mate lover. Not all that uncommon for an alpha because not all of us found our mates.

A few low murmurs came through the speakers. None of the others had been impacted yet, but Savi’s disappearance suggested they could be at any moment.

“We’ve enacted security protocols,” I began, only to be interrupted by a knock at the office door.

I shared a look with my father, who merely called out, “Come in.”

And in waltzed my boss.

Jude Reyes.

Director of Eliminate Vampiric Influences Everywhere.

“What the hell?” I muttered under my breath.

As usual, he was impeccably dressed in a perfectly fitted suit and Italian loafers. Not a strand of his dark hair was out of place, and his Van Dyke–style beard was close-cropped and tidy. The only things about his appearance that kept him from looking like an airbrushed model on a magazine cover were the wrinkles on his forehead and around his lips from pursing them when he was stressed.

Violet often described him as deceptively debonair. I called him ruthless, but fair… to a degree. He might’ve looked the part of a gentleman, but he had worked his way up the ranks in E.V.I.E., and he was as deadly as the rest of us.

As he approached the desk, he greeted each alpha by name, cluing me in that he knew more about shifter life than he’d let on. Particularly, because most of those alphas were brand new or temporary. Yet he knew every single one of their identities, which implied that he understood the pack hierarchies and who would be next in line to lead.

“Alpha Alaric,” he greeted me last, pulling up a chair to join my father and me at the desk. Then he bowed his head in subtle reverence as though I’d already ascended. Which explained why he hadn’t called me Successor Alaric or Heir Alaric, but Alpha Alaric.

It sounded weird coming from him. However, I didn’t correct him. He was still my boss, right?

He turned to my father, and they shook hands. “It’s been a while since we spoke in person.”

“Twelve years, give or take,” my father responded. “Still playing chess?”

Jude smiled, an expression I’d rarely seen on his face, so it stunned me for a minute. “Frequently, but as for the opponent I suspect you are referring to, we started a new game recently. One of my slayers mated a wolf in his pack.”

My head popped up at that. “What? Who? In a Bitten pack?” I knew just about every slayer who worked for E.V.I.E., and I hadn’t heard a word about another fated mate among our ranks. Although, very few of them knew I was a wolf. So maybe they hadn’t thought to tell me.

“Rowan Sokolov,” my boss replied.

“Violet’s best friend?” I asked, picturing the little pixie slayer with long, silvery lavender hair.

My boss arched a knowing brow. “Yes. She’s mated to one of Nathan’s wolves.”

Nathan? I blinked.

His expression and tone strongly suggested that he meant Makayla’s Alpha Nathan. Which confirmed that Jude was how my father knew about KBO. But, of course, I couldn’t ask for clarification with the horde of other pack alphas and heirs watching. As it was, we’d completely derailed from the topic at hand and had ventured into unrelated territory.

My Nathan?Makayla’s voice piped up, clearly having overheard my thoughts.

I growled in my mind, just barely managing to keep the sound inward. No, not your Nathan, Makayla.

Chill, dude. Or don’t, because it’s kinda hot. But save it for later.

I chuckled, but I was still lost to the revelation Jude had just confirmed with a few choice words.

Twelve years,I marveled. When I first started at E.V.I.E. Because of course my father had had something to do with that. Is there anyone I know who isn’t living a double life?

I prefer to think of it as my best life, a soft voice replied.

I mentally snorted. Baby, after last night, I think we both know our best life is when we’re fucking.

One-track mind, she mumbled. I’m going back to not talking to you. Then I sensed her mind drift somewhere else.

I refocused on the meeting. Jude clearly did the same, because he addressed me and asked, “Have all the packs done a head count?”

I nodded. “Gloria is still missing, and one of my pack is now, too. Savannah. Tyler’s consort. No other reported wolf-related disappearances.”

Jude’s wrinkles deepened as he pursed his lips. “The vampires have taken to counting their nests as well. So far, they’ve reported three names of missing female vamps. With the leaders being picked off, the city is a mess of chaos, at least in the underworld.”

“That’s to be expected,” the alpha of the Montauk Pack said, his tone annoyingly smug for someone who had yet to be impacted by these events. He was only here since his pack existed in the Northeast. But they were notorious for looking out for themselves and themselves alone. “The leeches don’t have a clue how to handle hierarchy.”

Well, I couldn’t argue with that claim. Vamp nests were notably unorganized, making them easy to pick off.

Jude continued as if the alpha hadn’t spoken and gave us a rundown of a few non-Bitten wolf clans who were also missing girls. Bringing the total to eleven. And we had no way of knowing how many more human females had been taken—too many missing person cases to link them all.

The number eleven reverberated inside me. It might as well have been a thousand. It didn’t matter how many had been taken; I would be equally as angry and determined to kill the twisted bastards holding them hostage.

Jude smoothed a hand over his beard. “I put feelers out to some contacts, and I’ve assigned a few slayers to search for information on any upcoming auctions. They’ve already gathered a few potential leads.”

He shared them, but to my disappointment, none of them were familiar to me. I wondered if Makayla had knowledge about any of them and again thought about how she should’ve been here for this.

“Send me copies of the files,” I requested of Jude. “I’ll have Makayla review them.”

“Why?” the newly ascended alpha of the Weiser Pack inquired. The curiosity in his voice told me it was an innocent question more than an accusatory or derogatory one. As the only other alpha here missing a wolf, I decided he deserved a thorough response.

“Makayla’s my mate,” I started, ensuring the respect was given where due. Say something bad about my woman and you won’t like my reply, I added with my eyes. “She specializes in trafficking cases and has experience locating missing persons. She also helped expose Alpha Bortex’s involvement in that incident a few years ago. So she’s very familiar with all the players on the board and how cases like this usually work.”

That seemed to impress the Weiser Pack Alpha because he nodded in approval.

Good boy, I thought. Had he given me any other response, I might have reached through the screen and throttled him.

As it was, I still wanted to punch the alpha from Montauk. He looked bored out of his mind, making me wonder why the hell he’d even chosen to show up. Go back to your pansy pack, I wanted to say to him.

But Jude distracted me with a nod. “She’ll likely have good insight into some of this information. You should bring her to the meeting next time.”

A few of the leaders—primarily the older alphas—scoffed at the idea.

However, the young alpha heir of the Beaver Creek Pack said, “I’d like to meet her.”

“Me, too,” Beta Mavi added.

A few others nodded in agreement, then the alpha of the Shokan Pack—another area of wolves untouched by all this—yawned and asked, “What’s next?”

It’d been a long day, and we were running into the later hours of the night.

“We need to try to get into one of the auctions,” I stated.

“If it’s at all possible to secure an invitation to one, I have the connections to do it. So leave that to me,” Jude said.

I agreed, and no one else questioned him. After a few more minutes of strategic discussion, I thanked everyone for attending and ended the meeting.

Jude air-dropped the files to my tablet, then turned to my father. “I believe I’m long overdue for that scotch.”

My dad smirked. “Everly will love seeing you, too. She prepped the guest room for you as well.”

“You knew he was coming?” I asked, looking at my dad. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“You didn’t ask,” he replied.

“I was a little busy doing a head count.” And reacting to news of Savi going missing.

Jude clapped me on the shoulder. “Alpha looks good on you.” He glanced at my dad. “I’m taking credit for some of that since you dumped him on me when he was eighteen and barely an adult.”

My father grunted. “Dumped is a harsh word. More like I encouraged you to find him when he ran off.”

My jaw ticked as I read between the lines. “You recruited me because of my dad.”

“Well, that and your alpha wolf status,” he replied. “I knew you’d make a fine slayer, and you surpassed all my expectations, Ric. You’re exceptional.”

“He really is,” my father agreed, making me decidedly uncomfortable.

“And you know Makayla’s alpha,” I said, wanting to switch the topic away from me. “Which is how my dad knew about KBO.”

“Yeah, about that.” Jude cleared his throat. “I have a message from Nathan regarding the future of your balls if you so much as harm Makayla, or upset her, or something. I should’ve written it down. Her brother was involved, too. I don’t quite know. Just, don’t piss her off. I don’t want a bunch of angry alpha-like wolves entering our realm just to hunt your ass down, all right?”

I snorted. “Don’t worry about me, boss.” Apparently, my balls have been threatened by your alpha and your brother, I drawled to Makayla. Someone should inform them that you handle my family jewels just fine on your own.

A laugh sounded from her, but nothing else. She appeared to be consumed by her patrol duties, which should be coming to an end in about an hour.

That gave me enough time to drop everything at my cabin and join her.

“I’m going to go find Mak and bring her up to speed,” I told my dad and Jude.

“Come by for breakfast in the morning,” my dad said as I started to walk away. “We need to talk more about the future, son.”

My hackles didn’t rise like they would have a week ago. Instead, all I felt was a subtle pounding in my heart and the piquing interest of my wolf. We still had a case to solve, but he was right to want to secure the leadership of Silver Lake. The wolves couldn’t properly thrive without an alpha.

“Okay,” I said with a nod. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

On the walk back to my cabin, I searched for Makayla’s mind again and immediately felt calm seep into my bones. I waited, but she didn’t say anything.

Still ignoring me, sweetness?I asked.

I felt her amusement even though she remained silent. And somehow, through our link, I sensed her starting to run. Not in fear. Not for exercise. But to play.

With a shake of my head, I laughed. Keep running, baby. Only makes me want to catch you more.