Interrogation Techniques by Charlie Richards

Chapter Eight

Miggs wanted to hide behind Del—his mate had encouraged him to call him that on the ride over—but he didn’t want to embarrass his mate, either. That didn’t stop him from clinging tightly to his shifter’s hand, so very pleased that the man had offered it to hold.

“Try to relax, my sweet little mate,” Del rumbled softly, a reassuring smile on his lips as he guided him up the walkway. “You are my mate. You will be welcomed.” Then his brows furrowed. “Try to keep in mind, the welcome may be a little boisterous.”

“B-Boisterous?” Miggs glanced at the closed door nervously. “What do you mean?”

Del winked as he rolled his shoulder in a half-shrug. “I’m the first of us to find our mate, so they’ll be excited.” He scoffed before adding, “And maybe a little jealous. They may razz you a bit about trying to steal you from me, and I may threaten to disembowel them, but it’s all in good fun.” Then he pointed at the doorknob with the index finger of the hand carrying a six-pack of bottled beer. “Open that, would ya, please, sweet?”

“Disembowel?” Miggs muttered as he grasped the indicated knob and turned. “Gross.”

Chuckling, Del told him, “You’ll get used to us.”

“My brother is laughing!” a voice nearly as deep, but far less serious, called from within. “Who could create such a response?” A second later, the already open door was yanked wide, and a man who resembled Del appeared. “Del! You made it.” Then he focused on Miggs, and a cheeky grin creased his lips. “And who might you be, cutie?”

Before Miggs managed to untie his tongue, Del answered for him. “This is Miggs, as you well know.” He released Miggs’s hand, only to immediately wrap that arm around Miggs’s waist and tuck him against his side. “But you already knew that, Dane. Get your own mate.”

The man—Dane, the older-younger brother—grinned broadly. “Gods, my brother’s mated.” Then he leaned out the door and inhaled deeply. Straightening, his grin turned cheeky as he turned his head and hollered to someone behind him. “I win the bet. They’re mated. I told you Del wouldn’t wait.”

“What the fuck?” hollered another voice. Then the thud of footsteps sounded through the home and another man—also definitely a brother, which would make him Dakota—rushed down the hallway toward them. “Damn it, Del! After talking to you on the phone, I could have sworn you were gonna be a gentleman and at least give the man a day.”

“You fuckers,” Del grumbled, shaking his head, although his scent was filled with amusement. Then Del used his six-pack-filled hand to shove Dane out of the way. “Move it, Dane. It’s not that warm out here, and you’re acting like an ass.”

“No different than normal when it’s just us,” Dane countered, stepping backward. His smile remained in place as he held out his hand to Miggs. “I’m Dane.” With an eyebrow waggle, he added, “The handsome brother.”

Miggs hesitated an instant, then girded up his courage and took the other shifter’s hand. To his surprise, the bigger male didn’t do anything other than offer a friendly handshake. He didn’t even squeeze in dominance or force him to drop his gaze in submission.

After releasing him, Dane closed the door behind them. “You know where the food is, man.” He chuckled as he added, “And since you’ve already been putting your man to work, best go get your little cutie plenty of it.”

Del growled softly as he scowled over his shoulder at Dane. “I’m taking damn good care of my mate’s needs, asshole.”

Dane tipped his head back and laughed, completely unperturbed by Del’s reply.

Before Miggs could manage to wrap his mind around the interaction, Dakota stepped in front of them, holding out his hand. “I’m Dakota.” With a cheeky grin, he told him, “And if Dane is the handsome brother, that means I’m the charming one.”

Del scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Miggs took Dakota’s hand. Instead of a quick release, Dakota held on and stepped close. He didn’t so much as tower over him, but bend and draw close as if preparing for an intimate conversation... which he did.

Whispering in Miggs’s ear—which was ridiculous since they were all shifters and would be able to hear him—Dakota asked, “Are you certain you wouldn’t enjoy someone with a softer touch, Miggs?” He rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand while adding, “I know what a roughneck my brother can be sometimes.”

Although Miggs didn’t necessarily know what a roughneck was, the context told him enough. Even as Del growled from beside him, he tugged his hand free from the brother’s grip. With his other hand, Miggs pressed his palm against Dakota’s chest and pushed.

Praying that his mate hadn’t been exaggerating that their interactions were all in good, brotherly fun—after all, Miggs didn’t have any brothers—he stated, “Trust me. Del is doing a fantastic job of offering soft touches.” He forced a smirk as he added, “Besides, I don’t think you could handle someone like me.”

Miggs watched both Dane and Dakota exchange a look. Their brows ratcheted high on their foreheads. Out of the corner of Miggs’s eye, he saw the corner of Del’s lips twitch.

Then Dakota broke into laughter as Dane slapped Del on the back of his shoulder. “Congrats, Del.” He grinned at Miggs. “Welcome to the family, Miggs. You ever need anything”—he wrapped his arm around the back of Dakota’s head in a half-headlock thing—”you let us know.” Dane’s eyes narrowed as he told him, “We watch out for family, and you’re our brother’s mate. That makes you family.”

Dakota nodded from the uncomfortable-looking hold. “Don’t forget that, Miggs. Not ever.”

Relief filling him, Miggs nodded. “Thank you.”

Dane released Dakota and moved past them. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Miggs froze as he watched the brothers disappear down the hall and around a corner. “There are others here?”

Del nodded. “This is Dakota’s Christmas party, so there are a few shifters and their mates.” He tipped his head to the side and sniffed at the area. “From Dane’s scent, I’m guessing the date with some female didn’t work out. Probably for the best.” Shaking his head, Del urged Miggs forward, guiding him down the hall after the brothers. “That means it’ll probably be a couple of councilmen, a few enforcers, plus the mates of those who have them.”

Holy shit!

An hour later, Miggs’s mind reeled. He’d been introduced to a lot of people, and he feared he wouldn’t remember half of them. Still, everyone had been friendly and welcoming, which had definitely been a change from his muddle.

With a glass of wine in hand, Miggs sat on one of the love seats. He could see Del a little ways across the room. His mate faced him, but he seemed to have his attention on the man he spoke with.

If Miggs wasn’t mistaken—which was possible, really—the man Del spoke with was a councilman named—

Dang it. Who is he again?

“That’s Councilman Regales Colearian, grizzly shifter,” stated a man as he sat down beside Miggs. He sighed as he relaxed against the cushions. With a smile, the guy—a human, judging by his scent—added, “I’m his mate, Theo, by the way.”

Miggs nodded slowly, doing his best to store that information away for later. “Nice to meet you... again.”

Theo grinned a second before sobering. “I’ve been where you are, Miggs. Trust me.” Shaking his head, he peered around the room. “It’ll all come together before too long, but nobody here will give you grief if you need to ask for their name again.”

Even as Miggs nodded, he wasn’t certain he would feel comfortable doing that. His father was the beta of his muddle—ex-muddle—and had told him time and again to always remember names the first time. Having to ask shows weakness.

Casting about for a topic of conversation, Miggs decided to go with, “So, um, how long have you been mated with the councilman?” Hopefully, that was safe.

Humming, Theo cocked his head. “Oh, over three years now.” The human scoffed softly. “Time does fly. It feels like only yesterday I was telling the man I wasn’t gay or interested.”

Miggs gasped. “You told a councilman no?”

Theo shrugged. “Sure.”

“Did you not know who he was?” Then Miggs had another idea. “Oh, I bet you needed to learn about the paranormal world to understand why you were suddenly drawn to a man. Right?”

Miggs had seen human women brought into his muddle, and they’d always had quite a bit of adjusting to do to understand their muddle’s culture.

Theo barked a laugh even as he shook his head. “Naw, I knew who he was, and I’ve known about the paranormal since I was young,” he claimed before taking a sip of his beer. Evidently, Miggs didn’t hide his shock nearly well enough, for after he’d swallowed, Theo told him, “My mother is a witch. She’s even come out to vet Regales after we mated.” Theo must have been thinking about something amusing, for he added, “That was fun.”

Finally finding his tongue, Miggs blurted out, “If you knew about shifters, how could you deny your mate?”

Sobering, Theo curved his lips into a sad smile. “Not everything is cut and dried, Miggs.” Then his eyes narrowed. “Not like how your alpha is an asshole with his fingers in too many pies for his own good.”

Miggs reeled at the subject change for a few seconds. Then he realized he’d asked a personal question that he really had no right to. He had no right to know details of a councilman and his human’s mating.

Focusing on what Theo had just told him, Miggs couldn’t help but correct, “Ex-alpha.” When he saw Theo arch one brow in silent question, he said, “That’s what Del told me. That Shaun is no longer my alpha.” Then Miggs took a sip of his wine to stop himself from saying more.

Theo nodded a few times. “Yeah. I can see that.”

After Miggs had swallowed, he reached over and picked up the plate of cookies, brownies, and meat-filled finger foods that Del had prepared for him. “Do you want anything?” he offered, holding it out to Theo.

Peering at the offerings, Theo hummed. “Yum. Thanks.” Then he took a small chocolate-peanut butter bar. “Good thing bonding with a shifter helped speed up my metabolism, or I’d be paying for how many of these I’ve eaten tonight.” With an appreciative grunt, he bit the treat in half.

Miggs had eaten a few of them, too, so he completely understood. They were delicious. After placing the plate between them, he chose a tiny baked bread pocket filled with spicy Italian sausage.

“Um, what did you mean?” Miggs asked slowly. Before taking a bite, he clarified, “About Alpha Shaun and pies?”

“Ah, human expression,” Theo muttered around his food. Then he swallowed twice and licked his lips. Finally, he told him, “What I mean is, he has connections to a variety of shady people. He’s had a number of suspicious-looking payments show up in his account over the last few years.” Theo’s eyes narrowed. “And those are not the payments he’s receiving for selling his enforcers and trackers as hired muscle to gangs in town.”

Miggs just stared in shock.

“Surprised you, I see,” Theo stated with a nod and a small smile. “Glad to know, actually.” After another sip of his beer, Theo took a pink-icing-topped sugar cookie from the plate. “It seems there’s something to do with a pet store, too, but I’m still trying to wrap my brain around that one.”

“Pet store?”

Looking up... and up... Miggs found himself staring at a huge man with a bald head and a bushy beard. The guy had piercing brown eyes and heavy brows. His limbs were thick with muscle, although he had a slight indication of the beginning of love handles.

Link, Miggs’s brain supplied.

“Yeah, Link,” Theo replied, revealing he obviously knew the shifter, too. “A pet store in Savannah.”

Rubbing his hand over his big beard, Link narrowed his eyes. “I recently came across a police report filed about a theft at a pet store, but the security footage appeared to have been corrupted.”

Miggs didn’t know what that meant, but Theo seemed to understand.

“Corrupted how?” the human asked.

“Well, the file says some articles of clothing had been stolen,” Link told them, tapping his forefinger on his beer. “But the footage was altered to make it look like a guinea pig climbed out of its cage, turned into a human, stole the clothes, then disappeared out the back door, setting off the alarm.”

Gaping, Miggs could only shake his head.

Theo groaned. “Fuck. He’s not really so stupid as to sell his muddle-members to pet stores, is he?”

Shrugging one massive shoulder, Link rumbled, “It’d be a good way to get rid of unwanted members. If they get caught, he claims they went rogue, and the member is the one who gets in trouble for putting the secret of paranormals in jeopardy.”

Oh gods. Could Alpha Shaun really be doing that?

Miggs had heard of several shifters disappearing, some of them even before he’d become a slave.

“Miggs? Little mate?” Del knelt before him, telling him he’d been out of it longer than he’d realized. “Come here.”

A second later, Miggs was lifted in the air. Del settled in his seat, and he was placed on his lap. Not too proud to take advantage, Miggs cuddled into his huge mate’s chest.

“What if Alpha Shaun is selling his members?” Miggs whispered. “Some have disappeared.”

Link settled in a nearby chair, as did Councilman Colearian.

“Tell us everything,” Theo urged.

With Del’s encouragement, Miggs shared everything he’d noticed over the several years he’d been a slave. At the time, most of the interactions hadn’t seemed significant.

Armed with the new information about Alpha Shaun’s activities, Miggs began to see things differently.

His ex-alpha had been culling their members and making money in the process.