Page 40 of Pack and Forth
It was time to loop in Rex and Kira.
He found them in the kitchen, Rex nursing a cup of coffee while Kira pored over a stack of case files. They both looked up as Nash entered, their expressions questioning.
“I found something,” Nash announced, unable to keep the excitement from his voice. “Or rather, someone. I know who’s behind the PDA attacks.”
Kira’s eyes widened, a flicker of hope sparking in their amber depths. “Who?”
“Franklin Dupont,” Nash revealed, pulling up the man’s file on his tablet and sliding it across the table. “Former client of Gerri’s. She refused to match him, and he took it...poorly.”
Rex’s jaw clenched as he scanned the information. “Refused? Why?”
“From what I can gather, the guy’s a real piece of work,” Nash explained. “Manipulative, aggressive, not the kind of person you’d want to inflict on some poor, unsuspecting shifter.”
Kira’s face hardened as she read through Dupont’s history. “So this is all some twisted form of revenge? He’s willing to destroy Gerri’s entire life’s work because she bruised his ego?”
“That’s about the size of it,” Nash confirmed grimly. “I’ve traced the sabotaged matches back to IP addresses linked to Dupont. He’s been impersonating Gerri, deliberately mismatching clients to tank her reputation.”
Rex let out a low growl, his blue eyes flashing with barely contained fury. “The PDA is more than just a business to Gerri. It’s her calling. She’s helped countless shifters find their true mates, their happily ever afters. For someone to target that, to weaponize love...” He shook his head in disgust.
Kira reached out, placing a comforting hand on Rex’s arm. The gesture seemed to calm him slightly, though the tension never quite left his powerful frame.
“So, what’s our next move?” Kira asked, turning her attention back to Nash. “How do we stop him?”
Nash grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye. “We beat him at his own game. I’ve got enough digital evidence here to bury him, but we need to be smart about how we play it. If we tip our hand too soon, he might rabbit.”
Rex nodded, his tactical mind already spinning. “We need to draw him out, get him to reveal himself.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Nash agreed. “I say we set up a sting. Lure him into a match of our own making and catch him red-handed.”
Kira’s lips quirked into a devious smile. “I like the way you think, Nash Jeter. What did you have in mind?”
As Nash outlined his plan, he couldn’t help but marvel at the fierce determination etched into Kira’s features. This case had become personal for her, a quest to defend the honor of a dear friend. Nash knew that feeling well - the drive to protect those you care about, to right the wrongs done to them.
It was just one of the many things he’d come to admire about Kira. Beneath her tough, independent exterior beat a heart of pure gold. She had a strength about her, a resilience that Nash found utterly captivating.
And the fact that she’d managed to win over Rex, to break through his stoic shell and ignite a passion Nash had never seen in his alpha – that spoke volumes.
Nash had known Rex his entire life and had been by his side through thick and thin. They were more than just packmates - they were brothers in every sense of the word. Nash would lay down his life for Rex without hesitation.
But even with their unbreakable bond, there had always been a piece missing. A hollowness they both felt but never quite acknowledged. Until Kira.
From the moment they’d met her, everything had changed. It was like a switch had been flipped, a circuit completed. Suddenly, the world seemed brighter, more vibrant. Every interaction crackled with electricity, every touch ignited a fire in Nash’s veins.
He knew Rex felt it too. It was in the way his eyes followed Kira’s every move, the way his voice softened when he spoke her name. For the first time, Nash could see a future stretching out before them - not just as alpha and beta, but as a true triad. Equals in every way.
The hunt was on.
As Nash worked, an easy silence settled over the house. It wasn’t awkward or heavy but rather a comfortable quiet, the kind that exists between people who are perfectly at ease in each other’s presence.
Occasionally, Rex would wander over, looking over Nash’s shoulder at the lines of code scrolling across the screen. He didn’t understand most of it when it came to technology - but he trusted Nash implicitly.
Kira, too, seemed content to let Nash work his magic. She’d settled cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by a sea of papers and files. Every so often, she’d make a little noise of discovery, her pen scratching furiously as she connected the dots.
Nash found himself sneaking glances at her when he thought she wasn’t looking. He loved watching her like this, completely in her element. The way her brow furrowed in concentration, the way she nibbled on her lower lip when she was deep in thought...it was utterly endearing.
And the fact that she was here in their space, working alongside them like it was the most natural thing in the world, made Nash’s wolf preen with satisfaction.
They still had a long way to go. Kira was skittish, wary of letting her walls down. And Nash couldn’t blame her.