Page 40 of Unhinged Alphas

But then he laughs, a harsh, grating sound that sets my teeth on edge. "Me? Nah, that's not really my style. Too much trouble, too little profit. But I know people who do. People with deep pockets and even deeper connections."

Valek leans forward, his eyes glinting with predatory intensity. "Can you get us an in?" he asks, his voice low and urgent. "We need proof. Hard evidence of the Council's involvement. Something that will hold up in court when the time comes."

Raven looks at us, his head cocked to the side like his namesake. “Why?” he asks curiously. “You boys in the market for an omega of your own? Thereare easier ways to acquire one than blackmailing the Council. Even for you.”

My hand twitches toward the knife at my belt. But Valek just laughs, a humorless sound that echoes off the crumbling walls.

"We already have an omega," he says, his voice flat and emotionless. "All we need is information. The kind that can bring the Council to its knees."

Raven nods, a speculative gleam in his eyes. "I might be able to work something out," he says, his voice slow and considering. "But it's going to cost you. Big time. No one risks getting involved with the Council for a mediocre payday."

"Money's not an issue," Valek says, his voice cold and confident. "Name your price."

Raven grins, a flash of white teeth in the gloom. "Oh, I'll do better than that," he purrs. "I'll get you your evidence, your smoking gun to take down the Council. But in return, I want a favor to come due at any point of my choosing. The kind that can't be bought with credits or coin. Can't hurt to have the Ghosts in my pocket. I could do a few things with a five-man army out here."

Valek and I exchange a look, and Raven laughs at our disbelief.

"What, you think I'd let anyone walk throughthat door without knowing who they are?" he asks, sneering. "Geo told me you were coming."

"I told you we couldn't trust that slick son of a bitch," I mutter.

Valek just ignores me, his jaw ticking in irritation. “Done,” he says, his voice leaving no room for argument. “But if you cross us, if you try to fuck us over in any way... I'll make you wish you'd never been born. For starters, I'll take your face.”

“And I’ll help,” I add. “I know just where to cut.”

Raven gives a harsh laugh. "Oh, sweethearts, you have no idea who you're dealing with. But don't worry... I always keep my word. Especially when it comes to sticking it to the Council."

He pushes off the counter, his movements fluid and graceful. "Give me a few days," he says, his voice businesslike and brisk. "I'll reach out to my contacts, see what I can dig up. In the meantime, try not to get yourselves killed. The Outer Reaches are a dangerous place, even for big, bad wolves like you."

With that, he strides out of the room, leaving us alone in the cluttered, dilapidated space. It's so silent in here, I can hear a rat—or a rat-sized cockroach, which is unfathomably worse—rustling the papers uncomfortably close to my boots. I turn to Valek, my eyes narrowing behind my mask.

"Are you sure about this?" I mutter. "Feels like making a deal with the devil. He's just playing games."

But he just shrugs, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Everyone is a devil in this world, princess. Including you and me," he says. "And if it means punishing the Council for playing us like fools, Raven's little game is a game I'm more than willing to play."

Of course that's what he's upset about. Not the fact that they're treating omegas like exotic livestock to be bought and sold and exploited, but the fact that his ego is bruised.

I suppose there's reliability in how predictably self-serving he is.

I nod, a grim sort of determination settling over me like a shroud. He's right, as much as it pains me to admit it. We've come too far, risked too much, to turn back now. And if Raven is the key to unlocking the Council's secrets, to bringing their twisted empire crashing down around their ears...

Then so be it.

We'll dance with the devil through the fires of hell itself. Because in the end, there's only one thing that matters. Only one thing worthfighting for.

Ivy.

And we'll do whatever it takes to keep our omega safe. To build a world where she can finally be free. Even if it means sacrificing everything else along the way.

Even if it means dying.

Chapter

Eleven

IVY

The sound of rumbling engines shatters my concentration, pulling me out of the pages detailing Reinmich's twisted version of history. I unfurl from my spot, tucked away in a corner of the library, the book sliding from my lap as I rise to peer out the window.