Page 56 of Alpha Bond
“She’s good. I’m fine.” I look from him to Callum and back. “How did the meeting go? Have we got a plan to deal with the threat?”
“Meeting?” Titer tilts his head.
“What threat?” asks Callum.
I try not to choke. “You said you told him.” I turn to Casey.
She’s frowning darkly. “I did! Alpha, I told you yesterday about the shifters we encountered.”
He blinks in confusion. “You did what?”
Casey and I exchange glances. “I swear to you, Jagger! I gave a full report.”
“You came in yesterday and then…” Titer looks confused. “It was important, was it?”
Oh, my fucking God!
“Yes! It was important!” I yell. Titer runs a hand over his hair. For the first time ever, I notice a tremor in his fingers. Dread looms as it occurs to me that something’s not right with our alpha. Seriously not right.
“What’s going on here?” Callum is perplexed. “What did we need a meeting for?”
When Titer remains silent, I answer. “While Casey and I were on patrol yesterday, we went beyond the borders of the far western quadrant. There’s a stronghold, Callum. An industrial complex inhabited by a pack. A big one. They call it Leadmills. It’s led by an alpha who calls himself Rack. They’re planning to hit Steel Lakes.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions. How can you be sure of this?” Titer’s voice is almost hesitant. He’s rattled by the fact that he forgot something so huge. He must be, surely?
“Because we fucking heard them, goddammit!” I’m yelling again. I pull in a breath.
Keep calm, Law.
“We did, Alpha. I was right there with him,” Casey interjects. “We saw a party of them out – at least a dozen. They were discussing it.”
“A dozen? That’s fine then. We can handle a dozen rogues.” Titer’s voice is growing stronger.
“For God’s sake, Titer! Have you not been paying attention? There is an entire complex occupied by them!” I’m fighting my temper and losing the battle.
I expect him to come down on me for showing disrespect, but he doesn’t. “We’ll need to take this up with the committee. I’ll call a meeting.” Which is precisely what he said he’d do yesterday. My blood is bubbling.
Titer laces his fingers on the desk in front of him. Now that I think about it, it’s a gesture that he makes often.
He’s hiding the fact that his hands shake.
“I can assure you that I’ll give this my very best attention.” He runs an eye around the room, taking us all in. I half wonder if he’s daring us to question him. None of us do.
I force myself to relax. “Thank you, sir. I know you’ll get onto it.” I look at Casey. “I’m sure we’re needed at our posts.”
“Good thinking, Law,” Callum chips in. “I’d better get along with you.” He rises and nods at Titer. “Thank you, Alpha. We’ll speak again soon when you give us your orders.”
“Of course,” says Titer.
We all leave the office. Several yards away, we stop and face each other. Callum, Casey, and I form a stone-faced circle.
“This is bad.” Casey puts a hand on her hip, using the other to smooth stray tendrils from her face.
“I…I think I’ve seen it coming,” Callum says. We both stare at him. I’d thought I was the only one. Although part of me thought he was stonewalling me because he saw me as a threat. “He’s been forgetting things,” Callum goes on. “Silly stuff at first. Where he put his phone, muddling his notes. But it’s getting worse. Last week, I found him up in the stores. He didn’t know how he’d got there.”
“Jesus,” Casey huffs. “And you didn’t think to tell someone? You spend more time with him than anyone.”
Callum grimaces. “I didn’t want to overreact. I thought maybe it was stress. Everyone forgets shit sometimes.”