The Alpha's Fight

Chapter 10 - Never Dealing With That Guy Again

It had taken almost a week to prepare ourselves to get hold of my father's contact, but I was finally ready to move. Jayden had reluctantly agreed to my insane plan and gave me the all-clear to try to contact this black market data broker, or whatever he wanted to call himself. She hated that I was putting myself on the line for her, but she was also excited that we might have a way to help her look and feel more like herself. I had even managed to make a homemade scent cover, for if it was needed.

There were two places I could find this mysterious person’s number: one was Nicholas’s cell phone, and the other was his office. His cell phone had been a no-go. I had attempted during training today when he shifted, demanding we train in our wolf forms for our session. I had suffered no breakages in our bout this time, just large gashes from his claws; all had fortunately healed over after a few hours. As I had dressed myself on the sidelines, I had tried to sneakily get hold of my father’s pants while he conferred with his Beta, Reid, still in his wolf form. Hayes had almost caught me, eyeing me warily but said nothing. I couldn’t risk that again, so we were going with plan B: break into his office.

Scott had a plan for that. The door in the Alpha wing was a no-go, too. It was a keypad lock and I had no idea what the combination was. But my friend happened to know how to get through the window, a sash window. He used a similar method for when he would sneak out at night to either run or, on the rare occasion, hook up with a she-wolf. As with all our options, we had problems with this approach. I would need to climb the outside of the house to get in and if the lock was on the window, then I would be f****d. But it was the most workable plan in this whole insane endeavour, so we were rolling with it.

The scent cover I had made was basic at best and wouldn’t hold for long, especially if I was scaling the side of the house. It was a combination of baking soda to neutralise any odour and charcoal to act as a barrier to the isovaleric acid naturally produced by bacteria living on the skin. Sloane had even offered her leather purse for me to rub all over myself, coating me in a leather scent to blend in with the furniture in my father’s study. She had made sure the scent cover worked a few days ago and had detected virtually no trace of my scent on my skin. There was a reason why she-wolves made some of the best trackers. Their noses were naturally more attuned to the pheromones emitted.

I showered thoroughly beforehand, with the most basic scent-free soap I could find and changed into clothing I had soaked in water overnight and left out to dry. It wouldn't be long before my natural scent overpowered the cover and saturated my clothing, so I was now on the clock. Scott would remain upstairs in the Alpha wing to listen out for my father returning and mind-link me of any danger. It wasn't out of the ordinary for him to hang out with me in my room, so his presence and scent wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

Sloane was meeting me outside to act as a lookout in case I was spotted or anyone was around. She had brought a book with her to make it appear as if she was simply reading outside, again nothing out of the ordinary. She removed her purse from her shoulder and let me rub the item across me, coating me in its leather scent.

'How do I smell?' I asked, offering my neck.

'Like a really expensive handbag,' she grinned, her dark brown eyes twinkling.

'You need a boost?' She looked up to the ledge above.

It was pretty high up and I had planned to take a running vault to try and grab it, but that wasn't the most stealthy option. Sloane was neither petite nor skinny. She looked curvaceous, athletic and strong. And even though I was still on the leaner side compared to more seasoned and older wolf males, I was still fairly built.

'Are you sure you can lift me?' As strong as she may be, I didn't think she stood a chance at lifting me.

‘When men say s**t like that to me, I take it as a personal challenge. So let's do this,' she stared up at me defiantly.

She adopted a squat position with her hands laced, leaning back against the pack house wall, urging me to continue with her glare.

She couldn't complain that she wasn't told.

I placed my boot in her hands and pushed up, feeling her strain to hold me. ‘f**k, you're heavy.’

‘Well, I did warn you. So quit whining and lift,’ I reached for the ledge just a fingertip away.

‘How much do you weigh?’ She groaned.

‘Hey! It’s all muscle,' I replied, indignantly.

My fingers reached the ledge just under the window. It wasn't wide enough to stand on but it was enough to give me purchase and take the brunt of my weight off of Sloane below.

'Ok, I'm up,' I mind-linked, taking the small moulding bar from my back pocket that Scott had leant me. 'Just keep hold while I check to see if I can open this.'

‘Good, because I need to go ice my back after this. Scott, you're doing this s**t next time,' and we heard his laughter flit through the mind-link at Sloane's complaints.

'Do we need to put you on a diet?’ Hawk sniggered as I checked for the window lock. Luck was on our side as it was off and the moulding bar did its job to prise the window open.

'It's muscle! We’re an Alpha, it’s to be expected,' I grumbled.

I moved quickly about the study once I had climbed inside. The computer was password protected as I expected, so I didn't bother with any of that. I tried to recall any mentions my father had made of business dealing with his new contact and decided maybe the filing cabinet could hold an answer.

Rummaging through I found a printout from a year ago. The picture was blurry and in black and white, but was that April? The Alpha girl being held here? She looked to have won some competition in a pack in Texas. A series of numbers was scrawled across the top; was this possibly a cell phone number? It wasn't written how I was accustomed to seeing one, but it was worth a shot and I was finding nothing else. I quickly snapped a picture and put the clipping back where I found it.

'Get out, Hunter. Nicholas is on his way back,' Sloane warned from outside.

I moved in haste to the door and rushed out, making sure the keypad latch locked behind me. I bolted up the stairs just as my father came through the door. I stood waiting for a few minutes, to see if he would come thundering out at sensing someone had been in his office. But he never did.

'Guys, I think we did it!' I exclaimed to Sloane, Scott and also Jayden, who I knew had been anxious over this whole thing. 'Sloane, head off. I don't want you drawing any more attention to yourself.'

'Thank goddess. I thought for sure you were gonna be caught,' Jayden sighed in utter relief and my other lookout confirmed she had left.

I quickly dashed to my room to meet up with Scott and show him the number I had found.

"This looks like no cell number I've seen," he sounded perplexed.

"That's exactly what I thought too," I called from the bathroom where I was trying to wipe off the scent cover.

If I was caught covering my scent, my father would demand to know why and I didn't even know how to come up with a rational explanation. I had changed, too, into clothing that was covered in my scent so that nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

"So? Are you gonna do it here?" He handed over my phone.

"No. If my father overhears anything… I don't even wanna imagine what he'll do," I frowned. "I'll just pretend I'm going out for a run and do this alone. If I'm caught, I'm caught by myself."

He looked about to argue but I silenced him with a look. This wasn't something up for discussion. We left swiftly and just as I was about to follow Scott out of the front door to the stairway, my father's presence burst through my senses, appearing behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked with thinly veiled suspicion.

I signalled to Scott to just keep going with my hand that was hidden by the door.

"Just out for a run," I tried to stick to the relative truth, in case he spotted any deception.

I knew he could hear my heart rate, but it was always elevated around him and I think he preferred that he could inspire some fear in me.

"You still have energy for that?" He raised a brow at me. "We’ll have to train you harder tomorrow."

I tried to suppress the urge to drive my fist into the evil smirk he was giving me and gave a stiff nod instead.

"Yes… sir," I bit out, quietly, watching him turn and walk away.

‘Goddess, you and your big mouth,’ Hawk groaned.

‘Maybe I was going for a full house on the injury bingo!’ I snapped back.

Scott and I split ways and I ran in my human form till I found the most secluded spot possible. It was a rocky mound by one of the smaller rivers that flowed into the main Missouri River further down. It gave me a good view around, in case someone wandered by. Taking a deep breath with a loose idea of what I wanted to say, I dialled what I hoped would be a phone number.

It rang, which was the first good sign, but I was not prepared for the answer I received when the person on the other end picked up.

"Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise," a cool and collected male voice spoke. He didn't seem much older than me… and he sounded as though he knew exactly who I was… how would he even know that?

"You've gone awfully quiet there, Hunter," he said again when I remained silent.

"How did you…" but he interrupted my stunned question.

"You think I'm gonna work with a guy like Nicholas and not know everything about him and his family?" I could practically see the mocking expression on his face. "Although, I suppose I'm using the term 'family' a little too liberally here, aren’t I? Alpha boy?"

I growled at being called 'Alpha boy'. Something about this guy's condescending and teasing tone aggravated me and my wolf.

"Yes, aren’t you impressive. I'm practically shaking in my boots," he chuckled. "Now, what can I do for you? Because I genuinely want to hear this. It’s not every day someone surprises me and you, sweet Alpha boy, intrigue me."

'Is this guy flirting?' Hawk gawked.

'Stop talking stupid and let me concentrate.' Why the hell would this guy be flirting?

"I need something," I said, wanting to get back to the point.

"I bet you do!" He laughed once more.

"If I ask for it, are you going to go running to Nicholas?" I growled.

"Do I look like some messenger boy? I do the job I'm paid for and nothing more. I’m loyal to no one, only money," he snapped.

"I need medication…" I began, feeling the nerves creep in again.

"Go on, ask me for it. I know what you want and who it's really for," his wicked intonation dropped.

"How?..."

"Like I said. I make it my mission to know everything," he said, sounding smug. "You need to get better security on your phone, Alpha boy. And for goddess's sake, delete your damn messages! Anyone could just come along and snoop."

He hacked my phone?

He sighed loudly, as though this whole conversation was boring him now. "You want medication to help your friend Jayden with their ‘predicament’, yes?"

"Y-yes?" Way to sound confident, Hunter. I was completely thrown off by this individual. He wasn't in any way how I thought he'd be and I wasn't sure that was a good thing.

"Goddess, you sound f*****g adorable!" He laughed loudly. "I’ll get you what you want. Tell your friend I'll be in touch."

"Wait! You go through me, not them," I snarled.

"Excuse you. I'll go through whoever the hell I want," he growled for the first time. "Now, as for payment…"

Here we go.

"Let’s just say, your dear old pop will find my fees to him have increased."

"What?" Why would he do something like this?

"Because, sweet cheeks, it’s not often I get to do something all selfless and s**t," he almost sounded proud of himself. "We'll call it a kindness, out of the goodness of my heart."

I was about to hang up, wanting out of this conversation because none of it had proceeded at all how I imagined and I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable talking to this individual.

"Oh, and this ‘Taylor’ you’re so obsessed with?" The mention of his name made me freeze and a threatening growl began to bubble in my chest. "Very nice! I always did have a soft spot for a pretty blondie…"

"If you ever go near him, I'll f*****g kill you!" I snarled, feeling the hairs sprout along my spine in rage with my wolf.

"Relax, would you?" He sounded like he found my reaction funny. "I was giving you a compliment. Ok, I'll admit. I am slightly jealous."

"So… what are you wearing? Because I've seen your picture and you are just as cute as you soun…" I aggressively cut off the phone call, wanting the hell out of whatever this guy was initiating.

I stared down at my phone, in complete disbelief of the conversation that had taken place.

I never wanted to deal with that guy again.