“Penhill and Walcot?”
“Swindon.”
“Fuck,” Oliver said, turning to face him. “Weren’t Bristol, Plymouth, and Swindon all in special measures last year?”
“Yeah,” Nancy replied. “The south got an absolute battering from inspectors. Swindon especially. They had something like two hundred children unaccounted for.”
“Shit. Right,” Oliver said, pacing back and forth. “We need to call Social Services. We have to find out what they know about these kids, specifically when and why they moved them across county lines. There has to be a fucking reason they’ve all been clustered together like that.”
Nancy nodded, urgently tapping away at the keyboard. “Right, let me bring up a list of their last known social workers and we’ll get right on it.”
“And I’ll put the kettle on,” Matteus said, dropping the already empty milkshake bottle into the bin. The water hadn’t even finished boiling before Nancy slapped her hand down on the desk.
“Shit,” she said, mouse clicking rapidly as she scrolled down the page. “It says the information’s been‘transferred’. It must have been a dud field when I downloaded the data. Or the data’s missing.”
Oliver frowned. “Can you run the download again, but include the transferee details?”
The beta nodded. “I can try, but that kind of information isn’t always listed.”
They sat in tense silence as they waited for the computer to run the search. Minutes seemed to tick away, and Oliver was beginning to think they’d been transported back to the nineteen seventies with how slow the technology was.
“So…” Nancy said, breaking the silence. “Big Daddy made an honest man of you, has he?”
Oliver flushed, throwing her a deep scowl. “Stop calling him that.”
When he didn’t answer further, her gaze slid to Matteus who wiggled his eyebrows and tipped his head, showing his own bitemark peeking over the neckline of his shirt. Her eyes trailed back to Oliver, a wry grin tugging at her lips. “Really?” She said, “Well, Ollie, aren’t you a dark horse? I think you’ve probably broken half the hearts in the nick with that bombshell.”
“Nancy, I swear on all that is holy—” His hand subconsciously slipped to his neck, covering Lucas’ mark.
Nancy chuckled, stretching out her arms. “I would say I’m jealous, but—” Both he and Matteus turned to the beta as she too tilted her head. There, in the crook of her shoulder, was a still-pink bite mark.
“Nancy!” Matteus squealed, jumping to his feet. “What the hell, girl? When? Where?”
Oliver only smirked.Who’s the dark horse now?None of them noticed the computer beep, as Nancy recounted—in sordid detail—how the Special Branch alpha, Hannah Whitmore, had taken her to the beach at midnight. How she had laid her down naked amongst the dunes, whispered sweet nothings in her ear and given her the bite.
“And then she fucked me senseless. As alphas tend to do.” They all nodded at that. “Oh shit, the computer’s finished.”
Time seemed to still as Oliver stared up at the screen.
Alfie Spears (4 yo, omega) - South Devonshire - transferred - Patrick Coletta
Millie Woodruff (11 yo, omega) - Cambridgeshire - transferred - Patrick Coletta
Roxy Kaur (15 yo, alpha) - City of London - transferred - Patrick Coletta
Mabel Habeeb (10 yo, omega) - Cornwall - transferred - Patrick Coletta
Alice O’Neill (14 yo, alpha) - Shropshire - transferred - Patrick Coletta
Samuel Beckett (12 yo, omega) - Cumbria - transferred - Patrick Coletta
Liam Shepard (11 yo, omega) - North Yorkshire - transferred - Patrick Coletta
Helena Cartwright (12 yo, alpha) - West Newton - transferred - Patrick Coletta
“Oh, shit—” Nancy said, refreshing the data several more times.
“Motherfucker—” Matteus uttered.
