“Little. She's a retired teacher, but she remembered something about it.”
Willow growled. “Why didn't you press her for more information?”
Kerr made a face. “Because she's ninety-seven years old. She could be confused. I have a few people looking into the details she gave.”
“Which was what?” Zed asked.
Kerr looked at me. I looked at Willow and Zed. “That the man lost his child over thirty years ago. That the child would actually be around our age.”
Both Willow and Zed fell quiet, and I wondered if they knew anything. When we had brought this information up with them before, they seemed almost like they were hiding something.
“Do you guys remember anything?” Kerr asked. “Zed, you still would have been Alpha during that time.”
“You were supposed to be looking into the man and the darkness. Not the child.” Willow said, her eyes darkening. “Leave the child research alone. Focus on what we asked you.”
I ground my teeth together. I wanted to argue, but I knew better. Willow and Zed were always protective of the pack, but they still felt that not everything was to be known.
“Why can't we look into the kid? Clearly, they are connected. The kid could be the answer.”
Willow got herself up and patted her pantsuit. “Kerr, there is a reason you're Beta and your brother is Alpha. Why don't you get in line and learn when to take direct orders?”
Zed made a face as he got up and turned, walking out with Willow. I watched Kerr tighten his grip on a pen, snapping it in half. I scowled at him. “You should have known not to ask. I already told you they were touchy about that.”
Kerr snapped his eyes at me. “You were the one who told me to look into the child.”
“That doesn't mean you tell them,” I grumbled, tossing the papers into the folder. “As far as we know, the Council is hiding something from us, and we need to figure out what it is.”
Kerr frowned, his green eyes filled with frustration, and I'm sure they matched mine. Kerr and I looked a lot alike. We both had dark brown hair and light green eyes. Kerr had a softness to him, one that cost him the Alpha position. He didn't have the heart to make hard decisions.
“Do you really think they know something?” He asked as he turned to me. “The Council wouldn't hide something like this from you guys, would they?”
None of us Alphas could say it was true, but the way they handled the information when we told them about the child seemed off. When we asked if they knew anything, they were quick to avoid it or stated they didn't. They were all Alphas or held high roles, and it was hard for us to believe they knew nothing. And when we looked, we came up empty. This teacher was the first person who seemed to give us even the slightest hint that we could figure it out.
“So, what do you want me to do?” Kerr asked, leaning back in his chair.
“Continue what you're doing. Look into the child. But keep your eyes and ears open for anything else about the darkness and the man.”
I looked away, looking outside the windows. It was a nice day, and weather-wise, it was a good day to spend outside. We were in the main room of the city hall. We often used this space to have discussions with Willow and Zed. I had an office right next to the room. I knew the guys all had them in their homes, but I felt the need to separate my business from my home.
I took in a few gardeners pulling weeds in the garden beds just outside the window. There was a large picnic area that had a few people already eating lunch. City Hall was right next to the courthouse, so the space was always crowded with people.
My eyes scanned the space, but they quickly paused when I noticed Nina sitting on a bench. She was wearing a simple cream dress that went to her ankles. She had her long black hair half pulled up, and it flowed softly in the wind. She was holding onto a purse as she sat there waving at a few people who walked by.
I frowned, hating how I felt such a tug to be near her. My wolf growled with need as I stared at her, taking in her curves. She had her legs crossed, her left foot bouncing softly up and down as she kicked it. She looked peaceful as she sat there, and I was stunned.
I had been unable to break my eyes away from her at the wedding. I would constantly stare at her and then shake my head, trying to break myself of the need. But every few minutes, I found myself looking back at her. Even when we got home, and I stepped into her room and found her stripping, I felt that tug.
She looked breathtaking, dropping her wedding dress, with her entire back exposed. She wasn't wearing a bra, and Icould see the outline of her breast from the side. She had curves, and Jesus, she was fucking drop-dead gorgeous. It had taken everything in me to step out. To not throw my control out the window and have her, because when she looked at me with that nervous look in her eyes, I wanted nothing more than to bury myself in her.
But I reminded myself she was a human. Nina was fragile and breakable. She was human and in the end it would never work. We would never be like the others.
I pulled my gaze away from her and looked back at Kerr.
“Let's move past this. What did the old lady tell you about the child?”
“Like I said, she's almost a hundred years old. Her story was…. broken.”
“What do you mean?”
