“What the fuck, Jax?”
River realized this was Blake Parker, the senator’s son and Jax’s husband. The man looked more like a librarian than a dangerous member of the faction, and the pack alpha suspected Blake was more a pawn to his father than anything else.
“It’s over, Blake,” Jax said.
“You fucking moron, this is your fault!” Parker yelled at his son from the floor. “You brought him into this, and look what’s happened!”
Blake ignored his father, watching Jax in the arms of the blond, naked shifter.
“You were in on this? All along?”
“I never turned against the shifters,” Jax said clearly. “I set you and your dad up. This is the end of the road, Blake.”
With a sudden roar of rage that seemed to come out of nowhere, Blake launched himself at Jax, but David easily knocked the man aside.
“You’ll pay for this, you lying, cur-fucking piece of shit!” Blake yelled, voice partially muffled by the cushions of the chaise lounge he’d fallen onto. His face was blood red, and the veins in his neck and forehead stood out as he thrashed on the floor, trying to get to his feet.
Two men with a stretcher entered and began tending to Senator Parker, and Kumar ordered others to lead those handcuffed in the hall through the tunnel to the waiting vehicles. River caught sight of shifters leading omegas with blankets wrapped about their shoulders in the same direction.
“We’re escorting the omegas to the hospital,” River told the FBI agents. “If you need to talk to any of us, you can do it there.”
* * * *
Dr. Angela Newman had cleared out a section of the emergency area of the hospital to deal with the kidnapped omegas. She greeted River with a smile as shifters began ushering the omegas in and her colleagues went to help them.
“Well done,” she said to River. “I heard they’re all accounted for.”
“You’ll make sure they’re all right?” River asked.
“Yes, their health is top priority.”
“May I speak with you a moment in private?”
“Certainly.” Angela led River into a small room with chairs and a coffee machine.
“I know you’re pleased,” she said when she’d closed the door.
River smiled and nodded. “Very. I wanted to let you know Sam is eager to try the antidote. Grey says Christopher should be, too, and that he’d ask him as soon as he arrived back in Angel Hills.”
“Wonderful. I have high hopes for this. The compound was a little tricky, but we managed to break it down.”
“What is it?” River asked, sensing there was more.
“The compound’s been traced back to this hospital.”
“What? Who?”
“His name is Stephen Barrens. He’s a pharmaceutical doctor. As soon as we figured it out, we let Agents Kumar and Oaks know. They’re going through his lab now.”
“Have they taken him into custody?” River asked.
“Not yet. A colleague is looking for Barrens’ date book to see where he is,” Angela said.
A knock on the door preceded Kumar poking his head into the room.
“I’ve just been telling River about Dr. Barrens,” Angela said, beckoning the agent into the room.
“He’s a friend of Parker,” Kumar said. “Seems we may have our man. Or we will, as soon as we figure out where he is.”
“There’s something familiar about that name,” River struggled to put the pieces together. Where had he heard it?
Angela led the way back out into the emergency center, and David, Kane, and a few others from the pack joined River, aware of their pack alpha’s uneasiness.
A young man carrying a small book approached Dr. Newman. “I found Barrens’ date book,” he said, flipping the book open and running his finger along the page. “He’s written ‘human/shifter alliance, Congress 8PM’ under today’s date.”
Icy fear washed over River as he realized that’s where he knew the name—he’d not only seen it on a flyer posted around town, but Josiah had mentioned it only hours ago.
“We’ll go pick him up now,” Kumar said.
“Josiah.” River shared a look with David, and with a look of regret at Jax, the second alpha nodded to River and the two broke into a run for the parking lot.
Chapter 23: Josiah
Josiah watched as young people carried food trays through the back entrance of the Congress into the hall where he directed them toward the banquet room. Most of the members of the alliance were shifters, and Josiah was surprised so many were attending college. It seemed things were changing in Cascade City.
He was glad to have something to occupy his mind while River and many of the others were bringing down the Omega Oasis. He was worried for his mate, friends, and all the omegas at that awful place.
“We’re going to set up the banquet tables,” Sid told Josiah.
“Okay. I’m around if you need me.” Josiah planned to stay and listen to the speakers, as he was curious about what they had to say to all the young shifters in the alliance.
Josiah was about to close the doors and lock them when a large, bald man wearing a suit hurried up to him.
“May I help you?” Josiah asked. The guy didn’t look like a college student.
“Are you in charge of this event? I was told to look for a young man named Hanson, or…” the man checked the notes on his cell phone, “…a Sid Brown.”
“I’m Josiah Kimbrel. I work at the Congress.”
The man shook Josiah’s hand. “Dr. Stephen Barrens. I’m one of the speakers tonight.”
“Nice to meet you. Let me get you to the people you need to see. Follow me.” Josiah led the man to the banquet room where Sid and Grier were spreading white table cloths over the long folding tables. Josiah led Barrens to them and turned to help Hanson, the long-haired beta who was the president of the alliance, arrange the plates and plastic utensils.
“One of your speakers just arrived,” Josiah said.
Hanson looked up and followed Josiah’s gaze to where Dr. Barrens stood talking to Sid and Grier just as Sid broke away and started toward them. “Great. I still can’t believe we got lucky enough to get him to speak tonight.”
“Who is he?” Josiah asked, opening a pack of plastic forks and spoons.
Sid began putting out cups while Josiah unloaded drinks from a cart. “He moved here five years ago from Utah. He knows a lot about shifters.”
Josiah glanced again at the two men talking.
“Does Grier know Dr. Barrens?”
Sid shrugged. “I’ve never heard him mention him. He knows a lot of people who help the shifter community, though.” He looked at the clock on the wall. “If our other speaker doesn’t hurry up and get here, we may have to ask Dr. Barrens to go first.”
“Who is the other speaker?”
“Grace Livings, a woman who’s developing ways to integrate the shifter community into the human world,” Hanson said.
Josiah nodded. “I’ve met her. She comes to Congress meetings every so often. Did you consider asking Dr. Angela Newman to speak? She’s done a lot to help shifters. She was one of the first humans to visit River Wolf Pack compound.”
“Sid suggested we ask her, but Grier talked so highly about these two, we booked them. Maybe we can get Dr. Newman to speak next time,” Hanson said. “We’re going to try to have something like this once a semester.”
“I’m sure she’d agree to speak. She’s been studying lycanthropes for a long time, and she’s made a lot of headway on solving recent medical problems among the shifters.”
“I’ve heard something about that after I moved here from Nebraska last year,” Hanson said.
“Did you move with your pack?” Josiah asked.
“No, my pack disbanded. Our numbers had been going down for years. I came with a few friends.”
“Why did your numbers go down?” Josiah asked. He’d heard the problems among shifters were wide-spread, and he was curious if the fac
tion might have had a hand in dissembling Hanson’s pack.
Hanson took a vegetable tray out of a bag and arranged it on the table. The buzz of conversation in the crowded room was loud, and Josiah had to lean in to hear him. “No omegas. Difficulties with births. A couple betas couldn’t have sex without a lot of pain involved. Weird stuff like that.”
“That’s just the sort of thing Dr. Newman’s been researching,” Josiah said. “I’m sure she’d like to talk to you. Can I give her your number?”
“Sure.” Hanson wrote the information on a piece of paper and handed it to Josiah who pocketed it and then looked at the clock, wondering if everything was going well with the plan. He hoped River and the others were safe.
Grier and Dr. Barrens walked over, and Grier introduced him to Hanson.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Barrens here tonight,” Grier said.
“What will you be speaking on?” Josiah asked the doctor.
“I want to make sure the young shifter community knows that, with the right support, shifters can be excellent contributors to society,” Barrens said.
Josiah frowned. “What type of support do you mean?”
“I’m sure you’re well aware the shifter community is limited by the nature of their species. Heats and ruts make it difficult for them to hold down full-time jobs.”
Josiah nodded. That was true. When River had worked as a bouncer at a club, if he hadn’t had an understanding boss who’d been familiar with shifters and willing to work around those kinds of difficulties, the pack alpha undoubtedly would have been let go early on. Leo managed to arrange his work as a waiter around Sam’s heats, but lately, as the omega had been off schedule, the alpha had missed quite a number of hours and was in danger of losing his job. As well as the pack was doing these days, the loss of Leo’s paycheck probably wouldn’t matter, but to other shifters in the work force, their ruts and heats posed a real problem.
“What can be done about that, though?”
“Heat and shift suppressants for shifters,” Barrens said.
Immediately, warning bells went off in Josiah’s head. He managed to keep a mildly interested look on his face while his mind raced.
Bart Davis used suppressants on David and Brooks to keep them from shifting. Who else has said anything about suppressants? No one, other than Angela when she talked about the effects of the darts.
Josiah said, “That’s exciting, but do you really think it’s possible?”
Barrens laughed, as though Josiah were naive. “Oh, I know it’s possible.” He leaned toward Josiah. “And I’m sure, as an omega, you’d be interested in learning.”
Josiah stepped back. How did the man know he was an omega? He might have guessed shifter, but no human could discern what kind just by looking.
“I see you’re surprised,” Barrens said, sharing an amused look with Grier and Sid. “No, no one told me you’re an omega. I smelled it on you. I’m a shifter, too.”
Josiah stared at the man, then took a whiff of the air around him. He didn’t smell shifter. Was Barrens lying?
Dr. Barrens looked smug. “You can’t detect it, can you? I’ve been on a drug to suppress my scent and shift for several years.”
Josiah looked the man over. Although physically he could be a shifter, Josiah had gotten an odd vibe from the man. Perhaps that had something to do with the suppressants. He remembered he’d gotten the same vibe from Grier. Was he a shifter on suppressants, too? Sid had said his boyfriend was human. He glanced at Grier, who was listening intently to Barrens.
“I used to be human. I accepted the bite of a beta shifter when I lived in Utah, thinking I was in love with the dirty—” he took a breath, “with him. But he left me, and I had no choice but to continue life on my own, hampered as I was by the change.”
“That must have been difficult for you,” Josiah said. He wasn’t sure if he trusted the man.
“Oh, it was. I’d just finished medical school. I moved here, hoping the Congress could help me integrate back into the human world, as I no longer wanted to be around shifters.”
“And did they help you?” Josiah asked.
“To an extent, but even though I was a beta and not an alpha or omega, I was still hampered by the need for moon runs and other animalistic behavior that set me apart from everyone else. It was very frustrating. So, being a chemist, I began working on developing a compound that would suppress these lycanthropic needs. However, although you can’t detect shifter on me, I can still detect it on you.”
The guests in the room were beginning to take their seats on the folding chairs facing the podium. Josiah spotted Grace Livings near the door.
“There’s Ms. Livings. I’ll lead her in.” He moved from the group. Barrens had been in contact with the Congress year ago when Bart Davis had still been in charge, and he’d developed something that would suppress a werewolf’s shift. Coincidence? Josiah wasn’t sure he believed in coincidences.
After he directed Ms. Livings to where she could put her things, Josiah pulled Sid into the hallway.
“Did you know about these suppressants?” he asked the beta. He knew immediately by Sid’s guilty expression that he did.
“Yeah, but Grier didn’t want me to tell. Isn’t it exciting, though? Josiah, this is going to make a huge difference to shifters in the human world. Come on. You can’t say you knew Dr. Barrens was a shifter.”
“No. There was something off, but I never connected it with him being a shifter.” Josiah looked closely at Sid. “Grier’s one, too, isn’t he?”
Sid looked pleased. “He’s an alpha,” he said. “I didn’t know at first. Dr. Barrens asked him if he was interested in being a test subject. He’s been on the suppressants for a while now. He doesn’t knot or anything.”
Josiah pulled Sid farther back into the shadows.
“You realize that suppressants play a huge part in what’s going on with the faction, right? Changing omegas’ heat cycles, preventing the shift.”
Sid’s eyes widened. “If you’re saying Barrens has something to do with that, no way. He’s trying to help us, Josiah. He’s a shifter, too. He’s here right now to tell these shifters that they have hope of blending in with humans. Once that happens, conflict between humans and shifters is sure to lesson. If Barrens was with the faction, he’d want to kill us, not help us.”
“He’s also been jilted by a shifter.” At the sight of Sid’s expression closing off, Josiah added, “Okay, maybe he’s being used by someone higher up and doesn’t know he’s just a pawn in a bigger plan.”
Sid made a face. “Not everything’s a conspiracy against us, you know.” He looked over his shoulder. “Ms. Livings looks like she’s ready to start. When she gets finished talking, we’ll break and eat, and then Dr. Barrens’ will speak. Listen to what he has to say, and you’ll see. He’s one of the good guys.”
Sid hurried away, leaving Josiah wondering if he was being unreasonable. He’d have to talk to River about it later. He slipped back inside the banquet room just as Grace Livings stepped up to the podium.
Chapter 24: David
“Hold up!” Agent Oaks called to David and River across the hospital parking lot. The two alphas had reached the Mustang, and as soon as River unlocked the doors, David climbed in and rolled down the window.
“This is an FBI matter.” Oaks slapped his hand on the top of the car. He was breathing hard from running to catch up to the two alphas.
“I’m going to make sure my mate is out of the way of danger,” River said as he turned the ignition, and the car roared to life.
“Wait!” Oaks yelled, but River was already pulling out of the parking space.
“He’s pissed,” David said, looking into the side mirror.
“Yeah, well, that’s just tough shit.”
“If this guy’s unaware he’s about to be arrested, he’s no danger to Josiah,” David reassured River.
“That’s exactly why I want to get there first.” The pack
alpha pulled into traffic. “I don’t want Josiah caught in the middle of it.”
The Human/Werewolf Congress was on the other side of town, at least fifteen minutes away if they were lucky with traffic. The tension rolling off the pack alpha’s body had David’s instincts going haywire. He was alert and on edge, ready to shift at a moment’s notice, even while a part of him was still back at the hospital with Jax. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but his pack alpha’s concerns came first.
David tried not to think about the sight of Jax on his knees with Senator Parker’s prick in his mouth. His wolf had gone crazy and he’d almost ripped Parker to shreds. The fucker was still alive, though, and David hoped Parker would go to prison for a very long time.
“What’s this guy doing promoting this university club if he’s working for the faction?” David wondered aloud.
“Probably a cover-up,” River said. “As soon as we spot Josiah, you get him out of there. I’m going to make sure none of the other shifters get hurt when the feds show up.”
David nodded. River drove within the speed limit, but the second-alpha could see the worry on his friend’s face and was glad his own mate was safe at the pack house with their child. He hoped Jax was okay; David would definitely catch up to him later.
River swung into the parking lot in front of the Congress building, and when he couldn’t find a space, blocked somebody’s car, and got out. David was a step behind the pack alpha as River unlocked the front door and they stepped into the building.
“Do you even know where they are?” David asked, looking around the empty lobby.
“The banquet halls are on the lower floor.” River headed for the elevators and hit the down button. When the elevator didn’t immediately arrive, he grunted impatiently.
“On second thought, let’s take the stairs.” The pack alpha pulled open the door and hurried down the first flight, David close behind him.
As soon as they left the stairwell on the bottom floor, River turned toward a pair of open double doors where the sound of a voice speaking into a microphone could be heard. By the time they reached the room, the voice had stopped, and people were standing up from rows of folding chairs, stretching and wandering toward the banquet table. David scanned the room, but River had already spotted his mate.
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