I woke up the next morning feeling simultaneously nauseous and utterly satisfied. I knew exactly where the satisfaction came from, and I took my time admiring the newly scarred mark on my neck, still pink and slightly tender. Just touching it sent a thrill of arousal racing down my chest to my groin, echoing down my legs.

The nausea, however—maybe it was from switching off the IV fluids? I'd had some solids the day before I left the hospital, but maybe something else I'd eaten since then? Or just my body dealing with all the stress and trauma it had been through recently. Who knew?

Both feelings stayed with me as I finished getting dressed. Thankfully, most of Jonah's clothes fit me, though his torso was longer than mine, meaning I had to tuck extra shirt fabric into my pants.

This time, the meeting was in a space very familiar to me. It wasn't a government building, but it might as well have been. Bare hallways, basic conference room. The only thing they had over the government was that the center of the table was filled with fresh-baked goodies.

"How the hell do you guys stay fit?" I asked, not hesitating to help myself to three mini cinnamon rolls absolutely dripping with icing, and then going back for a fourth after seeing how quickly they were disappearing.

"Good genetics," Boomer said, slapping his belly.

"Don't even front," Levi drawled. "I've seen your marathon workouts the day after a shindig at Mama C's house."

"I didn't say good genetics was the only thing," Boomer protested.

Ray strode in while the alphas continued their banter. "You all are worse than a bunch of old women," he snapped, pouring himself a cup of joe. "How come you're never doing anything useful when I arrive? Maybe we need to up your training regimen."

The table fell silent and awkward.

"Hey, Dad. You okay?" Noah's voice was carefully neutral.

Ray took a long drag of his coffee before blinking, looking at the quiet surprise of the table. "What? Why are you all looking at me like you're a bunch of fawns and I'm a big bad predator looking for my next meal?"

"You just… don't seem your usual self this morning."

Ray closed his eyes, and his knuckles whitened on his mug. I braced myself for the tongue-lashing that was about to erupt from him—I was surprised Noah had come so close to challenging him, father or not. The higher people were in the hierarchy, the more they took offence at being challenged. Government or private sector, didn't matter. Add the shifter hierarchy into the mix…

But Ray surprised me. He took a deep breath. "You mean to say I'm being an ass?"

"We would never say such a thing, sir," Levi said.

"But if you're the one saying it…" Boomer added.

Ray set his mug on the table and took a seat. "I'm not so set in my ways I can't take appropriate criticism. I'm sorry, boys. Isaac is still teething, and Justin and I didn't get much sleep last night. That isn't any excuse to take out my mood on you. Someone hand me one of those rolls. Maybe it will sweeten me up so that I'm on par with the rest of humanity."

"Shit, no one wants that, Bossman," Zeke said. "Just don't want to worry about getting stuck in the cells downstairs like Jonah and Ezra."

I looked at my mate and he shrugged. "It's a bit of a long story."

"Let's get the topic off those of us who have acted badly and onto what we're going to do with the information Matthew shared with us."

I took the opening before my voice got lost among the macho alphas. "I've been thinking about that, sir. Because of the issue with Chad Deamer, I can't contact my superiors at the FBI yet. I can, however, contact a colleague and friend, Sara Bright. She works internal investigations, and will be helpful in letting us know the current situation and investigating Deamer, keeping an eye on him."

"Excellent." Ray slid a cell phone across the table. "Why don't you do that now. You can put it on speaker."

I nodded, and dialed the internal operator line. I couldn't remember Sara's direct line, but the operator would get me to her. I gave the operator a fake name, wary of Chad finding out I was contacting anyone inside the Bureau.

She answered on the second ring. "Special Agent Sara Bright."

I still was worried Chad might have an alert on anything tied to me, so I gave Sara the nickname that only she called me. "Sara, it's Matches."

"Matt—" she stopped herself before saying my full name. "What the hell, man? You're alive? Of course you fucking are, you sly dog. I've been hearing rumors you went down in a mission. What's going on? Have you reported in?"

"Not yet, Sara. I can't."

There was a moment of heavy silence as the implication of my words hit her. "Tell me what's going on, Matches."

"Is there a warrant or a notice out about me?"

"The fuck, Matches? Now you really better tell me what's going on."

I revealed everything I knew, glancing at Ray for his permission to share Team ALPHA's part in everything, carrying on at his nod. When I was done, Sara hmmed, and I knew she was digging something up.

"Okay, it looks like the only news we have is that you're MIA. Nothing else. Whatever Deamer told Team ALPHA, he hasn't followed through on that or started building a case on you internally. If what you say is true, he's probably just hoping you dropped off the map."

Jonah stiffened next to me at Sara's insinuation that I might be lying. I laid a reassuring hand on him. Sara's job was to be suspicious of everyone, but I knew her. She would pursue the truth to the bitter end, and the truth was on my side.

"It's probably best if you stick close to Team ALPHA for now. Give me time to look into Deamer's actions." She paused, and her tone shifted from business to concern. "How are you? Are you good?"

"I'm good now." I squeezed Jonah's hand and smiled. The nausea in my stomach still churned, though I was fairly certain part of it was connected to thinking about Deamer's actions and his abuse of his position. "Will you keep me up to date?"

"I'll do my best."

I wasn't surprised she equivocated. There was always the chance I was lying, and she'd have to start working against me rather than with me.

"That's all I ever ask for."

She made a pleased humming sound. "Is this a good number to contact you on?"

Ray leaned over to speak into the phone. "Sara, this is Raymond Perkins, the head of Team ALPHA, and this is my personal number. You are welcome to call it at any time, though I'm certain Matches will have his own number soon enough."

Jonah nodded. Shit, there was so much I had to do to pull my life back together. But half of that would be on hold until we sorted everything out with the Bureau and I got back to work.

Sara didn't seem surprised at Ray's sudden appearance. "Noted. Matches, I'm glad you're safe."

As soon as the call ended, Jonah said, "We need to take out the senator and Chad as soon as possible. We need STAHP. This isn't court of law level stuff. These men—these shifters—have been betraying their own. That calls for shifter justice."

The others around the table nodded. Now I was the one to stiffen. "These men have broken the law. They should answer for their crimes publicly. Evil or good, they are entitled to certain rights in this country."

Jonah and I faced each other, his eyes sparking. I suspected mine were doing the same.

"How many more innocents will be harmed while we wait for the law to catch up with what we already know?" Jonah spat. "The government is inefficient and slow."

"The government is thorough and just," I countered. "It's better that nine guilty men go free than one innocent man be convicted."

"But we know they're not innocent!" Jonah threw his hands up in the air. "I get that theoretically, laws are supposed to help people. But my experience has shown me that in many cases, maybe even most, more shit gets done outside the law than in it."

My blood was boiling, each of Jonah's words hitting me like a personal accusation. I had joined the Bureau because I believed in the strength of the system. Jonah was accusing the system of being worthless. "So are you saying it's my fault that for years, omegas were captured and abused while I quietly passed information back to my agency?"

Jonah's mouth dropped open and he squinted at me in surprise. "How can you say that? You're different. You're—"

Ray clapped his hands together. "Okay, boys, this is something you probably need to work out on your own. But for now, we're going to work with Ms. Bright while we pursue more information about the senator, his whereabouts, and his current dealings. I suspect that both Deamer and the senator will be reeling from the blow we just dealt the cartel. It's unlikely we will lose much by waiting a little while."

"But not too long," Jonah said.

"As long as it takes," I ground between my teeth. The nausea in my gut churned more fiercely than ever. How could I possibly have a mate who stood so opposed to everything I believed in most dearly? I couldn't have resisted the pull between us, but… I was acutely aware of the mark on my shoulder in a whole new way. Instead of feeling comforting and safe, it started to feel like a chain, holding me to a man I realized I didn't even really know.

"Dismissed," Ray said.