Chapter Ten
Early the next morning, Karli accompanied her mates to the mill along with Theron, Tofa, the king’s advisor, and four warriors. The day’s shift hadn’t started yet and many pack members stood outside of the building as they approached. The crowd parted to let them by, and before they walked through the front gates, the triad stopped and turned to the gathered pack members.
“Who among you represent the workers?” Joseph asked, his voice booming out over the group.
Slowly, one by one, the workers turned toward one man, an older shifter with graying hair. He stood forward without fear, and Karli liked him immediately. This man would tell them the truth and not sugarcoat it.
“My name is John, Alpha Joseph, and I look after the workers.”
“Excellent. John, would you come with us please? We have lots to do,” Joseph ordered before turning and walking through the gates. John looked confused but followed them inside. The office was on the second floor, and they wasted no time going up the stairs, always making sure to keep Karli in between her two mates. Overprotective much?
They walked past the surprised secretary and straight into Renfrew’s opulent office. Karli was shocked by the size of the carved oak desk standing in the center of the room, the paintings on the walls, and the rows of books on every shelf, with delicate crystal figures displayed between sets. Plush rugs covered the gleaming wood floors that reflected the light from a chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. Renfrew, the mill boss, wasn’t in his office.
“What the hell?” Rowl growled as he took in the grandeur of the room.
Karli was speechless. There were families struggling to survive under Saxx’s rule, yet it appeared some were living like kings. It was disgusting. She could feel the anger rolling off her mates. When they’d walked into their new home yesterday, they had been shocked by the luxurious decorations and the expensive items that filled every corner of the house. They’d expected that from Saxx. Karli had already given orders to have the items collected and stored for sale online. She’d put the money toward the building and renovations of the town. Now, though, it appeared the old alpha wasn’t the only one benefitting from his rule.
“Oh my gods, I….” John stuttered, unable to finish his sentence.
“You didn’t know?” Karli wasn’t surprised.
John turned to face her. “No, we were never allowed in here.”
“There seems to be a lot of places pack members weren’t allowed to go. You’ll have to give me a list of locations,” Karli instructed before she was pushed out of the way by a man barreling through the office doors. Thankfully, John caught her before she fell to the floor at the same time the room erupted into threatening growls.
Rowl quickly gathered her into his arms. “Thank you, John. Are you okay, love?”
“Ah, yeah, I was surprised,” she answered before turning to find Joseph pinning the new arrival to the wall by his neck. “I believe we’ve found Renfrew.” Two warriors flanked them while the other two were now guarding the door.
“You dare hurt my mate?” Joseph growled out only inches away from Renfrew’s red face.
“Al—alpha…” Renfrew gasped. “Please.”
“You beg me? How many pleas for help did you ignore under Saxx’s rule? That will not happen under mine,” Joseph warned. “I’ll cut right to the chase. Where are the books?”
“Books, what books?” Renfrew squeaked, his voice unable to conceal the lie.
“The real accounts for the mill. We know the ones we have are fake. Team, start searching,” Joseph ordered as he dropped Renfrew to the floor.
The two warriors who had been flanking Karli stepped forward, along with Theron and Tofa, and began rifling through drawers and cupboards. Karli stepped away from Rowl. Something kept drawing her forward, a feeling or sense, but she couldn’t identify where exactly it was coming from with all the movement in the room.
“Stop. Everyone stand still,” Joseph commanded before looking at Karli. “Go ahead, mate.” Their bond had communicated her need for silence; she loved how that worked.
Karli circled the room, stepping around people as she went, but she was always brought back to a far corner crammed full of papers and trinkets. They seemed to be haphazardly thrown or leaned against the wood-paneled walls, looking untouched for some time. As Karli stepped closer, she got that familiar sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Dark magic.
“It’s behind there. Whatever he’s hiding, it’s behind this wall. It’s protected by a dark spell, but it will not harm us,” she informed the room.
“Miss, you can’t go anywhere near dark magic without it attacking or affecting you in some way,” John warned as he began backing away.
Karli had the uncontrollable urge to calm him and spoke softly, “Calm.” John immediately stopped moving and took a deep breath. A sense of tranquility filled the room and her mates smiled at her knowingly. That ability was new. Ceva had told her that her mating could bring out latent gifts, but wow. “My mates and I will protect you from its effects.”
“You can do that?”
There was no use in hiding her powers from the pack. The secret was out now anyway, and they deserved honesty. “Yes.” Karli spread her power throughout the room.
Jerome, one of the warriors who had chosen to join them, stepped forward without reservation and began clearing away a path to the wall for her. The magic was faint as to not be easily noticed in passing, but the closer she moved toward the surface of the wall, the stronger it became before intensifying into one three-foot-by-three-foot block.
“Whatever it is, it’s right here.” Karli pointed to the exact center of the block. Rowl came over, extended his claws, and tore the thin wood away from the wall. “You know there was probably a latch or something, sweetheart.”
Rowl gave her his roguish grin before saying, “Yeah, but that was so much more satisfying.”
Karli and Rowl stepped back as Joseph dragged a reluctant Renfrew toward the opening. Inside sat a big black safe, but instead of a dial, it had a lit keypad. She could easily tell now that the magic was coming from a medallion hanging from the front of it. She reached in and grabbed the silver oval and could instantly feel the dark magic trying to attack her—a death spell, pretty serious. Thank gods since her mating she’d become stronger or she might not have been able to do this without significant pain.
“Must be something worth dying for. Renfrew must have the key to the spell—there’d be no other way for him to get past it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Renfrew barked, belligerent up until the end. “You have no right to touch anything in this office.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. I have a right and responsibility to each member of this pack to protect them, even if it’s from one of its own,” Joseph spoke calmly, completely in charge. “If he won’t tell us the passcode, we drill it.”
Another of their warriors left the room in what Karli assumed was a search of the correct tool. “Wait, we have the perfect drill down in the mill. I’ll get one of the men to bring it up,” John offered as he pulled an old, out-of-date flip phone from his pocket and pushed a few numbers. He spoke to someone on the other end and hung up. “They’re bringing it right up.”
“Well, now that that’s taken care of, I should get rid of this,” Karli growled as she threw the medallion onto the hardwood floor and stomped on it with her boot until it crumbled into dust. It may have looked to be made of silver, but was merely clay given an illusion spell. It must have cost a hefty price to have it commissioned. The dark magic evaporated into the air as if it had never been.
“What was that?” asked a man who was carrying what looked like a giant drill in his arms as he entered the room. The man looked around the room with a look of confusion and fear.
John stepped forward and took the drill from the man before assuring, “There is nothing to fear. I will explain later today. For now, could you have everyone wait outside the mill for us to come out?”
The man looked over to Joseph for confirmation. Joseph nodded, and the man quickly left.
John brought the drill over and put it to use on the safe. Joseph handed Renfrew to his warriors and walked over to Karli and Rowl.
“That was a nice surprise,” Joseph declared as he lifted her off of the floor in a tight hug. “Your powers should come in handy over the next little while through all the changes the pack’s going to be experiencing.”
“Very fortunate indeed, beautiful,” Rowl gushed as he wrapped his arms around both of them. The three stood unconcerned about sharing their love in front of their pack. They were a united triad and hoped that would translate into a united pack, all of them working toward helping every member.
The door to the safe finally gave way and fell open. Theron and Tofa took over from there. Tofa opened the laptop—they were wizards when it came to technology and numbers—while Theron pulled several leather-bound books from the safe. Renfrew’s defiance had turned to outright anger as he began to fight against Jerome and another young warrior named Niven’s hold. It was of no use; Renfrew wasn’t going anywhere.
It felt like hours, but in truth it was maybe only fifteen minutes before either Theron or Tofa spoke, both rifling through the pages and writing down notes as they went.
“Alpha, may we have permission to shut down the public access to the Wi-Fi temporarily until we can secure these accounts?” Tofa asked. “We have to ensure other individuals don’t try to move the money before we’ve frozen the accounts.”
“Do what you need to lock up the pack’s funds,” Joseph commanded, and Tofa went to work, clicking away at the laptop’s keys. “Theron, tell us what you know so far.”
“It would appear that Renfrew has been making large deposits into outside accounts from mill funds instead of it going to the pack. The funds were distributed between various people from two families.”
“Haleybrooks and the Restones,” John stated in a deep, angry voice.
“Yes, those are the ones,” Theron agreed.
“Jerome, contact General Jensgar and have him and a few warriors round up every person benefitting from this deception. Theron, would you please make him a list?” Rowl ordered before turning to look at Renfrew. “And take this sorry excuse for a wolf with you. The cells are going to get busy.”
“Yes, Beta,” Jerome and the remaining warriors answered.
Karli turned to John, who was crouching down and looking into the space. “Did you find something?”
“I think so. The back wall seems flimsy for a safe.” He punched through it then called out, “Um, Alpha, you might want to come see this.”
Joseph released Karli and joined John, who reached inside and pulled out a stack of cash. Joseph turned with death in his eyes, and Karli immediately sent out as much calm as she could muster. The warriors had made it to the doorway with their prisoner, but all had turned when confronted by their alpha’s anger.
“You watched members of your pack struggle and starve while you sat back with wads of money in diverted accounts and a safe full of cash. I should gut you where you stand, but as much as I would enjoy that, I’ll see you and the rest of them rot in prison. Never allowed to set your wolf free to run, trapped in a cage.” Renfrew tried to lunge at Joseph, but the warriors had a tight hold on him. “Get him out of my sight before I change my mind.”
Rowl walked over and took a look inside the safe. “There’s quite a bit back here. John, do you mind boxing that up? It belongs in the pack accounts.”
“You’re really going to punish them?” He gaped, clearly shocked.
“They need to be accountable for their actions. They’ve stolen from the pack and watched people suffer without offering aid,” Joseph replied.
“I’m not questioning your decision, Alpha. I wholeheartedly support it. It’s just that it’s been that way for generations and no one has ever stopped it.”
“There will be a lot of changes happening over the next few months, and we could use a worker representative to help us with the mill,” Karli said. “Do you think you’re able to be that person, John?”
John’s mouth fell open, but he quickly shut it, and Karli could see him gathering his resolve. “Yes, ma’am, Omega Karli. I can do that.”
“Please. Call me Karli.”
“Yes, Karli.”
“Great, let’s get started,” Joseph announced as two more warriors entered the room. “Guard this room while we go have a talk with our pack.”
Karli smiled wide, grabbed both of her mates’ hands, and led the way out of the office. “Coming, John?”
“Yes, Karli,” he confirmed as he caught up to the three of them.
They walked down to the first floor and out the front doors, and the crowd grew silent almost immediately. Obviously, they’d seen Renfrew being dragged away. With a normal pack questions would have been shouted the moment the alpha came into view, but here, no one spoke. She could feel the tension hanging heavy in the air. Joseph and Rowl acted as though it didn’t affect them, but they casually pushed her behind them.
“My pack, there will be changes happening in several areas of our town. The first, as you are probably already aware, is that Renfrew Haleybrook will no longer be managing the mill.”
Karli, do you know John’s last name from when you lived here?
He’s another McNaught.
“For the foreseeable future, John McNaught will be our representative here at the mill. He, along with your department managers, will be working together with everyone else to do an inventory of every single tree, piece of wood, machine, and tool. If it’s on this property, count it. We will suspend production until we get everything in order. You will all be paid during this time, and we will review wages, as we believe they are woefully low,” Joseph announced, and that got the group talking.
Karli pushed between her mates, and small growls told her they weren’t pleased. Well, they can get over it. I’m not weak and will not be treated like a shrinking violet.
We weren’t implying you’re weak, Karli, Rowl’s voice echoed in her head.
Yep, bond again. Shit. She could hear them laughing softly in her head, and she turned around and swatted both of them.
“I could electrocute anyone who tried to harm me, remember?” Karli prompted, perhaps a little too loudly, if the silence behind her were any indication. She turned to find most of the workers staring at her hands.
“You might want to put those out.” Joseph coughed, still laughing, and Karli looked down at her sparking hands.
Oops.
“Sorry.” Karli smiled, hoping to ease the concerned looks. “You have nothing to fear from me. Omegas use their powers to protect themselves and their pack.” Their continued confusion worried her. “What do you know about omegas?”
A young woman stepped forward. She had bright blue eyes, and dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail. “Ma’am, I’m Sara Small. We’ve never had an omega since the beginning of Alpha Saxx’s rule, and that’s been many generations. You were the first to come to our pack when you moved here all those years ago. The older members of the pack noticed the omega jewel on your forehead and told us what it meant.”
Karli was confused. What did “it” mean? “Call me Karli. And they said what, exactly?”
Sara looked a bit unsure, but like John, she steeled herself, straightened her back, and looked Karli straight in the eye. Perfect. Karli had been looking for someone like Sara. “Well, they said it was a sign of great happiness for the pack. They explained that omegas were powerful and could decide the fate of a pack.”
Um, where do I go from there?
Well, we’re behind whatever you want to say. We trust you. Her mates had her back. Karli understood how unscrupulous people could so easily take advantage of a pack. She swore to protect all of them.
“No, Sara, an omega’s prime reason for being is to protect and help their pack.”
“But they could be corrupted by their alpha or dark magic,” a deep voice argued from somewhere in the back of the crowd.
“You are correct, but omegas have the ability to detect dark magic. In my case, I can go one step further. I’m immune to dark magic, and so are my mates, your alpha and beta, and we can protect our pack with our gifts. Sure, I’m biased, but I’m telling you the truth when I say Joseph and Rowl are two of the most honorable men you can ever wish to meet. Wait and see for yourselves that we have the best interest of our pack in mind and heart at all times.”
“You helped us with our gardens,” Sara whispered in awe. “You made the earth fertile, producing larger quantities of food for our families. We thought it was a blessing of having an omega here.”
“Nice of you to say, but actually, I choose how and when my powers are used. I cannot be forced in any manner, and I wanted to help all of you.”
“Thank you,” Sara replied softly, followed by others in the group.
“You are welcome. Now, I need your help. I would like each of you to tell all the women in your lives that I’d like to have a meeting in the main house conference room at ten in the morning. Food will be provided, and everyone should bring their beautiful children along.”
Slowly, people started to pipe up until she had a chorus of yeses agreeing to attend. It lightened her heart to hear her pack responding to her. They could do this. They could provide a better life for all of them. Her mates held her from behind, both sharing their respect through their bond.
“Now, can I have all the department heads join us?” Joseph asked, and Karli took the opportunity to pull Sara aside.
“Can you come with me?” Karli indicated the mill while leading the way back inside. Sara followed quietly as they walked back up to the office that used to belong to Renfrew. Theron and Tofa were busy on their laptops with the pack books strewn around them. Their warriors stood guard as she led Sara into the room. She turned and took Sara’s hand, and something strange happened. She saw Sara’s family line. Her life opened up before Karli, and she saw it all in her mind.
“Karli, are you okay?” Sara whispered, bringing her back to the here and now.
“Sure. Absolutely. Have a lot on my mind,” Karli answered while she shared the information through her link to her mates. Their returning confusion was understandable, but she would keep this to herself and her mates. “We need to talk about what you can do to help me and our pack.”
“What do you mean?” Sara asked.
“I want you to become my advisor. It’s true I lived here, but I was never allowed to get to know people personally. I want that to change, and I want you to help me.”
“How?”
“You were born and raised here. You know the people of this town. I believe you to be honorable and would tell me the truth, whether or not I want to hear it. I need that type of person by my side,” Karli explained. She hoped Sara would agree, because the insight Karli had gained by touching her hand told her that Sara was trustworthy, as well as in dire need of help.
“Will I work at the mill at the same time?”
“No, you wouldn’t. This is a paid position that comes with room and board. That way, in case something comes up, we have you close. The McNaught’s are also staying with us.” Karli threw in that last bit, hoping to calm any reservations the young woman might have. She had seen Sara’s past and her fears and knew she needed out of her current situation.
A new light shined in her eyes and she answered quickly. “Yes, I’ll help you.”
“Wonderful. Would you like help gathering your things from your home?” Karli asked, but immediately thought better of it and stated, “What am I saying? Of course you do. I’ll come along, and we’ll bring one of the trucks and a few warriors to carry things.” She wasn’t letting Sara go it alone.
Karli could see the relief in her new advisor’s eyes and knew she’d made the right choice. She relayed the information to her mates before approaching Theron. “Did you find everything you two need?”
“And much more. It’s going to take some time to go through all of this. I suggest we move back to the pack house.”
“Let’s box everything up. Don’t leave anything behind,” Karli ordered. She turned to find the king’s advisor, Simone, standing silently off to the side. She had been so quiet that Karli forgot the woman had come along. “Madam.”
The woman stepped forward, and Karli had a moment’s reservation about how they’d dealt with everything. If she had the choice, she’d do it the same all over again, but that didn’t mean the advisor wouldn’t find fault in some aspect.
“Omega Karli,” she acknowledged, and Karli held her breath. “I will be happy to report to King Leonidas that the three of you have everything in hand here.”
Karli let out a deep breath before saying, “Thank you.”
“I’ll leave you now. Take care of your pack, Karli.”
“We will, I promise.”
“I believe you,” Simone assured with a smile and walked out of the office door.
Karli turned around and found Sara looking at her strangely. “What?”
“You looked nervous.”
“Of course. I wanted to make a good impression.”
“But you’re an omega. You have more power than her.”
“I may, but first and foremost, I’m a person, wanting to be accepted just like everyone else.”
Sara looked at her for a moment before smiling. “Where do you want me to begin in assisting you?”
A change came over Sara. She seemed a bit happier or lighter in some way, but before Karli could examine it too closely, her mates and John walked in. Joseph and Rowl came to her before dealing with anything else. You make me feel so special.
Because you are special, love, Joseph’s voice whispered in her mind as he folded her into his strong arms. Rowl stood in front of her and stole a passionate kiss, not caring who was present to see.
“You’re so sweet, my mates.” I’m taking Sara to collect her things.
We’re not about to let you go in there alone. We saw what you saw, Rowl insisted.
I was going to take warriors with us.
We’ll bring them along as well, Joseph replied.
By now, Sara was looking at them strangely, considering they hadn’t said a word since they arrived. At least, not out loud. “Let’s go get your belongings, Sara.” Rowl smiled and began leading her out the door. Joseph gave everyone a few last orders before joining them in the hallway.
When they walked outside, the crowd was gone and Karli could hear machines moving in the background. She took that as a good sign that they made it past this first hurdle. More warriors were standing by their truck as another truck came to a stop beside them. General Jensgar got out and joined them.
“Alpha Triad. We have taken seven people into custody and placed both families under house arrest.”
“How many times do I need to tell you, call us by our first names? You’re a friend, Jensgar,” Joseph chided. “I want you to remain here and assist in the transfer of the information to the pack house offices.” Karli had discovered a set of six personal offices in the west wing of the house, but none looked like they had been used in a long time. Saxx’s personal office was the only one they found that had been occupied.
“Yes, Al—Joseph,” General Jensgar responded before heading toward the mill.
Jerome and Niven stood by their truck, ready to follow to Sara’s house. Seriously, the warriors seemed to have a knack for being where they were needed; it was kind of spooky.
We have trained each of these men, beautiful. They know us well, Joseph explained.
I still think they have some sort of sixth sense.
Both her men laughed, causing Sara to look at all of them. “What’s funny?”
“We have to tell her. She’s going to be by my side a lot of the time,” Karli stated with a reassuring smile to Sara. “It’s nothing bad, promise.”
“Tell me what?” she asked.
Joseph walked up to the truck and opened the back doors of the crew cab. “We should discuss this in private.”
Karli climbed into the truck and motioned for Sara to join her. Sara looked from left to right before taking a deep breath and jumping in. Rowl and Joseph sat in the front but didn’t start the truck, both turning to look at them.
Karli decided to start. “You know omegas have abilities, gifts. Well, we also gain and share powers when we mate. You’ll need to know what those powers are, because you’re going to work alongside us. We are entrusting you with information that needs to be kept private. No one is to know but you.”
Sara nodded her agreement, so Karli continued, “Everyone in the pack is aware of my ability to make things grow and my control over electricity. But what isn’t common knowledge is the fact that we can communicate through our mating bond.”
“In your heads?”
“Yes, and that’s why sometimes we seem off in our own world. We’re still getting used to it.” Karli winked at her mates. “Also, we are immune to the effects of dark magic and can protect others. I can calm people when necessary,” Karli explained, but left out the part of being able to “read” people through touch. She believed if Sara knew Karli had seen her personal pain Sara would refuse their help.
“Okay, that explains a few things. I was beginning to wonder if it was me seeing things. I can accept that, and I swear, I’ll tell no one.”
“Thank you. Now give us directions to your house so we can get you moved,” Karli ordered as Joseph started the truck and put it into gear.
Moments later, they were driving through what could only be described as an old, worn-out neighborhood. Paint faded, driveways cracked, windows dirty, it seemed as if the life had been sucked out of the area. It gave Karli chills. This would be one of the first neighborhoods to undergo renovations.
“It’s the third house on the right,” Sara mumbled, pointing toward a house that could be the definition of desolate.
A car sat rusting in the driveway, the left side of the house appeared to be sinking, and there were tarps over the roof, keeping the rain out. Karli watched as Sara seemed to sink into herself.
Not a word about the condition of her home. She’s embarrassed.
Never. None of this is her fault, Rowl swore.
Not a word, Joseph agreed just before she could feel him suppressing a growl at the state in which Sara had been living. Love, when you lived with this pack, what was the house you lived in like?
Now isn’t a good time to discuss that. Later, we’ll talk.
Why can I not access that time in your life? It’s like there’s a wall blocking me, Rowl complained.
“You guys are doing it again, aren’t you?” Sara asked.
“Sorry, it’s new and we need to learn how to compartmentalize conversations.”
Joseph slowed and pulled into the driveway, followed by the truck containing Jerome and Niven. People stopped on the sidewalks and came out of their houses at their arrival. It seemed the sight of the alpha triad out in the community was foreign to them. She hoped they got used to it, because she intended to be out in the community every day.
Sara and Karli opened their doors and slid out of the truck. She followed Sara to a side door, with Joseph, Rowl, and the two warriors behind them. She knew her mates weren’t happy that she had insisted on going along with Sara. Her new friend deserved the opportunity to slay her own dragons, and Karli was going to make sure Sara had her chance. Sara’s hand shook as she opened the side door and stepped inside. They had only made it two more steps when a glass came flying past their heads, smashing into the wall behind them. That’s when the fun started.