Wild

Chapter 32 - Thickening Plot

"Yes, we're still investigating the matter ourselves. And what brings you to Las Vegas?" I ask, not wanting to get into a full discussion about the abomination since they're linked to my quest and the Nahash.

"I was here on business but stayed longer to meet an informant about an illegal breeding camp for werewolves."

I frown. "A breeding camp?"

"Yep. I got some intel about a werewolf breeding camp in New Orleans. Have you heard anything from your end?"

"Not at all. This is the first time I've heard of it. I will ask Quinn if he has. But if the breeding camp is in New Orleans, why are you meeting the informant here?"

"It is safer to meet with me here. He or she doesn't want to be seen with me in New Orleans, so when I mentioned that I was here on business they said they would meet me here."

"You can't tell if it is a man or a woman?"

"No. we communicate via text."

"How did you verify that they do have valuable information?"

"They sent a picture of a former pack member-- one we believed was dead three years ago. She may have been kidnapped."

"Goddess, that's horrible."

"Indeed," he agrees, glancing at his phone when it pings. "It looks like I will have to get my guards after all. The meeting location has changed. Will you be alright on your own?"

When he rises, I rise too, amused by his genuinely worried expression.

I laugh, hugging him. "Of course, I'll be fine. I'm not twelve anymore, Justin."

"And where's your-- oh. I think I have my answer. There's a very angry wolf coming this way."

He releases me, and I turn around to see Kai giving Justin a death glare. "Kai, this is Justin, Quinn's friend. Justin, my mate, Makai."

Justin holds out his hand, which Kai takes now that he knows who the man his mate was hugging is. I don't even know why he is so upset. I hug everybody.

"Maybe you should be a little less huggy? Especially with strangers," Rain advises.

"Justin is not a stranger!" I protest.

"I meant generally. You're mated now. Being near other wolves agitates your mate."

Since Kai is here, I leave the bar as well, listening as he exchanges small talk with Justin. It turns out that Justin has seen Kai fight in the Pit during his visits to the Hakhan Pack, and he was impressed.

When we get to the entrance, Justin says his goodbyes. "My regards to Quinn. I will call him with an update on what happens after my meeting. I'm certain we will meet again soon. Take care of yourself, Storm. Makai, it's been a pleasure."

Makai and I return to our room while Justin meets his guards in front of the hotel.

We don't speak on the way to our room, but I can feel his remorse as much as he must feel mine. I hate fighting with Kai. It makes me feel horrible and lonely.

As soon as we shut the door to our room behind us, he takes my hand. "I'm sorry for saying all those things to you. I don't think you're a cheat. I get upset sometimes because it feels like you put Callum above everything. You're not willing to listen to anything at all when it comes to him. You have to admit that everything he has been doing is suspicious. And we have someone leaking information to the Nahash."

"I agree that we have a leak, but Kai, the leak can't be Callum."

"Storm--"

"Okay, fine. Suppose that the leak is indeed Callum. How does Callum know when to appear wherever we are? I don't tell him anything. The only people who knew about our trip both times were my family and us. And Aris, of course. Maybe the leak is from Aris's end, we need to ask her if someone else from the council books our tickets and hotel accommodations. Because even my family does not know our room number. Someone told the people who attacked us where we were."