Alpha Nicholas "So I get why you changed your mind about talking to anyone, but why were you hiding in the bushes when they all ran? Surely you would have known that you would have been caught?" Shane asks Alberto as I sit back and let him take the reins. "That's what I was hoping for," he grunts. "What? Why?" Robbie asks, taking the words right out of my mouth. "I figured that while I couldn't come to you off my own back if you caught me while we were trying to hide and escape, then it was out of my control." I'll give it to him, it wasn't the smartest move in the world but not the worst either. "So you hoped that we would find you and bring you here so that you could tell us what was going on? Maybe hoped that we would help you?" Shane asks. Alberto nods, agreeing while shifting himself in his seat, looking uncountable. "There's no way that you didn't think that there was a chance that we would kill you for the betrayal before you could even tell us anything. What if our men had killed you on the spot when they first found you?" "The way I saw it, I didn't have many options. I didn't trust Talon to keep to his end of the deal and I needed help... the truth is that when I thought of whom to turn to when I needed help, my first thought was you, Alpha Nicholas, you and your family. I knew that there was a chance that I wouldn't make it here, but I also knew that if I did that I also had a chance of you letting me explain things first. I hoped for it, anyway." "What do you mean when you say you don't trust Talon to keep to his end of the deal?" I ask. I appreciate his compliment to myself and my family. I do, but right now he's still on my shit list. If he comes out of this on the right side, then maybe I will thank him. "I don't trust him to give me my mate no matter what I do. I... don't even know if she's still alive." Alberto looks sad and lost, and I'm pretty sure that he's telling the truth, but still, I need to make sure. "Watching him having her taken away and not being able to do a damn thing about it was torture, but there was nothing I could do about it. There were too many of them and I couldn't risk him hurting her. I didn't want to go against you, Alpha, I swear, but after finding out that Tristan and Shaun were involved, I knew that I couldn't talk to you off my own back, to anyone. I couldn't risk them getting word to Talon. I couldn't risk my mate's life. I was stuck in an impossible situation. She's my mate Alpha Nicholas. She's underage and under his control and I don't know what to do. "What if he's already hurt her?" His tone is pleading, begging me to tell him what to do, but right now I'm stumped myself on how we're going to figure this situation out… I bring my attention back to the present and look around my office where I'm once again sitting in my chair while my brothers and Tony sit around me as they try and work through everything that Alberto told us. "When I get my hands on Talon, he is a dead wolf. As if he hasn't already done enough to earn a very painful death, he has also gone and kidnapped Alberto's mate and somehow convinced two of my pack members to spy for him, but how did he do it? Does he have something on them or something he can use against them like he does Alberto or have they done it off their own backs? Fuck, I need some many questions answered and now.""It's fucked up is what it is and as much as I want to kick that twat Alberto in the balls, a part of me gets why he did it." Will grunts causing both Shane and I to growl on instinct. "Don't pull that shit with me. We've all found our mates. Are you telling me that none of you would do the same if you were in his position?" He is right, we all know he is, even if it pisses us off to admit it. "Fine," I grunt. "What's our next step here?" Shane asks, but I see the wheels turning in his head and know that he's already got an idea. I shrug as I struggle to try and work through all my thoughts when all I want to do right now is be with my mate. After we left the cells, my dad went to check on the women and to stay with them while we finished up here and he informed me that Bonnie was still sleeping, and it made me a little concerned. This is the first time that I have known Bonnie to nap during the day and while I know that she hasn't been sleeping well at night. These past few nights seem to have affected her more than ever. She's constantly tired, and her appetite hasn't been great. While it could just be her body's way of telling her to rest up, I can't deny that I'm worried about her. It's rare for werewolves to get ill, but if she keeps this up she will be seeing the doctor whether she wants to or not. "Earth to Nick!" several voices call my name as they try to bring my attention back to the room. "Sorry, what did you say?" Fuck, I was miles away then. Maybe I should get Bonnie checked out regardless of how she is when she wakes up because right now I need to be on full alert but my worry for her is clouding my mind. "Are you okay?" Robbie asks, looking concerned. Fuck, that guy has got the weight of the world on his shoulders right now and yet here he is showing nothing but concern for me. "Yes, I'm good. Sorry, I was just thinking everything through. So what did I miss?" "Shane suggested that we let Alberto out of the cells so that he can make it look like he's just doing his normal everyday stuff all while pretending to help Talon while we have some of our loyal men on Alberto's tail until he manages to lure them to us without risking his mate." "OK, while that sounds like a good idea, how can we know for sure that we can trust that Alberto is indeed telling the truth and that he will keep to his word?" "I already have that covered," Shane chimes, sounding way too pleased with himself. "I'm thinking that we send two of our men with Alberto when he next goes to meet Talon. We send two men that we completely trust and Alberto convinces Talon that they want to join his side. Of course, it will all be fake. They can get some inside information for us all while Alberto will be fully aware of the fact that our men know everything about him and will blurt it all out if he steps out of line even an inch." I take a moment to mull it over all while trying to think of another way to do this, but I have nothing right now. "If we do it this way, this could be a long process. "We will have to tread carefully so that they don't hurt Alberto's mate all while protecting your mate." I turn my attention to Robbie and just the mere mention of us protecting his mate has his eyes flickering as his wolf tries to come forward. "She will be protected. I will protect her." He practically growls. "I know, brother. Everyone in this room, in this pack, will protect her. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to her protection. I just wanted you to be aware of the fact that it could be a long process." "I spoke to one of the women in the hall, and she gave me Aria's date of birth. I have 5 months until she's of age and, in the meantime, I don't plan on ever being far away from her, so I have plenty of time to help with this all while protecting her." He has to wait 5 months... poor fucker. We spend the next 30 minutes going over everything and ultimately deciding that we are going to go forward with the plans that we laid out, and I just hope above hope that this turns out OK for everyone involved. I'm convinced that it's going to take some time and effort to get things rolling, but I don't doubt that we will get it done in the meantime. I still have a select few of my warriors looking and hunting for everyone that is involved, because one way or another, they will be found, and they will be ended. "Shane, can I leave you to take care of releasing Alberto and to assign guards to follow him and the two that will be pretending to help Talon?" This is something that I would usually do myself, but I still can't shake the thought that something is up with Bonnie and I need to see her right now."Of course, Nick. I've got it all covered. I will message you as soon as I have all the details." I give him a nod of thanks as I leave everyone in my office and head for the Alpha floor. I know that Shane doesn't mind covering for me. In fact, I'm so hands-on that I know that he loves these rare moments where I hand him serious responsibility because it doesn't happen often enough for his liking. As I walk towards the stairs, I force myself to forget about everything that is going on right now and just focus on my mate. If there's a problem, then Shane will get in touch with me, but until that happens, my mate is going to be the only person getting my undivided attention.