Page 53 of The Alpha’s Heir

I knew Daisy from way back when. They’d just started dating after he graduated boot camp. Once, she’d cooked breakfast for me and Marcus after a long duty night, and she’d been on my list of good people ever since.

“She… uh…” Marcus scratched the five o’clock shadow on his jaw. “It’s her sister… Sarah… There’s someone they needed to visit out here.”

Despite the laughter and music surrounding us, my body grew cold. Marcus was afraid to tell me something. Even off duty. That meant he didn’t see me as one of them anymore.

The collar device I wore seemed heavier now, especially if it meant this separation.

“I dropped the girls off down the road. Daisy will DD us home when she’s done.” Marcus smiled a little lopsided.

“That’s good.” I nodded, suddenly feeling stupid for coming out tonight. This wasn’t my place anymore. I didn’t know what I was searching for, but I wouldn’t find it here. “I’ve got to get back, but you guys enjoy the rest of your evening.”

I stood abruptly.

“Lieutenant…” Marcus frowned.

“Didn’t I say not to call me that out here, Staff Sergeant?” I winked, heading down the bar before they could protest my escape.

“Charge me for the rest of their drinks,” I told the bartender, giving her my information.

It was the least I could do.

My men deserved to have a good night.

18

Meg

New plan. We take Roman and leave.

First of all, that was your plan from the beginning.

And it’s still the best one.

What we need to do is figure out what we’re dealing with here, I told my wolf, ignoring her huff of frustration.

This marriage sacrifice was more than it seemed, and I’d be damned if I played the ignorant puppet a moment longer.

I was caught in a web of lies that would send a smart person running for the hills, but as an alpha, my mission was to figure out exactly what was going on and fix things. If Morrigan had thought to keep me away from Roman with her cryptic warning, she’d only succeeded in adding fuel to the fire.

I burned with the need to do something to take back power over my own life.

Since I couldn’t untangle the motives of the gods, I started with something simpler:

The humans.

My trip downstairs did me no good. I was hoping to go right to the source, knowing that the staff of the house held all the good secrets. But Katrina had gone to the market and Stephen was off for the morning.

That left me in an empty house, but not alone.

“Alice,” I said to the glass window, taking a step back when she materialized. “I have questions.”

“Good afternoon,” she spoke in that robotic voice of hers. “The rain has stopped and—”

“Why am I not allowed outside?” I didn’t mean to cut her off, but I couldn’t care less about the weather.

Alice seemed to twitch for a second. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. The breeze calls for a light jacket if you plan to venture outside.”

I growled, trying to think. She needed prompts to guide her in the right direction, and in the times we’d talked before, she seemed to give lengthier answers to hypothetical questions.