Page 31 of Alpha's Forbidden Bond

“What?”

“Hold on hothead!” He quickly added. “I’m not saying you don’t care deeply about keeping this pack. But I do think you aren’t always focused on the right threats. If I were you, I would probably spend a little less time worrying about random townies coming up to the compound and worry a lot more about spring breakers coming out here to a cabin and recording every waking moment with their phones or whatever.”

“Spring breakers? What are you even talking about?”

“It’s like Mr. Morena said—technological advancements have put us at a higher risk. Not to mention, there are those new cabins being built up the road. I’m worried one of these days, some young humans are going to book a trip here, go for a hike with their phones out the entire time, and catch a whole group of us sparring in wolf form or something.”

“If it’s the middle of the day, then nobody should be in wolf form.”

Mikeal rolled his eyes. “In a perfect world, yes. But imagine this—it’s early morning. Some pack members decide to go for a run before the sun rises, but the college students also get an early start, and bam! Just as dawn settles on the forest, the shifters get caught. Now we’re the ones featured on one of those stupid YouTube channels that tries to prove mythical creatures are real.”

“What exactly do you suggest I do then? Try to stop the development project from going through? Move the compound somewhere even more remote?”

“No,” Mikeal said. “Nothing that drastic… I guess I just think sometimes your priorities are a little misguided. The extra security on the road is great, but I’m not sure that’s where you need to focus all your efforts right now. Maybe instead of worrying about nice ladies running book deliveries, you hire some IT person who can keep track of our online presence. That is, make sure we don’t have one.”

“Great!” I laughed harshly. “So you agree with Mr. Morena? You don’t think I’m prepared!”

“Would you stop twisting my words around!” he said. “All I’m getting at is that the old man maybe had a point. You’ve been obsessing over Diana for days, even though we have no reason to think of her as a threat. I even did some digging on her to make sure that I hadn’t lost my own better judgment, that day I was so nice to her, and she’s harmless. She’s not an undercover journalist, and as far as I can tell, she’s not someone who frequents websites that spout conspiracy theories or talk about werewolves.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I said, putting my bottle down. “You did research on Diana?”

“Yeah, it’s called being proactive. You think I’m too trusting, but I do my due diligence! Plus, I was bored.”

“Well… what else did you find?” I tried to sound casual, uninterested, but Mikeal must’ve seen right through me because he smirked.

“You are so hung up on that chick.”

“Stop being an ass,” I said. “I was only curious because, as you and Mr. Morena have made abundantly clear tonight, I may not be totally on the ball when it comes to knowing who does and does not pose a threat to the pack. So I want to know—who is she?”

He shrugged. “She’s nobody really. At least, not anymore. But she used to be somebody. A member of the Pearl family, if you can believe it.”

“Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”

Mikeal gawked. “Uh, duh! The Pearls! They were the wealthiest family in Silverleaf for decades! Starting from way before we were born. Half the buildings in town used to have the name Pearl attached to it, but not since Charles Pearl was found out to be up to no good. Insider trading, money laundering, possession of illegal offshore bank accounts. All the classic white-collar bullshit that men like him seem to get away with all the time.”

“But he didn’t get away with it?” I raised a brow. “You said he was discovered?”

“And run out of town,” Mikeal added. “That was Diana’s dad. He hauled his ass out of the country before being arrested, ended up in the Cayman Islands at first, but then bounced around until they presumably landed somewhere that doesn't have an extradition agreement with us. At least, that’s what I would do. Nobody knows where he or the rest of the family is at this point.”

“He just left? Without Diana? But that’s his kid!”

“That’s where things get a little more interesting,” said Mikeal. “He took two of his kids, Diana’s older sisters, but she stayed behind.”

“Why?”

“Beats me. This was all the information I could glean from news articles about the event at the time. But based on the fact that Diana is now working in the town bookstore and driving a beat-up car that’s at least ten years old, I would say her family didn’t leave her with any money. Sounds pretty cold if you ask me, but there’s probably more to the story that only Diana knows.”

“I can’t believe they would leave her behind like that…”

“I think you're sort of focusing on the wrong part,” he said. “It’s a sad story, yeah, but I’m trying to explain that this woman isn’t dangerous. A lot of the stuff I learned about her was interesting, but it didn’t make me think of her as any more of a threat. So maybe it’s time we leave the poor girl alone and move on.”

“Hey, you’re the one who stalked her online.” I argued.

“Fair enough. I’ll admit I was a little curious. What can I say? She’s cute.”

This comment took me by surprise, and I responded before I could think better about what I was saying. “Do you like her or something?” I snapped. “Because she’s a human and?—”

“I know, I know!” he said, laughing a little. “Sheesh. You’re more wound up than usual, and that’s saying something. Can’t a guy notice when a woman is cute without you having a meltdown about it?”

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