Lex was the one to answer. “He should be fine. He’s in the residential sector seeing patients. That area is separated from where the breach occurred.”
It was a relief that Lex knew what was going on, but again, I’d been left out. As soon as I knew if we were under siege or not, I was going to have to address this with Lex. Assuming we lived, I supposed.
The doors slid open to an empty hallway, and the alphas formed up in front of me, their weapons out and footsteps silent. I did my best to mimic their movements, but I had no training at all. As a perfect unit, they checked around corners and cleared rooms as we advanced toward what I assumed was the location of the breach.
Between the massive alphas, I caught a glimpse of another group moving in our direction. My alphas remained alert, but had no reaction to the other team. I ducked and dodged, trying to get a better look, but I couldn’t see around the walls of meat in front of me without moving out from behind them. That seemed like a bad idea at the moment. The blistering sting as my pants shifted across my sore skin reminded me with every step that I shouldn’t push their rules too far.
Resigned to suffer with my curiosity, we arrived at a large airlock style door. Our team on one side, the new arrivals flanking the other. Ghost made hand signals to the other team, and then he punched in a code on the keypad. The door split down the middle and slid open. The other team rushed in, taking cover behind crates as they swung their guns in sweeping patterns through the large hangar. My alphas split, Ghost sprinting to the other side of the bulkhead, while Shadow and Lex covered him and the other group from the near side of the door.
I heard a male voice shout, “Clear,” from inside the room and almost immediately, a tension I hadn’t even noticed, drained out of everyone’s posture.
Ghost was the first to head into the large room. Wooden crates and shadowed silhouettes of indecipherable things covered in sheets lined the darker corners. It was dusty and still and had the feel of a place abandoned. The only sound was the scuff of feet on a concrete floor. Lex hung back, keeping me in view as the other team gathered around Ghost and Shadow to quietly discuss their findings.
Would they allow it if I wanted to be included? Only one way to find out. Unsure of my welcome, I inched forward across the floor, trying to build up confidence. When Lex didn’t stop me as I passed him, I took that as a good sign and joined the group.
“The hatch was opened recently, and the storage crates near it were disturbed. But we don’t keep anything here. There shouldn’t have been anything in those boxes to take,” a dark-haired alpha said to Ghost.
Ghost looked past the group of soldiers to where a small side entrance stood next to a series of much larger metal doors. “Maybe they were looking for something to steal and triggered the alarm when they left.”
“If they were trying to steal something, why choose an unused hangar full of empty boxes? Look around. Nothing else has been disturbed,” the same dark-haired alpha replied.
“Okay, Fenix. You make a good point. Have your team go through the hangar, make sure that nothing was missed. Get the security feed back up and see if you can find out when and why it stopped working in the first place. Oh, and go back through any historical footage. Maybe you’ll find something there.”
“Yeah, boss. Will do.” Fenix made a hand gesture, and the rest of the alphas spread out around the room again.
Their level of coordination was impressive, but what was most surprising was that there were female alphas on his team. I’d never met a female alpha. I didn’t even know for sure they existed. But here they were, steeped in the scents of sweet, dark fruits. The smell of blackberries, blueberries, figs, dates, pomegranates, and black cherries was strong but pleasant.
Before I had a chance to dwell on my new discovery, a commotion drew my attention to the door we’d entered through earlier. Faster than I could see, my alphas formed a wall between me and the sound. Fenix’s team had drawn their weapons and were aiming at the door we’d come through.
“Let me through, you oaf!” the voice of a no-nonsense woman carried through the open portal.
The sound of a flustered, reedy man came from the same direction. “You’re not authorized to be in there right now, ma’am.”
“Authorized, indeed,” she replied to the harried voice. A scuffle of feet and a clattering bang followed the verbal encounter, and then a woman in a voluminous dress came careening through the blast door with a scrawny, red-faced man in a tactical uniform close on her heels.
“It’s okay, Mik. We’ll handle it from here.” Lex waved the panting beta off.
The poor man almost ran face first into Grey in his rush to escape the glare of my alphas and the business end of Fenix’s plasma rifle.
I had no idea who the woman was, but I was so happy to see Grey that I pushed between the wall of alphas, disregarding any danger to reach him.
“Hello, Your Majesty,” my beta mate said reverently, before bowing. “I heard that you’d been brought to the lower level, so I came to find you.”
Stars, why did all these people have to be here witnessing this? I just wanted to throw myself into his uncomplicated embrace. But no, I had to behave myself for propriety’s sake.
“Thank you, Grey.” I fidgeted, wanting to hug him, but steeled myself against the impulse.
With nothing else to do, I turned my attention to the woman. She was round-cheeked and smiling. “Your Majesty. I’m so happy to finally meet you. Although, I wish it was under better circumstances. I’m Edeth Knight, Titus’s wife,” she said, and dipped into a shallow curtsy.
Titus had mentioned her before. Was this Lex’s mother? She looked nothing like him, but he did take after his father. She said wife, not mate. I thought I remembered Titus having a mate when I was a child. Maybe she’s Lex’s step-mother.
I realized everyone had been standing there in silence, waiting for me to say something. “Hello, Edeth. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Stars, this was all so awkward.
Lex must have noticed my mounting anxiety and draped an arm around my shoulders. “Hello, Edeth.”
The slight narrowing of her eyes at his approach showed there was no love lost between the two, but at least I was no longer facing her alone.