Page 103 of Alpha Theo

“Ahh,” she says, understanding washing over her features. “No worries, your secret’s safe with me.” She winks, starting down the sidewalk again.

I walk beside her, my mind spinning. I have so many questions. Before I can stop them, they start spilling out. “So can you see the future, then? Do you have visions or something?”Maybe she can tell me how the mate bond with Theo pans out…

Astrid giggles. “No, it’s not like that. I wish it was! I just read people really well, pick up on little feelings about people and situations,” she explains. “It’s completely random, I can’t turn it on or off. And sometimes it takes me a while to figure out what it’s trying to tell me. Like the last time you were here, it took me a few minutes. I was worried you’d get the wrong idea about me because I was kinda staring at your guy as I was trying to work through it.”

I breathe a sigh of relief, chuckling softly. I’d thought the worst of Astrid after our last visit, and now it turns out that I couldn’t have been more wrong. She didn’t have nefarious intentions. And now she’s being so kind, so open. That should teach me to make assumptions.

The rest of our chat on the way to the hive only further proves that I pegged this girl all wrong. She’s intricately involved with their security team- she oversees a lot of their operations. Even though her demure, giggly demeanor makes her seem like an airhead, she’s anything but. I really like her.

When we approach the doors to the hive, Astrid touches the door handle and gets a funny look on her face, wrinkling her nose and furrowing her brow. “Something’s wrong,” she says quietly.

She pulls open the door and we’re met with absolute chaos- people are running around, shouting, panicking.

My eyes fly wide and I turn to Astrid. “What is it?!” I ask, my voice strained.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know, I…” her voice trails off as she takes in the chaotic scene unfolding before us, the same stunned, confused expression etched on her face.

Rico, the head of the Denver IT team, spots us at the door, charging over in our direction.

“What’s happening?” Astrid asks when he’s within earshot.

Rico’s face is pale. “The shadow pack,” he chokes out. “They found us.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Brooke

My blood runs cold upon hearing Rico’s words. ‘The shadow pack. They found us.’

My chest tightens, my breath catches in my throat.

Theo. I have to find Theo.

I slide my hand around to my back pocket and pull out my cell phone to call him. Before my shaky hands can even unlock it, the door behind Astrid and me bursts open. I spin around wildly, my phone clattering to the ground as Theo and I lock eyes.

“We came as soon as we heard,” Cole says, pushing into the hive ahead of Theo. “What do we know?”

Theo comes barreling straight into me, enveloping me in his arms, holding me tight to his chest. “You okay?” he whispers, bringing a hand up behind my head and threading it in my hair.

“Yeah,” I sigh, burying my face in his chest. I breathe him in, his scent filling my nose, calming me. As terrified as I am right now, I feel safe in his arms. After a moment, I press my palms to his chest, leaning back to gaze into those hazel eyes. I’m so glad he’s here- his presence is already making me feel more clear-headed. Though I’m still trying to figure out what the heck we just walked into.

“Deploy teams to each of the border stations,” Cole barks, and I spin around to look at him. Theo steps closer behind me and loops his arms around my waist protectively as I take in the wide space of the hive again, still a flurry of activity.

“We aren’t getting anything on the cameras,” someone across the room offers.

“They could’ve tampered with the feed,” another guy grumbles.

“Rico, status update!” Cole demands.

Rico still looks like he’s seen a ghost. “All we know right now is that they’ve hacked into our servers.”

My head spins. This is bad.Really bad.We’ve been sharing information with Denver for a while now- if the shadow pack has gained access to their servers, it wouldn’t be a stretch for them to reach ours.

“Is it offline?” I ask, but nobody seems to hear me. I clear my throat, stepping forward out of Theo’s arms and raising my voice. “Has someone taken the server offline?”

Rico nods. “Yes, it’s offline now.” The poor guy’s hands are shaking.

Astrid steps beside me and speaks up, taking charge. “Unplug everything, shut it all down.”

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