Page 104 of Alpha Theo

I nod furiously in agreement. “Laptops, personal devices, everything could be affected. Once you figure out how far they got in, everything will need to be checked for malware.”

Rico barks out orders to the rest of the IT team while Astrid ushers me over to a desk, swiping an arm to clear off the clutter. Loose sheets of paper go sailing in the air, wilting to the floor.

“You got your laptop?” Astrid asks, and I wordlessly start shrugging my backpack off my shoulders. “Good,” she clucks. “Check your systems, make sure they’re still clean.”

I drop into the chair in front of the desk, pulling my laptop out of my bag and setting it down. I’ll have to use my phone as a hotspot…wait, where’s my phone?

It’s like Theo is reading my mind because he slides it onto the desk next to me. He must’ve picked it up at some point after I dropped it.

Since he arrived and this madness started to unfold, I’ve remained acutely aware of Theo’s presence. He hasn’t left my side, making me feel safe, protected, even amidst the chaos.

I swipe to unlock my phone, turn my hotspot on, and work to get my computer connected.

“How can I help?” Theo asks, placing his palms on the desk and leaning in toward me.

He can’t. He doesn’t know anything about computers. This problem is totally out of his wheelhouse.

“Uhh… find out how they got in?” I suggest, glancing up at him. “If we know how they gained access, maybe we can mitigate the damage.”

It’s sweet that he wants to help, but I’ve got this. All I need for him to do is be here for me, keep me calm and focused. My laptop connects to my hotspot, and I immediately get to work on establishing a remote connection with the six-pack’s servers.

Theo nods, pushing off of the desk and straightening. “I’m on it.”

I pause my frantic typing to look up at him as he starts to turn away. “Theo?”

He glances at me over his shoulder.

“Please stay close.”

Theo

This is the last fucking thing I expected to happen on this Denver trip. I hustle around the hive, gathering information and taking it back to Brooke periodically. Once she confirms that our servers at the six-pack haven’t been breached, she springs into action, flitting around the place and assisting with damage control. Seeing her in action like this is a thing of beauty, though I’ve never felt so useless.

I’m tempted to ask if I can go join one of the border teams, make myself useful that way, but I get the feeling that Brooke doesn’t want me to leave. Given the threat we’re facing, I don’t want her out of my sight either. So I stick close to her, keep making rounds and relaying messages back and forth.

From what I’ve gathered, one of the members of Denver’s IT team was trying to assemble information about shadow pack affiliates to input to Brooke’s program, but got sloppy with a hack, left it traceable. They must have been able to reverse it somehow to get into Denver’s system, but thankfully, Denver caught it early and shut it down before the hacker was able to get much. The biggest concern is that the pack’s location may have been revealed, and their security measures compromised.

I step away to give Gray a call and loop him in at one point, and he’s already got our IT unit shoring up the firewall of our servers. I guess Brooke tipped them off when she checked in on our system from here when this all started. Then I pace around some more, waiting for updates. Hours pass. My wolf’s agitated, close to the surface.

“Theo?” Cole calls, and I turn from my spot behind Brooke’s computer chair, looking to him.

He waves me over and I head his way, folding my arms across my chest as I approach.

“We have confirmation that there’s no sign of an impending physical attack,” Cole says, his voice low. “Some of our pack resides in the surrounding area, so we called them in just to be sure, but for now it appears that this is a cyber attack only.”

I grunt, nodding.

Cole scrubs a hand over his face, leaning in. “Listen, I know this isn’t really your problem right now, but if they were able to get our location…”

“It’s all of our problem,” I interrupt, my voice gruff. “If they come for you, then we’re next. We’ll stand with you, do what needs to be done.”

Cole gives a curt nod. “We’ll do the same.”

I swallow hard, the reality of the threat still sinking in. The shadow pack has been out there for years, and we’ve remained isolated, insulated by our remote location. Shoring up defenses for a fight we weren’t ever sure would make it to our doorstep. There are a few large packs out west that should’ve been able to take the shadow pack down by now, but it keeps growing, keeps progressing closer. The threat is real, and it’s only becoming more imminent.

“I’m glad you guys are here,” Cole adds, clapping me on the shoulder as if we’re old friends. Given the stress we’ve endured today, I’ll take it. “Your mate’s brilliant. She helped us get it contained and traced quickly. We’re in your debt.”

I glance over at Brooke, a pang of fear chilling me from the inside. What if the shadow pack attacked and something happened to her? I couldn’t fucking bear it.

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