All I wanted was to go work on this damn antidote and help the others learn why Leon had done this. I’d known he couldn’t be trusted, and I fully intended to remind Grayson of that when he was in his human form again.

You have other things to talk to him about, Kenzie.

Shaking the thought from my head, I waved for Forrest to come out and follow me back upstairs. This clearly wasn’t the right time to talk about the pregnancy with Grayson, and it could wait. It wasn’t like either of us were going anywhere, after all.

Chapter 18 - Grayson

It had been a few hours since Leon’s attempted escape and bullshit shenanigans with the Alphas. Forrest, Willow, and Kenzie were still working on creating enough antidote to get the drugged wolves feeling like themselves again, and there was something that was itching under my skin.

My wolf stalked back and forth invisibly since I’d shifted back into human form, and I couldn’t get over something that I’d noticed when I’d been a wolf and there with Kenzie.

She smelled…different.

That sounded ridiculous even for a wolf since I couldn’t put my finger onwhatsmelled different. It wasn’t char or heightened levels because of another heat, which really shouldn’t be happening anyway since she’d literally just had it. It wasn’t some chemical smell like with the Alphas. It was just…

“Ugh, this is stupid.” I shook my head, turning as I walked up to the wall to start my trek to the other side again. “It’s probably nothing. You’re just imagining things.”

I could tell myself that as much as I wanted, apparently, because it was doing nothing to actually convince me. I needed out of my head, and now that the Alphas had been contained in the cells, I could finally have that word with Leon that I was so eager for.

A knock on my door halted my steps, and I hurried over to the thing and flung it open.

“Is he ready?”

The question was out of my mouth before I truly processed who was standing there, and Kaiden rolled his eyes.

“Hello, Grayson. Thanks for asking. I’m feeling fine. And why, yes. Your prisoner has been secured for questioning.”

With a sigh, I rolled my gaze to the side and pushed forward out of the room, closing the door behind me.

“Sorry, but you know as much as I do that figuring out what all that shit was about is paramount.”

Kaiden was right behind me as I took the long hallway down to the entryway stairs. I could sense the annoyance drifting off him, the subtle charring to his scent. But I also knew how much he wanted Leon to pay. This was far too many times that the asshole had threatened our packs, and Kaiden was as fed up with it as I was.

“Who’s down there with him?” I glanced over at Kaiden briefly as we hit the stairs and jogged down.

“Jet. Kenzie is still working with Forrest and Willow to make that antidote, and Senna is resting.”

I paused as Kaiden and I reached the last step, gripping the railing as I considered what I was about to walk into.

“The Alphas?”

He nodded, his gesture of understanding, and when he looked up from the floor, Kaiden was deadly serious.

“They’ve passed out. Too much of a burn for their bodies. They…they need that cure. None of them will last much longer with that shit pumping through their systems.”

I scoffed, frustration gnawing at me. “You’d think since they’re Alphas, they could handle stuff better.”

“On the contrary,” Kaiden drawled. “From what Willow can tell, being an Alpha actually puts you at a disadvantage. Thedrug works on our stronger connection to shifter magic and uses it against us.”

“Fuck, really? As if we didn’t already have enough to be concerned about with our magic. Now we have a secret weapon to take out Alphas, declining birth rates, and a massive separation between the packs that makes us more susceptible to both those things.”

Kaiden put a hand on my shoulder, and as much as I was pissy and upset and wanted to shake off his hand, I appreciated the support of one of my oldest friends, especially since the other one was currently locked behind bars.

“There may actually be some developments regarding all that. Willow was talking to me last night before I turned in. She didn’t have the specifics to give me, and she still seemed pretty cagey about the ‘success rate,’ but I think there might be some hope on the horizon.”

Sighing, I patted Kaiden’s hand before taking off for the stairs to the cells. I could really fucking use some hope right about now, so Willow had better be right.

When we arrived in the basement, I was immediately hit by the clogged-up smell of that chemical residue sticking to the walls. The Alphas were still passed out, but their scents were so tainted, and they grumbled in their sleep. At the end of the row of cells was the one where we’d stashed Leon, and I could hear the rattling of chains louder and louder as we drew closer.