Page 87 of The Syndicater (Dark Verse 6)

Chapter 30

Alpha, Tenebrae City

The idea of beinga father was insane but incredible.

While he did think about being a family and starting a conversation with Zephyr, her announcement had shocked him. Not unwelcome, of course, but just shocking.

Alpha sat in the fucking study, just waiting to go back home. He was so done with being in Tenebrae. As much as he liked the place, it was too much for him. He liked the solitude of his jungle, the lush green that surrounded his compound, and the dogs that were his family. Leah was taking care of them, but now more than ever, he wanted to return because his wife was expecting their first child together. Though nothing in her body had changed yet, Zephyr was absolutely glowing, and he was happy to see her happy.

Amara had told him to keep an eye on his wife, just in case her need to pee increased in frequency, and to get it checked. He'd already scheduled an appointment with her gyno when they returned the day after.

She had confided in him the night before about her fears, not just for the baby but for her own mind. She didn't know when the next bout of depression would suddenly hit her, and she was terrified that her hormones would harm their child. Alpha had just held her close and told her not to worry, that they would get through shit together, but the fact was, he had his own set of fears. Being a father was a responsibility, bringing a child into their world and trusting the world with them. It was too much to think about at times.

"It's been confirmed," Victor told him on the phone. He'd stepped up big time to the mantle while Alpha and Zephyr had been away, proving his merit and his trustworthiness, though Alpha was still a little skeptical. Maybe he would always be.

"It was Hector?"

"Yeah," Victor reconfirmed. "The autopsy reports came back. This has the Shadow Man written all over it."

Well. Good riddance. Between Hector and Xavier being dead, both suspected courtesy of the Shadow Man, Alpha wondered what the hell was up with him for the hundredth time. It was their second last day in Tenebrae, and they were all sitting in the study, having a final meeting before they all went their way.

Dante and Amara were sitting on one couch, Tristan and Morana on another, he and Zephyr on the third, and Luna alone on an armchair. The meeting had been convened because all of them had different information, and it was time to consolidate it all.

Alpha put the phone down and looked around the room at people he had begun to consider family. "It was Hector. We can't say for sure but you can guess the main suspect."

Dante still had disbelief and anger on his face. "I have scanned the entire property, and all I found was a shadow near the lawn. Nothing. Who the fuck is this guy? And how the fuck did he get inside my house?"

Amara placed a hand on his arm, trying to placate him, her face marred with a concerned frown. She had been out of sorts since the morning when she discovered the photograph, more worried about her friend than her biological father. Victor had begun tracking Vin through his sources, too, now that Hector was dead and he was freer, but frankly, Alpha didn't have a good feeling about it.

Alpha understood Dante's frustration, though. He would be fucking pissed too, if someone broke into his home where his family lived and left behind a bloody souvenir. He looked at the photograph on the table that Amara had found. Her biological father, his throat cut clean through with a wire wrapped around it, his body slumped on a messy desk, blood all over the papers. It was a gruesome scene, one that would shake anyone who wasn't used to seeing that kind of violence.

Tristan picked up the photo, examining it for any clues while Morana typed away on a tablet. "There was no breach in any of the systems," she informed everyone. "All doors and windows were closed."

Dante gaped at her. "Then how the fuck did he get in, Morana? Because he did, and he left that for a reason."

"Have you found the party guestlist?" Tristan asked suddenly, throwing the photo back on the table in the middle.

Morana shook her head. "There wasn't one available. It must have been on paper, and it was long ago. A lot of the useless junk from Lorenzo's time was thrown when Dante cleaned house."

"What about the number patterns?" Dante spoke again. He'd shared the pattern Xander had found, thanks to the last message Vin had sent, with the numbers adding up to seventeen.

Morana shook her head. "It doesn't look like a code to me. From what Vin told you, it was most possibly numbers for The Syndicate girls. The Shadow Man told me last week to get my old codes ready. For whatever reason, he wants it to be working.I'd stopped looking at it a while ago but they're almost ready now. I'm thinking of entering the numbers into it to see if their combination leads to any result."

Zephyr opened her mouth next to him, hesitating. Alpha wrapped an arm around her, encouraging her to speak. "When Hector was holding Zen and me, he called her 5057. Said she had left her friend behind."

Left a friend behind.

5057.

Left a friend behind.

Two men.

Dark night.

Metal fence.

'Don't concern yourself, I'm keeping an eye on her.'

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