Page 88 of The Syndicater (Dark Verse 6)

'More than keeping an eye, I'd say. You've got her under your thumb.Who's she?'

'5057.'

'Shit, the one who left the friend behind?'

'Yeah. Daughter of someone important. I have my orders, and you have yours. Make sure no one finds a thing. The Syndicate would kill us.'

'And we never met.'

'No.'

Something flashed in his head, a shadow of a memory teasing his brain for a microsecond before it was gone.

A headache split his head open, making him groan as he held it.

"What's wrong?" Zephyr's voice drummed into his skull from the side.

"I think I got a flash," he rasped out, clenching his eye shut as the ghost pain behind his missing eye intensified. It felt likesomeone was cleaving it out with a spoon, the dull edge making the pain sharper. He began to pant.

"Alpha?"

'What did you hear, Alpha?'

'What's this syndicate thing, Hector?'

'Tell me what you heard!'

'What did you get into?'

'What's this 5057? Is it someone? Who was that man?'

'Fuck, why did you have to listen?!'

The throbbing in his temples made his teeth grit, an animal noise leaving him as he held his head in both hands, breathing heavily.

"Baby?" Zephyr's hand was on his back, her voice scared.

Alpha kept a hold of his head, letting his heart calm down and his brain work whatever the fuck was happening to it. Everyone thankfully stayed silent as he breathed roughly, his body shaking as his wife rubbed his back over and over. He didn't know how long it took, but after what felt like hours, the throbbing finally subsided to a dull ache.

He exhaled, looking up to see everyone staring at him with varying looks of concern. Dante was almost up and off his seat.

"I'm okay," he told them all, his voice still rough.

"What happened?" Zephyr asked him, and he let out another breath.

"You got triggered," Amara deduced from her place, her face grim.

He gave a nod. "No idea why. Just got a flash of memory. The night I was attacked."

Zephyr gasped at his side, her hand flying to her mouth. He turned to look at her, his eye taking in the heartbreak on her face. He wished he could have told her he remembered her or anything about their time together. Maybe someday, he wouldget another flash that would let him share that good news with her. For now, it was just this.

"Hector attacked me," he told them, something they all already knew. "But there was another man there. I don't remember his face clearly, but I've heard his voice somewhere. He was older. They'd been talking about The Syndicate, about 5057, and how she was someone important's daughter and how she left a friend behind."

"Well, hell," Dante muttered, leaning back on the couch again. "This is wild."

"I think that's why I was attacked," Alpha deduced. "I heard something I shouldn't have. Maybe there was more which I can't fucking remember."

Everyone stayed silent, processing.

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