Page 20 of Mated in Darkness

“I’ve not mated into the Pack. I have no family members that are part of it. It always just made sense for me to be close to it, but never part of it. Riaz said that he could blood me into the Pack if I wanted to, to create a bond, but you know the rules, you’re not allowed to make wolves.”

I let out a growl. “It was our own moral compass, but now it’s become law thanks to our treaties with the humans.”

“So even if I wanted to, they can’t change me into a wolf unless I’m near death. And as I have no plans to be near death, here we are. However, that was a long-winded explanation of my saying you’re safe here. Now, call your Alpha if you’d like.”

“Fine.”

I pulled out my phone and called quickly. Kade answered on the first ring. “Kaylee? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. But there are a few things you need to know.”

I outlined finding Spencer’s body, the possible rogue situation, and the black marks. Jason added a few things as I spoke, and Kade paused. “Is this human with you then?”

“His name is Jason,” I corrected, a slight growl in my voice. I held it back as much as I could though, because this was my Alpha, my uncle, and my superior.

It was hard not to be the asshole in this situation.

“He’s safe.”

And though I had been the one to drill and question Jason, I didn’t want anybody else to do the same.

I didn’t know what this meant, and I didn’t want to. But there was something here, and I needed to focus.

Even if it meant ignoring things that were important.

“Okay. I have plans on speaking with Riaz right after this. Do you want to stay there, Kaylee? To get justice for Spencer?”

“Yes. I want to find out who did this. And I want to find out more of why Spencer was here.”

“From what Nick has been able to tell, Spencer got a phone call from his old home and came back to Texas rather than go to the conference. But that’s all he could find out.”

“When did he find this out, and why didn’t I know it?” I asked, feeling hurt at the slight.

“About three minutes before you called. If you hadn’t called me, I was going to call you. You’re doing a great job, Kaylee. I hate the fact that our Packmate is dead. That I didn’t feel the severing of our bond until recently.”

I cursed. “You already knew he was dead when I called.”

“Of course I did. The hierarchy is all connected to you, and so we did. But I wanted to confirm because, for all I knew, he was just severed from the Pack and not life itself. He will be mourned here, his life celebrated. But his family is down there as well, and hopefully the answers are too. So stay as long as you need.” He paused. “I can’t send Connor, he has things to do up here, but do you want me to send your dad? Nico?”

I shook my head and then remembered he couldn’t see me. “No, I can do this. I’m working with a few of the Starlight Pack. And Jason.”

“Jason then?” he growled, his voice low. Even though Jason wasn’t wolf and wouldn’t be able to hear, with the way that my cheeks flushed he did raise a brow.

“Thank you for trusting me to do this. I’ll give you an answer soon, Uncle Kade.”

“I like that I’m Uncle Kade and not Alpha when I’m teasing you about a certain man who seems to put a nice growl into your voice.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“If that’s what you say.”

“Tell Mom I said hi.”

“Oh, I’m going to be telling her a few other things.”

I held back a snort, amazed I could even laugh at the situation.

Spencer was dead. We needed to find out who had called him here and why someone wanted him dead. We needed answers, and yet all I could do was wonder about the man beside me and why my Alpha and uncle had picked up on something in my voice I hadn’t even realized was there.

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