Page 62 of Forever Mine

“You're all a bunch of idiots. Don't listen to them, Liam. If it means that much to the kid, just do it. What's it going to hurt? Keep the kid happy, keep his mom happy. Geez, you two are mated, that much you should know by now,” Cole added for Kyle and Patrick's benefit.

“Okay, I see his point,” Kyle conceded.

“I wouldn't even know where to start,” I admitted.

“A ring. Down on one knee. Say 'I do' and done. Humans do it all the time, many multiple times. How hard can it really be?” Cole asked.

“”But then what? I don't know the first thing about human marriages, or weddings. Where do you go to make it legal? Do we have anyone here that can even do that?” I asked.

Cole shrugged. “You can get a license online, it's easy.”

“Mr. Anderson, sounds like you just volunteered,” Kyle teased.

“Fine, if that's what it takes to get out of here quicker, I will get certified to officially marry you. Crisis over. Now, please tell me that wasn't what you dragged me over here for on a Monday afternoon. You know it's the only day I close the shop.”

Patrick glanced my way and the mood in the room instantly changed.

“What's happened, and why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Kyle asked.

I started to talk, but Patrick cut me off. “Kyle, you remember my friends. My ‘out of town friends,’” he said cryptically.

“Yeah, what about them?”

“How much have you filled Cole in on them?”

“Shit, that's been total need-to-know. I haven't told anyone about your, uh, friends.” Kyle said.

“Well, you might want to fill Cole in quickly, before I start then,” I told him.

Kyle's curious eyes scanned me. “You know about Patrick's, uh, friends?”

I nodded.

“Okay, so I'm the only one here who doesn't know about his friends, so please, just clue me in already,” Cole said, getting frustrated.

Half an hour later he was shaking his head. “I get why you kept this to yourselves, but as Beta, don't you think I should have been included in that 'need to know?’”

“At the time, no. Honestly, I'm not real sure where Liam fits into any of this or why we're even telling you now, so maybe it's time you brought me up to speed too. What do Patrick's human friends have to do with you, Liam?” Kyle asked.

“Too much of a coincidence for it to be different groups, and he's confirmed they wear the same symbol. The people Maddie was living with are part of a secret society called the Verndari, an ancient faction fully aware of the shifter presence and monitoring all activity. Monitor and assist if trouble arose, that was supposed to be it, but it's dividing and changing.”

I went on and told them everything I knew and even what I suspected. We pieced together they likely had Kelsey's aunt, Raina, and that did not sit well with my Alpha brother at all.

“What do we do about them?” Kyle asked.

“Nothing,” Cole said. He took a piece of paper and pencil from Kyle's desk and drew the symbol I immediately recognized. “Is this the symbol you saw?” I nodded. “I do appreciate you guys laying your cards on the table. I hope in the future we can maintain more open communication. Maybe not with you, Liam, but Kyle and Patrick, I do expect to be kept in the loop of things like that. If you can't trust me, then perhaps I'm not the Beta you need.”

“I trust you entirely, Cole. This was just a matter of keeping as tight a lid as possible. I admit, I was wrong not to include you.”

“Damn straight. If you had you'd know, I've got my own connection to the Verndari. Didn't know their name, but there's a couple regular human tourists that like to come up for fresh tats. And wouldn't you know, they bear that same mark on them. I've even done a few new recruits of theirs.”

I looked closely at the emblem. “It's a little off,” I said. “This line shouldn't be here.”

“Not on the original. I know because I've added it to a few recently. Guy by the name of Jackson brings up people from time to time. I know he knows about our kind. He hasn't come right out and told me, but he's hinted loud and clear. Been trying to determine if I'm a shifter or a potential recruit. I'd say what you're seeing with that line is a coup within this group.”

Patrick piped in. “That makes sense, Liam. You told me the guy said there were some who were moving things in a different direction. Researching on our kind and stuff.”

“To better humanity,” I whispered. It was bad. It was very bad. “These people have been in our territory, they're watching us. They are taking our kind and doing who knows what with them. We have to stop it.”

---