Page 69 of Run Free

“What? No one ever said it was supposed to be a secret.”

I sighed. “Normally there’s a non-disclosure form you fill out, but since they didn’t officially hire you, that wasn’t done. I should have told you. I’m sorry. We’ll get all that sorted before the next mission,” I told Gage. To Thomas I added, “I can’t discuss what I know about the Verndari, Thomas.”

“I was afraid you’d say that, so let me add what I do know about the Verndari then. They have been a secret organization basically since the start of time. Their role is to protect shifters and keep human suspicions about us under control. They pass this information down from generation to generation. The current generation rising though wants to experiment on our people.”

“What?” I interrupted, shocked by his words. “We don’t experiment on shifters, we help them.”

“I said the new generation. They are more or less rogue Verndari. They’re the ones that kidnapped Lily in Alaska, Clara.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

He shook his head sadly and I could tell by the haunted look in his eyes that he was being serious. “Maddie’s tied into them, too. They took her in and practically raised her and Oscar during the years she was away. Somehow they never realized who or what they had living under their roof. They had been tracking some rogue tigers though and thought Oscar may have been the product of them but had never suspected Maddie. I’ve met John, he helped us out with their technology when Cole was injured. He was actually transported to a Verndari facility for care.”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“John? Do you have a last name?” Gage asked.

“Winthrop,” Thomas said, and my heart started pounding fast.

“No, it can’t be. Jacob had Maddie all those years? I was working for him during that time, Thomas. He’s my boss.” I knew I shouldn’t have confessed that but I was overwhelmed by all he was telling me.

I knew there was more to the Verndari than they let on. I knew that the advanced medicines they had could only come from experimenting on shifters, but I never really wanted to believe it. They were the good guys. We went out of our way to help animals and shifters alike. They weren’t supposed to be the enemy. How could I ever take another assignment after hearing all of this?

“Look, I’m not telling you this to freak you out. I don’t think John is a bad guy, Clara, but I do want you to stay cautious. It’s good for us to have eyes and ears on the inside. Kyle Westin has an entire team dedicated to monitoring their activities, and we’ve got a few Verndari allies on the inside, too. They helped Lily during her brief capture and notified me through Patrick O’Connell, who apparently has some strong friends on the inside.”

I knew Patrick. He was mated to Lily’s sister Elise, and one of Kyle Westin’s Betas. All the Westins were like family, especially since Madelyn and Thomas had both taken Westin mates. Still everything he was saying was too much to take in at once.

“You’re overwhelming her,” Gage said in a tone that told my brother to back off.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to know how the Verndari fit in with your job,” Thomas said.

I nodded. “They fund the program I work for. I know their history about protecting shifters and the responsibility being passed down from generation to generation. They are very affluent. Like seriously rich, and they have deep connections everywhere. I’m talking internationally, Thomas. If there’s ever anything I want or need, all I need to do is ask. When an assignment comes in, it’s through a special phone I keep on me at all times, not my personal one. A private jet is usually waiting to pick me up within a few hours and I’m briefed on the plane about the new job. I’m a vet, it’s what I do. I help animals, Thomas, that’s all. I know they know about me and our kind. That was brought up early on and one of the reasons John was so excited to have me join the team. They’re good people. We do a lot of really good things. I’m struggling to see them as the bad guys.”

“They’re not, Clara. Not really,” Thomas assured me.

“I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for the work Clara does,” Gage told him honestly.

I squeezed impossibly closer to him. I didn’t like to think about any of that.

“I just want you to be aware. Do your job but keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious, too. I know Gage will keep you safe out there; I also know, you don’t need him, either. The girls may look at you like a porcelain doll trying hard not to even hurt your feelings, but I know better. You’re a lot tougher than anyone here gives you credit for. If anything strange comes up, you’ll let me know?”

I nodded. Thomas rose to leave and I stood up and hugged him first. “You’ll watch your back too, and not take any unnecessary risks this week, right?”

He gave me a crooked half smile. “I’ll be careful,” he promised before leaving.

“You okay?” Gage asked me.

“Yeah, it was just a lot to take in. I’m okay though. I had no idea anyone here had ever heard of the Verndari, and come to find out, most of the people I know are in on their secret. It’s just weird, but I’m okay.”

I was telling him the truth, too. In a way I was relieved to know Thomas, as Alpha of my Pack, was up-to-date and knew about this enormous and influential faction out there that kept tabs on our kind. It really didn’t take a genius to understand they were doing that, either. John had an uncanny way of always knowing which jobs a shifter would be on, so that really wasn’t that surprising to hear.

The part that had disturbed me the most was the confirmation that they were testing on our kind. I had always suspected and thought the benefits they were providing far outweighed the reality of that scenario. Hearing they had captured Lily for testing, though, brought that into a whole new perspective that would take some time for me to mentally and emotionally process.

Combining all that, a revelation with the sense of impending doom hanging over us all, along with fears of an attempted assassination on Thomas, and I was just glad Gage was there and I wasn’t facing life alone anymore. I didn’t have to pretend everything was okay or try to be strong and put on a good face. He would see through all of that anyway.

“I love you,” I whispered to him, looking up into his eyes. They were wide with surprise at first, but quickly softened. “I love that I can just be me and that’s enough. I even love it when we fight, especially knowing we will make up later. I waited my entire life for you, and you are worth every second of it.”

Gage smiled warmly. He kissed my forehead, then my lips, but he didn’t say the words back. He just quietly lifted me off the couch and carried me to bed where he showed me how he felt instead.

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