Page 5 of The Alpha Grizzly's Mate

It was old and faint, but it was there. My mate had been here.

“This house was bought at auction by the team. We don’t know who lived in it before. I’m not sure about that chair, but there was a lot of furniture left behind. Maybe I could ask Tyrus to track the previous owner down?”

I quelled my bear as much as I could. He foamed at the mouth and was downright feral at the thought of his mate being in the chair but wasn’t here any longer. Still, I was here to get my uncle back and help my brother, not mate hunt, though I wouldn’t fight him on the info-getting. “I might be mistaken,” I lied through my teeth. “What do you need me to start on first?”

“Tyrus and Hammer have some info for you about Raph and that shit he’s gotten into. They’re on their way now. Every room has a can of paint in it and all the supplies. We can start this one together. Let’s move all of this furniture and get started.”

It had been a while since my brother and I worked together like this. We’d always bonded over this type of simple task—painting rooms was perfect. I felt silly, glancing at that chair every once in a while, but my bear wanted what he wanted, even if the only proof of my mate was the ghost of a scent. “Can you tell me now what all of this is about? What do you and your team actually do?”

He started a large wall, stroking paint in a W-pattern. “There’s a lot of omega trafficking going on this world, Levi. This team, not my team, but Hammer’s if it belongs to anyone, is trying to stop as much as we can. There’s a huge ring, and it’s like the more omegas we rescue, the more we find in need of help.”

“Trafficking?” I gasped. “I mean, I’m not naive enough to think it doesn’t happen, but it’s that extensive?” Goddess, the omegas in here were all… I shook my head at the thought of the disgusting alphas who’d done this to him.

He nodded, and I almost threw up in my mouth at the thought. “It’s good work,” I said, meaning it. “Saving people. Saving lives.”

“It is. When I was in the military, they told us we were doing good work, but there was always that worm of doubt in the back of my head. We didn’t see the outcome all the time. But this? We rescue the victims and their babies and make sure they’re taken care of. It’s a whole other kind of pride. You’re actually changing the world here—at least, we hope so.”

“We absolutely are.” We both turned to see two men at the door. One taller and broader than the other, though the smaller-statured one was clearly the alpha here. It was the alpha who had spoken.

“Hammer, Tyrus, this is Levi, my brother.”

We put down our rollers and all shook hands.

“Thank you for looking into our uncle.”

“Yeah. You’re welcome but your aunt was right. He’s gotten himself into some wild shit. Your uncle is basically in the middle of a hive of criminal bees. They have their hands in everything, and I mean everything bad. Their latest venture is child and omega trafficking. We’ve been hunting these fuckers for a while.”

My face heated with embarrassment. “My uncle is involved in it?”

The big bear, Tyrus, shrugged. “Not sure. He may have bought into one of their smaller schemes, but that’s where our intel runs cold. He may have seen something he wasn’t supposed to, or he’s gone way over the edge and is in the business with them. It’s one of those things that we’ll have to discover in person.”

“You up for this, Levi?” Hammer asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“What exactly are you asking?” I replied. My bear reared up inside me, offended at the accusation that I wasn’t alpha or man enough to handle the same things they could. I wasn’t military like my brother or some underground omega-saving mafia man like they were, but I could hold my own. I had weapons training from my brother. Tactical training, as well. Being the alpha of a pack with rivals and enemies meant you had to be ready for anything.

“He’s up for it. I wouldn’t have asked him to come here if he wasn’t.”

Hammer nodded, seemingly accepting the approval of Sutton.

“Then let’s meet up at the warehouse tonight. Family dinner. We’ll make the plans to get in and get your uncle.”

After a long day of painting rooms, I thought I would pass out from the exertion but, instead, I lay awake thinking about a chair of all things. Where had it come from? How long ago had my fated mate sat in that very chair or maybe in this very house. The faint scent lingered in my senses, driving my bear and me to near insanity.

Perhaps Tyrus would be able to find out something.

Maybe then I could finally have a chance at my fated mate.

Chapter Four

Colson

I had my suit on and walked into the dining room at exactly seven. I knew better than to be late and zero part of me wanted to be a second early. As it was, it was a struggle to go down there at all. If my grandfather was still around, I’d have gone to sleep and played the “ask forgiveness” card. But with my father, forgiveness was off the table.

What I really wanted to do was curl up in bed and go to sleep. Or maybe find one of my favorite books and read until my eyes couldn’t stay open. Both of those ideas were a bazillion times better than dinner, but pissing my father off on the day I came home was not a good idea. Heck, pissing him off on any day wasn’t a good idea.

My father sat in his seat at the head of the table when I walked in. I gave him a nod. I didn’t play the games most people did with him, going over and basically kissing his ass. But respect was nonnegotiable and, long ago, I discovered the nod was acceptable from me and never looked back.

“You know our guests, the Marcus family,” he said.

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