Page 153 of Mates: Posy

I only asked because I wanted to make Mase writhe in embarrassment, but should have known better. He just looked at me out of the corner of his eye, then grinned a lazy, satisfied grin.

At least you got reaction out of him, Ashy,my wolf pointed out. That hundred percent better than stone face.

Good ole Sid. Always looking on the bright side.

"Do you want me to tell you, or play the memory for you?" he smirked. "And are you sure you want to interview prisoners with a hard-on?"

"Aw, Mase!" Wyatt and Cole groaned together while Jay snickered quietly.

"All right, boys," Ranger strode into the cell block. "Let's do this."

"Show us later," I hissed at Mase. "Show useverything."

Because of Onyx, King Julian had decided to wait in the anteroom and watch through the two-way glass. Ranger would start the questioning and we'd jump in. The king would join us if he could or wanted to.

As my brothers and I flanked him, Ranger went to the closest prisoner, who looked defeated and hopeless already.

"On your feet," Ranger barked at the guy, who did as he was told, but kept his head down. "Name?"

"Julio Serrano," he said quietly with a slight Spanish accent.

"You surrendered without a fight. Why?"

"What Alpha Halder is doing is wrong. Someone needs to stop him, and there are not enough of us left in the pack who have the will to fight him. We need help."

"Not enough left? What happened to the others who fought him?"

"Many he killed. A few fled. Our beta, Luke MacGregor, most recently. Everyone who tried was caught and tortured or killed. Luke and his sister are the only ones who haven't been dragged back yet."

Julio finally raised his head and looked in Ranger's eyes.

"We prayed they made it somewhere safe, somewhere they could get help for us, but the alpha told us yesterday that he'd found them. He gathered twenty of us and ordered us to deliver a warning."

"What kind of help were you hoping for?" Mase asked.

"We've tried for the past year to get word to the king that our pack was in trouble." Julio shook his head. "Alpha Halder is going to destroy Tall Pines and everyone in it if he isn't stopped."

"Those boys in the duffel bags, the twins. Who are they?"

Jay's question seemed dumb at first, because we already knew the answer, but I realized it was a good way to confirm if Julio was telling the truth and knew what he was talking about.

"They're the MacGregors' cousins. Zayne and Zayden Maxwell. Poor little Lilah is going to be crushed if they're dead. That is, if she herself is still alive."

Julio's dark eyes grew moist and glittered, and it was clear he cared about the queen, even if he didn't know that she was the queen yet.

Part of me wanted to tell him about Luke and Lilah, but Halder could still link him and he with his alpha. I wanted to believe Julio's honest face, but knew we couldn't risk it. Glancing back at Ranger, I saw the same warning on his face that Mase was sending throughourlink, and we all shared a quick nod of agreement. We were here to get information, not give it out.

"Did Alpha Halder target them because the MacGregors ran away?" Jay asked.

"Yes. He wants Lilah. He's obsessed with hurting and terrifying her. He wanted to show her that he will do anything to get to her."

"So he knows she's here at Five Fangs?" Cole growled.

"He does now. Ever since the witch led us here this morning."

"Who was the shifter leading your group?" I moved a step closer. "The one who hurt the witch?"

"Ryker Schultz," Julio spat. "He was loyal to the alpha, not the pack."

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