Micah linked, “She’s in love with Alexander.” We exchanged looks. I reasoned, “In love might be a stretch. Her tone was wistful.” With a touch of longing. I rubbed my head, starting to get a headache. She added, “Their dad is the strongest Alpha around and their mom is a double Princess… everyone knows about them.” Not everyone knew who I was though. My name, sure. What I looked like? No. I studied her, thinking yet again over my options.
Rationally speaking, her age played in my favor. She was only fifteen years old. If we built trust with her, she could explain more. Something told me she knew a hell of a lot more than she was saying. I’d bet she knew the blue circle group people. If I were them, I’d recruit the shit out of Ashley Griffen. Irrationally, I clenched my fists to resist ordering Micah to open a portal and take her home with us.
I nodded, “I agree temporarily. I’ll have to confirm with my King. For obvious reasons, we do not tend to close the Conners out of things.” Ashley argued, “But in special cases you do, and the Princess understands. She was raised that way and understands how things work…”
I cut her off, “The more you ramble the more I wonder how you know these things. Do you know a Hackura?” She muttered, “I met one… a full blooded Hackura… once… before… and a partial one….” I sighed, “You really are evasive like a Fairy.” She actually blushed and looked proud of herself.
We finished our burgers, and she slid information over to me. Reading over it I could see she was giving us a shipment to stop. I took out my phone and moved a few booths away. I began coordinating. Gunner and Harper had texted several comments throughout the conversation in a group chat.
Gunner:She knows more than she’s saying.
Harper:Do you want to throw her through a portal to our realm and protect her? Because I do.
Gunner:I know, I’m keeping you here.
Gunner:Black Path has them working with Hunters knowing they are Werewolves?
Harper:So, maybe Black Path is trying to let Hunters see Werewolves aren’t all bad. There was clearly more to the plan than Ashley said. They stopped her. Could they be trying to flip Hunters? They really should use the Werewolf Council for this. It’s dangerous.
Gunner:Wow, she loves Alexander.
Harper:Shocking. He has another fan. Maybe she watches his videos and that’s where she learned to fight so well the Hunters are jealous.
Gunner:She knows we do anonymous sources? I’m having IT flag her name. Maybe someone ran across her in Missouri before she moved.
Harper:Can she be a little less smart?
Me:I agree with all of the above. I think if we build some trust with her then she could tell us more.
Gunner:She has to know that blue circle group. I’d want her if I was them.
Me:Agreed.
They mirrored my own thoughts during the conversation which settled me about the whole thing. Micah took out his computer. Ashley sat forward suggesting, “You should use Atom instead. It’s easier to use.” I’d like to say I knew what that meant, but I had literally no clue. I watched them both carefully. Ashley tugged on her sleeve looking nervous.
Micah looked up, “I normally do. I just have a few codes I write in Sublime Text.” She moved to his side of the booth looking cautiously excited. She added, “You should change that to a three... and that one to a plus… if you want it work…” Sierra groaned, “You can’t just tell people they are wrong, Ash.” She frowned, “But it is wrong. I guess it was rude though… but I didn’t mean it to be. I was trying to help.”
Micah studied her before looking back at the screen. He yelled, “Cayden, just a warning that I’m never letting her go! This fixes the problem my dad and I have been having! You just inverted the…” I tuned them out immediately. I had a healthy respect for the technological people, I just wasn’t one myself. My phone buzzed.
Gunner:Oh my god! She’s right.
Harper:He’s geeking out as hard as Micah is. I’ve lost him to coding babble.
I watched with a smile on my face as Micah and Ashley came up with some kind of code together. I studied her, thinking something didn’t quite add up here. A kid with a GED who had these contraptions she called concealers should be competing for grants. Colleges and supernatural’s should be tripping over themselves to work with her, but no one knew about them. Did her old pack not understand how valuable she was? She was talking code like it was her job.
Eventually, I rejoined the group and handed her a burner phone. I announced, “You can contact us on this. I’ll let you know if we are moving forward with you as a source.” She smiled, “You’re going to say yes. It’s written all over your face. You like me… umm wait. Not in a weird way. Oh gosh... you’re mated. I meant… you think... like…” Micah was biting his lip trying not to laugh as Ashley kept on talking.
I teased, “Do you ever stop talking once you start?” She whispered, “No.... not really. I was just trying to clarify I didn’t mean that you like me like me, like anything more than a person. Most people like me in a different way. They are possessive…. and weird…” Addison jumped in, “Ashley.”
She ignored her, “One could even say creepy.” I frowned, “Excuse me? You said that earlier too.” She shrugged “People are always saying I’m theirs. They want to have sex with me… most want to possess me… I’m too much, I guess… it’s a popular opinion down here.” She was too much because she talked a lot? The urge to get her out of here was growing.
I frowned, “If you become our source and you are ever in danger we will come for you, Ashley. We protect our own and our sources.” Ashley laughed, “I have yet to come across someone who can beat me in a fight. That sounded boastful… but it’s also true.” Addison slammed her head down onto the table. Ashley asked, “What? It is!”
I gave them an out, “You’re right though, about me liking you in a non-romantic way.” I didn’t think it would help to say I felt a brotherly connection to her. Her brother was an idiot so that might freak her out. I hadn’t spent much time with her, and I wanted to protect her more than most of the sources I had.
Hell, it might be more than I wanted to protect all of them. Some I’d even known since I was ten. We got up to leave and waved goodbye as we walked out the door. Ashley was already writing in a notebook she had while the others tried to pull her out of it. It didn’t look like it was going to go well.
I drove Micah and I back to his fake apartment. I told him, “We’ll keep this apartment for you since Ashley is likely going to be a source for us. I’m certain that Uncle Bjourn will agree.” Harper walked into the apartment nodding. He agreed, “He will. He would without me recommending it, but I absolutely intend to do so.”
