Phil smiled, “It’s the eyes and the smile more than stealth. My cousin over there can get away with anything too.” I corrected, “Within reason.” Melanie laughed, “I doubt that. I mean look at you… I bet everyone just melts.” Phil agreed, “They do.” I kissed her forehead, then ate more than my fair share of muffins.
Melanie ran upstairs to grab her clothes to hit the slopes. I snapped Phil and I into ours. Melanie came down in a skintight red snowsuit outfit. SERIOUSLY? She could make a snowsuit sexy? I was so beyond screwed.
I popped our group to the slopes. Phil joked, “Here I thought you just forgot about little old me since you keep popping around without me.” I rolled my eyes muttering, “You know I don’t forget about you. You can get anywhere you want with a portal.” Phil smirked, “So true.”
We rented the snowboards and took our mates over to the bunny slopes. Melanie picked it up in minutes. Sierra snorted at our faces saying, “She does that. She’ll be going down the Black Diamond runs here in ten minutes like a pro. She just picks up everything super easy. She gets bored and learn things. Do you want to know what she learned once because we left her alone for fifteen minutes?”
I answered, “I really do.” Sierra chuckled, “Fencing. She learned how to fence, just because. She’s done that with SO many things. Like archery. She can shoot a bow and arrow because she got bored. When she gets bored, she learns new things. She can speak several languages that she taught herself. I swear if the girl isn’t moving, she’s learning something.”
Melanie motioned to me. I went down to her on my board. She asked excitedly, “Can we go on some harder slopes?” I agreed, “We can do whatever you want.” I grabbed her hand and took her to the Ski Lift. We went down some green’s before she got me to agree on the blue’s.
Then she was insistent we try a black slope. We both made it to the bottom even though I was wracked with anxiety watching her, ready to catch her if necessary. Sierra and Phil were coming down a blue. Sierra laughed, “Did I not tell you?”
Melanie jumped into my arms and kissed me. I was surprised for a brief second. When she pulled back. She squealed, “This is SO MUCH FUN! I love it! I can’t believe all of this is happening. I mean really. Snowboarding in Switzerland… I just never thought I’d be here… seriously I mean I can’t…”
I kissed her, cutting off her rant. We spent the rest of the morning on the slopes. We ate lunch at the top of the mountain in the restaurant there before continuing. We had just managed to get Melanie off the snowboard when Elias and his men found us.
I instantly asked, “What’s wrong?” Elias smiled asking, “Who said anything was wrong?” Melanie studied him. I heard her again plain as day in my head, “Nothing seems wrong. I think he has news about something though. Plus, if something was wrong my alerts would’ve gone off and they didn’t.” What alerts? And where would she have gotten them?
I watched her for any sign she knew she’d linked me but there was no indication she had. Phil linked me, “Why are you watching her as if she’s going to hatch?” I explained, “This is the second time she’s linked me but she’s not trying to. She doesn’t seem to notice her internal thoughts come to me.” Phil’s eyes widened.
He warned, “That is a dangerous game. The internal thoughts of women are meant to be that way. How could she link you? You aren’t marked nor did she join the pack.” I admitted, “I don’t know but I’m not mad about it. She said her alerts hadn’t gone off, so nothing is wrong.” He asked, “What alerts?” I replied, “You know what I do.”
Elias said, “Let’s pop to your place and drop off the women. Then if you’d come with me, there’s someone who wishes to speak to you.” I nodded agreeing, “Of course. Will you and Sierra be ok at the house?”
Sierra actually looked worried. Melanie answered, “Sure.” I linked Phil, “What is that look?” Phil shrugged, “It was weird, right? Sierra’s claiming it was one hundred percent not weird.” I took our group around the corner and popped us home. I kissed Melanie before saying, “We will be back in a bit.” She whispered, “Ok.”
I popped our group to Elias’ pack. I was stunned to see Spencer there waiting. Phil smiled, greeting, “Hey cuz! What’s kicking?” Spencer answered, “I just wanted to give you some interesting information on….” He trailed off then asked Phil, “Are we still not saying his name?”
I linked Elias, “Does he know Ashley is with me?” Elias replied, “We didn’t say anything about that.” I said, “Please don’t.” Elias agreed, “Ok.” Phil said, “I’m sorry I was putting pieces together here. Though given little to no context I have done so. You asked SPENCER to get information on Trevor?” I answered, “I did.”
Spencer chuckled, “So we are saying his name.” I glared at him replying, “As a curse word. Knowing the man is going to die at my hands, but not before he wishes he was NEVER born.” Elias jolted. Spencer laughed, “Yes, well the wannabe future Gamma McCann was trying to break into the house where Ashley Griffen lives. It seems he wants to know where she is. He was caught.”
I nodded, “So he’s in the dungeons. Good.” Spencer frowned when he said, “You would think that, but no.” Elias questioned, “Excuse me? He broke into another pack member's place. What did they do? Ground him?”
Spencer shook his head, “No, it was far worse. They did nothing. The two mated men who live in that house there took him to the Alpha who dismissed him with a firm ‘we don’t break into people’s houses.’ Then the two men, whose house it was, got their pay cut for one week each for hitting the future Gamma for breaking into their home.”
Phil shouted, “You’re kidding me!” Spencer shook his head, “No, and no one there was surprised by that turn of events. They have a Warlock in the pack too. Stephanie McCann’s husband is one but he’s not registered in Uncle Eric’s records for their pack.”
I growled, “We don’t have that Stephanie McCann is married let alone that a Warlock lives with her.” Phil held up his hand saying, “Gage is checking on the records from the Supernatural Council since they oversee them.” It wasn’t there and we all knew it.
He confirmed, “Gage says we have nothing on that.” Spencer offered, “It’s more of an ‘in their hearts’ marriage, than an actual human realm marriage. They are not fated or chosen mates either. It’s weird. The guy isn’t from around there from what I gathered. Sadly, I don’t know his real name but I’m working on it. I can tell you his name isn’t Ajax.”
My eyes shot to Phil in horror. Phil clarified, “You’re saying the Warlock living with Ashley’s Aunt goes by Ajax?” Oden snarled, “As in mate’s brothers wolf?!” Yeah, I don’t think Ajax was going to like that. Spencer glanced between us, brows furrowed.
He confirmed, “He does go by Ajax, but it’s not his real name. His cover is good, deep even. I just happened to overhear him on the phone saying he was tired of the fake name. I find this assignment gets more intriguing. It’s filtering into other avenues. I am still working on all things Trevor McCann does not like.”
Phil groaned, “You didn’t.” I waved him off with that line of thinking. Elias said, “I’m not shocked he did to be honest so the Beta bloods aren’t.” Spencer added, “I might need more than a stab at this manchild now, cousin. He’s horrid. I despise him already, and I haven’t dug that deep. What I can tell you is he’s claiming Ashley is his second chance mate.” I snarled.
Everyone took a deep breath while Spencer raised an eyebrow. He continued, “Apparently, he stumbled upon his first mate dying and couldn’t save her. Which seems off. Honestly because he seems off.” He was dead is what he was.
Spencer added, “I can also tell you something went down between Ashley and Trevor as teenagers. What? I don’t know, because I haven’t found out yet but I will. There are MANY secrets in this pack, cousin. I find that I feel quite driven to uncover them all.”
I nodded, “Do it. Whatever you need get it. Find everything.” Spencer commented, “I’m glad you are on board. I do not like these people. Their main house is immaculate, but their pack house and surrounding homes are in shambles. Except for the Warriors under Ashley Griffen. They have repairs and seem to be in working condition.”
I questioned, “Shambles?” Spencer nodded, “They have two main houses. One that everyone who visits sees and the other one. I have to admit they are nice. The Alpha and Beta live there. Once you get further into the territory, where I’m guessing only the pack goes, it’s pathetic.”
“I know our surveillance hasn’t gone that far. I only did because I was following Trevor. I wouldn’t have even known where to go. Or known there was magic to get through to the real pack. I had to call Darius and swear him to secrecy. I dare say, Uncle Eric will be irate over the pictures I have.”
