Page 52 of The Alpha: Part Two
Michael doesn't want me to change. He doesn't want me to be hard like they are. He doesn't have anything to worry about, though. I might want Flores to suffer, and I might want to contribute to that suffering, but I'm not ever going to be hard. There's a difference between distributing justice and hurting people.
Alpha Minos is sitting at our kitchen table, along with Mallory and someone else from the council. They want to go with us to visit Flores. Michael said no, and Seth said absolutely not. Ben said Minos could go, but Mallory couldn't; and that's what I think, too. I don't want Mallory anywhere near him. The only reasonI'mgoing near him is because he committed crimes against me personally. He owes me.
"He took my life from me," Mallory says quietly. She doesn't look up from the table. "He stole my life."
If any of the things people say about Alpha Minos were true, he'd argue that Flores gave her the life she has with him, but they aren't. He catches her twisting fingers between his palms and waits until she brings her gaze up to meet his. "What would you have me do?"
Mallory's eyes pool with tears and she looks away from Minos and toward Seth. "I don't have to go. I understand why I shouldn't. But let him go so he can see that monster's suffering for himself. That would help me."
Seth rubs his chest and glances between Michael and Ben.
"I say he goes," Ben says. "But I don't know about taking him in broad daylight. I don't think it's a great idea for the head of the WCC to be seen doing shady shit on the docks. I think Devon should come along, too; but he probably shouldn't be seen, either."
That's one of the problems they've been discussing since last night. Nathan, Trent, and Kaleb being seen on the docks is bad enough, but none of them have positions of power. They just have ties to people in power, which isn't a big deal because we all do at this point. But actual council members, of any council, being seen in the middle of this mess wouldn't do anything for our ultimate goal of fixing the West Coast or any of this trafficking mess. The problem is that Devon needs to be there when we interrogate Flores so he can provide a council witness for the East Coast Council, and Alpha Minos needs to be there not only to hear what Flores says himself, but also to give his omega just a bit of peace. I understand that more than anything, and I think my boys do, too.
"Nobody around here knows who Devon is," Seth sighs. "At least, I doubt they do."
Michael shakes his head. "Somebody here knows who he is. I guarantee it. He can't be on the docks."
Everyone goes back to the same chin scratching and head shaking that they've been doing all day. Then I get an idea. It's a ridiculous idea, but it could lead to a better idea. "What if they dressed up? Maybe a costume, or something."
Ben smiles at me, but not in a way that says I've solved the problem. "A costume would draw more attention than just them being seen as themselves."
"Wait," Alpha Minos raps his knuckles on the table. "She's onto something. It isn't so much that we need to be completely disguised. We would only need to have our faces covered so we couldn't be seen from a distance. Anyone who knows me and gets close enough will recognize my scent. Flores will know me the moment I walk through the door, but no one here actually knows Devon or any of the Johnson pack. They might recognize one of them from pictures, but unless they know his scent no one will know who he is. Including Flores. It could add an element of fear to the interrogation."
It sounds no less ridiculous coming from his mouth, but he might be right. I've seen people in the grip of delirium. Based on what Kaleb said, Flores may be in the throes of a mental break brought on by the state we left him in. If I was a more compassionate person, I'd feel regret and pity, but he snuffed out any compassion I might have ever had for him. "Kaleb said he was hallucinating. He said he was talking to Elijah."
Elijah Lopez has called us twice since everything happened. He and his pack are on the lower end of the Western territory right now trying to come to terms with themselves. Even if he was in the area, he certainly wouldn't be with Flores in that container on the docks. Michael and Seth share a long look.
"I have that lion mask from the festival," Alpha Minos suggests.
"This is ridiculous," Ben huffs. "You can't wear a fucking lion mask to torture information out of someone."
I tilt my head and push my lips from side to side. "Why not? He's miserable, but he wasn't afraid when we were there the last time. He just wanted you to stop pulling out his teeth. He needs to be afraid. He deserves to be as afraid as I was. As we were." I nod at Mallory, and she slowly nods back. "If he's out of his mind like Kaleb says he is, a bunch of people in masks standing around and watching what happens to him would be terrifying. Even if he recognizes Alpha Minos's scent, it will be clouded by all the other smells; and he won't know Devon at all."
"You pulled out his teeth?" Mallory asks, her brows pinched together.
"Yes," Ben answers. "Michael and me."
"I didn't want him to be able to put a mark on an omega. Ever." I hold Mallory's gaze while I say it. "I have them in a jar in the freezer."
The corner of Mallory's mouth turns up. “Good," she whispers.
Michael drags his hand down his face and sighs. "We have the ones we bought this year. Devon could wear one of those."
All the alphas take turns looking back and forth at each other. I look at Mallory. "How old were you?"
"Seventeen," she softly answers.
He really did take her life. "How bad was it?"
She just shakes her head.
"When did you meet Alpha Minos?"
She smiles, and it's sad around the edges. "He brought some of us to a card game. Flores liked to parade us around and pretend like he was some kind of matchmaker. The packs were gambling for us. I saw Alphonse from across the room when he walked in. He looked at me and nodded, and I felt it in my toes. I don't know how much money he threw around, but I went home with him that night." She takes his hands in hers as she finishes.
I love listening to Mallory. Her twangy accent is different from Seth's, but it's still soothing and sweet. Seth comes to stand behind me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "I changed my mind. She should go with us. If Alpha Minos agrees. She's right. Seeing Flores die will help her. It will, at the least, make her feel safer."
