Page 13 of Forbidden Virgin Mate

"Anything?" Diego says, coming to stand behind me.

"I can see the transaction. I'm just trying to see where it's ended up. I'll check the other accounts." I reply before seeing something that makes my blood run cold. "Shit."

"What?" Diego snaps, and my eyes flick around to his.

"Did you check the joint pack account? The charity one?" I ask.

"No," Diego groans, obviously anticipating what I'm about to say.

"Another ten thousand," I confirm through gritted teeth. It's becoming clear this is no simple banking error.

Diego slams his cup down on the worktop. "Fuck!"

"Everything okay?" Saffy asks carefully from the doorway, looking a bit concerned.

Diego stops pacing and gives her a brief smile and a nod. She's half-terrified of her alpha at the best of times. Diego loves her like family, but she’s always been nervous around men, and he’s an alpha through and through.

"Sure thing, kid. Just having some issues with the bank," he replies.

The screen freezes and won't go back to the main page. Frustrated, I slam my hand onto the keyboard.

Saffy rushes over. "Can you not break the laptop?" She moves it out of reach.

"It'smydamn laptop," I mutter.

"With my videos for coursework on it," she says, checking it over and clicking on something to get me back to the main page. "What's the problem, anyway?"

I sigh. "Hell, you're good with these things. Some money has gone out of two accounts. I can see the transactions, but I can't find a name attached to them. You mind if she takes a look, Diego?" I'd never let anyone look at the pack accounts without my alpha's permission. Even Saffy.

"Sure thing," he replies. "You're doing that course on cyber stuff, aren't you, Saffy? You’re already more qualified than us to figure this out."

Saffy nods and gives Diego a brief but grateful smile before sitting down. She flicks between the pages with ease and brings up information I've never seen before. Eventually, she writes a few numbers and letters on a notepad next to the laptop.

"Okay," she says, spinning around to face us. "These are the accounts accessed, and this is the account the money has been transferred to,” she indicates the numbers she wrote on the notepad. “But I've never seen one without a name before. This account is just a series of random letters and numbers. I don't even see how a bank would allow an account like this. Do either of you recognize it?"

Diego and I lean over her shoulder to look at the notepad but shake our heads. Saffy's right, it's just a load of random digits. "Nothing to do with us," Diego mutters.

"Are we saying the money has been stolen? Is that what we're saying?" I ask no one in particular. "Only we have access to our accounts. And with the charity account, only Mateo and his beta have access."

"And the issue seems to be with our accounts. Unless they're missing money, too," Diego says thoughtfully. "I'm going to set up a meeting with Mateo. This needs to be kept quiet and handled quietly until we know what we're dealing with."

"We seem to be dealing with a thief, either here or at the bank," I say, looking at Diego.

"Or online," Saffy adds. "We study this stuff. Loads of online fraud happen all the time. If the bank knows where the money is going, they might be able to help."

Diego runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "There's always something, isn't there? We'll sort it; we always do. I'll go see what Mateo has to say. Maybe he can shed some light on things."

Diego heads out, grabbing another breakfast roll as he leaves. As usual, Saffy looks visibly relieved when he's gone. "Do you think this is really bad?" she asks me, chewing her lip nervously.

"Yes and no," I say, clearing the breakfast things. "It's thirty thousand missing, but we've got to assume it's some kind of mistake. Or if someone's taken it, we'll damn well get it back."

Saffy looks pensive, like there's something she's not saying. I roll my eyes. "Out with it, Saf. What's up?"

"The transfers. They look legit, like they've been authorized. I'm sure the bank will know more, but it looks like they've just been done normally. Like they were done by someone who has access to the account."

I know what she's saying, but I refuse to believe it. It makes zero sense. "But neither Diego nor I would do this. And Mateo's pack can only access the charity account, so it wouldn't explain the money missing from ours. Don't worry about it, okay?"

She flashes me a quick smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Okay, sure. I'm heading out. You need me to get anything? Remember, I'm staying at Emily's tonight, so I'll be back in the morning."

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