Page 81 of Hunting Their Omega

I shook my head. “She helped us, Alaric. Quite successfully, I might add.”

He blew out a harsh breath, scrubbing one hand through his hair. “I know. And I know I was the one who suggested it, but she’s still . . .”

“A witch,” I finished.

“I don’t know if we can trust her.”

“She probably feels the same. But she still walked straight into a den of wolves to help our mate. If nothing else, we should at least be grateful. There was no other way we could have done this otherwise.”

“I know,” he said ruefully.

Alaric had more reasons than most to hate witches. They were responsible for killing his brothers, but he had to learn to compartmentalize his feelings because it looked like we would need them in the future.

Wynn walked in, and I asked, “How was the exit?”

“It went well enough. The representatives weren’t happy, but hopefully, this will at least stop them from making more surprise visits. What happened with Isolde?”

I shrugged. “Guess we’re about to find out.”

We found Isolde on the couch with a warm cup of tea in her hands. I sniffed the air out of habit, smelling nothing but our mate. I had to remind myself that the witch’s brew was still active, and the pup was fine, just not perceivable. Still, it was unsettling how easily the witches could render our senses inept.

“Before the councilmen left, Rollo told one of his guards that a ranking test wasn’t needed,” Isolde said as we took our seats.

I shook my head, not sure I understood. “What do you mean by a ranking test? That’s impossible to do before the pup is born.”

“I thought so, too, but he said it like they had . . . equipment for it. Like they were going to do it if the pregnancy test were positive.”

I looked between Wynn and Alaric. Their carefully blank faces told me the Council was more dangerous than we originally thought.

“Contact Leighton,” Wynn said to Alaric. “Tell him to get his witch back in Hidden Creek as soon as possible. We need to figure out if something like that is feasible. Tell him to be discreet and bring her straight to my office. I don’t want this information getting out.”

Alaric was already on his phone, relaying the orders.

I turned to Wynn. “If they had the nerve to bring the test here, where everyone could see, they had to have done it before.” My thoughts spiraled, and my wolf urged me toward Isolde.

Wynn clenched his fists. “Which means those packs didn’t feel it was necessary to warn everyone else.”

“We have to be more cautious about the packs we approach.” Or else we would show our hand to the Council before we stood a fighting chance.

Alaric perched on the arm of the couch, a frown tugging at his lips. “We’re going to need the witch for a lot more than a conversation, I’m guessing.”

“Yes,” Wynn responded simply.

Isolde was quiet beside us, and I moved closer. “We’ll figure it out together.”

She looked up at me, her eyes round with hope. “We will.”

“How are you feeling?” Wynn asked.

“Good.” She scrunched her nose. “The same, really. I was worried for a second that it didn’t work.”

“If it didn’t, I’m sure your sleight of hand would have. Very impressive.” Wynn smirked.

Isolde was ready to switch the sample with one Winnie provided as a last resort.

A radiant smile lit up her face. “Being raised in a boarding house gives you unique life skills, including sneaking things past shrewd Alphas and Betas.”

I laughed. “Remind me not to piss you off.”

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