Chapter 543

Nathan

I mingled among the crowd of southern socialites and pack leaders, sipping occasionally from my glass of champagne as I made small talk. Dan, of course, was never far; he always seemed to be schmoozing some Alpha or another.

“Alpha Maurice!” Dan exclaimed, stretching his arms out wide as an elderly Alpha with a head of wiry gray hair approached, hobbling on a cane. “When did they bring you back from the grave?”

The elderly Alpha shook his fist at Dan in mock humor, but his eyes were as sharp as knives as they swept over me. This was no doddering old man. In fact, I knew for a fact that he was as sharp as a tack; after all, I knew him well.

This was Alpha Maurice, the Alpha of the southern Twin Moon pack—and one of my cohorts.

Maurice and I had been in contact for some weeks now. He had aided me in collecting certain information about the sex trafficking ring, and he was the one who had set me up with my envoy. But truthfully, we had never spoken in person, nor even over the phone. We had only spoken indirectly through various messengers—in order to avoid a paper trail, of course.

As Alpha Maurice approached, though, the flicker of recognition that I expected to see in his weathered old eyes didn’t show itself. I chalked it up to some good acting on his part, though, and decided to do the same.

Of course. We had to keep everything on the down low.

The ball wore on around us, the sound of jazz music floating through the air as the warm glow of chandeliers twinkled overhead. Men and women dressed in their finest tuxedos and silk gowns swirled around the dance floor, taking part in quiet conversation.

It was a lovely party, truly. I wanted nothing more than to dance with Olivia, to enjoy some food and drink together. After all we had been through, that was the least of all what I wanted for her.

But tonight, there would be no pleasant revelry or hushed conversation. There would be no champagne or sweet nothings.

There would, however, be justice.

While Maurice and Dan talked about various sociopolitical topics, I carefully chanced a glance at my watch. The evening was still young, and Olivia wasn’t supposed to be here just yet. She was supposed to arrive with the escorts within an hour or so, and then the plan would begin to set in motion.

The plan was as follows:

Olivia and the escorts would arrive, infiltrating the crowd. At the party, aside from Dan, there were several of his cohorts in attendance; various Alphas and Betas from other packs. Once the crowd had been infiltrated, Olivia would use her Ancient Wolf abilities to force Dan and his cohorts to kneel.

Then, the rest should be simple. Once the criminals were kneeling, the escorts would publicly announce their crimes, thus shaming them and drawing attention. This would all be recorded, of course, so it could be televised.

Then, Maurice would call forth his guards.

Dan and his cohorts would be arrested.

It was a simple plan, at least for now—but it wouldn’t be the end of it. Dan and his cohorts were merely one middling level of this sex trafficking ring, a handful of ants in an anthill. But it would be a start. And once the footage was televised and the outrage for their actions began to ripple outwards, we would begin to take down as many ants as we could.

I already had names; as many names as Mira could find for me. When the footage from tonight was televised, it would also be accompanied by a message: “Turn yourselves in.”

And if the perpetrators of this horrific trafficking ring didn’t turn themselves in? Well, we’d find them and bring them to justice.

Assuming that the public didn’t find them first. And I could guarantee that the outraged public was far more dangerous and unhinged than the bars of a prison cell.

“Nathan?”

The sound of a familiar voice suddenly caught my attention, ripping me out of my rage-induced reverie. I whipped my head around, my eyes widening momentarily as I recognized the tall, salt-and-pepper-haired Alpha who was now standing in front of me.

“Alpha Montgomery,” I breathed, extending a hand. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Montgomery flashed me a charming grin and shook my hand. “Nor was I,” he said, then leaned in. “Dan dragged you along, eh? Trying to rub elbows and convince the Southern Alphas to stay in the union?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “We must be open books to you,” I said. “Because that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Alpha Montgomery let out a low, rumbling chuckle. “That’s only because that’s precisely my reason for being here as well,” he replied. “The Twin Moon pack just so happens to be our biggest client when it comes to our maple syrup exports.”

“Ah. So you’ve got money on the line,” I said, rubbing my index, middle finger, and thumb together.

“Haven’t we all?” Montgomery chuckled again. “So, where’s your lovely wife?”

“Olivia?” I swallowed, glancing momentarily over at Dan, who was now in the midst of a conversation with a woman at the bar. I figured that it would no longer matter after tonight whether Dan knew about the real situation between me and Olivia, so I didn’t bother to hide the full truth.

“She’s, uh… on her way,” I finished.

Montgomery nodded. For a moment, the briefest of moments, I thought I saw something flicker through his eyes. But it was gone just as quickly as it had come; perhaps he had been confused by the media frenzy surrounding our ‘divorce’.

“I see,” he said. “Well…” He paused. “I’ll be looking forward to meeting her. From what I understand, she’s quite the humanitarian.”

And so much more, I thought to myself, thinking back on her intense training. But I kept that part to myself, and simply nodded. “She is,” I said. “And I’m sure she’ll be looking forward to meeting you, as well.”

Montgomery smiled, but it was then that I checked my watch with a furrow of my brow for what felt like the millionth time; now that Montgomery had mentioned her, I couldn’t help myself.

And Olivia was officially late.

Quickly and as nonchalantly as possible, I lifted my gaze and swept it over the crowd, but there was no hint of her or any of the other women anywhere. They should have been here by now, slowly trickling into the crowd.

Montgomery, noticing my apprehension, cocked his head to the side. “Something wrong, Alpha Nathan?” he asked.

I forced a smile and shook my head. “No, no,” I lied. “My wife should actually be here any minute, so I was just looking for her.”

“Fashionably late, I see.” Montgomery regarded me for a moment over his champagne glass, a flicker of amusement crossing his features for a moment. Then, nodding his head toward a nearby courtyard surrounded by a cloister. “Shall we?”

“Pardon?” I asked.

“Well, she won’t get here any more quickly if you stand here staring at the entrance,” Montgomery said with a slight laugh. “Come. Let’s walk together.”