Page 2 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

“With a population of just under a thousand, it’s a tight-knit community, and many of the humans there are even aware of and live peacefully with shifter presence,” the commander continues. “However, recently, it’s come to our attention that the alpha there, Alexander Varun, is not acting in accordance with the Maan Pact. His reckless drug dealing, in particular, has landed our division in some hot water with the DEA. We don’t want dead agents on our hands, so we’re sending you boys in there to deal with it.”

So that’s what the wolf’s instinct was about. I wonder if it was piqued at the reality of what’s happening in my hometown or at the fact that I would have to witness it for myself.

“Do we have any surveillance in Rosecreek?” Eva asks, and Byron uses that as a cue to reopen his laptop, hitting a few buttons before giving a shake of the head.

“Two traffic cameras, one above an ATM. Otherwise, nothing.”

“It’s a really small town,” Bigby says, glancing again at me. “I’m surprised it’s even on our radar.”

“It’ll be the most delicate case you’ve taken on,” the commander says, eyeing us. “Our goal is to intervene in the illegal activity and subtly remind this alpha that there are eyes on him and that everyone adheres to the pacts, including him and the Rosecreek pack. Primary objective is to reduce the reckless, illegal activity with zero casualties, especially human casualties.”

His emphasis on human casualties leads me to believe there have already been some. I think of when my father was alpha and the strict rules he had about interacting with humans. What is this new alpha doing?

“Are shifter casualties permitted?” Ado asks in a careful voice.

“Potentially,” the commander says, glancing at Ado through thick, square glasses. Ado’s face is a careful mask of calm, as always, but it’s not surprising that he’s already thinking of who he might take down during the mission. I wonder if Ado is thinking about this alpha, Varun. I wonder if the rest of my team members know just how Varun came to be the alpha in Rosecreek.

“One last thing,” the commander says. “This alpha, there are rumors about other mistreatments. We try not to interfere with pack politics, but I’d like you all to check out the claims and see if they’re substantiated.”

I feel a bristle down my back at the idea of what this guy might be doing to my old pack-mates. The rest of the team goes quiet as well, and the tension in the room heightens. We’ve all seen our fair share of alphas who get drunk with power, taking advantage of the people in their packs and the natural loyalty they feel.

Bigby is still looking at me. I work hard to give him nothing—not a flicker of emotion—to work with.

“Hey guys!”

A voice reverberates through the room, and we all turn to look at Percy, who’s just come waltzing in, holding a hot pink box in one hand and a drink carrier with frozen drinks in the other.

“Sorry I’m late, but I thought I could soften the blow with donuts and frappes.”

Eva and Bigby turn up their noses at the frozen, sugary coffee drinks, but Ado accepts one quietly. Percy takes a drink, oblivious to our stunned silence. He has a tiny dot of whipped cream on his nose. Byron reaches over and takes a donut, but the atmosphere in the room is still fraught.

Two months ago, we conducted a raid on a rogue alpha. When we infiltrated his mansion, we found several female shifters bound and gagged in the basement, and that was one of the tamer abuses we witnessed. I shudder slightly, thinking of the female shifters in Varun’s pack, and of one in particular, though I try to avoid the flashbacks.

Soft, curly hair. Freckles. One stupid kiss on prom night. I’d abandoned my date and was wandering the halls with something unsettling lodged in my chest, and there she was: leaning against the wall, tears streaking softly down her cheeks.

I’d never felt rage like what I felt then. I’d wracked my brain, trying to remember who she’d come with, but I didn’t know. My body had felt drawn to her, and there I was, standing in front of her, looking down at the mascara streaked across her face.

When I think about her there and what the alpha might be doing, I force myself to take a deep breath to keep my cool.

I’m jolted out of my reverie as Percy snatches a donut and takes a noisy bite. He looks around the room cheerfully, then mumbles at us through frosting and sprinkles, with a tone far too bright for the information we’ve just received.

“What did I miss?”

Chapter 2 - Linnea

I blink, looking around and trying to figure out where I am. It’s bright, with sunshine streaming through the windows and the sound of collective talking coming from the lunchroom at the end of the hall. Lockers line the walls. I’m in my old high school, except it’s also my current high school.

Looking down, I can see I’m wearing the standard school uniform, but I’m in slacks instead of a skirt because I don’t like how my legs look.

Dread rolls through me, making my stomach turn. To my right are two drinking fountains, so I lean over, drinking the water greedily to try and wet my dry mouth. I hold my hair back with one hand and close my eyes.

“Harper.” It’s Aris’s voice, and it makes me tense up immediately.

Two boys are coming toward me—Aris and one of his goons. Before I have time to move, to think, Aris’s friend has his hand on the back of my head, pushing it down so my face is drenched in the water from the fountain.

I let out a strangled sound and push away from the water fountain, wiping the water from my eyes and turning to try and see where they are, but the hallway is different now. Instead of being brightly lit in the middle of the day, it’s dark outside the windows, and the red exit sign is the only light, casting the hall in a dim glow.

When I reach up to touch my face, it’s still wet, but this time I know it’s from tears. Looking down, I see I’m in the glittering blue dress I wore to prom, and I know instinctively that I’m hiding in the hallway from Tommy Fage, who felt me up on the dance floor and called me a bitch when I pushed his hands away.

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