Page 14 of Tempest

Liam leaned back in his chair, scratching at his short beard. “Where are you from? Who’s your alpha?”

Ore swallowed audibly, and even from across the room, Cash could see his eyes getting glassy before he dropped his gaze to his lap.

“Ore,” Liam prompted, “where is your pack?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I can’t remember that either.”

Chapter 5

Ore

Ore’s knuckles began to ache from how tightly he was squeezing his hands into fists. Despite that, he thought he was doing a pretty good job keeping his voice and demeanor calm as he answered the same question for the fourth—no, fifth—time. Alpha Amato just kept circling around, asking the same things repeatedly.

Ore’s responses didn’t change.

No, sir.

I don’t remember that either.

I don’t know.

I’m sorry, no.

I can’t remember.

Over and over and over again.

Alpha Amato switched up their order and changed them just enough to try and trip him up. He knew they were trying to catch him in a lie, that they didn’t believe he couldn’t remember anything beyond his name and the generic information any parahuman would know. He also knew it wasn’t personal.

It still sucked.

He hadn’t felt that bad when he’d left Cash and Pops’s house, but after an hour of sitting on the hard chair and being grilledrelentlessly, he found he was growing increasingly tired. That was more concerning to him than anything else. Even after three days of healing, he was still so weak from whatever they’d done to him. His joints were aching so badly he’d have to clench his teeth to hold in whimpers every time he shifted his weight.

He just wanted to go back to the cozy loft in the homey A-frame where he’d woken up. He wanted to curl back up in the sheets that smelled like lavender and leather and fresh air. He wanted to bask in the sunshine and the feeling of safety that permeated the whole house.

But he knew he couldn’t leave until they were done with him and that even if they ended up believing him, they could still send him away.

He shuddered at the idea of going off on his own without knowing anyone, without any clothes or a phone or money. But it would be well within Alpha Amato’s right to remove him from his territory in the name of protecting his pack.

The only thing that made it tolerable was the fact that he could tell Cash was upset at the intense questioning as well. The panther didn’t say anything—he never interrupted or protested—but the longer it went on, the more Ore could feel his temper rising. It was like a pull at Ore’s insides, a hook in his guts, connecting him to the Enforcer. Pushing him to move closer, even though he knew he couldn’t. Knowing Cash didn’t like how he was being treated was enough to ease some of his own discomfort.

The only person who spoke to him was Alpha Amato. The other Enforcers—whom no one had bothered to introduce—sat or stood around the room, watching silently. The one who’d winked at him had turned serious as soon as the interrogation began, not offering any more reassurances or encouragement.

The intimidation factor was at an eleven, and combined with everything else, he was at his limit.

Before Alpha Amato had really dove into his questioning, the sweet-looking woman perched on the front edge of his desk had piped up. Her name was Fern, and she was head of the pack’s coven. She proceeded to tell him about the condition he’d been in when he’d arrived—near death—how they’d helped him get better—using a mix of medicine and magic to boost his healing—and how a blood test had shown traces of antibodies associated with viral infections.

“A virus almost killed me?” he’d asked, skeptical.

She’d shaken her head, sending her strawberry blonde waves flying. “No, not the virus. It was only used as a delivery system. What almost killed you was the magic it was altered with.”

Someone had dosed him with a magical virus that nearly killed him. Oh, and erased his memories. And now, Liam Amato was drilling him like he was caught stealing pack secrets.

Before she’d left, she’d told him the amnesia was a surprise, but she agreed with Pops that it would probably come back. Since they had been able to counteract the magic and help his body heal, she believed whatever was causing it would go away as his body continued to heal from the effects.

“Was it the virus or magic that took his memories?” Alpha Amato had asked her, stopping her before she could slip out past a frowning Cash.

She’d shrugged. “It’s hard to say for sure. And it might not be either. His brain could be protecting him from something extremely traumatic.”

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