Page 129 of Conner's Luna

"As in..." I say slowly, tossing a glance at my fuming father, "Alpha Alex?" 'Unc Al.' Conner, you jerk.

"The same," his smile eases up and becomes more friendly.

"Sit. And tell my daughter the news," Dad growls out.

Alpha Alex eases back into his chair after pulling mine out for me. I sit, my eyes never leaving Conner's uncle. Oh, crap, does he know what Conner and I did last night? I see a small smile curl up the ends of his mouth and know that yes, yes he does know. Poop.

"I came over this morning, directly from the airport, to bring you this," he slides a small, flat package to me. It's wrapped in brown paper and taped up securely, with handwriting I recognize written over the flap and a... is that a wax seal? Like the nineteen hundreds?

"It's your Great-grandmother Charlotte's journal," Alpha Alex explains quietly when I hesitate to touch it. "Your grandmother made sure no one could read it but you."

I suck in a breath, my eyes shooting back to him. Now that I know, I see how his thousand-dollar suit is a bit rumpled and his eyes look a little jet-lagged. "How did you know?" I snap out, but I don't need Dad's angry snort to tell me the truth. "You have my house bugged."

"I do," he says without even a hint of apology.

"Asshole," Dad grunts.

Alpha Alex acknowledges his remark with a nod. "I'm keeping my pack safe, Hank. And your daughter is part of my pack."

"I keep my daughter safe," Dad responds immediately.

"I keep myself safe," I toss in. I'm ignored.

Alpha Alex turns his eyes to me. "I wanted to offer you this. Consider it a peace offering, or maybe a bribe."

Surprised at his bluntness, I immediately ask him, "for what?"

He inhales slowly. "You are, hopefully, the future luna of my pack, Bailey. Your importance..." his voice trails off and he swallows what looks like a lump in his throat before he controls it, "is monumental to the health of the pack."

"Conner and I just started dating," I say quietly, uneasy with the burden being placed on my shoulders so quickly.

"My daughter does not belong to anyone but herself," Dad interjects.

"I understand," Alpha Alex says. I have a feeling he's lying through his teeth when he says that and his next comment confirms my suspicions. "Having our possible-future luna on RedMoon territory is inviting trouble. We can't protect Bailey here and yes" he cuts off my dad's protest, "she needs it. You know she does, Hank."

Dad leans back, his eyes narrowing on Alpha Alex. "I saw my old Colonel here in town. Was he here for Bailey?"

"No," Alpha Alex meets Dad's eyes squarely. "Devel is investigating a series of murders and disappearances in the area."

Poop on a stick. Dad doesn't know about this. He's going to have a coronary when he finds out about the missing girls.

"What disappearances?" Dad snaps, on cue.

"Girls. Mostly she-wolves, but a few humans. We've located a couple of bodies, mutilated as if they've been experimented on."

"Fuck!" Dad stands up so abruptly that he bangs his knees into the table. It shakes and one of the coffee cups teeters. I reach out to grab it, but Alpha Alex beats me to it. He straightens it out as Dad gets himself under control. Then he flips open the box of deliciousness and takes out a bagel with cream cheese and a chocolate-sprinkled-covered donut and places them on a napkin in front of me.

"Why hasn't this been in the news?" Dad asks.

"We've kept it quiet. It's not an individual killer. As far as we can surmise, we're dealing with a group. The latest missing girl, well a body actually, was taken from the hospital on the same day Bailey was there being treated.

"Fuck," Dad says again, but it's quieter this time. Worry steals over him and I slide a coffee and the bagel over to him. Alpha Alex immediately replaces it with another.

Dad eyes the bagel in front of me with a look of resignation on his face. "Is my daughter in danger?"

"Possibly. I can tell you this, our pack has increased security and Bailey already has a series of rotating guards."

Dad eyes me, "those boys?" he scoffs.

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