Page 76 of The Alpha’s Unclaimed Mate

I glance toward the house. “That’s not all. There’s something else happening, the reason why I called you to look after them.”

Both men focus on me.

“Shifters have started going missing in different packs. It’s very low key, kids or young adults, temperamental.”

Cole stares at me. “Okay? And?”

“And I think it’s wolfsbane.”

My friends stiffen. “You’re full of shit. Wolfsbane? That’s extinct.”

“It wasn’t extinct when Bella was nearly poisoned from it a few weeks ago.” I meet Tomas’s gaze. The two hiss.

“The fuck? Why are you telling us this now?” Cole snaps.

“Because my uncle didn’t think it was wolfsbane. I could have considered it a one-off incident had another attempt not been made recently on both the girls.”

Their expressions are grim as they watch me. “When?”

“The festival. They were given cotton candy laced with it by Kylan’s right-hand man. The fucker must’ve been following us. Bella didn’t take hers, but Mia nearly died.”

Tomas’s face has gone dark. “And the alpha knows all this?”

“He knows about Bella. Considering how dismissive he was, I’m not telling him about Mia. I need to dig into it. This is where the missing shifters come in. If wolfsbane has been around, it’s not recent. I started looking into missing shifters and found two dead and buried, most likely from wolfsbane.”

Tomas shakes his head. “Wolfsbane. So the hunters are making a move. They’re going after you.”

“Seems like it. But they wouldn’t have known Mia was a shifter. It might just have been a test. Now they know she’s one of us. Whether they can link her to me or not is another story. Either way, she’s in danger. And so is Bella.”

“And you.” Cole frowns at me.

“I can handle myself.”

“What do you need us to do?” Tomas straightens.

“I want you to find out about that night. And I want you to keep your ears to the ground. And be careful. Wolfsbane has a very distinct smell. Sweet, cloying, bitter. You can’t miss it. Don’t eat or drink anything that smells like it. I’m gathering evidence before I take it to my uncle.”

“And what if he disregards it again?” Cole demands. “Honestly, Marcus. Bella is growing up now. You can take back the alpha seat. This is unnatural, having someone who is not alpha born to lead a pack.”

“I need to focus on Bella. If I focus on the pack, I won’t have time for her.” But my words don’t convince myself anymore.

Neither of them pushes. Tomas plucks a blade of grass and splits it down the center. “And if you had someone in it with you? Say you and Jessa were together. Could you hold both then, the seat and the family?”

I look toward the house. Jessa’s framed in the upstairs window, bent over one of the girls. Whatever she says, Mia throws her head back, laughing. My chest goes tight at the sight, an ache I haven’t let myself feel in years.

I let myself picture it, coming home to that every night, the noise and the mess, four places at the table instead of two. My wolf rolls over at the thought, shameless about it.

Tomas elbows Cole without taking his eyes off me. “He’s already gone. Look at his face.”

I don’t tell him to shut it, which is answer enough. Maybe it’s only the daughter I’m after. Or maybe it runs deeper than that. When I try to see the years ahead, it isn’t only Mia standing in them. Jessa’s there too, in every image.

Cole frowns. “Why come at you or at Bella? Why now?”

“I don’t know yet.” The ball rolls back under my boot. “I don’t know who to trust right now, so I’m keeping this circle small. If wolfsbane’s moving again, somebody’s growing it somewhere, and we shut that down before it spreads.” I count it off. “Adrian’s on the missing wolves. I need you two to focus on whether anything new is getting passed to shifters, any strange drug. If the hunters are back in business, every pack is in danger.”

Both nod. Cole rises, all the play gone out of him. “We’re on it.”

“This stays between the four of us,” I add. “Nothing gets to my uncle.”