Page 12 of Caged

Anger threatens my control over my emotions, and nothing makes me feel more inept than losing control.

Gav tosses his dossier down and leans back, hands resting on his chair arms, his dark Henley pulling across broad shoulders. “We need eyes on the inside. I want to know what’s going on in that house.”

I think the same, but sending someone in isn’t my call.

I run ops and tech, which keeps me mainly in the compound. Field work isn’t outside my abilities, but I leave that to the rest of my team and the other teams not a part of our core pack, who stay at the compound.

I prefer working with technology—stats, opps, surveillance, hacking into any server I can crack, scouring it for information I can use to help my team.

Evander calls me a nerd, but that asshole carries a dog-eared copy of The Two Towers with him on patrol, so what the fuck does he know?

“I’ll do it.” I don’t even need to look to know Caelan volunteered.

He sits perfectly still, arms crossed and dark eyes focused on Gavran.

It’s no shock that he speaks up. He works best when there are no distractions and only one person to focus on keeping safe—himself.

“Fine.” Gav nods. He lifts the whiskey glass to his mouth, but hesitates before taking a drink. “Tomorrow night. Daxen, I want a preliminary recon of the estate beforehand. Make sure Caelan isn’t walking into a trap. I want everything you can get on the property. Blueprints, layout, bodies, security. Whatever you can find.”

I incline my head. He doesn’t need to tell me how important it is that the pre-mission recon is thorough; I would never gamble with the life of my packmate.

I’ll start as soon as they all leave, sending in a drone under the cover of darkness.

“This is an information-gathering excursion only. Don’t make contact with the human, and don’t be seen by Deadwalkers. Stay outside the estate if anyone is home. No exceptions. Get intel, and get out.”

“Understood,” Caelan nods.

“Alright,” Gav throws back his whiskey before placing down the glass and standing to address the rest of us. “Ford, your pack is on patrol down by the docks. I already sent the other teams out. From now until I say otherwise, their focus is the missing Omegas. Your pack will run point as usual, so they all answer to you. I don’t need to reiterate how Fatesdamned important it is that we bring those females home.”

Ford nods solemnly in agreement.

“Caelan and Vae,” Gav continues, “I want you caught up on every piece of information Dax has pulled on Alexander, Varenthrall, and the missing Omegas. Read it. Memorize it. Discuss possible theories. When you’re done, get some rest. I have a feeling things are going to start getting busy soon.”

Chairs scrape across the floor as everyone stands to leave.

On the way out, Silas trips over the leg of Evander’s chair and shoots him a dirty look, like it is somehow Evander’s fault that he nearly ate shit. Ford sighs, laying a fatherly hand on the back of Silas’s neck, and directs him out of the room like he’s herding a puppy.

Catching Caelan’s eyes, I give him a slow shake of my head. Stay.

Vae groans dramatically and throws himself back into his own seat.

Gav pauses at the door, hand gripping the wooden frame. “You think this is different. Bigger than just run-of-the-mill Omega trafficking.”

It’s not a question. It never is with him.

I meet his eyes. “Yea, I do.”

This situation has all my internal alarms blaring at full volume. Something is wrong. Off.

Gav’s jaw tightens, and I catch his eyes flicking toward the table where the picture of the wolven Omega lay discarded, her smiling face out of place among the documents and intel.

“Keep digging,” he orders. His voice is soft, but it holds the weight of importance. “We need answers. Those girls need help, and they needed it yesterday. I understand why you waited until now to bring it up, but the next time you see an uptick in missing Omegas, I want to know right away. I don’t care if you don’t know why it’s happening yet. This is unacceptable.”

It’s an Alpha’s biological imperative to protect an Omega. Even nameless, faceless Omegas they’ve never met. I knew this would hit my brothers hard, but Gav is right. I should have come to him immediately.

Gav isn’t just a leader—he genuinely fucking cares about the people we help. He wants to do good.

The only thing Gav cares about more than those we protect is the six of us. He’ll burn a thousand Omegas if it means protecting his team. It’s what makes following him so Fatesdamned easy.