"Are you ready for that Jacks? You are my successor you have known that for years. Are you willing to make the hard decisions for the people you love? Can you keep them in the dark if it means they live another day? How about if it gives them peace of mind? Do you think you can carry that burden?"

"Let's cut to the chase, Senior. Why are you here and why are you trying to keep that fact from your daughter? She is the only one that wouldn't have sensed your presences."

"f.u.c.k, listen. My time is short. You will be moving up the ranks sooner than either of us realized, and I need to know that you are up for it. I put the teams together so that all the Alpha's would have support. Like with like and what not. But we are at a crossroad. We don't know what is coming next and we can trust the people that we have always relied on. I need to give you information, but I can't do that if you are going to tell Ryleigh. I will let you decide on how much involvement your team has."

"I will not keep things from my mate, and I think you're f.u.c.king suck for trying to make me."

"She might be your mate, but she was my daughter first, and nothing will change that."

Jacks was taken aback by Seniors vehemence. His Alpha nature made him c.o.c.ky, and for the most part, Senior allowed it, never stifling him. But the truth was that Jacks might be the Alpha of Alpha Team, but Senior was all of their Alpha. The man had more power than all of them put together.

"s.h.i.t, a.s.shole. Calm the f.u.c.k down," Senior said. "This is for her own good or are you blind? Ever since you have gotten back here, she has been working her a.s.s off. Not taking breaks to eat or sleep and you have been letting her. The only thing keeping her going is her need to find the answers she seeks. They aren't in that f.u.c.king data."

Senior continued.

"It's your job to keep her happy and healthy. Do you even look at her? s.h.i.t man, you are only weeks into your mating. She is f.u.c.king pregnant. She should be the picture of good health; glowing and s.h.i.t. All I see are dark circles and weight loss. You're not doing your f.u.c.king job."

Jacks didn't want to be chastised like a child. He knew Ryleigh was obsessed with Franklin's data but figured once she went through it all, she would go back to normal. The truth was that he didn't want to admit that they were just getting to know each other and he was at a loss of what to do. That showed weakness and Alpha's weren't weak.

"Listen, we are just finding our way. Once things settle down, I will have a better gauge of how to handle Ryleigh. I promise I will keep her happy, but sir, she is my mate. That means back the f.u.c.k off. We are the first; no f.u.c.king examples to go by. I make sure she sleeps and eats, even if she doesn't want to. You know my animal wouldn't allow anything less."

"s.h.i.t, listen. That's exactly what I mean, you have no f.u.c.king clue on all that is going on around you," Senior said. "You have to make decisions for everyone, not just Ryleigh and your Team, but all the teams. Can you handle that Jacks? Are you ready to make those decisions? If you aren't, you'd better tell me now. Kayden is next in line and I don't think he will have as much as a problem with it."

"You and Ryleigh aren't the only mated pair. Zoey and Milo have mated as well as Dane and Cadence have mated and been blessed. From everything that has happened, we believe that the first group of Franklin's so called "fail experiments" are somehow all fated mates to the Alphas. Do you understand what I am saying? We can't be 100 percent sure, but so far, we have 3 matches out of the six. The others haven't come in contact with each other, yet, so we can't be sure. But it means we need to look into how the first group was made; what those f.u.c.kers used to enhance them."

"Why wouldn't you want me to tell this to Ryleigh?" Jacks questioned. "She would be happy for her teammates, just like I am."

"Because, Jacks, you know my girl. I raised her human; she didn't have any idea about Shifter lore or traditions. If you tell her, she is going to start looking for answers and making a.s.sumptions. First and foremost, that the claim the bond you have isn't real. That Pandora and Franklin did something to her, and what she feels or her reaction to you isn't what it is but something else."

"f.u.c.k," Jacks replied.

"There is more. We have breaches in all the teams. We need to figure out if any of the other guys are a member of The a.s.sociation. Right now, I only have one person working on fretting out the traders if there are any. But it's like trying to find a f.u.c.king needle in a haystack. Alpha Team has already been cleared of all traitors, Eli was the only one."

"What do you mean Alpha Team has already been cleared by who and how? I trust my guys, but what the f.u.c.k else have you been keeping from us."

"Listen. I brought Matthias in and he has been going through the teams, one by one. I was able to link several outgoing communications to untrustworthy sources but couldn't pinpoint who was making the calls or sending the communications. It could be team members or support members. We just don't know; that is why I brought him in. You know Matthias, he is a f.u.c.king Ghost. It is his job to not be seen or detected, and he is d.a.m.n good at it. He will find the answers we need, and we will take it from there."

Jacks was livid. His team had been investigated and he didn't have a clue. He also knew about Matthias and his work. Senior was right; he was a ghost. If he didn't want to be seen, he wasn't. NAC only brought him in on the worst cases. The guy had a screw loose but was excellent at his job. But that brought more questions.

"How do you know the data Ryleigh has won't give us anything, Senior?"

"Because I've already been through it. The information is basic, some dates, locations and an approximate amount of how many children the f.u.c.ker created; nothing else. But Ryleigh needs to concentrate on something right now, and it seemed like the best fix. I never expected her to become so obsessed."

"Yeah and you expect me to pick up the f.u.c.king pieces," Jacks re-joined. "Listen, I would appreciate it if you let me handle my mate from here on out. Ryleigh is off limits. You and Matthias can play your games, and I will do my job. The Alpha Team is going off the grid. No more cases or missions until we have more answers or Ryleigh gives birth, got me?"

"You might not agree with my tactics, Son, but they are necessary. As for missions, I couldn't agree more, but I also know you and your men. There will be more missions. As things start to unfold, you will be called upon, and you will answer the call."

"Like I said, there is going to come a time when you have to make the hard decisions, Jacks. NAC will be yours along with everything that entails. I don't plan on retiring anytime soon, but my Dragon isn't like the rest of you. Shifters might be stronger and live longer, but we have flaws too. I have been doing this a lot longer than you, and there will come a time when I can't control my beast any longer. We all know the possibilities without a fated mate to bond with we are lost. I've held out a lot longer than most but my time is coming, and you need to be prepared."

"There is a chance," Jacks responded. "You just said that you believed the first of Franklin's babies were matching with Alphas. Who's to say one of them isn't yours?"

"I am, Jacks. I've met all of The Holly Team, and I felt nothing but comradery or friendship. Plus, do the math. We have six teams, and there was only six women. I've accepted this, and you need to too."

"s.h.i.t, couldn't you have just punched me or something? You know, for taking your little girl. That would have been better than all this c.r.a.p you just laid at my feet. I don't know what I'm going to do. I can see your point, but I also don't want to live with the consequences secrets always have. You get my drift? Because if I kept this s.h.i.t from Ryleigh and she found out, wouldn't that be worse? At least I know we could work through it. I could show her what she means to me. Take her to the Elders so she could hear the stories from them. Keeping her in the dark just seems wrong, and I won't keep my team in the dark. All I can promise you is that what you have said here won't leave Alpha Team."

Jacks continued.

"But I want to be kept informed, not like before, Senior. If you expect me to take over, then you need to tell me everything. No more f.u.c.king secrets. I don't have a problem making hard decisions, what I have a problem with is being blindsided. Got me?"

Seniors laughing wasn't what Jacks expected from his outburst.

"You have b.a.l.l.s, Son," Senior chuckled. "I have to give you that. But until the day I hand over the reins, it will be my decision who knows what and when. Remember that," Senior said as he was slipping out of the door.

f.u.c.k, Jacks thought to himself. He stood there a moment, processing what had happened before making his way back to his bedroom.

Chapter 46.

Jacks slipped back into his and Ryleigh's bedroom, stripped, and got back into bed. He didn't want to think about everything Senior had just revealed. What he wanted to do was admire his beautiful sleeping mate. She looked so peaceful; healthier. He had to admit that he wasn't doing his best at this mate thing. He needed to do more; hold Ryleigh closer without stifling her and protect her without crowding her. But he really had no idea how to do those things. He fell asleep thinking about all the what-ifs and possible outcomes. He was just happy for a few minutes; only he was worrying. She was safe, at peace, and hopefully happy. He could feel it through their bond, but Senior was right; those feelings would change if she knew everything. He'd be d.a.m.ned if he let that happen.

Several hours later Jack's phone rang, waking him. The first thing he noticed was that he was alone in bed. That should have never happened. He should have sensed Ryleigh leaving, but he hadn't, and that bugged the h.e.l.l out of him. Caught in his thoughts, the line went dead. s.h.i.t. Getting up, he dressed and left the room in search of his mate. Finding her at the computer wasn't a surprise, but finding all the guys with her was. They had all gathered around the conference table. His phone started to ring again. Answering it, he realized Senior was right once again.

"Hey, s.h.i.t man. Hold on a second I'm going to put you on speaker. Okay, hold on. Guys listen up, Kayden's on the phone," Jacks announced.

"I have Ca.s.sie," Kayden revealed. "She was at the Colorado Facility. Milo got the lead on. s.h.i.t, Ryleigh, I am so sorry."

"What are you sorry for? What happened, Kayden is Ca.s.sie okay?" Ryleigh pleaded.

"Ca.s.sie is okay. A little worse for wear but okay. It's Zoey, Ryleigh, they took her."

"What do you mean they took her? Who took her Kayden and where is Milo?" Ryleigh begged.

"f.u.c.k, Ryleigh. I am so sorry, but all h.e.l.l broke out," Kayden apologized profusely.

"Calm down, man, and don't worry about Ryleigh right now I have her," Jacks a.s.sured him. "Tell us what happened and what you need us to do."

"s.h.i.t Jacks, the placed looked abandoned, just like the one in Texas, but they were armed to the teeth. They were keeping Ca.s.sie underground. The facility was huge. We got six women out of there. My guys reported that Zoey just froze. We were taking heavy fire. They think she saw someone or something and just froze. I can't be sure because I didn't see it for myself. I was told that Milo was trying to get to her, but he got hit. Everyone that saw it said the b.a.s.t.a.r.d just kept on going. By the time, we got the scene contained, Zoey and Milo were both gone. Along with two of Milo's guys. Max said Milo went after Zoey, but he was the only one that saw him."

"Baby, what are you doing, who are you calling?" Jacks asked.

Ryleigh didn't answer him, just holding up her hand.

"Mia, did you do what I asked you to do before my mission? Oh, thank G.o.d. No Wyatt is here I will have him run the program. Thanks," Ryleigh said and then hung up the phone.

"Wyatt get your tracking program up and start tracking target HGA05," Ryleigh commanded.

Kayden was now screaming into the phone, "What's going on, what target are you tracking?"

"Calm down, Kayden, and I will explain," Ryleigh said. "After Wyatt, had gone over his tracking program with me, I insisted that all my agents get one before a mission. Especially Zoey, since she likes to go lone wolf. So, I sent Mia out to implant her with the tracker. We can find her; the program is gold, and it sounds like Milo will either be with her or close by. We can find them and get them the h.e.l.l out of there."

Wyatt spoke up, "I need to be within a hundred miles of the target, Alpha."

Jacks was the next to speak.

"Kayden, I am going to send Wyatt your way. Cash can fly him out as soon as we get off the phone. What are you going to do about Ca.s.sie?"

"I had Josh take her back to our base," Kayden revealed. "She is freaked out and a little banged up; they kept her drugged. I want to keep her there until we find out what kind of threat she is still under."

"Sounds good. I will send Mia she can help," Ryleigh said. "Someone is going to have to tell Ca.s.sie what is going on and what is going to happen now that she has been found. Those people had Ca.s.sie for a for a month she may already have a good idea. I also want Mia to check the other woman you found. If my suspicion is correct, they may be on the list we just found of Franklins. If not, we need to figure out why Pandora was holding them. I am going to send you the information we found regarding known Pandora facilities we need to make sure we are dealing with Pandora and not Eli's a.s.sociates or G.o.d forbid someone else."

"Roger that forward the info, and I will get back to you. I'll have Josh ready to pick up this Mia person once we have an ETA," Kayden said.

Ryleigh was still opening files when everyone started to leave.

"Jacks, you need to go and help Kayden find Milo and Zoey, the rest of the guys should go too," Ryleigh said.

Yeah, this was what Senior had been talking about. Baby, I can't just leave you alone here. We need to have a doctor check you out, and I just can't leave you unprotected.

"Jacks, I am safe here, better yet I feel safe here," Ryleigh said.

Cash spoke up, "Man, I hate to say it, but she is right. It sounds like it was a bloodbath down there. We need as many boots on the ground as possible to find Milo and Zoey and figure out what is going on. Dalton can stay with Ryleigh, and I will fly back as soon as I drop you guys off. Wyatt needs to be close and Ethan can back him up. Kayden needs your help with Milo MIA. His team is going to be unhinged without their leader. s.h.i.t man you know Dalton and I will protect her with our lives. You have work to do."

Dalton was the next, "I second that Alpha."

"Okay, we are a go then," Jacks said. "Dalton will remain at base alone with Ryleigh, until Cash can get back. I know I don't need to say it, but if anything happens to her..."

"Yeah, I got it Alpha, Ryleigh is a top priority," Dalton said. "I'm the Enforcer, Jacks. I will protect her just like I have always protected the rest of the team. You have my word and my vow."

Ryleigh's face went white.

"Ah guys, we have a problem," she said. "This goes higher than Pandora or Davis Defense. If what I am reading is right and up to date, s.h.i.t, I'm not even worried about Eli's a.s.sociates at this point. The experiments were government sponsored."

end.