Rey found his arm and tugged. “What do you mean, secure the pairs?”
“Collect the pairs, get them returned to their mates.”
“They don’t want to be returned.”
“But they will be.”
“Well, that’s not fair!”
“Baby don’t get upset, all right? The mate is the last person in the world who will hurt them. Remember how we started out all fucked up, and look, now we’re pregnant.”
“Dewlyn runs the shelter. She is the shelter. She promised them nobody would find them. Those women have nowhere else to go.”
Jamie’s head tilted. “How do you know all this?”
“She told me.”
My eyebrows shot up. We didn’t know until last night, so Rey must’ve known for a while now. Well, at least I wasn’t the only one with issues. Clearly, the girls had gotten close during the time Dewlyn had spent here, and Dewlyn had told her about the hidden pairs. And clearly, Rey hadn’t shared, because Jamie looked like someone had hit him over the head with a hot iron. Dumbfounded, I stared at her too.
Rey swallowed, probably feeling the force of our stares. “She gets things they need. They must’ve run out of money, so she stole the key.”
I recovered first and asked, “What money?”
Rey pinched her lips, and I saw red. Men of Earth money? If Dewlyn worked with Men of Earth, it would drive us planets apart. Their ideology appealed to the humans. It would mean my mate had played me all along.
Jamie slapped a hand on the bar. “Our money. Isn’t that right, Rey? That’s where she gets shit from. You gave her money before she ran last time, didn’t you? You freed her from Vice’s house, gave her your bike, and sent her away with the money I left for you.”
“I did. Dewlyn was a complete stranger who returned my hound to me. Despite knowing you all were after her, she walked into the house of Alpha Beast to offer me shelter in case I didn’t want to be paired. She came in here and asked if I was okay and happy and if I needed something. And what have you done for her? You hunted her down like a dog.” Rey’s chin quivered, and her eyes watered. “Going into the community isn’t gonna change anything. Retrieving pairs and bringing them back won’t either, but providing for the pairs is going to change something. Finding a way to fix the Pairing Program will change something.” She sniffed. “I gave her money because good people like her shouldn’t feel alone.”
“The Pairing Program isn’t broken. It’s your fucking humans who…no, I don’t wanna go there. I’ll be right back,” Jamie said and picked up his mate.
When he strode back down the stairs, his face showed distress. “The pregnancy has been hard on us. We’ve been told the babies should be more active by now.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Felicia said.
Jamie nodded.
“Rey gave her money,” I said. “She’ll do it again.”
“Not if I got something to say about it.”
“Like what?” I cocked an eyebrow at my brother. If Rey wanted it, Rey would get it. I knew it, and he knew it. “I’m curious what you gonna do about it.”
“Vice, we got a bigger problem. What is it about the key that’s buggin’ me?”
Jamie’s instincts were spot-on, while I chose to ignore mine, so I said, “You just can’t move past the key. She’s not involved in anything. It’s a shelter for which we are going to provide money.” I lifted my hand before he protested. “Felicia, you will handle this sensitive issue and relieve the Alpha’s mate of this immediately. She and the babies cannot be compromised. Can I get a ‘yes, Vice.’”
“Yes, Vice.”
“Going into the community won’t change shit.”
“Yes, Vice.” A little louder this time.
“But”—I winked—“it’ll make for a great supper.”
“Hell yes, Vice.”
Jamie went back upstairs. They argued for about an hour while the rest of us ate Rey’s biscuits and gravy and heard every word they said. When Jamie quieted and Rey started moaning, I pushed back my chair, ready to walk outside. The doorbell rang. Prepared for the raid, the people in the room, already with their teeth in descent and fur springing out of their necks, straightened, ready to pounce. I lifted my nose and sniffed the air. Female. The bell rang again.
“Big man, I know you’re in there,” the female voice said. “Rey! You gonna get the door?”
I swung it open if only to shut her up.
A purple-haired girl from Cake and Deco barged inside. She looked up at me. “Oh, it’s you again.”