This institution, I’d been told, was a marriage of the ancient and modern, and seemingly much more a cult than a commonplace religious structure.
I looked obscenely well-dressed—Ransom and Dusk had seen to it before the meeting. I wore an expensive watch Dusk had produced for me and an obnoxiously large cross around my neck. At my side, Sin looked just as put together in Oxfords and a well-tailored suit. He carried himself well in it, despite the vicious creature I knew was beneath.
He glanced at me, jaw set, before lifting a hand to knock.
There was a call of assent from within, and I took a breath, steeling myself before I entered.
I shared one last glance with Sin and felt the same resolve from him in the bond. Then he turned the handle and stepped in.
We’d called the meeting under false pretences, and there were two people waiting within: the High Priest himself and his son, Luke Anderson.
Both alphas.
Both… utterly and painfully average.
The High Priest was in his fifties, balding, with a few visible liver spots. His son, in his mid-twenties, was… plain. Wiry, with unnotable features that no amount of dressing up would make special.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but somehow it felt wrong that the two who’d caused my mate so much pain should be anything more than weaselly nobodies given false elevation by an institution I wanted to see torn to the ground.
Luke got to his feet, eyes jumping between me and Sin. “Nice to meet you, Vandle and…” He seemed put off by Sin’s eyes. “Sinclair, was it?”
Sin nodded curtly. We’d lied, since Sin’s name felt a bit on the nose, and we’d wanted to secure the meeting. He was making a habit of using contacts to disguise his eyes when in the city, but we’d made an exception for this occasion, since ‘uncomfortable’ was the least we wanted to impose upon these two.
We took a seat after introductions, which meant shaking his hand, and I had to fight the urge to wipe that hand off on the wine-red chair cushion as I focused on the meeting.
“Would you like a drink?” High Priest Anderson asked. “Tea, coffee?—?”
“No, thank you,” I said.
High Priests were among the highest roles in the church, called upon to settle disputes, bless rituals, and select pairings between alpha packs and between packs and omegas.
We’d set up the meeting pretending to be a pack from a distant Ascendant church, looking for an alpha to join.
Since Luke had been publicly shamed after being caught with Crescent only a few weeks ago, we knew High Priest Anderson might be desperate.
“We were told you’ve been looking for an alliance for a while.” He was reading off his notes. “You were elevated by High Priest Barrett only a few months ago. We aren’t as familiar withthe West Coast priests, but we’d certainly be open. You seem like a smart young man—and a Seer, which is very good,” he said. “I warn you, though. It won’t be a quiet pack with my Luke in it. He’s busy all the time. Phone going off day and night. Can’t stop him volunteering—the youth centre practically has a bed for him.”
Luke nodded, eyes sliding from his father back to me with a nervous smile. “We have a lot of young alphas in the area from troubled families. I spend time with them when I can—offer guidance and stability.”
“And the food drives,” the High Priest added. “Every Monday like clockwork, and he’ll stock your pantry with extras?—”
“The food’s not always that appealing,” Luke chuckled. “So I like to get a few treats for the kids. It can make a world of difference—and you can’t put a price on those smiles.”
I stared at him, stomach twisting uncomfortably, and for a moment it was hard to smooth my expression against the snarl fighting to come out.
My heart was racing, hatred boiling up.
I was expecting… cruelty. Immorality. To be looking in the face of evil. Like the sunken eyes of those who ran the experiments. Evil acknowledged—traded for the greater good, but that they wouldknowwhat they were.
This was something else entirely.
Food drives?
Was it… fake?
“You’ll have to be okay with that,” Luke went on. “Sometimes the teens will drop by the house. Nice to have a getaway. Do you like charity work?”
“He’s big into community—building trust,” his father added.