fuck with her lounge. Not out of a sense of love or devotion, but because it makes her look weak, and that’s something she won’t tolerate.
“Right after the meeting with Cena and Mack, Matriarch Denali was seen on the phone yelling at someone. Then she just hopped in a car and disappeared for the rest of the day. Stur showed up two days later looking exhausted. He told everyone that he met a girl, but no one believes him.”
I shake my head, not believing that story either. Stur is the nicest, most responsible kid I’ve ever met. He wouldn’t just run off to go chase tail and leave his mom to worry.
“Cena called me a couple days ago,” Dinah goes on. “She asked me to make him a sleeping draught. When I asked why, she started crying and told me in confidence that Stur had been taken by Alpha Fitz’s lounge and held for ransom. There was no girl.”
My eyes widen in shock, terror and worry pumping through me as the pieces of the puzzle slip into place.
“Stur told his mom that the Fitz lounge claimed that our lounge owed them money. They’re going to keep taking members of our lounge and hurting them until we pay what’s owed. Stur told his parents that Matriarch and Patriarch Denali made him swear he wouldn’t say anything, or risk him and his family being kicked out of the lounge.”
I stare at her, openmouthed. How the fuck could my mat and pat be so cruel and selfish? I mean, I’ve always had my problems with them, but I never knew them to be bad alpha leaders of our lounge.
“Stur has been having nightmares since he got back, and Cena was hoping I could help him get some rest. He looked bad, Sin,” Dinah says, shaking her head. “Cena swore me to secrecy, but I have an awful feeling that what happened might not be over. I knew I had to come talk to you. Do you know what’s going on?”
I run a tired hand over my face and try to rein in my anger. I’m not sure what exactly to tell her. I’m still waiting for Zen’s guy to get me all the details, but I have the overwhelming urge to warn Dinah, especially if the lounge is in danger. Mat and pat are clearly trying to keep everything quiet, but that’s putting the lounge at even more risk. They can’t protect themselves if they don’t know what’s going on.
I blow out a breath. “You know how I thought getting locked up in here would void the contract my mat and pat signed with Alpha Bowen?”
Dinah nods, leaning in toward the streaked glass as I get ready to drop all kinds of information bombs on her.
“Well, unfortunately, I discovered that there was another aspect of that deal, which no one told me about. It seems my mat and pat got the lounge mixed up with some debt. Alpha Bowen was settling it as part of the agreement he made for me.”
Dinah brings up a hand to cover her mouth as her face morphs into shock and then confusion. “So it’s true. Our lounge does owe money. But how?” she asks, just as puzzled by this information as I was.
I shake my head, at a loss. “I’m still piecing that together. It’s a bit difficult from here, but I should know all the details soon. I’m not sure how it happened or even how much, but my mat and pat both confirmed it when they came to visit. It seems that Alpha Bowen isn’t going to uphold his end of the contract until my mat and pat uphold theirs.”
I pause, and the next words I have to say feel like a hot coal searing my throat. “Dinah...I don’t think the lounge is safe right now. I was hoping to get the details and then figure out a plan, but if another lounge is taking people…” I trail off, but my meaning is clear. No one is safe.
“I have to tell the lounge,” Dinah announces hollowly.
“Yes, but you also need to be careful about who you tell and how,” I warn her. “My mat clearly wants this whole thing to be kept under wraps. If someone tries to call her out, she’s going to exile them and scramble around to shut people up. You guys can’t afford to have forces attacking you from the outside while also dealing with attacks from my mat within. You