to come here and search for you if they were separated. Do you know who I'm talking about and, if so, where he lives?"
Ford did a double take. "Alex? Yeah, I've been hunting for him all weekend. He was supposed to show up at our pack run and said he was bringing a friend. His dad owns a bunch of property on the east side of 58, in those hills just outside of our mountains as you head toward Bakersfield. I've never actually been there, but I have a pretty good idea where it is. His dad is a control freak and won't let anyone on the property."
Bingo. Now we were getting somewhere. "And how did you meet Alex, if I might ask?"
"Xbox. We'd been playing together for a while before we figured out how close we were to each other. I don't remember how—it was one of those random conversations. Anyway, we met in town and hung out a few times. Not often because his dad keeps him on a short leash, and he's been saving up to get out of there."
"Can you sit down with Raul and find the place on Google Earth, do you think? If we can triangulate the location and get a look at the property, it'll be a big help." Glancing at Dave, I offered him an olive branch. "You want in? My buddies are coming to help me rescue eleven other omegas who were being held along with Charlie. I was already planning to ask the pack for volunteers since our Delta squad isn't ready for solo missions yet. We don't know what we're walking into, so every able-bodied man is welcome. We don't know his name, but I imagine you'll recognize the same man you knew as Dr. J. And if not, I'll be happy to let him live long enough to tell you anything he might know. But after, we're getting the innocents out of there and taking down anyone responsible."
Dave's eyes glittered with a quiet fury. "You can count me in, Alpha. If the man is there who stole my son, I want to help take him out. But even more, I would like to help save those other omegas. Obviously, their existence will need to be kept quiet so we don't have people trying to steal them all over again."
Smiling, I nodded as if deep in thought while I reached out to Charlie. "What do you think? You want to shift and see if they smell like family to you? Or would you rather wait and get to know them better?"
"No, it's okay. I think I'd rather get it over with, but thanks for asking. I'm not mad at Tina for guarding her heart and not immediately jumping to the obvious conclusion. I think we know I'm the one who would've been named Jamison. Probably still could be, but Eli was right. I do look like a Charlie. Is it weird I'm happy to know where I came from and see my family, but I don't feel anything for them yet? I mean, nothing more than any other nice people I would meet. I'm sure my emotions will change, but at the moment, I just want to see my new home and take a nap with you. My head hurts after the emotional roller coaster I've been on the past few days. I'm sorry if I sound like a jerk."
"Not at all, beauty. You sound overwhelmed and in need of a break. So how about we get this sniff-and-show out of the way so we can get you one?"
Charlie kissed my cheek before standing and smiling politely. "I know it's probably weird for a shifter to be shy about nudity, but I was trained to wear a robe up until the moment of shifting and drape it over myself before shifting back. Keeping us chaste was one of our rules and probably why we had private rooms with strict warnings about never having anyone in to visit. Although, since our rooms were basically converted stalls inside an old barn, there really wasn't room to hang out anyway. Sorry, I chatter when I get nervous. My point is, I'm going to slip somewhere private to shift. I'll meet you back here in a few minutes."
Essie stood, opening the door to the house and beckoning for Charlie to join her. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We understand. And never apologize for modesty. I've shifted in front of people my whole life, and I