Reaching Answers (Artemis University #8) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,127

understanding I wasn’t raised that way,” I replied, glad when everyone seemed to accept that. Good. That seemed like a fair answer. I glanced between Geoff and Brooks. “Do we know what happened here?”

“It was a trap,” Geoff answered as Brooks shook his head. “One of our security teams was hired to transport and protect a load of items for two days while work was being done at an estate to update their security. The right everything was being installed so all the items could be stored there and protected.”

“How does that lead you to knowing it was a trap?” Iolas asked, the same question on everyone’s lips.

“Because two hours on the dot after we brought it in, our magical barriers all went down,” Geoff said with a growl in his tone. “At the same time, we found out the payment was faked and a worm was put into our systems so the paper trail and all proof we had taken the job or worked with them would disappear. We were about to sound the alarm something was going on when everything went to fuck.”

I trusted him and his judgment, so that left only one question. “Who?”

“Councilman Shurr.”

“Why would a vampire councilman work with Underground and set you up to be taken out?” I muttered before gesturing to the unconscious jaguar shifters. “And what do they have to do with this, and how did I not even know there were jaguar shifters. I’ve been in this world a year and a fucking half now, and I’m still finding out there are more shifters I didn’t know about?”

“Princess, there are going to be more you learn about,” Taeral warned me gently. “From what I understand, the caste system has not gotten better, but worse with supes. That means you were probably only introduced to those who were elites, not the ‘working class’ shifters like jaguars or others.”

“You have been fairly secluded from what I know,” Brooks agreed, holding up his hands in surrender when I shot him an unfriendly look. “You’ve been rather busy. No one can deny that. I’m simply agreeing our world is rather vast. You have only experienced a small tip of the iceberg, Ms. Vale.”

I gave a sharp nod. I knew I’d not had a chance to have the full supe experience. “What I heard from the jaguar’s thoughts was he isn’t Unground. He’s the Alpha of his shadow, like Geoff is his pack except, they aren’t part of the supe system, which I thought wasn’t an option. I’ve heard repeatedly that it’s conforming with the corruption of the dictator councils or the Underground.”

“You’re smart enough to know when you’re being fed bullshit,” Geoff drawled. “You met Melody Rothchild when she lived away from our society and she wasn’t Underground.”

I nodded again. That was fair. “But she was on the outskirts like others. This guy is Alpha of a whole group. There are others. They helped the Underground this one time because they were promised an area and to be left alone to do their own thing when the Underground takes over. His thoughts were very specific that he made the wrong choice, and this wasn’t the way to protect his people as he’d thought.

“However, there are a lot more Underground than you all believe and talk about. It is not as fringe as you think and I got the feeling—and it’s only a feeling from this guy’s thoughts—that there are an astounding number of outsider supes like him. Like astounding. His thoughts were racing, but he was thinking he should have gone the way of some other alliance. I think you all have lost a lot more of your society than you think.”

Brooks shared a look with several of his colleagues and nodded. “Yes, we believe so. While other councils keep their heads in the sand, we do not. Dragons do not ‘lose’ many as they don’t have options to shift safely, and their royals do a much better job by their people than our councils do. But technology has helped us understand we’ve lost more than we ever thought.

“And for generations. There are remote packs that started as a few who left our fold generations ago and are now hundreds and have no idea our society and councils even exist. Some do and hide—and with good reason, as you’ve seen the corruption. You came in as an unknown, but protected by Geiger and your wealth. Could you imagine a remote family of vampires being brought