Omega's Truth - Nora Phoenix Page 0,85
alpha with gray hairs peppered through his dark hair. His nose was sharp, his brown eyes cold—nothing like the warmth in Lidon’s eyes. In the back of the room stood two soldiers, fully armed, like personal bodyguards.
Armitage walked up to Palani, towering over him in what was no doubt an attempt at intimidation. Palani wanted to sigh. He was getting so tired of it, of these alphas thinking they could crowd him and frighten him. Sad, that was what it was. Pathetic. And so he stood unmoving as the general walked around him, inspecting him, then the rest of his team.
No one spoke a word. Finally, Armitage turned his attention back to Palani. “Mr. Hightower, I presume?”
“You can call me Palani,” Palani said amicably. “Mr. Hightower would be a bit confusing as both of my brothers are here as well.” He pointed them out. “My brother Kean, my other brother Rhene, my brother-in-law Lars, and someone you should recognize…Taban, another pack member.”
“York’s lover,” Armitage spat out.
Taban raised his chin. “It’s a pleasure to see you again as well. Sir.”
Oh yes, Taban fitted right in with them.
“I assume you’re here to negotiate the release of your alpha?” Armitage perched on the edge of his desk, crossing his arms.
“No,” Palani said.
“No? You do realize we’re holding him, right?”
“Oh, we’re well aware you’re holding one of our own prisoner. But I’m not here to negotiate. I’m here to tell you to release him.”
Armitage seemed stunned for a moment, then laughed, but it came out forced. “You’ve got some balls coming into my headquarters and make a demand like that.”
“General, you’re still not hearing me. I’m not demanding anything from you because that would indicate you could make a counter demand, in which case we’d be negotiating, which I already told you wasn’t gonna happen.”
Confusion clouded the general’s face. “What the fuck do you want, then?”
“I’m telling you to release the alpha you hold prisoner. This is not a negotiation, not a threat, not a starting point for any kind of discussion. It’s a statement. An order, if you will. Release him. Now.”
Armitage stared at him for a long time as if searching Palani’s face to determine what game he was playing. “I don’t know if you’re just plain stupid or incredibly ballsy,” he finally said. “But the answer is no. We will hold him until we have the information from him we need. And after that, we may be persuaded to let him go, providing you all agree to our terms.”
“There’s no we, General. Stop using we as if there’s any kind of agreement in place here. This is all you and nothing but you. You’re the dictator here.”
Armitage pushed himself off his desk. “My men agree with me.”
“Do they now?”
“They know I have their best interests at heart…and that I don’t make mistakes.”
“The best interests of alphas, you mean, and even then, I suspect only the best interests of those who support you. And as for not making mistakes…” Palani shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, General. You fucked up good.”
“You don’t get to speak to me like that!”
Armitage was getting angry now, which was exactly how Palani wanted him to be. Enraged and riled up. The bastard deserved to be brought down hard.
He smiled at him. “Don’t you want to know how you fucked up?”
“You’re bluffing.”
“How could I be bluffing when you don’t even know what I’m referring to?”
“You’re implying I made a big mistake, and I say you’re bluffing.”
“The wolf you have in custody? Not Lidon Hayes.”
Armitage paled, his hands seeking support on his desk. “Ridiculous. He’s no normal wolf.”
“I never said he was.”
“But Lidon Hayes is the only one who can…”
Palani turned toward Taban. “You wanna tell him?”
The beta stepped forward, and even though he was slightly trembling, he found his voice. “You thought York had told you everything he knew about Lidon Hayes and his pack… He hadn’t. He didn’t trust you, General, and rightly so, I might add. He knew something about the Hayes pack that you don’t.”
Armitage’s face went tight. “What did he hide from me?”
Taban glanced at Palani, who nodded at him to continue. “What do you think he kept from you?”
Silence. Two, maybe three seconds. Then he went white as a sheet. “He’s not the only one who can shift,” he whispered.
“No, he’s not. The wolf you’re holding isn’t Lidon Hayes, General. It’s Bray Whitefield, my brother-in-law, my brother Kean’s mate. And we’re here to get him back.”
Armitage swallowed. “It can’t be… It’s impossible.”
Kean stepped