Auctioned Mates Revenge
Chapter 60

Glenda's

POV

After Grace had jumped out of the Jeep, I knew that she had made her decision about what to believe. I couldn't blame her. If my father was alive, I don't know that I could have kept pretending even if he seemed perfectly healthy.

It had all happened so fast; all I could do was follow Grace and Gordon in through the side door. Matt followed just behind me. She moved quickly, steering her father down the narrow hallway and across the narrow metal bridge above the floor filled with large metal silos. When she got him into a small office and onto a cot, he spoke softly to her, reaching into the hood of her jacket.

I didn't understand what they were saying. They spoke so softly, I couldn't understand the words, but I was almost certain they weren't speaking English.

I looked at Matt whose eyes were narrowed observing Grace, bent over her father. He struggled to sit up even as she tried to push him to lie down. His arms wrapped around her, cradling her head against his chest and I heard a soft sob coming from him. "Emoni," he said, his voice thick and pained.

Grace let out a soft whimper and wrapped her arms around him with a soft cry. My eyes burned and I glanced at Matt. He took my hand and pulled me out of the door. He closed the door behind us and looked down at me as my jaw trembled and I sniffled. "So, this is what you two were hiding," Matt said, softly. "Who is that man?"

I winced, worrying my lip and wondering if I should say anything. It was obvious that the secret was at least partially out. Would she be upset if I told the truth?

"You two have gotten really close," Matt said easily, "I'm glad. You don't have to tell me. I'm sure she'll tell me and if not her, he will."

That much was probably true. I thought back to the coverage of Frost Pelt and winced. It was likely that we were going to get pulled into whatever had really happened. She'd mentioned a conspiracy, but she hadn't been clear about what she suspected. The door opened behind us and Grace looked at us with red-rimmed eyes, "You should come in."

She opened the door wide enough for us to enter before closing the door behind us. The man was sitting up now, still hunched over and a bit tired-looking, but his eyes held a happiness that hadn't been in the photo. He looked just as tired as he had in the pack photo and maybe a little paler too, but he was a broad man with a sharp gaze directed at Matt.

"Not how I expected this meeting to go, Mr. Wallber," he said. "Welcome to Zima Distillery."

Grace stood by, fiddling with her sleeve.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zima. Please, call me Matt. I think the situation calls for it."

He nodded gravely, "Gordon, then. There isn't a lot of time before my... babysitter shows up to sit in on this meeting."

"Baby sitter?"

"Alpha O'Brian has me under 24/7 watch practically," he said gruffly. "I... organized this meeting on such short notice because she will be out of the territory for the next week, and I hoped to speak with you privately."

His lips trembled as he looked at Grace, "Since you've brought my Emoni home to me, I can only tell you that you can have anything you want at this point."

"Emoni," Matt noted, "A pretty name."

He smiled, "Her mother picked it. Said it was vague enough in case I won out and we ended up with a son the way my brothers had."

Grace scoffed and shifted her weight, "I'm better than those rascals and you know it."

"You're the light of my life, Emoni," he said, softly. "You always have been."

Her eyes went glossy and she looked away. I smiled looking between them.

Matt took a seat, "What were you going to ask me?"

"To find her," Gordon said.

I frowned, "Why not ask your alpha?"

He gave me a wry smile, "I did, and if she did make an effort, it wasn't an earnest one. It's taken years for her to... loosen my leash a little bit to get the chance to speak with you." Matt nodded and took a seat, "What can you tell me about what happened to Frost Pelt?"

He looked distraught, "We were attacked. They killed most. Took others. When the fires were put out, everything but the distillery had been destroyed."

He sighed, "The uninjured walked to Frost Melt, it's about a half-day running from here, for help. We found the few who had been sent for help murdered on the route."

I shuddered at the thought.

"Alpha O'Brian took us in, patched our wounds, and annexed the territory as a sign of goodwill. She asked me to stay on, be in her cabinet, to keep the distillery running." "Why did you stay?"

"The distillery has been in the Zima family for centuries," Gordon said, "And I was desperate. The few of us who survived were those who had been in the distillery when the attack started."

"... you understand that was deliberate?"

"Yes," Gordon said, "But what choice did I have? Had I refused we would have starved to death."

Emoni's eyes hardened and Matt spoke, "You're sure of that?"

"Blue Ice is this region's biggest export," Grace said, "Frost Melt's main export has been venison and furs, but Blue Ice is what has kept the area thriving. Without the distillery, the northern economy would collapse."

"She would have tried to wear me down," Gordon said, "Maybe I could have left, but there was no guarantee that whoever had attacked us wouldn't come looking for the same reason that she was offering me the position, and at least the few of us who survived would be able to stay together."

I nodded. It was understandable and I looked at Matt, "Do you think this attack is connected to the others?"

Matt shook his head, "I don't think so, but I don't think the distillery is all that's involved."

Gordon frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Frost Pelt isn't the only small pack with a lucrative export that's been attacked over their years and had members trafficked across the country, but it is the only one who has visible survivors."

I frowned and nodded. I had thought it was odd too. No one who had survived had been a part of the old pack, but Gordon had been made very visible as the pack's director of exports.

Matt pulled a chair around and ushered me into it before taking a seat, "I need you to answer me truthfully, Gordon. What does Teagan want from you?"

He frowned before grimacing, "A lot of things. More production. For me to sign over the rights to the distillery to the pack-"

"Not from the business, Gordon. From you."

Gordon froze and his eyes widened. My stomach turned in discomfort. Emoni's lips curled into a feral snarl. Her body went rigid as she snarled. "That woman..."

"No... that's ridiculous. It has to be the distillery." Gordon looked queasy, "She... made insinuations, but... I just thought."

"I think you misunderstand what kind of person she is," Matt said. "She's not much different than Ben."

He shook his head, lowering it into his hands, "I... I didn't even think about it."

"What is it?"

"Years ago, when my wife fell ill, she made me an offer to help me get her to a hospital in Warhammer, but I refused. She tried to seduce me, but I thought she was just drunk as we had been drinking at the time. Everyone knows that her marriage is just an arrangement." He shook his head, "How could she destroy Frost Pelt because I rejected her? Because I wouldn't cheat on my mate?"

"You wouldn't have been the first man to cheat on his wife or mate," Matt sighed. "It's very likely that Teagan had the attack planned for years as a move for power, a land grab. You were just the tipping point and a means of throwing off suspicion. Don't feel guilty." But Emoni had suspected that Frost Melt had been behind the attack within a few moments of reading the news release.

Or had she been told who sold her? I had never gotten the full story from her.

"We can't let her get away with this," Emoni said.

"Emoni, please, I just," Gordon shook his head, reaching for her hand, "I-I can't lose you again."

"She killed mom and everyone else," Emoni growled, "She's brought it on herself. Ripping her head off would be justice."

Gordon grimaced, pressing a hand to his chest, "She has Warhammer backing. It would be a bloodbath."

Matt tilted his head, "We'll have to pick this up later, but you're wrong about Warhammer."

Gordon frowned and a knock sounded on the door.

"Gordon?" A man's voice came through the door. "I think they're here."