Two days later…
Talia was in the packhouse of the Red Moon pack, looking at the documents that covered almost every surface of what used to be Alpha Edward's study.
James told Talia that he didn't find anything special in Alpha Edward's safe, but there was plenty in other places. He and Cornelia decided to bring everything to the study in order to see what was useful and what could be discarded.
"This is a portion of what we found," James told Talia. "Once we clear this up, I will bring the rest."
"It will take forever to go through this," Talia said bitterly.
James shrugged. There was nothing he could do about this. "We have no idea what's useful. Knowing my father, he would keep top-secret information within the daily expenses of the pack. He had a habit of hiding things in plain sight."
"Show me the rest," Talia demanded.
James took her into the room two doors away, and Talia gaped at another mountain of documents.
"There is also the library," James said.
Talia released a long breath while telling herself not to panic. It's not like she expected to find one folder with the title "Top secret information on witches," and that would be it. This was more than expected, but at least they found something. On the other hand, maybe Alpha Edward hoped that no one would search through this mountain of documents.
"Alright. Tell me what you found so far," Talia asked.
Ever since the ceremony when Omegas from the Red Moon pack joined the Dark Howlers pack, James, Cornelia, Dawn, Zina, George, and Owen have been staying in this packhouse.
George and Owen were working with warriors, Zina and Dawn were preparing food and taking care of the packhouse, and James and Cornelia were busy looking at things that Alpha Edward had left behind.
Talia stayed in the Dark Howlers pack until everyone settled into their new routine, and she was comfortable leaving Mindy and Petra to take care of the rest.
The good news was that about a dozen Omegas who came from the Red Moon pack found their mates in the Dark Howlers pack. That helped with the assimilation of newcomers.
Damon was not happy with leaving Talia out of his sight, but he had meetings with his Generals, Cristian, Maddox, and Tony, to figure out the details about border patrols for their territories and several other things that Caden and Maya couldn't handle.
Talia assured Damon that she wouldn't wander away. Liam, Amelia, Keith, and Arya were with her, and Damon had access to the security cameras in the packhouse of the Red Moon pack, so he could see what was going on there.
Talia helplessly looked at the pile of documents that James had put in front of her.
"What am I looking for?" She asked.
"Things that don't seem right. Something that will be out of place. My father had his own codes in writing things that no one else would understand."
Talia pursed her lips. She didn't want to point out that James was still dressing Alpha Edward as his father. "Why would he write down things if it was just for him?"
"Valid point," James said. "We might as well say there is nothing useful here, and we can stop. However, what if there is one document, one clue, that will lead us to something bigger?"
"Did you find something from Alpha Howard?"
James paused. "I know you are referring to his diaries that mentioned witches. No, I didn't find those."
"Does that mean there are other hiding places, or…"
"Or they were destroyed. Taken away. Anything is possible," James said.
Talia puffed her cheeks in frustration. She was already several days behind because she was comforting Omegas, and those Omegas still needed her. This will take days or weeks, and there is a chance they won't find anything. Wouldn't that be a waste of time?
With the latest developments, Talia forgot that Alpha Edward was just one of their problems. Now that things settled, she remembered rogues and Guardians, and now that Alpha Edward was gone, there was a chance that another Alpha would lead the unofficial anti-Damon coalition. Beta Raymond was still missing, Talia was pregnant, she had two packs and a mate that needed her, and she didn't have time to spend weeks combing through documents in search of things that might not be there.
Can she fake an emergency and leave James and Cornelia to handle this? It didn't seem right. Cornelia and James had other things to do also, and if Talia bailed on them, she wouldn't be able to look them in the eyes.
Talia wished for the ability to absorb whatever was in those documents and to sort that information, and… Talia's face lit up when she remembered one person that had a super-cheat that allowed him to read the archive of the Silver Flame Coven in one night. If he could do that, surely he could tackle this within a few hours.
Talia got her phone and made a call. "Hi, Axel!"
"To what do we owe the honor of Alpha calling?" Axel answered dryly.
Talia was confused. "Pardon?"
"Sandy and Tyler told me about your adventures. Why do I need to read about it in a magazine like I'm an outsider? Aren't we family? And when will you visit your niece and nephew? Varya is driving me nuts with her demands to visit her sisters, and Yasmin is missing you."
The more Axel spoke, the more Talia shrunk in her seat. She was guilty. Of everything.
Yasmin had her babies, and they escorted them to the portal, and Talia promised to visit as soon as she could, but so many things happened, and she didn't.
"I assume things are alright there?" Talia asked sheepishly.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Axel asked sourly. "People are missing their Alpha. It might be a few days for you, but for us is months and…"
"I heard you," Talia said. "As Sandy and Tyler told you, and as you read in the magazine, a lot of things happened, and I'm sorting this out, but it's taking longer than I thought it would. I know I am neglecting the pack. I am sorry. In my defense, I wouldn't leave the pack for such a long time if I didn't know you were doing a fantastic job taking care of it in my absence."
Axel snorted. "Good that you know. Now, what do you want?"
"How do you know I want something? What if I just called to hear how things are going?"
"Spare me," Axel said dramatically, and Talia could imagine him rolling his eyes as he continued, "You just said that things are busy. You wouldn't interrupt your busy to catch up casually. You need something."
"I do. I need you."
"Oho! You need a capable Alpha?" Axel asked cheerfully. "How can I serve you?"
Talia was not sure if that was sarcasm, but it was better than grumbling.
"We spoke before that Alpha Edward might be involved in experiments that involved our people," Talia said and waited for Axel to confirm before continuing, "Alpha Edward called them witches, but it all points that those were people from the Midnight Guardians pack. Well, now that he is gone, we collected documents to find evidence."
