Chapter 12: New Lead

Alice’s Point of view


I laugh darkly. "Or I'll make you."
"You can always try little girl."
I see red. Does he dare to insult me?! Who does he think he is?
As we were about to jump each other, Elliot stepped in. 
"Calm down, both of you!" He turns to Owen but doesn't let go of me. "You really want to fight an Alpha? She'll kick your ass in two seconds, trust me." He then turns to me "He's my best friend, please I don't want you to fight with him."
I grit my teeth. The last thing I want to do is hurt him so I decide to walk away before I change my mind. Sam follows me with his head down after taking one last look at Owen and I see Melanie brush Simon's hand before catching up to us. 
"This is crazy! No?" Melanie says but we don't share her enthusiasm. Sam is depressed and I am too angry. The Moon Goddess must have a Machiavellian plan to bind us all like that. 
Sam tells us that he wants to be alone and leaves in the direction of our territory, probably to let his wolf run. 
Without a word, I head in the opposite direction, towards the center of town. Although the whole area is covered with forest, the town is more built up and the center of town has a lot of stores. All these mates' stories did not make me lose sight of my objective: find where the rogues come from.
Finally, I see the luxury shoe store and enter without hesitation. 
Big mistake! The saleswoman, who is human, looks at me from head to toe, without hiding her disdain. She wears an elegant grey suit with discreet but expensive jewelry. Her makeup is tastefully done and her bun is chic without being strict. Certainly, I don't belong here with my jeans and my blue t-shirt. I should have changed but it's too late.
"Can I help you?" Asks the saleswoman in a fake friendly tone. 
"Yes, hello. My friend Brenda bought some shoes here and said the staff is very friendly. I have a date and I want to make the most of it if you know what I mean." I say in a knowing tone but it doesn't work. She looks at me suspiciously. 
To win her trust, I 'accidentally' drop a wad of cash, leaving no doubt that I have the means to buy the whole store if I want to. Being one of the most powerful packs has its advantages.
"Oh but of course! We are delighted that she was satisfied with our services. Had you seen a particular model?"
I smile, glad that my plan worked.
"Yes, I like the ones she had. These I think." I say, pointing to the hideously vulgar pair Barbie was wearing. "Do you remember her?" 
"Yes, of course! It is one of the most expensive models. But her boyfriend paid for it without batting an eye." 
Ah, that's my luck! The saleswoman is a gossip girl. I jumped at the chance and started laughing loudly.
"Which one? She has so many..."
"This one had a scar on his face."
So that was the leader of the rogues. So maybe she was the whore of the group after all. 
"I don't know this one. Do you know where he is from?" I ask innocently. 
"Oh, he didn't say much. He wasn't happy to be there if you ask me."
"I can see why." I say, pointing to the price of the shoes. "But they're worth it, aren't they?" I add, smiling through my teeth. "He wasn't violent with her, I hope. Her previous boyfriend used to beat her, she had a hard time getting over that." 
"No, but he yelled at her. He paid for the shoes to make it up to her."
"No way!" I say, covering my mouth with one hand, putting on my best acting act. "What happened?"
"I don't know it didn't make sense. They were talking and she told him he wasn't the boss. He then yelled and I quote: I may not be the Alpha of a large pack but I am the rogues' Alpha and therefore yours. Don't forget that if you value your life." She shrugs.
I try to get more information but the saleswoman can't remember anything else and I leave empty-handed. Well not really because I had to buy something so I chose a pair of classic black heels. 
*"A lot of money for not much."* I say to Cassie.
*"Well, now we know they are working with an Alpha from a large pack."*
*"That's what I say, it was for nothing. 'Large pack' is subjective. And is it large in number, in the territory, in influence?"* I run my hand over my face. *"I don't know what to do. We're out of leads."*
We're silent for a moment, both equally depressed.
*"What about his bank card? Didn't you want to track those movements?"* Cassie asks.
*"Yes, but I don't have the computer skills to do it."*
*"Well, we'll just have to find a hacker. Problem solved."* She proudly announces. 
*"Well done Einstein. And do you know a hacker?"*
*"Maybe we can hire one on the dark web."* She says, mimicking an evil tone.
*"You know how to go to the dark web miss criminal?"*
*"There's got to be a tutorial on youtube."*
I burst out laughing and people on the street look at me like I'm crazy.
*"Why are you laughing? There are tutorials for everything."* She says with a vexed look.
*"A tutorial to go on the dark web? I guess it must be with videos like 'how to make a bomb' or 'Biological weapons: we tell you everything!"* I laugh again.
*"At least I am looking for solutions!*" She says, emphasizing the ‘I‘.
*"I know. I'm just teasing you."*
I walk around for a while before I get an idea.
*"Maybe Sam could help us. He loves computers. Or maybe he knows a hacker! The only problem is going to be getting the subject without telling him anything incriminating. And that is going to be complicated."*
My phone rings and I pick it up without checking who's calling.
"Where are you?" My father asks.
"In town. I'm on my way home."
"Come as soon as you can."
I stop at his urgent tone.
"What? What's going on?"
"It's the Reds. They've been up to all this all along. But tomorrow they won't exist anymore, trust me."