It had been a week and none of Beck's contacts had gotten back to him with anything useful. No one seemed to know anything. Or if they did, they weren't talking. Beck didn't know if that meant they really didn't know anything, if they were involved, or if someone had gotten to them. He just knew he was reaching the end of his patience.
He picked up the phone and dialed Elder Ramsey's office. If they wouldn't call him, he'd call them. He was done with waiting. He wanted answers even if he had to pry them loose with a crowbar.
"Elder Ramsey's office."
"Hello, this is Montgomery Beck. I'd like to speak to Elder Ramsey."
"I'm afraid Elder Ramsey is out of the office today. Can I take a message?"
Damn it.
"No, I'll call back later."
"Have a good day."
Beck shook his head as he hung up. That voice was way too cheery. He hadn't had enough coffee yet this morning to be dealing with this crap. He needed answers, and more caffeine. Beck picked up the phone and started making more calls. One of his contacts had to know something.
By the fourth phone call, he wanted to bang his head against his desk. No one was talking. He couldn't figure out why. There wasn't even a hint that something was going on at the monastery, except that he knew that it was.
Beck glanced up when someone knocked on the door. "Hey, Greyson, what's up?"
"Elder Ramsey is here to see you."
Beck lifted an eyebrow. "Elder Ramsey? Here?" The elder had never visited him in any of the places he'd stayed. Beck had always been called to the elder's office. But this did explain why the elder hadn't been in his office.
Greyson nodded.
"Well, I guess you'd better show him in then." Once Greyson walked away, Beck quickly checked his desk to make sure nothing was out that he didn't want shared. Some things were not meant for an elder's ears. Nothing seemed out of place, but Beck couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something.
When Elder Ramsey stepped into the room, Beck knew it was too late to go over things more thoroughly. He stood and held his hand out. "Elder Ramsey."
Elder Ramsey shook his hand. "Sorry for dropping in unannounced, Beck. We've had something come up in our investigation and I didn't feel it should be discussed over an open line."
Finally.
Beck waved his hand toward the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, sit."
Elder Ramsey sat down then folded his hands together and rested them on his stomach.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Beck asked. It was the polite thing to do.
"Coffee, please."
Beck glanced toward the open doorway. "Greyson, would you get the elder some coffee? And please let Fagan know we have a visitor." Beck took his seat again. "So, what did you find?"
"I'd like to wait until your mate can join us, if you don't mind. I think he'll be interested in what I have to say."
"Yes, sir." It was all Beck could do to sit there and not demand that the elder tell him what he knew.
"How are you enjoying being home after all these years?" Elder Ramsey asked.
Beck chuckled. "I'm keeping busy, but it's still a little hard to get used to. My days at the council were always filled with stuff to do. Sometimes, there weren't enough hours in the day. Now, I can sleep in, stay up late, basically do what I want."
"And your little omega? How's he settling in?"
"I think he's doing okay," Beck replied. "There are still some things Fagan is having a hard time accepting because he spent his entire life thinking his very existence was aimed toward serving a master, but he's getting there."
There were times when the wonder on Fagan's face as he discovered something new brought an ache to Beck's chest. He wanted to share the world with his mate. Other times, when Fagan discovered how badly he'd been duped, rage was the only emotion Beck felt.
"Elder Ramsey, welcome to our home," Fagan said as he walked in with a small tray of coffee. He expertly set it down on the edge of Beck's desk then handed one of the cups to the elder before taking the other chair in front of Beck's desk. "I wasn't sure if you were hungry so I added some of the raspberry pastries I made earlier today."
Beck grinned when the elder's jaw dropped. He knew exactly what the man was thinking. He'd thought it too when he first found out Fagan was blind. It was very simple, Fagan couldn't see a thing, but he was in no way handicapped. Now that he knew the layout of the house, he moved about as if he could see as well as anyone else.
"You made these?" the elder asked as he reached for one.
"I did," Fagan admitted. "I love baking, and these guys eat up anything I make."
The elder took a small nibble of the pastry. His eyebrows rose as he took another, bigger bite. "These are pretty good."
Fagan beamed. "Thank you."
"So, what did you need to speak to us about, Elder Ramsey?" Beck asked. His curiosity was practically a living, breathing knot deep in his gut. "What did you find out?"
"From what we can tell," the elder began, "this master bullshit has only been going on for a little over twenty-five years. All of the former shifter kings I spoke with had their omegas, and there were no problems."
"So, it was just me and my generation of omegas then?" Fagan asked.
"It's looking that way, Fagan. Beck is the first shifter king to claim his omega this generation."
"No, that's not right."
When Fagan turned toward him, Beck reached out and took his hand. "What is it, baby?"
"There's no way I can be the first omega claimed. There's been several that went before me."
"Maybe I need to be more precise," Elder Ramsey said. "You are the first official omega claimed. The others were simply young men who were sold to their masters."
"Simply?" Fagan snapped.
Beck growled at the outrage in Fagan's voice. His mate was upset, which upset his cat. He grabbed the edge of Fagan's chair and pulled it around his desk then close to his own chair. It would be easier on him and his cat if their mate was next to him.
"Simply might have been the wrong word," the elder quickly amended. "I merely meant that they were not registered omegas."
"They were still sold," Fagan pointed out. There was a bite to his voice, but at least he wasn't shouting.
"And we will be tracking them all down, but first we need to stop this from happening to anyone else." Elder Ramsey turned his attention to Beck. "I thought you might like to be in on the raid."
"Raid?"
Elder Ramsey nodded. "I have a team ready and waiting. I'm not sure who all is involved in the mess, but I suspect the paper trail starts in the headmaster's office. Once we seize everything, we can start tracking down the others who were sold and who areis behind all of this."
"Do you suspect the others on the high council?" Beck asked.
"At this point, I suspect everyone."
Beck did not like how that sounded. "You really suspect the other elders?"
"Look, its real simple," Elder Ramsey replied. "Someone has started using the monastery as a way to train submissives and sell them to the highest bidders. I fully believe if you hadn't gone for Fagan when you did, we never would have known any of this was happening."
Beck frowned. "I would have known."
He was sure of it.
"Not if you were told your mate had died in some tragic accident or something. You would have mourned him the rest of your life, never knowing he was out there somewhere, serving whatever master he'd been sold to."
Beck lifted Fagan up then sat the man down on his lap. He needed closer contact with his mate. The mere thought of Fagan dying or even thinking he had died wasn't one Beck ever wanted to have. It made his stomach churn and cramp.
"I think I would have known," Fagan said, "but I'm not sure I would have done anything about it. Brainwashing can be a powerful thing. I've spent years believing my only worth was in what I could do for my master. It's hard to pull away from that."
"I imagine we're going to have to do a little deprogramming once we end whatever this is." Elder Ramsey grimaced. "I never thought someone could take something asso sacred as the peace treaty and use it to line their pockets. It's revolting."
"People will do a lot of things to make money," Beck pointed out. "And many of them don't care who they hurt in the process."
"I'd like you and your men to join us on the raid. Since we don't know who all is involved in this thing, I've brought in the only team I trust, but it would be helpful if we had more men. I'm not sure what kind of resistance we'll be facing."
"I'd be honored, sir."
"Can I go?" Fagan asked.
"That wouldn't be appropriate, Fagan," Elder Ramsey stated.
"But I can reassure the other omegas that they will be safe," Fagan insisted. "They know me. If I tell them they will be okay, they will believe me."
"And we may need you to do that," the elder said, "but for this initial raid, it's best if you weren't there. We need to be able to concentrate on getting to the information before the headmaster and whoever he's working with can destroy it. If we're worried about you, our attention will be divided."
Fagan heaved a heavy breath. "I understand."
Beck knew he did, but he also knew Fagan wasn't happy about it. "I do have a favor to ask you, Fagan."
Fagan turned to face him. "Anything."
Beck smiled even if his mate couldn't see it. "Can I impose upon you to cook up enough food to feed all those going on the raid? We're going to be really hungry by the time we get back here."
"Yes, I could do that." A frown wrinkled the skin of Fagan's forehead. "Is that all you need me to do?"
"Stay safe?"
Beck chuckled when Fagan's eyes rolled. He loved how feisty his mate was becoming. He attributed it to Fagan learning that he didn't have to cater to someone's needs. He could have needs of his own.
"I'll promise to stay safe if you will," Fagan said. "Or at least stay as safe as you can considering you're going on a raid."
He didn't sound happy about it.
Beck smiled. "I will. I promise."
"Who are you leaving here with me?"
Beck chuckled again. Fagan knew him well. "Who would you like me to leave with you?"
"I asked you first."
"How about Dominic?"
Fagan seemed most comfortable with Greyson. Considering the man was the most even- tempered out of all of them, that kind of made sense, but he needed Greyson with him. There was no way he was leaving Jaggar there. Fagan would have him knocked out and hogtied ten minutes after they left. That left Dominic and Talon.
"Dominic is fine," Fagan replied. "He likes helping me in the kitchen."
Dominic did like helping Fagan in the kitchen. He was really there because he was fascinated by how well Fagan got around considering he was blind. Dominic liked studying people's behavior and why they did the things they did. Fagan was a contradiction, which made him great study material.
Beck wasn't sure if Fagan knew that was why Dominic hung around so much, but he wasn't about to mention it.
He set Fagan on his feet then gave his ass a pat. "Why don't you go tell the others we're headed out on a mission while I suit up?"
"I can do that." Fagan grabbed the tray he'd set down earlier and carried it out of the room, once again walking as if he had twenty-twenty eyesight.
"How does he do that?" Elder Ramsey asked. "You did tell me he was blind, right?"
"He is," Beck replied, "and I have no idea how he does it. I stopped asking after we played chase in the woods and he didn't trip over anything or run into a tree."
He'd been shocked, but not as shocked as the others had been as they watched Fagan laughing as he ran through the woods trying to get away from Beck's tiger. Beck had almost laughed himself silly after shifting back.
"Give me about ten minutes and I should be ready to go."
"I'll be here when you get back."
Beck raised an eyebrow. "Back?"
Elder Ramsey chuckled. "Elders do not go on raids, bBeck. You know that. I'll stay here and keep Fagan company. I assume Dominic can protect both of us?"
"Of course," Beck said. He trusted Dominic to keep Fagan safe. He'd trust him to keep the elder safe as well.
"Good, good." Elder Ramsey reached for another pastry. "These really are quite tasteful."
"I'm sure Fagan would be happy to box a couple of them up for you."
"Oh, I don't want to bother the boy."
Beck bristled at the man referring to his mate as a "boy", but now was not the time to argue with the man. He needed to get his battle gear so he could go on the raid and then get back to Fagan as quickly as possible.
He still couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something.