Havana nodded because, despite that working alongside him wouldn’t be fun, she’d take whatever help she could get. She had a contact from the Movement who she could consult, but she didn’t tell Tate that. “You know what Rupert meant by ‘the family,’ don’t you?”
Tate twisted his mouth. “Possibly. There was a group of half shifters who called themselves that. They were led by a wolf hybrid named Gideon York.”
“I’ve heard of them,” said Corbin. “They’re all dead.”
“Most would agree that you’re right on that,” said Tate. “But some think Gideon is alive.”
“Okay, I haven’t heard of him,” declared Havana. “Who is he?”
Tate folded his arms. “Gideon’s mother was human and his father was a wolf shifter. Gideon didn’t have an easy time in his pack. He couldn’t shift. Many saw him being latent as a weakness, but anyone who hurt him would later suffer in some way. Skinned animals would be dumped in their bedrooms. Their family pets would turn up dead. Their cabins would be set on fire. In one case, a kid got his foot caught in a bear trap that had been taken from the perimeter of pack territory and dumped in his backyard. No one could prove Gideon was responsible, but most believed he was.
“When he turned eighteen, his Alpha asked him to move off of pack territory. He didn’t kick Gideon out of the pack, just asked him to relocate. Fast forward four years, and Gideon began a pack of his own that would welcome any shifter, no matter the breed, so long as they were only half shifter. They called themselves a family, not a pack. They didn’t have pack mates, they had kin. They didn’t have an Alpha, they had a family patriarch—Gideon. And they massacred his pack—including his parents, twelve-year-old brother, and nine-year-old sister. No one was spared.”
“Jesus,” Havana breathed.
“The deceased Alpha’s relatives believed Gideon was to blame, so they went to Gideon’s compound to challenge him,” said Tate. “But the patriarch wouldn’t open the gates, so the pack bypassed the fence and set fire to the compound in the hope of making everyone exit. How the rest plays out often depends on who’s telling the story. The most common version is that Gideon killed his kin and then himself rather than face the wolves. But some believe he murdered the majority of his kin and then escaped with the few he allowed to live.”
“Why would they think that’s a possibility?” asked Havana.
“Because when the fire was put out and the wolves walked through the wreckage, they discovered a bolt hole. The bodies were so badly burned that no one could be sure if Gideon was among the corpses.”
“If he had a bolt hole, why not take everyone with him?”
“Gideon wasn’t really interested in building a ‘family.’ He’d wanted an army that would follow him blindly and aid him in getting revenge on his pack. He’d keep you around while you were of use, but if that changed, he’d eliminate you in an instant. His kin had served their purpose.
“Considering the pack would have hunted him, it would have suited Gideon if people believed he was dead. Some say he went underground; that he now does business via whatever select few people know he’s alive. It’s believed that most of his underlings often don’t even realize who their orders really come from.”
Havana licked the edges of her teeth. “Assuming he is alive, would he be someone who’d auction off loners?”
“I’d say so, yes,” replied Tate. “He hated shifters—not simply because of the trouble he had with his pack, but because he resented them for being able to shift when he couldn’t. It was said that he even detested his inner wolf for never surfacing.”
“Given what he did to his biological family and pack,” Luke began, “I’d say he’d think nothing of trafficking strangers. He was never right in the head. Maybe because of his upbringing, or maybe because his wolf never surfaced—that can make a person and their inner animal unstable.
“Given the terminology the jaguars used, I’d say that he’s alive and running this show. Finding him won’t be easy. Some of the wolves who burned down the compound searched for him for years, wanting to be sure he was dead. They never found him.”
“The two jaguars must be his ‘kin,’” said Bailey. “They’ll know where he is. They’re our ticket to finding him.”
“I hope your contacts can help, Tate,” said Havana. “We have to do what we can to stop the next auction before it starts.”
“Why did you ask the cougar where he delivered each of the loners?” Corbin asked her.
“It’s possible that the location of the … auction house, for lack of a better term … is somewhere reasonably close to the drop-off points,” said Havana. “They were all in this city, so it stands to reason that the auction house is also here.”
“In my opinion, Vana, there’s no sense in checking out the abandoned factory where Rupert and his buddy were supposed to dump you,” said Bailey. “There’s no way the jaguars hung around overnight waiting for them.”
“I agree,” said Tate. He looked at Havana. “If there’s a specific reason why each of the loners are selected for auction, someone else may come for you. Be careful. Stay on high alert. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
“I have no plans to make it easy for anyone to grab me,” said Havana.
Tate gave a satisfied nod. “I’ll go make some calls and find out what I can. I’ll pass on whatever I learn.”
Havana inclined her head in thanks. “Appreciate it.”
“I’ll see you out,” Corbin told him.
Tate gave her one last, long look she couldn’t quite decipher. Then he, Luke, and Corbin walked away.
Havana turned to Bailey. “I’m going to call Cesário,” she told her, referring to their ex-boss. “Although I believe Gideon York is behind this, I have to consider that the anti-shifter extremists could be connected to the auction—they would happily traffic shifters. If such a thing has been happening, Cesário will have heard about it.
“While I talk to him, call Dawn at the homeless shelter. Make her aware of the situation so she can warn the loners she’s housing to be careful. Also, give her the names of the loners that Rupert snatched in the past and ask if she’s heard of any of them. I’ll text them to you now.” Havana quickly did so.
“Your message just came through,” said Bailey, tapping the screen of her phone with her thumbs. “If I can’t get through to Dawn, I’ll call one of the volunteers like Madisyn or Makenna. Tell Cessy I said hi.”
Havana sighed. “He hates it when you call him that.”
“I know.” Bailey walked away, putting her cell to her ear.
Havana found her ex-boss’s number in her list of contacts. She’d spoken to him once or twice since she retired. Neither she, Bailey, Aspen, or Camden would have retired so soon if it hadn’t been compulsory.
Some people had originally thought that the Movement would only make matters worse. On the contrary, the group handled the extremists so well that not only had the factions lost a truck load of support from humans, the rate of their attacks had dramatically lowered. Due to that and the work of PR shifter groups, humans and shifters co-existed much more peacefully nowadays. Still, the extremists would never really go away, so there was a chance they were connected to the auctions. Which was why she needed to speak with Cesário.