The Beta's Daughter

I Hate To Ask

Chapter 39
Azariah's pov

Eighteen hundred seconds.

Or thirty minutes, if that's how you measure time.

That's how long I've lasted staring at my computer looking through the files Finn gave us. I guess I forgot to ask a very important question earlier.

How the hell do I know what to look for if he has no clue who's missing? I don't even know more than maybe fifty of his pack members.

I click through the families anyway, looking at pictures and names. It's relatively up to date and even includes current jobs, grades in school, and that sort of stuff. And this would be why I've lasted all of thirty minutes.

I push myself back from my desk and tip my chair back on its rear legs. Maybe if I let myself fall, I'll get knocked out and won't have to continue on with this torture. I put the chair back on all four legs and lean forward, burying my face in my knees. I decide to head down to the kitchen and get a coffee, I'm gonna need an entire pot if I plan to get through anymore of this shit.

My parents are out with some friends for supper, so the boys and I were left on our own. Which suited all three of us just fine. Noah cooked, and Ryan and I cleaned up. That boy could teach my mom a thing or two about cooking. I find him in the kitchen as I head in to make the coffee.

"What is that fabulous smell?" I follow my nose through the kitchen and discover it's coming from the oven.

"Apple cinnamon muffins. I'm hoping this deters Amora from insisting she cook breakfast for us." He laughs at his own joke. I guess it would be funny if you hadn't had to eat her cooking for the last twenty years, that is.

I turn on the coffee maker Amber got me, and put a pod into it. My mind goes back to the task i'm working on while I watch the coffee pour into my mug. I need to figure this out, and having Noah here in the kitchen, behaving like a teenager, reminds me why I need to do this. I want these two to feel safe again.

I put some cream in the coffee, then turned to head back upstairs to try to figure out what I'm looking for. I should call Amber, and we can bounce some ideas off each other.

"Later, kiddo. I've got work to do." I say as I start to leave.

Then it hits me.

Wow, I'm something fucking stupid. The answer to what I'm looking for is right here. Making muffins. These two clearly seen their faces. So they would be able to confirm if the two they killed were from Ambersy pack or not. The question is, how do I go about asking them to help me.

And if I ask them to help, I could really use some back up here. As in Jace, cause I'm betting their gonna need some moral support to get through this. Jace and Micah know about Finn telling me the dead wolf was found on his pack lands, so maybe I could just say that he's trying to figure out where it came from and asked me for help. That could work. I wouldn't have to show my entire hand just yet.

With my decision made I run back up to my room to call Jace. I'll wait till he gets here before I ask the boys if they could help. I sit back in that awful chair, looking at my computer again, then place the call. I don't know why I'm nervous to ask this of him, but I am. I power off my computer and unplug the stick so I can take it downstairs to load up on the laptop I use for school.