"This is quite convenient actually, I should do this more often," Vir mentioned as he brought a forkful of chicken piccata to his mouth, blowing on it softly.

"We have meetings all the time, Vir. What is different now?" Daniel asked, his mouth still full, causing a few tiny bits of food to spray from his mouth. Vir, Willow and Betty looked at him distastefully, Rosie and I just gigged silently. After she and Daniel got a bit closer and met more often, she could be found in Headquarters quite often if she wasn't attending lectures, dance classes or studying. So far, I'd met her a couple of times, and she was an absolute delight each time. It was very obvious she was clever, but she never let it show in the way she spoke to others. Her quiet and shy personality contrasted greatly with that of Daniel, but instead of clashing, I found that they complimented each other. She was able to calm him down, and he managed to make her a bit more daring, slightly more outgoing than she was on her own.

Before replying, Vir swallowed his food and with a napkin, cleaned the corners of his mouth meticulously before answering. "For starters, we are all together at once in the same room, which is not only socially favourable as we are all able to maintain our network, but also increases efficiency. Additionally, we have never had food come up from Headquarters. This is beneficial because nutrients improve concentration and mood, and therefore also increase efficiency and work ethic. I don't have to bring a taster with me to ensure I'm not poisoned, as they are already in the building – efficient. You get my point."

I put my hand on his bare arm to stop him from saying anymore when he looked like he wanted to spew out more reasons as to why this arrangement would be advantageous. When our skin made contact, I saw a shiver go through his body in delight, but he did quiet down and started eating again.

Willow cleared her throat as she grabbed her tablet from her bag and put her plate on the metal cart that had been used to bring up the Italian food. "Alright, while you finish up your meal, I would like to discuss some things. Rosie, can I count on you not disclosing anything? As the Beta's mate you are automatically considered a trusted pack member, and I assume that your and Beta Daniels death upon treason are undesired?"

Rosie went completely quiet, Daniel choked on a piece of chicken, and Vir coughed loudly at Willow's words. "We currently punish treason by prison time, not death," he said weakly.

"Brother," Willow said sweetly. "Sometimes you are way too lenient with your subjects. Harsh punishments for serious crimes prevent the occurrence of said crimes."

Vir shook his head. "Actually, that is not the case. However easy it is to think that the threat of a harsh punishment will dissuade a person from committing a crime, and in general will prevent or reduce the number of crime, the opposite is often true. In fact, especially in the case of re-offenders it has been shown that more lenient punishments reduce the odds of committing the same crime again. Although that would require a rehabilitation progr-"

"Punishment by death would completely snuff out any chances of criminals re-offending," Willow butted in.

"But it will likely not deter people from doing something bad, only the chances of being apprehended will do that. If a person thinks they are more likely to get caught, then they will be less likely to-"

"We will discuss this later," Willow ended the discussion in a final tone. "Still, Rosie, can I count on your discretion?"

"Of course," the dark-haired girl whispered, her face pale because of the death threat for potentially stepping out of line.

Now Betty also joined the conversation. "Don't worry, dear," she said sweetly. "Willow is all bark, but she won't hurt you."

I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from saying anything. If that woman indeed completed one of the most vicious Fortis Military Schools, she was definitely not all bark, but very capable of biting. And not letting go, ever. And that scared me a little. Her speech had definitely reminded me of what I had just done by giving the coordinates of the new destination of a train full of fucking high-tech weapons to another pack. Apparently, Willow was all for punishing treason with death, and what I had done was way more than just simple treason.

Although, I supposed that you couldn't really have gradations of treason. Could one type of treason really be worse than another? Treason was treason right?

Anyway, if there was a scale, I was surely not doing great.

Sucking my cheek into my mouth and biting my lip, I took a deep breath to calm myself. I did what I could do, now my only chance was to hope for someone to notice how much there was wrong in that institution, so that they would check everything from top to bottom.

"Oh by the way," Betty continued with a warm smile on her face. "Livia, I briefly read through your reports from today, and they all look wonderful! Very detailed, especially the last one. The department at the sixth floor will look at them carefully, and decide further actions."

I gave her a soft smile, hoping not to come across too nervous. "Thank you Betty, it was surprisingly enough not as difficult as I'd imagined."

Alright.

It was out of my hands now then, right? I did all I could.

Still, I couldn't stop my stomach from contracting unpleasantly as the guilt pooled and swirled there. I swallowed uncomfortably and dug my nails deeply into my lower arm under the table, creating tiny moon-shaped indents in the tender skin.

Betty didn't seem to notice anything, and looked at her notebook in which she had illegibly scribbled some notes. "Good, if I'm not speaking out of turn, Alpha, I think it would be good to allow you to continue this job, Livia. Of course, we'll wait for the assessment of dr. Jiang from HR about what you've done so far, but I think you can take a lot of work out of my hands this way." She looked at Vir expectantly, who was staring at me instead with a focussed gaze, seemingly trying to find the answer to a question in my posture. I tried to relax and not seem suspicious, but when your soulmate is looking at you like that it is quite difficult, I can tell you.

Still, Vir seemed to be satisfied with what he found, because he nodded absentmindedly after a while. "Yeah, I think that would be good indeed. Have her continue with the companies in the North Quarter, the latest reports show that the disturbances that have so far plagued residential areas mainly, are now spreading there too. See if you can find any underlying cause, Livia."

By now he had finished his Italian chicken dish, and neatly put away the empty plate and cutlery on the metal tray next to the table.

"Daniel, how far along are you and your team with the investigations surrounding Mr. Derek Moore? I would have expected some results weeks ago."

Daniel just sighed, and stared at the table ashamedly. "We are getting absolutely nowhere. The man is a complete enigma. He won't talk, and from his background and security footage we can't figure out anything either. It seems as if he doesn't even remember that he held people at gunpoint."

"Could he have been drugged somehow? He did seem a little out of it," Willow mused out loud.

Daniel shook his head. "The tox screen for drugs and poisons we did on him did not reveal any mind-altering substances in his blood."

"And a broader screen for all types of chemicals? We could still run that now?"

Vir sighed. "That wouldn't make a difference. He has been in our custody for weeks, all drugs would be out of his system by now."

"My professor mentioned something about a hair-follicle test in class at forensic criminology a couple of weeks ago," Rosie interjected quietly. "That can reveal taken drugs for up to 90 days."

"Hmm," Vir responded, deep in thought. "That could be an option, if we know what we are looking for. Daniel, figure out whether we can do the ELISA and GC/MS required for this hair-follicle test at the Rabor lab here at Headquarters. They should have plenty experience with the techniques at least. Consult a medical health professional, but have their background fully checked and have them sign an NDA before disclosing any information about this man, understood?"

Daniel nodded gravely. "I will also renew efforts to interrogate him. I'll go in there myself if I have to."