Chapter 184: Tinam

Lorali

I sat on the edge of the mattress back in my room at the Spade penthouse and I had my desk lamp pulled low over my lap, the warm light cutting through the dimness as I untied the faded red ribbon wrapping the yellowed CPS manila folder I’d taken from the orphanage.

My heart hammered against my ribs with a strange rhythm, I have no idea why I am scared, this is want I wanted. Answers, a subtle shiver traced down my spine. Finally, some real answers about who I actually am.

I flipped open the cardstock cover, my eyes scanning the words at the top of the document.

It was a standardized, clinical intake form from over twenty years ago with basic information about me.

Blood type: O-negative.

Estimated age at abandonment: under seventy-two hours.

Approximate location of birth: undetermined.

I scoffed out loud, tossing the front pages aside. "Oh, this is utterly useless," I muttered to the empty room, rolling my eyes.

I kept digging deeper into the stack, pushing past old medical forms and routine administrative signatures, until I hit a section titled: REGIONAL CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES CONSOLIDATED INVESTIGATION REPORT — CASE FILE #409-B.

I leaned in closer, my thumb tracing the faded black typewriter font.

The investigators had actually tried to track down my biological parents back when I was brought in as a infant. According to the field notes, they had hit a wall locally, but an evidence review of the tiny handmade woolen swaddling clothes I’d been found in led them to trace the specific loom-weave pattern all the way to the country Tinam.

Tinam? I thought, my brow pulling into a deep, bewildered line. What on earth...?

I turned the page. The notes got even stranger. The regional CPS agents had actually dispatched a scout to a remote, snow-capped mountain region in Tinam to verify the origin of the garments. While there, they had briefly questioned a woman identified in the record only by the name "Tulip." But the log abruptly ended there. The rest of the page had been heavily redacted with thick black ink, leaving zero explanation as to what Tulip had said, or why the investigation had been instantly abandoned right after.

I stared at the word Tinam until it blurred before my eyes.

"Tinam?" I whispered as total confusion washed over me. "Was I born all the way in that country? It’s literally on the other side of the world. This doesn’t make any damn sense. How did I end up in a orphanage in Prone City.

I flipped through the rest of the folder, but that was it. No photos, no addresses, no names other than a random woman in a mountain range who might not even be alive anymore.

I threw the folder onto the foot of my bed, letting out a heavy, dramatic sigh as I stretched my arms over my head, falling flat onto my back against the pillows. I pulled my phone out of my coat pocket, holding it over my face, and tapped the speed dial.

I considered calling Astrid for a fraction of a second, but I quickly decided against it.

I dialed Erin instead.

He picked up on the very first ring. "What’s up, Lorali?" Erin’s smooth voice chimed through the speaker.

"You won’t believe it," I said, staring up at the white ceiling.

"What?" he asked, a faint, amused hum in his tone. "You actually read through that dusty folder?"

"Of course I read the file!" I shot back, sitting up on my elbows. "And apparently... when the orphanage found me on their doorstep as a baby, I was wearing custom clothes from the country of Tinam!"

There was a long beat of silence on the line. "Tinam? Seriously?"

"Yeah!" I declared, my voice rising in pitch. "That’s all the way on the other side of the world!"

"That’s really far, Lorali," Erin noted, the rustle of papers echoing from his end. "Did you honestly expect it to be this far?"

"No, of course not!" I scoffed, kicking my feet against the mattress. "I thought it would still be somewhere within our country’s borders! I mean, Tinam is a completely different continent!"

"So... what are you going to do now?" Erin asked smoothly.

Without missing a single beat, I threw my legs over the edge of the bed. "Of course I’m going to Tinam."

Erin let out a low, breathless laugh on the line. "Tinam? Seriously, Lorali? I think you should actually think this through for more than five seconds. Tinam is extremely far, and the terrain over there is brutal."

"I have literally nothing to do, Erin!" I argued, pacing the length of my rug. "I don’t think you’re getting it. The championship is over, my schedule is clear, and I am dying of boredom in this penthouse! So, Tinam it is. Are you coming or what?"

Erin sighed, though I could basically hear the smirk in his voice. "Of course I’m coming. I’m not foolish enough to let you travel to a foreign country alone. You’d burn the entire nation down in three days."

A genuine smile broke across my face. "Oh, you know me so well."

"But I have to ask," Erin continued, his tone turning practical, "how exactly are you convincing Torin to let you go to Tinam? You legally cannot cross international borders without your main Alpha’s formal signature on your travel visa."

My jaw tightened. "Well, I won’t be alone. Oracle is coming with me, he has to come along because of this stupid venomous bond anyway. And as for Torin... I will find a way to deal with him."

"Oh, boy. Okay," Erin chuckled softly. "So when is this Tinam expedition happening so I can clear my calendar?"

Without missing a beat, I stated flatly.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Erin echoed, his smooth composure breaking for a split second.

"Yeah!" I insisted. "I don’t want to waste any more time sitting around here! I mean, who knows? My biological parents could die tomorrow!"

Erin let out a resigned, amused breath. "Okay. Tomorrow it is. Call me when you have the paperwork signed."

"Will do. Bye!"

I hung up the phone, tossed it onto the mattress, and slid my feet into my fluffy bedroom slippers.

I pulled my bedroom door open, stepping out into the quiet hallway. I absolutely hated the fact that I had to go beg Torin for permission.

The mere concept that an Omega legally needed a main Alpha’s written authorization to leave the city—let alone the country—pissed me off to my absolute core.

But if I wanted to board an international flight without getting detained by airport security, I needed his formal signature on a state travel clearance form.