Page 74 of These Wicked Desires

“I have so much to tell you. Like, I’m seeing someone, er, someones?” I huff a laugh. “I think you’d be proud of me. I’m dating three guys.” I sigh and the smile drops from my face. “I love you so much, and I’m going to keep fighting for you. So don’t give up, Gracie. I’m here,” I whisper, turning to look at her. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere. Shari is amazing. She’s so sweet and she’ll take good care of you. If you need anything, just let her know. And I’m always just a phone call away. I’ll stop by again later, okay?”

I stand from the bed, and brush a flat curl from her forehead, leaning down to press a soft kiss where the curl had been. I make it to the hallway before the tears fall. Sterling is waiting for me, and he pulls me into a hug, holding me tightly while I cry.

I wish there was something I could do. I wish I could take her pain and fear away. Unfortunately, I know all too well how hard it is to fight trauma like that. I know there is only so much I can do, but the helplessness grates on me.

“Ready?” Sterling asks quietly, wiping my cheeks.

I nod my head and let him lead me to the car.

Sterling

“Here are the plans you wanted,” Drew says, handing me a stack of papers.

“Thank fuck,” I breathe, riffling through them. “I can’t wait to tear this shit down and rebuild it.”

Drew looks around Noah’s old office with a grimace. “Yeah, It’ll be nice to have your own place, one without any hint of that bastard.”

The blueprints I had drawn up are exactly what I wanted. A simple building, with two offices—one for me and one for Cole—a front seating area with space for a secretary, a room for file storage, and a meeting room large enough to hold 20 people.

I’ve been operating out of Noah’s old office, and every time I step foot in here I get the creeps. Remembering what I learned after we snuck in here to find proof of Ellis’s parentage, the awful realization that Sam was doing horrific things and wanted to use Ellis for her powers, it still haunts me. It will be nice to have my own office. One that nobody associates with Noah. A new office for a new era.

Checking my cell for the time, I finish up what I was doing and power down my laptop. I promised my mom I’d stay for dinner when I picked Ellis up. My mate frequently joins me when I come to the office, so I can drop her off at my mom’s and she can visit with Chloe and Gracie. Knowing I get to see her soon quickens my step as I head for the door.

Before I get to my car, Cole pulls up the driveway and parks. His face has an expression of uncertain nervousness, and my gut clenches. I really hope he doesn’t have bad news.

Things have been going fairly smoothly since I took over as alpha of the Iron Shadows pack. There have been a few wolves who we’ve needed to deal with, ones who supported Noah who no doubt were getting some kind of perk for supporting him. But the majority of wolves were ready for a change and welcomed me back with open arms.

It’s still hard to look them in the eyes sometimes and know they did nothing to help me after my dad died. Logically, I know there wasn’t a lot they could do, but it still hurts nonetheless.

“What’s up?” I ask as Cole steps out of his truck.

“Can we talk for a minute?” He rubs the back of his neck and kicks a rock out of his way.

“Sure.”

Cole steps up and sits on the steps rather than head inside into the office, so it must not be anything pack related. Curious, I sit next to him and wait for him to talk.

After a few minutes of silence, he sighs and shakes his head. “I just wanted to thank you for offering me the position as your beta. I’m really glad you’re back in my life, and I’m sorry I acted the way I did when you came to see mom that first time.”

I hide my surprise at his words. We’ve been getting along really well, but I never expected to hear these words from him. “You don’t need to apologize, Cole. I don’t blame you for any of it. The entire situation was fucked up.”

He huffs a laugh. “Yeah, but still. I was hurt and I took it out on you and Ellis, and I shouldn’t have.”

“Well, you’re forgiven, so don’t worry about it anymore.” I shrug and give him a smile. “Besides, it should be me thanking you. You’ve done a lot by helping us deal with Sam. I appreciate it.”

This time it’s Cole who shrugs. “It seemed like the best way to make up for being an ass. Besides, I like Ellis. She’s spirited.”

I laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

When we both stand, he hesitates for a second before tugging me in for a hug. I squeeze my eyes shut to hide the way they no doubt glisten with unshed tears. The last time I hugged my brother he was just a pup. I hate that we had so many years apart, so many opportunities for memories stolen from us.

Neither of us say anything as we pull apart and head for our cars, both of us feeling slightly awkward and emotional, and neither wanting to show the other. At least we have time now to figure things out between us, to get comfortable around each other again, and to make new memories. And I have Ellis to thank for that.

When we pull up to the cabin, it’s dark out. My mom cooked us a delicious meal, as always, and we stayed for a bit to talk with her and Chloe. Ellis’s relationship with Chloe is growing, and I’m thankful she has another girlfriend to lean on. She deserves it all.

The lights in the cabin spill out onto the porch, warm and welcoming. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to renovate this place. We definitely need to make it bigger and add bedrooms. At this point, it would probably be easier to just tear the thing down and start over. But that thought makes my heart squeeze. This place was my dad’s, and I really don’t want to erase every memory I have of him here.

I help Ellis out of the car and link our fingers together, giving her a quick kiss before heading up the steps. We both pause in surprise when we push inside, Ellis’s intake of breath telling me exactly how she feels about what we find.

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