Page 5 of Talk About… History

Sidney snorted as she glanced around before looking back at me. She opened her mouth to say something but apparently decided against it and just started loading her box.

“What?”

“It just wasn’t what I expected. This whole apartment is like something out of a real estate listing. Too perfect, clean, spacious, no clutter… it’s everything you’re not.”

I glanced around the room, taking in the blue plaid comforter and the soft-blue walls. It had all been something the guys had outvoted me on. I wanted dark, emerald greens, things that reminded me of the forest… of home.

“I would have never picked this. They shot down a lot of my ideas. Even the nest was wrong,” I admitted. “It just never felt like I needed to put up a fight, I was happy to just have a place to call our own in a quiet building. Our lives were busy and I landed my new job, and it all seemed blissful at the time.”

“What happened to that job?” She was being conversational as she helped me pack, but there was an edge to her voice.

“Travis got a promotion,” I said, my voice barely over a whisper. Shame filled my chest, warming me in all the wrong ways. “They told me I didn’t need to work, that they’d take care of everything. They even put me on the joint account. It felt like the next step before marriage. When I had my heat, they apparently called my boss to tell them I was done.”

Sidney stopped packing and wrapped me in a hug. She smelled like citrus and sugar, like lemon cake. I breathed in the familiar scent, subtle as it was.

“How did I not see it?”

“Sometimes packs work slowly. They take away small things one at a time, spacing them out just enough so when you realize your life has shifted drastically, it’s too late to change it. This wasn’t your fault.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I agreed. Though, some small part of me disagreed. I had let all this happen, I’d embraced all of it and let them isolate me. I knew packs could be possessive and wanted to keep their omega to themselves, but I’d missed all the small red flags that were piling up into one, awful, red flag bouquet.

Sidney didn’t push me further as we both got back to clearing the bed, one box at a time. By the time I heard my brothers’ raised voices, we had finished.

“Shall we see what they found? God, I hope they aren’t destroying anything,” I groaned. “If we get in legal trouble then I’ll have to see them again to settle it.”

“I made them promise not to on the way here,” Sidney said, though she sounded just as nervous as I was as she pulled me down the hall now.

“Those mother fucking assholes. I’m going to track them down,” Cameron growled as we entered the room. Maverick stood at the front door blocking it, arms crossed.

Maverick was already huge but looked ten times scarier with his anger. The crossed arms had his biceps bulging, showcasing the muscles he worked hard to hone. His dark eyebrows were pulled down as he glared. His anger wasn’t directed at me, but it was intense nonetheless.

Even if my brothers could be intimidating, it never worked on me. They were big alphas and I was a fairly petite omega, but they were family. They were always on my side, even when I fucked up.

Though, this time, I knew it wasn’t me who fucked up.

“What happened, now?” I demanded.

Cam turned his eyes on me, anger boiling in the hazel depths. His usually styled hair was unruly, the black waves sticking up in weird ways like he’d gripped it in his hands the entire ride here. He was a big guy at 6’2, but looked even more broad in his bulky leather jacket.

“Your mates were garbage.”

His voice shook with how mad he was but there was more to this.

“Yes, I know. What happened?” I asked again. Nash clapped our brother on the shoulder and walked over, taking my hand and guiding me to the stool. Even if the triplets shared some facial features, their personalities and styles made them stand out. Nash was more casual, usually a henley and jeans and he was happy. He also smiled easier, small crinkles forming around his eyes when he laughed. To the outside world, he was the approachable one.

“Your guys,” he started but I cut him off.

“Not mine,” I growled. He nodded in agreement.

“These assholes, were shady in more ways than one,” he admitted, far more gently than Cam could have managed. “We found pheromone cologne, I’m not sure they were your scent matches. They have also been gambling and funneling money from the company they work at as well. I have full intentions of getting their employers involved thanks to a few handy screenshots.”

My stomach churned. The money influxes, the new car they bought for themselves… it was not a promotion, it was illegal funds and gambling wins.

“Bastards,” Sidney bit out. “Did you find her documents?”

“Yes, they were at least good at keeping things organized. I found an entire folder with your name and took it all. They don’t need any of that shit. Birth certificate, doctors’ notes, the works were in here.”

That had my head snapping back up.

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