Page 54 of Cause Of Death

Fuck. Knowing about Kieran’s abuse at the hands of his mother is one thing, but hearing about how it altered his entire personality and interactions as a child from someone ignorant of the truth is another entirely.

“Dad, I’m not sure how to say this…” Kieran tapers off, and he starts shivering in my arms as panic and fear assail him. I can feel through our connection that he’sterrifiedthat his father will reject him, or worse, blame him for Darla’s actions. I tighten my hold on Kieran, crushing him into my chest as I begin to purr. He buries his face in my shirt, saturating it with hot tears.

Kieran’s not going to be able to break this to Edgar, not without shattering himself.

“Edgar,” Leslie interjects with asperity, “I’m going to be incredibly blunt, to the point of cruelty. But I need to do this so you and Kieran can start healing. Your wife is a disgusting piece of shit who abused your son for years on end, exploiting him for profit among some of the most heinous pedophile and child-trafficking rings we’ve seen in a long time. Your so-called best friend and business partner, Taylor Pinter, was also involved. Ihave fucking reams of evidence to prove it all, and that’s on top of your son’s own recollections. Their most recent crime was to sell Kieran to a sex-trafficking ring of alphas out of Reno, who planned to rape your son on camera and sell the footage. In fact, they also auctioned off the rights to forcibly knot and bite your son while he was in heat, with no consideration to his choice, consent, or lack thereof.”

Well, that’soneway for Edgar to learn about his wife and best friend. Leslie sure doesn’t pull their punches, although I think I agree with them that delicacy has no place in this conversation.

Movement in the doorway has me glancing over to where Kimberly and Steve are both holding Adam tightly, tears of fury and anguish streaming down the alpha’s cheeks. I nod to Steve and Kimberly, indicating they should release Adam, then stand with Kieran still nestled against my chest. Adam is a blur of motion as he races over to the sofa, only slowing once he reaches me and Kieran. Carefully passing our omega into Adam’s arms, I gently press down on his shoulders until Adam is seated on the couch, Kieran protectively cradled in his embrace.

Steve and Kimberly are wedged either side of Disa, and when I turn back to face Edgar, Leslie is there, one hand firmly wrapped around the back of the man’s neck as he tries to wrap his head around the new reality of his world.

My knees creak slightly as I squat down in front of Edgar, tugging his hands into mine and chafing them between my palms in comfort.

“What Leslie forgot to mention is that the alpha who ‘bought’ access to Kieran during his heat was Tomas Biggs. They also neglected to tell you that both Biggs and the Reno traffickers have been dealt with, permanently. While Kieran sustained some cuts and bruises from their mishandling of him, there was never a moment when he was left unprotected, even though itmay have appeared that way to some. What we need to donow, as a pack and as a family, is figure out where we go from here.” My tone goes from gentle to stern, and I let Edgar know in no uncertain terms of my expectations going forward.

“Darla is not welcome anywhere near Kieran, Adam, or this apartment. I am one of Kieran’s alphas, and I am also the head of this pack. My word is law when it comes to their protection, safety, and happiness. Iwill nottolerate that woman, or Taylor Pinter for that matter, to be in the same vicinity of my second or our omega, let alone breathing the same air as them. I know you love your son; a blind man could see how much you adore him. But if you want a relationship with him, withusfrom this point on? Darla has to go. Separation, divorce, or something more permanent, I don’t give a fuck. The choice is yours. You simply have to make it.”

I sit back among the metaphorical rubble left from Leslie’s bombshell and wait for Edgar’s decision.

In the couple of months since Leslie unmasked Darla as one of the engineers behind the Reno trafficking ring to Edgar, so much has changed.

Firstly, Edgar filed for divorce citing an extra-marital affair with Taylor Pinter—among others—as the reason. With all the incriminating evidence Kimberly and Leslie were able to dig up, the judge upheld the prenuptial agreement and dismissed Darla’s pleas and demands for alimony and community property. Taylor Pinter was summarily fired from his position of CFO at the Royal Empire Homewares Division for violating their code of conduct policy, and the board is currently preparing to sue him into the ground thanks to his misuse of company funds.

To protect Kieran from the nightmare of reliving his abuse at the hands of his mother and Pinter, Edgar hasn’t publicly outed his soon-to-be-ex-wife and ex-best friend for their roles in producing and distributing child sexual abuse material. While Pinter fled into the night leaving Darla holding the figurative bag, it doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about him, or that they’regoing to get away with it. Leslie and Kimberly, along with Greg, have been tracking down those involved in Kieran’s exploitation. They’ll never see justice from the courts, but that’s fine, because instead they have to face the mercy of a select group of individuals with a deep and abiding hatred of rapists and abusers.

Spoiler alert: there is no mercy.

There have been moments when either myself or Leslie have had to talk Edgar down from publicly exposing his disgraced wife and best friend as the pedophiles and child abusers they are. I think it’s only been due to Kieran’s potential distress and Disa’s assurances that she will make sure they’re both sufficiently “dealt with” that has him toeing the line.

The blossoming friendship between Edgar and Leslie is a joy to watch, with Leslie being an absolute rock for “their Eddie” as Edgar has navigated his way through the betrayals and divorce. It warms my cynical heart, as does the way the Armstrong Pack is finally meshing together. It’s taken some work, especially between Henley and me, but we’re all on the same page. Having us all happily settle into Kieran’s old penthouse apartment—which has been renovated to incorporate the apartment directly below it—is a large part of that. It was one of the first decisions we made as a pack, and one that was easily resolved and put into action.

The floor below Kieran’s is almost a carbon copy of his apartment, so the only things we really changed was converting the extra library and gym into two additional bedrooms with their own bathrooms, and installing two private elevators that only operate between the two floors. The office space off the breakfast nook has enough room for Steve to use when he works from home, and while the formal dining and living areas are sparsely decorated, the furniture is comfortable. Upstairs is a completely different kettle of fish.

The two spare bedrooms have been converted into another master suite, sharing an expanded bathroom with Kieran’s suite next door. A dressing room off the bathroom also connects the two, opening up into a private hallway. The old elevator vestibule, laundry room, and storage area off the lobby have been converted into an enormous nest with an attached bathroom. We’ve laughingly labeled the entire section of the apartment as “The Omega Suite,” with access available from either end of the enclosed hallway.

Even the kitchen is reduced in size. The old breakfast nook is gone, merged with the old office to create an office space for Leslie and Kimberly. The upstairs living area is a messy amalgamation of bean bags, gaming, entertainment, and sound systems, large sectionals you can disappear into, and a retractable screen that mimics a cinema screen when lowered. It’s where we all congregate to kick back and relax in private as a pack.

Upstairs is our pack’s sanctuary, and the home of our greatest treasures.

Which brings us to today.

It’s moving day.

True, everyone has been in and out of the apartment over the last couple of weeks enough times for them to have stamped their own particular scents on everything, but today is the day where weallpermanently move into the apartment.

Because today is the day that Gizmo finally moves in.

Kieran is a bundle of nerves, pacing back and forth in front of the elevator doors and gnawing at his nails.Leslie’s going to gag him for that,I think with a smirk, but I don’t stop him from earning our delta’s wrath. While Leslie’s physique might be more delicate and slender than that of myself, Henley, or Steve, we all know that when it comes to our health and appearance, Leslie is the boss. Henley is our Pack Alpha, that’s not in dispute.I’m only too happy to accede to Hen’s directives and assist him in upholding them, only stepping up as the authority in his absence. But not evenHenleywill argue with Leslie over what they deem to betheirarea of expertise.

Kieran’s normally luscious scent has a bitter tang to it, and I know it’s from his anxiety. I need to kick him out of it before he starts to spiral.

“Kier. Breathe, my love. There’s no need for you to stress like you are. You know they all love you in their own way, it’s not like we haven’t all experienced a heat together, after all,” I joke, trying to prod Kieran out of his anxiety spiral.

All I get in response is my omega rolling his eyes and flipping me the bird.

“I’m not worried about any of the others, I know they’re just as excited as I am to finally be living together. I can feel it through our pack connection. It’s just…” he tapers off for a moment before giving himself a shake.

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