Page 64 of Rawest Venom

Swallowing, I grip her tightly to me. “You don’t need to worry about them anymore. Tell me everything you know about Herodius from your training.”

She eases off my lap but maintains a grip on myhand as she slides onto the seat next to me, her feet strewn across my legs. Mindlessly, I rub her calves, massaging the muscles there. Touching her helps to ease any tension I hold. “I know they’re a secret organization with ties to Strauss and perhaps secretly rule Gnarled Pine Hollow by pressuring the consort to do their bidding.” I begin to interrupt, saying I have known this previously, but she continues, “But from my intel studies, Cal,they are not the only ones.”

My spine tingles as I stiffen to a straight posture. “What do you mean?”

Practically spilling out of her low-cut T-shirt, her breasts heave with a deep breath, but I force myself to watch her face instead. “I don’t remember much, but I believe there are a few factions vying for interest in our city. Most likely for the child trade. That’s where the money lies. One seems to have a vested interest in controlling Strauss. The others…I don’t know about at all.”

Beats race in my throat as my heart pumps faster. Why didn’tIknow this? “Who knows this?”

“Ace Donovan and his spies.”

“Which means he isn’t one of the ones being controlled or involved… How many? Who are these other factions? What do they want?”

As I reach up to stroke my face with her cold finger, her red eyebrows pull together. “I don’t know, Cal. If I did, I’d tell you. Dot thinks that maybe two, perhaps three total. But this is only a guess.”

Livia would tell me if the Freidenbergs were involved. Just how deep does this thing go? “I’ll putDelta on it. Maybe it’s time to bring up Foxtrot and give her a more important assignment.” If there are more factions, are they in on this together? Which one controls Strauss? What is their ultimate goal? Veracity’s right. Ithasto do with the trafficking. This is how I know that Herodius makes most of their money, human trade. But my suspicions about Strauss not being very cooperative have yet to be confirmed. If he’s going against his maker and there are other factions, maybe there is a way we can save the city.

Pursing her lips, she interrupts my thoughts. “And, um…Alpha?”

With a clenched jaw, I grit my teeth and tell her, “I’ll take care of her.” Then, taking a deep cleansing breath and leaning over her legs, I pick up a sandwich, then hand it to her before taking another for myself. “You, my pet, need to figure out exactly what kind of huge wedding you want. And where in the world you want me to take you on a honeymoon. I’m not even asking how many babies you’ll let me put in you. Just know there probably won’t be a year after this that youaren’tpregnant for a good long while.”

With a look of complete satisfaction, she wiggles in her seat and takes a tiny bite of bread. “Mm-kay.” After snagging another treat off the tray, she asks, “Cal?”

“Hmm, puppet?”

“Can I be Veracity Jane Von Dovish?”

Tilting my head toward her, I question her intention. “Do you want to keep that name?”

“It’s who I met you as. And who I was for a long while. But I am Veracity.”

“Say the last part…please.”

“Iwillbe Veracity Von Dovish.” Pulling the food from her fingers, I tease apart her lips with the crust of bread. As she opens her mouth, I slide it in slowly, our eyes meeting with intensity. The sound of those words fills me with pride and a new outlook on life. Other than the people of West Side, I need to take care of her.

“You can have and be whoever you want. But understand, first and foremost,you’re mine.” Following my fingers with my lips, I clutch her face and pull her into me again. “Chew that and let’s go to bed. By the morning, we’ll be home.Ourhome.”

After snuggling together in the main cabin bedroom, I allow her to rest without sticking my dick inside her like I’m desperate to do. Part of the poison still lingers within me, and my body tells me it also needs sleep. With my bride safe in my arms, I drift off easily for the first time in my life knowing…I trust someone.

“You’ll calloff your spies. She belongs on the west side now. She’s mine.”

A snort comes through the line. “Man, fine. You want to marry a whore, so be it.”

In my mind, I picture a blade slicing off his tattoos one at a time with reckless razor cuts, displaying them like a stretched flesh banner outside his casino as a warning for the other wolves not to mess with a fox. Flaring my laced fingers outward, the joints pop as I speak into the phone lying on my desk.

“I would watch what you say about her, truly I would. Do you want my product or not, Asa?”

Quickly, a bit too much so, he responds, “Yes,Calum. I want the products.”

“And you’re setting your wedding date with Arianna to when?”

There’s a pause on the line, and my eyes scan over the screen. Still connected. “Max came to see me.” A loud sigh peaks the microphone. “Three weeks. A Saturday. You’re invited. Then you can tell me all about who murdered my sister.”

My fingers find their way up to my chin and stroke the hairs there. It’s really time for a shave. “When are you getting the marriage license? I’m assuming it’s before the actual event?”

“Ugh. Yeah. I signed it. It’ll be official after it’s processed if Strauss’s men don’t find out. One of my men is taking it to another county in the next week or two.”

Trying to control my smirk, I say, “Then you’ll be officially a married man.” Who would have ever thought this day would come? “Have you even spoken with the girl?”

---