Page 55 of The Syndicater (Dark Verse 6)

Amara sighed, apparently having seen this side of them for too long. "Let's just go in."

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After a delicious dinner, a cozy affair with just them, Alpha followed Dante into his large study. Alpha had been there a few times before, and it always reminded him of what a legacy looked like. Their father had worked in the space, and his father before him, and so on. Generations of Maronis occupied the same seat, and though Alpha had never wanted any part of Maroni, that legacy was something he felt a little envious of.It wasn't that he wanted any of it, but the idea of growing up knowing the family line and being raised to take it over, it was something he was always reminded of in the study in particular.

Amara joined them with Tempest on her hip, resting her head against her mother's neck in a lazy way.

Dante poured him some scotch and Amara a glass of wine as he sat down. A few minutes later, Morana entered. She looked exhausted, and Alpha felt a sliver of respect for her. The girl had worked herself to the bone for the last two days, tracking and tracing and traveling back and forth. Though she had recovered, it still had to take a toll on her body. So when she slumped next to him on the couch, Alpha put a hand on her right shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

"You did good."

Morana gave him a small smile, her body lax, her eyes heavy behind the glasses. "I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"You deserve it," Amara reassured her. "Tristan is with Luna, I'm assuming?"

Morana nodded. "They're talking a walk outside. I wanted to give them time alone. Let them get to know each other better."

Amara took a sip of her wine. "That's a good idea. The girl Tristan remembers isn't the same one who's come to him. He'll have to adjust to that reality. And we don't even know if she remembers anything about him at all, but I imagine it must be an adjustment for her as well."

"We don't know much about her," Morana agreed, curling her feet under her, giving Alpha a look as she rested against him since his body was taking up the majority of the space. "Do you mind?"

He shook his head, letting her rest, feeling sympathetic. Her body relaxed into the cushions and pressed to his side, and he moved his arm on the back so she could get more space without having to touch him in case she wasn't comfortable.

"We know one thing," Dante spoke for the first time, swirling his drink as he walked to where Amara sat and perched on the arm. "We know she was waiting for us there. The Shadow Man sending you her exact location and her waiting there for us, recognizing all of us means…"

"She knows him," Amara completed the thought.

"Or he knows her," Alpha pointed out, defending a girl he'd just met for some inexplicable reason. "I've talked to the bastard and trust me, he could put you in places and tell you infirmation without revealing a thing about himself. Just because she was there or she knew us doesn't mean anything. He could've given her a file for all we know."

They all went silent, conceding his point.

"Should we ask her?" Morana questioned.

Amara immediately shook her head. "I don't think so. Not yet, at least. She's just come into a strange place, surrounded by strangers. She's trying to reconnect with her long-lost brother. Interrogating her will only add unnecessary tension right now. We have to be patient. This isn't about any of us."

That was true. He didn't think Tristan would be very happy with that either.

Dante downed his drink in one go, and Alpha took a sip of his.

"Let's just take it day by day," Dante finally said. "I just hope she becomes a part of our family."

They all did. Somehow, in the middle of a dark and cruel world, Alpha had found a group of good people he was willing to open his heart to slowly, his own extended family of sorts. Which reminded him, he had to call his wife.

Bidding others good night and taking his leave, he headed for the guest suite he always occupied when he was on the compound, the same suite he and Zephyr had slept in for the first time. Entering the rooms, he locked the door and took his phone out, pressing the call icon on his screen on the firstcontact. She had added herself to his favorite contact so her name would always be at the top, along with a picture of them that Leah had taken—him behind her, holding her wrapped in his arms, her laughing as the dogs went zooming and blurring around them.

Fuck, he loved that photo.

"H'llo," his wife's mumbled voice came after the first ring, drowsy with sleep.

"You didn't call me today, rainbow," he told her, almost sounding petulant.

"Didn't want to disturb you." She yawned loudly. "How did everything go?"

Alpha relayed the events of the day to her as he prepared to take a shower, telling her about everything from his thoughts to others' reactions to Luna.

"I feel protective of her," he admitted, untying his hair from the bun it had been in all day and taking his eyepatch out, placing both the hairtie and the patch on the sink. Stripping his clothes off, he turned and looked at his reflection—the ugly scars, the missing eye, mottled flesh, and tattooed skin. How his little rainbow found anything beautiful in him was a mystery. She looked at him with such love and adoration he forgot he wasn't a monster on the outside, a beast of patchworked flesh. Flesh that she kissed, skin that she licked, scars that she loved. How, he had no idea, but fuck if he wasn't grateful for it.

"Of course you do," she said softly, her voice breathy. "That's because you're a good man, Alessandro."

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