Page 70 of Marigold Run

There’s a picture of a pretty blonde omega holding two fat baby boys. Their cheeks are so round and rosy. One of the babies is frowning and I immediately assume that’s Hutch. Next is a picture of two identical blond boys fishing with three massive alphas. The five of them look very happy, crowded on a tiny boat, and one of the boys is holding up a fish that is almost as big as he is. There’s one picture of them with Izan, all three of them look very young, maybe in their early twenties, and then there are a ton of photos all with Everly—the twins sitting with Everly by a pool, laughing with Everly in a garden, posing in front of a fireplace, but one specific picture at the back catches my eye.

It’s an older picture. Maybe from their late teens. Hutch and Dassy are shirtless. They’re still identical—same blue eyes, same cut abs, same shaggy blond hair, everything except for Dassy’s tattoo.It’s not the one he has now.

I pick the picture up, holding it up to my face. It looks like it might be letters. It’s hard to tell exactly what it is since Dassy’s waistband is cutting all of it off. But there are no flowers. No snakes.

“Whatcha got there, goldie?” Dassy pushes his phone into his pocket as he steps up next to me.

“Your tattoo.” I hold the picture up so he can see it. “Was it different?” I squint, trying to figure it out.

“Yeah.” Dassy smiles, lifting his shirt to show off the colorful ink across his lower abdomen. “My buddy Connor did a bang-up job.” He smooths his hand over it. “It was from a pack I used to belong to. I made some bad decisions back then.” He lets out a heavy sigh, almost as if there are a thousand other things he wants to say about it.

“An old pack?” I ask as he takes the picture from me. Something like dread creeps in, but I keep staring at his stomach, trying to see if I can make out the old tattoo.

“Yeah. They weren’t good people.”

I don't miss the way his eyes cut away from me, almost as if he can’t even look at me. “What pack?” I ask as my eyes finally focus on a thin line that’s barely visible through a line of roses. It curves along the top, then dips down. It was a “T”. And that dread shifts, growing thicker. More intense.

“The Tenus pack.” Dassy lets out a pained sigh, and I take a quick step back.

Confusion is the first thing I feel. “The Tenus Pack?” I ask, or at least I think I do. I can’t really feel my face, and my tongue seems to be twice its size, making it impossible to breathe.

Dassy’s deep tones rumble around me, but the pounding of my own blood blocks him out. The urge to pick up the nearest object and beat this alpha senseless is intense, but I don’t want to touch him. Hell, I don’t even want to look at him.

I need to get out of here.Now!

“I have a headache,” I blurt out, then run straight to the bedroom door. There’s a moment of shocked silence before Dassy moves to follow me, but I’m already in the hallway, marching straight for my room.

“Mari?” His voice is panicked and right behind me.

“I want to be alone.” I wrench open my bedroom door, then spin on the alpha. His blue eyes are wide with worry and his hands are lifted as if about to touch me. “I don’t want anyone in my room,” I say as firmly as I can, and he draws his hands back. “No one. Not you, Hutch or Izan. Or even Everly.” My voice cracks as I say the beta’s name.

Dassy opens his mouth, but before he can get a word out, I slam the door right in his face. Then I sink to my knees, pressing my forehead against the soft pink carpet, and I begin to silently cry.

I can’t stay here.

I have to leave, and I can never come back.

Izan’s Office

Izan

Tonia silently points to the line on the purchase order where I need to sign while Stanley’s voice booms over the speakerphone. He goes over our proposed business plan for the hundredth time. I understand his concern and appreciate his attention to detail. Laundering money is a tricky thing, and he’s putting a lot of trust in me and my casinos to “clean” his cash, and I’ll be getting a lovely payday and a valuable business connection.

“And there,” Tonia says the words so they’re barely audible. I scribble my name one last time, then wave her off.

“Alright, Stan.” I take advantage of the lull in conversation. “We can talk about this all damn year, but I think it’s time to commit. Did you get a chance to look over the contract?”

“Yeah,” he groans. This is a legitimate business deal, mixed with some under-the-table dealings, but the aboveboard stuffrequires a lot of legal paperwork and negotiating. “I think everything is fine, but my guys are doing one more pass on it.”

“Okay,” I say simply. “We will need to file with the governing board before the end of the quarter to meet the requirements for gambling licenses.” I steeple my hands together, resting them under my chin as I talk into the phone. “We are talking about a fuck ton of money just waiting to be made,” I remind him. “I don’t want to rush you, but we’re losing money with each day that passes.”

Stan sighs into the phone. I know he agrees with me. He does business with all the biggest players in every devious world you can think of. But most of the packs he works with are money hungry and stupid, eager to rush past the details to get cash in their hands fast. But I’m not stupid. I want this to be beneficial tobothof us.

“Print it off,” Stanley finally says. “Sign it and send it over. I’ll send you my signed copy by the end of the week.”

A breath of relief whooshes from me as I lean back in my chair,verypleased. With this deal behind me, I can spend more than fifteen fucking minutes with our omega.

“Izan?” Stan’s voice cuts a little deeper. “A quick warning.”

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