Page 79 of Broken Dreams

“There’s the imaging available now to age a person’s photo, right?” he asks uncomfortably. Technology isn’t his strong suit. “The hair is right, though a lot longer, and she’s always been pretty.”

“There are a lot of pretty omegas in the world that aren’t Quinn,” I remind him gently. Callum snorts, annoyed, and I can tell this visit is going to end sooner rather than later.

“She could be dead,” Callum says. In truth, the girl she was isn’t alive anymore. Too much has happened, and she’s changed a lot. “Why is Hudson suddenly going on about this?”

“He showed Ayla the photo,” Dad says grimly, making me feel lightheaded. God, way to kick me in the damn knot. “She is adamant that it's Quinn, and wants to see her. You know her mental health hasn’t been great recently…”

I’ve never wanted to kill my father until now, and Callum’s fingers are twitching as well. Goddamnit, Dad.

“Hypothetically, because I think you’re both insane for entertaining this, what do you want to happen if this is her?” I ask.

“She needs to be reintroduced into society,” he says eagerly.

As Dad drones on with excitement, I grunt as I listen. Everything is about status, how they can use people, and elevate the families. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not.

“I think that’s one of the worst things possible, and a great way to get her kidnapped, hypothetically, of course,” Callum adds. “Quinn has been gone for twenty years, why is a party a good idea?”

“Hudson thinks she should be packed up to keep her safe, and I agree,” Dad says. “He has a list of packs to court her.”

The razor thin control I’m keeping on myself is the only reason I haven’t hit him yet. If I react, it’s an act of admission that I have Quinn in our house. I’m not prepared to do that without discussing it with her.

“If she was found, a list wouldn’t be necessary,” I state instead. “She’d be thirty-four years old and an adult.”

“It’s barbaric to arrange marriages, even in our world,” Callum says. “Now, I have an appointment with Pack Dresmond I need to get to.”

That’s news to me, and I think it's untrue. I’d know if he had any plans to see them.

“You need to stop chasing a packed up omega and find one of your own,” Dad snarls, and I do openly roll my eyes at that. “I mean it! People are beginning to talk. It’s embarrassing.”

“Adira is our best friend,” I say slowly, as if he’s an idiot. This is an argument I have regularly on the phone with him, but shield my brother from. “We are not chasing an unavailable omega, Dad.”

“I also don’t believe anyone will be speaking ill of a senior member of the families,” Callum drawls. “It would be a very bad life choice.”

Dad blinks before shaking out his hands at his sides discreetly. My eyes are drawn to it, as it’s his tell when he’s hiding something.

“Are you threatening me, boy?” he asks.

“Simply reminding you of her status,” I stare. I will firmly stand at Callum’s side and burn my bridge with Dad if necessary. It just hasn’t been yet. “As we have plans, I believe we’ll cut our little visit off here.”

Huffing out an annoyed sound, Dad nods as he accepts the dismissal for what it is. This is our house, he can only pretend he can tell us what to do now.

“You’re playing with fire,” he says loudly as we escort him out. I think that because he’s walking in front of us, he believes we can’t hear him. The man is getting old. “It’s not smart to let someone like Hudson wait too long.”

“He’ll wait as long as is necessary,” I mutter, opening the front door and waiting for him to leave.

“I’m just saying—” he attempts to continue as he leaves, and Callum shuts the door on him. Dad yelps as it hits him in the ass on his way out, and I can’t help but snicker.

“He was saying nothing,” Callum says, locking the door. “Let’s go clear the house.”

Callum sounds resigned as we search all the areas he was near or walked past for any kinds of bugs, all while making sure he leaves as we watch the cameras. It’s sad that this is what our lives have come to, but we can’t afford to let any breaks in security invade our spaces.

We harbor too many secrets.

“He was on the phone the second he got in the car,” I state, knowing he saw it too.

“Hudson has his claws in him. Okay, the house is clear, we need to talk to Quinn about her mom,” he sighs.

This is going to fucking suck. Ayla was always a wonderful mother, she simply trusted her husband too much.

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