Page 139 of Why Cruise

“Nobody but the bottom feeder gossip magazines care that Nolan is dead and that his pack is going to die a slow, agonizing death, too. If they did? He probably has enough money to buy his packmate’s freedom. And again, a little stroke for your ego, you’d be more effective here too, seeing as you have your own personal spank bank of every important person in this city fucking somebody they shouldn’t.”

That had me suddenly interested in the state of my cuticles and had Star rubbing his temples.

“And three, you are not adequately prepared for the consequences should you fail on the only one that really matters to him.” She let that hang in the air for a moment, just long enough for Win to roll his eyes and gather himself. “Should anything arise from the past and sneeze in his pack’s general direction, you are not prepared for the monster you will create with this deal.”

Red fiery anger flashed through me, making my teeth hurt from clenching my jaw. Moxie leaned forward, out of the shadows, like she had to get a closer look.

“Exactly.” She said, like she could see my… aura.

I took a second look at her. Her hair wasn’t pale blue. That had been a trick of the lighting. It was white. Colorless even.

She was a fucking auracle.

Win Knightbridge had an auracle on his payroll.

“That jagged stripe of ruthlessness that tastes like old fashioneds that runs through you,” she said to Win, “runs through him. His is tied to love for his pack so he might, and I cannot stress this enough,” that was directed at me, “might maintain his humanity. You though? Hm.”

She put her hands on the back of Star’s chair and leaned further into the light. “And like a good knee to the nuts, you’regoing to grin and take it, because having that,” she pointed at me, “loose is a worse outcome. You have conveniently laid all the risk in my alpha’s lap, and I promise you, Win, if you don’t take ultimate responsibility, you do not comprehend the mayhem I will create.”

Star reached for her hand, kissed her fingers, and set her hand on his shoulder.

Star Knightbridge’s omega was a fucking auracle.

I took a calm, cooling breath. I knew with certainty she was absolutely right.

Fifteen minutes, twenty if I cared about being subtle, and Daryl’s email would be mine. I could end his digital life while Mackenzie cuddled with me on the sofa. If Gaston was careless enough to pass us on the street, I could peel his skin off with his pack registration card. And Rose? I could play with her first, give her her own AI chat bot to fall in love with and then humiliate her off of every social platform that existed.

There was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect what was mine.

Not a fucking thing. And it wouldn’t matter who I became in the process.

Star leaned back into Moxie, and the temperature in the room dropped. The look the brothers shared was a promise of destruction.

Win turned to me and gestured at the phone and thumb drive. “This, and a favor.”

“Done.”

He stood and pocketed the phone. “Aria, shall we?” He offered her his hand, as pleasant as can be. They filed out, followed by the auracle and Star.

“Fuck, Mox,” Star’s voice faded as they moved down the hall. “Personal spank bank?”

“You know I hate it when he plays mobster and gets all cryptic.”

I stood and smoothed down my tie, buttoned my jacket, adjusted my cuffs. An eerie calm settled over me that pushed back at the tight feeling the walk down the hall should have caused. We stepped back into Sanctum. The bar was infamous. It lived up to its reputation. Small groupings of seating ringed the room, creating intimate spaces for conversation. Sanctum was home base for paragons. They met and entertained clients here.

My pack had an area near the back corner of the bar. Mackenzie and Theo sat on a cream-colored sofa, their heads together, whispering. A collection of drinks littered the low table in front of them.

Ren watched our approach across the polished floor. He looked good in a suit, but there was something in his posture that made you not want to approach him. He tracked Win, not me, considering him the bigger threat. The brothers paused to share a word. Star’s arm went around Moxie. It wasn’t a protective move. They were creating a unified front.

I slid into the armchair they left open for me. Mackenzie beamed, but tucked hair behind her ear. She had been nervous about the dress. I couldn’t wait for the day when she accepted how gorgeous she was. Theo had been equally nervous, not that he had said anything. He had scanned the room when we had arrived, as if to confirm he was the only male omega here. And I couldn’t wait for when that no longer mattered to him.

“Don’t you look divine, Mackenzie.” Aria cooed as she slid between my omegas, sending them scrambling to make space on the sofa for her. “Theo, all better now, baby?” She twirled a lock of his hair back into place. And with that, she acknowledged that she now considered my pack part of her clientele.

“Well fuck,” Win said, approaching our table, “I guess I’m going to have to let you back into my casino, Delano.”

“Twill.” Ren corrected him and then shrugged. “Where he goes, I follow.”

The comment almost stole my breath. We hadn’t discussed it, but he knew that coming here was not about impressing Mackenzie and Theo with the most exclusive bar in Port Haven. I could have picked any other bar in the Paramour complex, in the Floating District. He knew I had just made a deal with Win. He knew it was about him. And he’d follow the path I’d just laid down. It was a show of solidarity, but it was more than that.

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