Page 46 of Damaged Princess

"Is Vik…" Ana asks, eyeing the door to his room.

"He's out," I tell her.

"Good," she murmurs, heading back down the hallway and straight for his door.

Wolfe moves to head out, but Vik comes in at the exact same time. He's wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeve t-shirt like he went out for a jog rather than using the gym like we usually do. His t-shirt is stained in sweat.

"Don't push her," Wolfe growls at Vik. "She's in decent spirits this morning."

"Fuck off," Vik snaps, aiming for the kitchen.

Anastasia comes out of Vik's room with an armful of clothes. She has to head our way down the hallway to get to the nest. She glances up and jolts when she sees Vik.

He grins a wide smile that takes over his entire face when he spots her.

"Sorry, princess." Vik laughs. "I'm pretty sure you've got my dirty laundry. I haven't had a chance to do it since my trip."

Anastasia huffs. She raises a hand, flipping him off, and heads to the nest door.

Vik's hearty laugh fills the air.

She's obviously not pleased with him, but there's hope yet.

Otherwise, she wouldn't want his scent in her nest.

"Is Markov neutralized?" I ask once the door closes.

"He will be shortly. I didn't want to be in the state because of possible blow-back, but Soren is efficient. It should be done any day." Vik tosses himself down on the couch. "Androff is a mean son of a bitch. He was so fucking smug, I had to force myself not to snap his neck right then and there."

I nod. I get it.

There are very few times I think it's okay to take a life.

This is one situation where it's warranted.

Androff was furious with his daughter, but he's very good at skirting the line of comments that aren't outright threats. Hemade sure there was nothing in his text messages that could be provided to the police.

"Is Devon McKenna still alive?" I ask, referencing the omega the Frasier Pack sent to supervise Anastasia.

"He is," Vik says, stretching back.

The minute Vik found out another omega was here with nefarious intent, we checked in on him. Unfortunately, Devon fled with the female alpha he was matched to before we could speak to him directly.

"Devon is currently in Virginia with Elaine. She brought in her partner for an extra set of eyes." Vik stares at the hallway.

It takes me a second to realize he likely means Elaine's partner on the force. I'm not sure if it's lucky for Devon or not, but he was matched with a very respected officer out of Norfolk.

"He's as frightened as Anastasia. Elaine and Martin, her partner, are keeping track of the situation, but she's basically helpless since it's outside of her jurisdiction." Vik sighs. "Removing Androff won't fix the overall problem. Byron Frasier is a figurehead. A legal front for the shady shit Barrett is trying to accomplish."

"That's bigger than us," I say, hoping Vik realizes his vendetta has to stop somewhere. "Androff is one thing, but you can't do anything about Barrett."

"I fucking know that," Vik snaps, swiping a hand over his face. "Without Soren, even taking out Androff would be risky."

I know that, too. We got damn lucky considering Viktor's cousin, Soren, is an enforcer for the Ivanov Family.

Markov Androff didn't just kill his wife and set out to murder his daughter three years ago. He also fucked over the organization he'd been associated with for the last twenty years.

It wasn't a coup. It was a straight-up betrayal. Androff defected from the Ivanovs to the Barrett Family. The BarrettFamily is pulling the strings with Pack Frasier. It's all very messy.

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