Page 17 of Deadly Ties

“No,” I snap, pissed off all over again. “Despite hijacking my life and fucking with my memories, you got that wrong. Lucas Ferrier is my father. Which means forcing me into your mission was a complete waste of time. I was never Bisha’s baby. And I was never your enemy.”

Until now.I want to say the words, but they refuse to leave my tongue.

Which is as good an indicator as any I need to leave the room quick fucking smart.

But Cam steps in front of me before I can move. He’s so close I can smell his sunshine scent, the heat of his body calling to something inside of me. I try to tell myself it’s just the hooks he put in my brain, trying to draw me back under his spell, but the pain in his eyes seems real. “I can’t ask you to forgive me, Elvi, but if there’s any way I can make it up to you…”

“How?” I snap, that closeness lost in a surge of anger. “By giving back my memories? My mom? You took her from me, Cam. You got in my head and twisted it all up, so I thought I’d abandoned her. That I’d left her to be murdered in some cold hotel bed. How can you ever make up for that?”

“I can reverse it. If you let me put you under, I can retrieve them…”

I gape at him. Does he really expect me to let him stick me with a needle again? Let alone rummage around in my head? Rory mutters something under his breath, but I keep my eyes narrowed on Cam. “You think you take care of people, Cam? You’re a cold, heartless prick. Maybe even more so than Link. You never putting yourself on the line for anyone, and I honestly don’t know if anything you do is real. You fake your friendships, maybe even to your brothers. And that’s going to make you one lonely fucking wolf.”

I think I’ve finally struck them speechless, because Cam just drops his gaze to the floor and even Rory closes his eyes. And as I move past them with Arben at my back, they don’t try to convince me to stay. Which pinches at some stupid, needy part of me, and I barrel out of the door, almost running directly into our slimy host. He takes one look at my strained face and gives a nasty smile, although he tries to hide it behind a show of concern. He puffs himself up, no doubt because of the armed guards at his back, pinning Arben with a haughty look. “Alpha Marku, I don’t know what they let you get away with in New York, but in my home you will mind your manners and not harass my guests.” He looks at Rory and Cam, his mouth pinched tight. “I assume one of you is her mate?”

I swallow a strangled groan as I duck past him, but Rory follows me, hissing in my ear, “Wait! You need to know that Cherise is here. That girl from Slick who was fucking your… Bisha. Well, she’s here, and she recognized you.” I shoot him an aggravated look, but he takes my arm. “She saw us together in the Red Poppy. Remember the clingy chick in the demon horns who forced me to dance with her?”

It clicks into place – Cherise was the beta using an omega mist, dancing in a circle of alphas, but still greedy for Rory’s attention… I give a slow nod, because that was right before he got me off with his fingers, and I shared my first kiss with Cam.

“Right now, she thinks we’re still together. So if you’re trying to keep this thing secret with Arben, you can use that. I won’t deny it.”

I give him a flat look. “That’s really generous of you, Rory, but now I have to go.”

I look back over my shoulder to see Crouch walking our way, Arben one second from ripping the heads off the two guards standing between us. I bite my lip and send a mental hug down the bond.I’m fine. Let’s just get through this and go home.

He gives me a stiff nod, but Rory is glaring at Crouch. “I can distract that fucker if you want. Give you a chance to get away without your mate losing his shit.” I must look surprised by the offer because his eyes darken. “The only thing I lied about was my name, little wolf. Everything else was so real, I don’t fucking know what to do with myself now.”

I swallow at the pain in his voice, but this isn’t the time or place to hash our shit out. “I can’t talk about this now.”

An eager light sparks in his eyes, turning them electric green. “Then where? When? I’ll meet you wherever, Little Angel.”

Shit. I forgot how intense it feels to be this close to him. “I just can’t…”

“I get it. This is a bad time. Fucking Crouch is a slimy prick, and those guards of his are twitchy as hell. You should get out of here before any trouble starts.”

I look past him to see our host right on our heels and it’s on the tip of my tongue to tell Rory why we’re really here. That their bondmate – their real omega – could be somewhere on Crouch’s lands, and we planned to search the premise in the guise of guests. But I hadn’t counted on our host’s interest, or his desire to play the big alpha by hassling Arben. Before I can say anything, Rory drops a kiss on my temple and nudges me towards a door I realize is a bathroom. He gives me a wink before he turns back to Crouch, and there’s more than a little wolf in his sharp smile. “See you soon, Little Angel.”

I duck through the door and immediately check in with Arben. I can feel a smirk through the bond just as there’s a loud thud in the hallway.The wolfling just threw up on Crouch’s shoes. Now he’s yelling something about the champagne tasting like piss, and the pumpkin pie like old ass.

I bite back a smile and press my ear to the door. There’s definitely yelling now and I can hear Rory dry-retching while Crouch curses up a storm.

They’re showing us the door, my love. I’m happy to redirect them and come back to you, or you could exit via the kitchen. It’s straight down the hall and the car will be waiting outside.

I can just imagine Arben’s approach to redirection.No, I’ll meet you.I pause for a moment, then add,Don’t let them get too rough with Rory.

I cringe a bit, instantly regretting the words, but Arben just sends a purr through the bond. It makes me straighten my spine and I quickly open the door, relieved to find the hallway empty. I walk in the opposite direction to the ballroom, and I’m almost at the kitchen when a security guard steps out of a side door. Luckily, he turns the other way, so I don’t have to pass a strange alpha in the hallway…

But then his scent hits me, and I quickly duck inside the room he just left.

Which is freaky as hell, with a fluorescent strip on the wall, and a set of stairs that disappear down into the dark. I press a hand to my chest, cautiously sucking the alpha scent into my lungs.

Damn.

He smells like pine needles, sweat, and… something that’s off-the-charts delicious.

Holy crap. Unless my nose is playing tricks on me, it’s an omega wrapped in sunshine, lightning, and the sharp bite of gun oil.

Cam. Rory. Link.

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