Page 27 of Deadly Ties

“Do it, Kel,” a quiet voice says from the door. This might not be my den, but I can feel every wolf in its walls and I knew Rory wouldn’t be able to stay away for long. He’s in sweatpants and an omega tee, which is about three sizes too small for his muscular chest. I bite back an appreciative smile as he slowly approaches Kelly. “You know how much we fucking hate locking you up, bro. And if Arben says he can help you through it, he can.” I lift my brows at that, but Rory just grins. “The guy doesn’t make empty threats.”

I open my mouth to tell him I’m glad he remembers that fact, but Elvi jumps in. “Or empty promises. If he tells you he can handle it, you can believe him.”

“We won’t do it here,” I tell them, still gripping Kelly’s shoulders. “My den is smaller, my scent bred into the walls. There’s no escaping me there, Omega, and it will help keep your beast in line.”

Kelly gives another, deeper shiver at that, but he knows he has little choice. And I can still feel the wolf under the surface, watching me like I’m a different species altogether.

It makes my beast purr.

Yes, wolfling. I am unlike any creature you have ever met.

As my beast’s dark energy rolls through the bond, Elvi gives me a wide-eyed look and I can sense she almost feels sorry for the little prince. It just makes my beast purr all the more. “Give me time to take him down there and set up,” I tell her, cocking a bossy brow. “Then come join us, princeshë.”

She gulps. “You want me there for his heat?”

“We need you there,” I correct her, flicking a glance at Rory. He couldn’t hide an emotion if his life was at stake, and right now he’s watching us with his heart in his eyes. I think of him lying to my mate, stealing her trust and breaking her heart, and I can feel the violent beast rise inside me. But breaking what she loves won’t make her happy. Or at least, not once the bloodlust settles.

“Both of you,” I tell him, smirking at the flicker of hope in his eyes. “But come prepared. This wolfling won’t settle unless we all work together.”

Rory

Breaking the news to Cam that Kelly is in heat is trickier than I expect. Mainly because he’s already got one foot out the door and is radiating tension like his wolf is about to tear through his skin. He’s wearing a pair of borrowed sweats, skin tight around the thick bandage on his thigh. With his shifter power, the wound will heal in a week, but right now he’s gray and leaning heavily on his good leg.

“Do you need me to stay?” We’re in Ferrier’s luxurious foyer, but my brother looks like it’s the entrance to hell. I can smell his pain, since he refuses to take the drugs he loves to shove down everyone’s throat. But I know that’s not what’s freaking him out.

Our omegas are pissed at us, and my brother is finding it hard to deal.

It was bad enough having Elvi confront him at the ball, ripping him a new one for taking her memories of her mom. But now Kelly knows about it too, and we’re both dealing with a whole heap of shame and regret. Although he keeps that shit locked up tight as he scans the foyer with a frown. “Where are you thinking about containing him?”

“There’s a cabin on the grounds. It’s secure. Marku is gonna help.” I haven’t a clue how, since the assassin didn’t share any details, but it’s best I keep things vague, anyway. “You think Link is back at the lake?”

“Not sure.” Cam runs a hand through his hair, looking so tired I want to pull him into a hug. But when he gets like this, the last thing he wants is physical contact. “He’s not answering his cell, but he has to be holing up somewhere. I’ll track him down.”

“And how are you gonna break the good news?”

Even if he was answering his cell, there wasn’t really time to contact Link about Kelly. Or at least, that’s what I tell myself. Even with the bad blood between us, he deserves to know. But the way our omega blew up when he heard how we’ve been treating Elvi doesn’t bode well for him. We fucked up, but Link targeted Little Angel because of her designation, which is something Kelly won’t forgive in a hurry.

Cam shakes his head like a man besieged.

“Just do what you think is best, bro,” I tell him, slapping him on the back as he heads out the door towards Ferrier’s driver.

I grimace at his slumped shoulders and stilted walk, but that’s a problem for another time. Right now, I need to survive Kelly’s heat without eating a fist. Or getting banished from Marku’s cabin for pissing my omegas off even more than I already have.

I find Elvi sitting at a breakfast table with Ferrier, and even though he invites me to join them, my stomach is too tight to eat. Instead, I study the angel wings carved into the fireplace while Elvi finishes up.

So, you’re Eric Steiner’s son,” Ferrier says, sitting back and sipping his coffee. His eyes are exactly the same color as Elvi’s, which is kind of unnerving, but I just nod.

“I was. I took the name Starling when we formed our pack.” Elvi stiffens, but she doesn’t comment as she gets up and pushes in her chair. Ferrier watches her like a hawk, a soft kind of awe in his eyes. This little family breakfast both pisses me off and gives me hope. Because if she’s forgiven him for abandoning her mom and for leaving her with Bisha all these years, maybe I have a shot at fixing things, too. “None of us particularly wanted to remember our fathers. We were better off on our own, anyway.”

Ferrier surprises me by giving a sympathetic nod. “It’s the curse of our designation. Fathers who fail their families.”

His golden gaze drifts back to Elvi, but she just says goodbye and leads me out of the house. She’s quiet as we walk across the massive grounds, but I’m still stuck on the engraving over the mantle. “You don’t think Ferrier’s a hypocrite? Those angel wings look pretty and all, but he took his sweet time coming for you.”

I kind of expect her to snap at me, but she just folds her arms across her chest and keeps her gaze on the tree line. “I don’t think they’re about me. His mom’s name was Angela, so the wings were probably for her. And as to the time he took, Arben’s told me enough to know it wasn’t a good place to grow up.”

“And being Bisha’s baby was better?” I grimace as she shoots me a pointed look. “Yeah, I know we didn’t help on that front. We fucked up, Elvi. What else can I say?”

She doesn’t reply, and all the things I want to tell her suddenly catch in my throat. Like how I’m only half a person without her pressed up against me, those tiger eyes watching my every move. That even though my wolf is a scary sonofabitch and bigger than life, there’s a hollow place inside me that just keeps growing. And that even with all the fights and beatings and bullshit I’ve taken over the years, nothing hurts as bad as the fact I stole the smile from her face.

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