Page 35 of Deadly Ties

“Like you said, we’re a separate thing. I can hate what you guys did to Angel, but I love you. And what I can feel down our bond… you’re a good person, Rory. You just cock things up now and then.”

He can’t really deny that, so we sort out our clothes and head down to dinner. I’m relieved to find Angel and Arben already there, sitting with our host at a long table in the dining room. It’s beautiful, like the rest of the house, but I barely take in the gleaming tableware and flickering candles because my eyes latch straight on Angel. We’ve only been apart a couple of hours, but my heart lifts as soon as she smiles my way. She’s wearing a silver slip dress with tiny straps, and it looks like she’s been kissed by moonlight. From the strangled sound behind me, I’m pretty sure Rory’s semi has blown out to a permi. “Yummy,” I murmur over my shoulder at him, then let myself take in the two other men in the room.

Arben still looks like a hellishly hot assassin in his black suit, but I can see the man behind the monster now. His eyes might be devil-dark, but they move appreciatively over us, and I smirk as he checks out Rory’s groin. Yep, if I have an ally in getting our two packs to gel, it’s him. He might be a possessive, bossy bastard, but the omega in me knows this alpha wants our asses. And more importantly, Arben Marku knows Angel wants us too, and there’s nothing he will ever deny his mate.

But I put all thoughts of pornographic puppy piles out of my mind as I face our host. Lucas Ferrier is even more of an enigma to me than Arben Marku. We’ve had a few short conversations since I arrived, with him checking in to make sure I’m healing and to reassure me I’m safe in his home. But he even went so far as to apologize for not finding me sooner, and that left me a little rattled. I get that he has his own agenda with omegas, but his set-up here goes against everything I know about alphas strong enough to hold key territories. They don’t help omegas; they command them. And they don’t invite strange alphas into their homes unless they plan to use them.

“Thank you for taking the time to dine with me. I hope you’re all enjoying the house.”

My childhood manners kick in and I respond with something appropriate while Rory pulls out my chair. No one misses the move, and my hair is slicked back enough for Ferrier to see the bite mark on my throat, but he doesn’t comment. It’s probably old news, since I doubt there’s much that goes on in his territory that he doesn’t know.

“I don’t plan to waffle on too much during dinner, but I do want to update you on a few things,” he says as soon as we’re settled and drinks have been poured by his efficient staff. “Firstly, Michael Crouch is no longer the Alpha of Hartford, or any other territory, since his death somewhere between 24 to 48 hours ago. Any attempts to retrieve you, Kellman, or retaliation against other events of the Fall Ball, died with him. His pack is splintered and on the run, and requests for sanctuary in my territories have been denied. They are done.”

Rory breathes a sigh of relief at my side, but my shocked gaze slides to Arben. “Did you…?”

He shakes his head. “I was fighting on Crouch’s side at the Fall Ball, in defense of his territory against a coup from within his own pack. Or that’s the story that’s been relayed to Roan Bisha while he’s in London.”

It’s not exactly a denial then, since Arben seems to still be playing the double agent within the Head Alpha’s organization. But my attention has moved to Angel, whose hand is now tucked inside her mate’s, her shoulders losing some of the strain I didn’t realize she’d been carrying. Because Roan Bisha – her fake father – is still a long way away, and ignorant of what her real father and his allies are doing behind his back.

“Okay, well thanks,” I tell the table, jumping a little as Rory’s hand comes to rest on my thigh. My dick takes notice, but it’s a reassuring touch, so I just let it ground me while I think through Ferrier’s news. That basement is still so fresh I can smell it, but knowing my tormentor is gone definitely helps. “I’d have liked to put a claw in Crouch myself, but I’m glad he can’t hurt any other omegas.”

Ferrier gives an approving nod. “We still may round up a couple of his lieutenants. They’re in hiding, for obvious reasons, but I have my hounds on their trail.” His golden eyes glow with something that would be terrifying if they were chasing you in the dark. “I promise to keep you informed.”

I just reach for my wineglass to take a hefty gulp and he goes on, “The second bit of business you may prefer to discuss privately, but it has to do with the tracking devices that exist under the skin at the back of your necks.” He doesn’t try to hide the emotions that wash across his face – sorrow, guilt, anger, and disgust – but he clears his throat and asks me, “Are you aware of its existence, Kellman?”

“Yeah. I don’t remember it going in, but my dad had me doped up a lot of the time after I first presented. But Crouch told me about it when he first bought me. Said it can track me anywhere on the planet, and if I try to cut it out, it’ll release a toxic chemical into my bloodstream. That close to my brain, I’d be done in under a minute.”

Rory’s hand squeezes mine so tight his knuckles crack and a growl rattles in his chest, but Arben sits forward, his eyes as bright as a raptor. “That’s a lie. It’s harmless. It can be removed at any time.”

“And the tracking bullshit?” Rory demands. “Link told me about that. He said it’s connected to a database that lets Bisha and other assholes keep tabs on every omega.”

“It does exist,” Arben says quietly, “but it’s now in my control. I have people who monitor those who access it, and we are keeping tabs on them.”

Rory sucks in a furious breath. “So, you knew where Kelly was all this time?”

“Of course not.” He doesn’t brush Rory off, holding his gaze so he can see his sincerity. “I only identified the administrator recently, but once he handed me control of the database, I was able to work with the Underground to crack his encryption. Not every omega is in the database – only high-value ones, from what we’ve determined – and not all the tracking devices are activated. Kelly was still marked as a ward of Bisha himself and located in the Tower.”

I shudder at the idea. The basement was a living nightmare, but there’s something about Angel’s fake father that makes my skin crawl. He always looked at me like I was something precious, but not in a good way. More as if he was wondering how much a pound of my flesh would get him on the open market. I’d be happy if he stayed out of the country forever, but that’s naïve. He has the most valuable territory in the country and is greedy for more. Whatever he’s up to in Europe, it has to be to cement his iron grip on the East Coast.

“He’ll be back within three days,” Arben says in his quiet, calm way, but his gaze is now on Angel. “What would you like to do?”

Her hand has gone to the back of her neck, and I know she’s squirming at the thought of something alien under her skin. If ever there was a symbol of alpha power abuse, it has to be this. But she just sighs and shrugs. “If you control the database, I guess it doesn’t matter when it comes out.”

“I’ll organize to have my personal physician come out next week,” Ferrier says. “You can talk to her and find out your options.”

“And it really can’t hurt him?” Angel is now looking across the table at me. “You sure his dad didn’t give him a tracker with something harmful in it?”

I smile at the fact she’s worried aboutme, when my asshole dad is dead and buried and her fake, psychotic one is only days away from returning. “I promise, princeshë,” he tells her, then says something in their own language that makes her blush. Her eyes flit my way and I’d kill to know what he said, but the next course is coming out and Arben says, “But Roan has contacted me. He wants Elvana’s townhouse to be packed up and cleared out. I’ve told him I’ll take care of it.”

I bite my lip, but it’s Rory who’s on his feet. He’s halfway round the table to her before he jerks to a stop. He doesn’t seem to care that Ferrier and Arben are watching him with matching smiles; he only has eyes for Angel. “I’m sorry,” he says, his hand gripping the back of the empty chair so hard the wood creaks. “I just… that’s your mom’s place, little wolf. It has to hurt.”

Something softens in her face, and I know she can feel the same thing I can through my bond. He’s hurting for her. And he’s so damn sorry there’s another thing in her life that’s causing her pain. “It’s okay,” she says softly, but reaches out to brush his knuckles. “Arben and I talked it through. We’ll go first thing in the morning and pack up the things I want to keep before the moving company comes through.”

“There’s plenty of room to store them here,” Ferrier tells her, although I’m guessing if he had his way, he’d burn her packing boxes and nail her things to his marble floors.

“Okay,” Rory tells her, shuffling his feet so much it makes my heart clench. Awkward Rory is adorable. “But if you want us to come and help…”

“Thanks, but we’ve got this. And I want to spend some time in my mom’s room.”

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