Page 60 of Deadly Ties

I didn’t just see it, I heard it. And smelled it, too, which is unfortunate, but a wolf’s sense of smell is about a million times stronger than a human’s, so it’s not like I could block it out. But all I focus on is the sour edge to her perfume as guilt and regret battle to drag her down. “You stopped him. Ended his poison, and maybe finished off the worst parts of his pack.” I hold her gaze so she can see how proud I am, how much I admire the hell out of her. “I know revenge played its part, and maybe that makes you feel guilty, but who else was gonna make him pay for your mom? For the things he’s done to countless omegas over the years?”

She dips her head to brush her lips over mine, but I barely get a taste of her before she pulls back with a sigh. “Ferrier wanted to vote him out. Do it all formally, by the law. Not tear him to pieces while he was cowering in his panic room.”

Arben is up the front driving – since none of us were going to fight him for the privilege – but he turns to look over the seat back at her. “Lucas knew it wouldn’t work. Trust me, princeshë. Your father knew what we were up against, and he won’t blame you for what you did. As for how you ended him, it was a mercy compared to what I would have done.”

An echo of his monstrous rage plays through my mind, and I don’t doubt it one bit. Compared to an omega heat, what Arben unleashed was a living, breathing inferno, and Bisha got off easy, if you ask me. But Angel just twists her lips and sighs again, so I scoot up beside her on the bench seat and wrap her in my arms. Rory has been just waiting for his chance, quickly sliding in on the other side to do the same. Cam and Link keep watch from the corners and I feel a pang at their guarded expressions, but Angel just gives them a small smile. “Thanks for coming for us.” She winces at the sight of Cam’s injuries and gives my nipple a quick pinch. “Did you at leasttryto pull your punches, Sunshine?”

I spit out a laugh. The rage that consumed me seemed to burn off when the lights went out, but in a way I’m glad it held until I got to sink my teeth into Cam. It’s not a claiming bite exactly, since an alpha has to initiate it, but I definitely think we’re on the same page as to what comes next. Pressing a kiss to Elvi’s temple, I give Cam a cheeky wink. “Don’t worry, I made it up to him in the cloakroom.”

Surprised eyes swing his way, although I notice Link stiffen as he studies his brother. Elvi must catch the whiff of jealousy in the air, because she gives me a sympathetic look. “I think we need to talk through a lot of things, but right now I’m bushed. Think we can all just nap until we get to Boston?”

“Puppy pile,” I reply, snapping my fingers at Cam and Link. They don’t need to be told twice, although there’s an awkward moment as they try to fit themselves into the space near our legs. They’re all just so damn big, which in any other circumstances isn’t something I’d be complaining about. And it’s kind of amusing how much they resemble sulky kindergarteners as they shove each other for prime position. In the end, Arben growls at them to quit it and they settle fast enough. Seems no one is going to argue with the monster man lurking inside the deadly assassin.

We all end up snoozing until we reach the outskirts of Boston. I can’t exactly say we’re soothed by the scent of each other, since we all smell like crap, but there is comfort in feeling your pack around you. A new sensation for me, and maybe for the others too, because when we pull up to Ferrier’s estate there’s a lot of sideways looks going on. What’s next? I have no idea, but Angel screws up her nose at the sight of the French Folly. “Here?” she whines. “I thought we’d go to the cabin and sleep for a week.”

“We need to stay together for now, princeshë,” her mate tells her, swinging out of the driver’s seat and coming to open the side door. She slides straight off the bench and into his waiting arms, although she still doesn’t look convinced as she stares past him at the house. “Just for a little while,” he tells her. “Until we know things have settled down.”

I don’t think any of us expect that to happen for a while, but she sighs and leans her head on his shoulder, her eyes roaming over his face. “Okay, but I want to sleep in our nest tonight. Deal?”

He whispers something in her ear that makes her blush bright red, and I bite back a snigger, but she still turns her head my way. “You know I can hear you, right? It’s not as loud as Arben or Rory, but I’ve got you in my sights, Sunshine. There are no secrets between us now.”

I just grin at her. “After a year talking to myself so I didn’t lose my mind, you’re more than welcome to share my thoughts, Angel. Just don’t blame me if you star in every single one of them. And look exactly like you do right now.”

She casts a quick glance down her naked, blood-streaked body and blows a raspberry at me. “I can give you something better to fantasize about than this.”

That gets us all perking up, but before things can get interesting, Mrs. Lewis, Ferrier’s ancient little omega housekeeper, appears at the top of the stairs. She’s almost invisible under the mountain of robes she’s holding for us, and we all hurry over to grab one. When we’re decent, she tells us Ferrier is waiting to speak to us in the drawing room. Angel shoots Arben a narrow look, but she leads us inside, and Link falls into step beside me.

I breathe in his scent – the first time I’ve really been able to do that in this form – and get an instant headrush. Maybe he’s doing the same because he grabs my shoulder as the others disappear into the drawing room, pressing me up against the wall. My breath catches to be so close to him, every aching, exhausted nerve snapping to attention. I love Rory and Cam, but Link was my first love. He taught me the meaning of the word crush, because the asshole knocked the hell out of my heart for years, but in the end, I got his bite. Something that makes me grin as he cups my head and kisses me so deep I can feel the scrape of his teeth. “Fuck, babe. You taste even better than you look.”

I cock a brow at him, since I’m just as dirty and bloody as he is. “You should let me brush my teeth and then we can try this again.”

He just props an arm on the wall and gives me a heated smirk. “You don’t need to change a thing.”

My heart gives a big old flip-flop at that. When Link is looking at me like this – and I’m face-to-face with the soft man inside the spiky shell – it’s easy to think all my problems are over. But things aren’t as simple as they used to be, and I look past him at the drawing-room door. “Things are different, though.” I lift a hand to touch Rory’s bite on my neck. Link told me he bit me on the chest because it was so close to my heart, but I always wondered if it was really because it was easier to hide. “The guys told me you never had the conversation about them claiming me. Why didn’t you tell them the truth? You know I’ve always wanted them too.”

His dark eyes dip to my lips, but not before I see the turmoil reflected in them. “And you know I’m a possessive asshole.”

True. But major personality defects are not a good enough excuse for all the bullshit he pulls, and he’s running out of time to learn that. “Being with the others doesn’t take away from what we have, Link. You get that, right? If anything, Angel has taught me the opposite is true.”

He tilts me a thoughtful look, but it’s so skeptical, I laugh. “You think Arben doesn’t want to drag her back to his cabin and never let her leave? But he knows she needs us. Safety in numbers, but it’s more than that.” I reach out and touch the massive bite mark on his neck. “He bit you for her. For all of us. So that we worked better as a pack.” I lean forward and press my lips to the wound, and I swear I can taste some of Arben’s smoky scent on his skin. “We took downRoan Bisha. Think about that. He didn’t just kill your dad, and screw with Angel’s whole life. He really was poison. And we knocked him off his fucking throne.”

Link’s eyes flare at the passion in my voice, his fingers lifting to trace Arben’s bite. For a moment I scent something on his breath that could be fear. “He’ll never let us go. I can feel that already, in whatever alpha-on-alpha shit he’s got planned for me.”

I brush his face, lingering over those impossibly sharp cheekbones. “And that worries you?”

“Not if you’re at the center of it.” He turns his head to kiss my palm. “That’s exactly what I want. A big, ferocious pack that lives and dies for you. That will keep you safe no matter what shit they throw at us. But what if…?” He makes a strangled sound, and I watch as he struggles to get the words out. “What if I fucked up so bad, she tells him to cut me loose?”

So, it’s not fear of Arben that is making my hard man tremble, but fear of rejection. That what he wants, and has always fought for, could be taken away now it’s within his reach. I could tell him that won’t happen, but Angel has already given him his marching orders once before. Right now, we’re bound together by bites and bonds, but some of those ties are tighter than others. If Angel can’t find it in her heart to forgive Link, he’d have to leave, and the whole thing – this big, ferocious pack – would unravel.And where would that leave me?

I push the thought aside as Rory comes to check on us. His eyes flare when he sees how close we’re standing, but Link pushes off the wall, sizing him up. “Pining already, Rory? Or are you just here to mark your turf?”

I elbow Link in the ribs for that, but Rory shoots him the finger, then grabs me and pulls me in for a cuddle. “I fucking love him, bro, so get over your possessive bullshit. Besides, Sunshine likes to share, and there’s enough of him to go around if you’d stop trying to cockblock the rest of us.”

He proves that by grabbing my ass cheek, which shoots a bolt of pure, molten lust straight to my dick. But before I can flash them the proof of my sharing nature, Rory is dragging me into the living room and I’m trying to hide my boner from the Alpha of Boston.

Most times I’ve seen him in this room, Lucas Ferrier is seated at the massive polished table, groaning under enough food to satisfy a pack of wild dogs. But now he’s sitting on the sofa before the fireplace with the angel wings carved in the mantle. The rest of the room is silent, watchful, and I quickly realize it’s because our angel is crumpled in Ferrier’s arms, her shoulders shaking as she cries her eyes out.

My heart gives a painful squeeze at the sound of her anguish, and the only thing that stops me running to her is the look Arben shoots me. It hurts to hold back, but I don’t need him in my head to know this is an important moment for Angel. Having a dad who’s not a lying, heartless monster is a novelty for her – in fact, it’s something everyone in this room can appreciate – but up until now, she’s been careful to keep Ferrier at arm’s length. I get it. Trust is easy to break, but when it’s someone close to you, like a parent, it doesn’t just snap. It shatters.

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