Page 61 of Deadly Ties

“Some things are just beyond saving.”

I assume Ferrier means Bisha and his whole rotten pack, but Angel doesn’t take it that way. She lifts wet, tormented eyes to his face. “But doesn’t that mean my mom, too? She had the chance to bring us here, to get me away from him, but she was too broken to trust you.”

A spasm of pain suddenly makes Ferrier look a decade older. “No. She just refused to believe either of you needed to be saved by me. She had a poor opinion of alphas, for obvious reasons, but it was more than that. She wanted you strong, standing on your own feet, not cowering behind an alpha. Until you could do that, she was determined to keep you safe. Which meant keeping you off Bisha’s radar.” He brushes a hand over her cheek and I watch as Angel fights her instincts, the very ones that tell her she has to stand on her own. “I want to believe that if she hadn’t got sick, she would have told you about me. Maybe even encouraged you to come meet me. Your mother was a complicated woman, but don’t ever think she was beyond saving. Her every breath was devoted to giving you the time to learn how to protect yourself.”

Angel sniffles, slowly shaking her head. “But I never showed her that. I thought being an omega meant I was too weak to stand on my own, and I didn’t really believe I could… until I mated Arben.” She casts a look at her mate that is full of so much pain and gratitude I don’t know how he doesn’t drop to his knees.

But to my surprise, it’s Link who speaks up. “That’s not true. You were out for Bisha’s blood as soon as your mom told you the truth. And then you survived all the shit we threw at you, including my fuck-up at the auction house. You saved Kelly when none of us could. And you love him, even though he’s the mate of the asshole who traded you away.” Link shakes his head, not because he doesn’t believe what he’s saying, but because he can’t believe this is who she is. “You want mates, and a pack around you, but not because you’re weak, Angel. Because you know that together, we can do anything. You make us strong.”

Angel stares at him, a frown on her tear-streaked face. And despite all the bonds in the room, I think I’m the only one who knows how afraid Link is right now. This could be the moment when she crushes his dreams. When she tells him what he did was unforgiveable, and there’s no place for him in her pack. But instead, all she says is, “Maybe. I guess… I need to think about it some more, before I can decide if that’s really true.”

Ferrier uses the lull in the conversation to nod at my brothers. “Boys, will you escort Elvana up to your rooms? Anywhere on the second floor is fine; all the suites are prepared. I just need a moment to speak to Arben and Kelly.”

Angel’s frown now slides my way, but I give her a quick smile that seems to reassure her, and she lets Rory draw her to her feet. Link is the last to leave, his hand lingering on my arm, and I nudge him with my hip. “I won’t be long,” I murmur, hating that hint of fear I can still see in his eyes. “Go tell our girl more about how good she is for us.”

That gets a typical Link scowl, but he follows them out, and I finally let some of my uneasiness show. I don’t know why I’ve been singled out, but Ferrier doesn’t make me wait long to find out. “Kelly, I wanted to let you know your mom is staying in one of my hotels in the city. I invited her to stay here, but she felt it was better to give you some space while things settle down. She has no immediate plans to leave, and she’s welcome to stay there as long as she wants, but this is her number.” He hands me a slip of paper. “It’s a new phone, not connected to your uncle in any way.”

I frown at him, but put the number in the pocket of my robe. “What does Phillip have to do with anything?”

Ferrier tilts his head against the back of the sofa, those golden eyes watchful. “It appears he has been… controlling Elizabeth since your father’s death. Not just financially…”

“You mean alpha commands,” I say flatly. “Yeah, she’s never been very good at resisting those.”

Ferrier’s brows dip, but he just says, “I would call her, Kelly. Give her a chance to explain. Or, at the very least, let her apologize. There’s nothing worse for a parent than knowing you’ve failed your child.” I don’t know if the softness in his voice is for himself or my mom, but I give him a reluctant nod. A phone call won’t kill me. Unlike Phillip, who I’m pretty sure didn’t make it out of the Tower alive.

“Good. Now, go and wash and rest. As much as we all want to feel strong right now, we’ve had a shock. We’ve just lived through something life-changing. But know that you’re all safe under my roof, and should treat this as your home. Whatever Elvana decides to do, or however long she decides to stay, you are always welcome here.”

My good manners get me out of the room without insulting our host, but they don’t stop me from lingering in the hallway. I can sense something in the murky bond I have with Arben, and I can’t go upstairs until I know what’s on his mind.

“Well, fuck,” he growls, and I hear his heavy frame hit the sofa. “I bet Roan didn’t see that coming.”

Ferrier gives a quiet chuckle. “I don’t thinkNew Yorksaw that coming.” He’s quiet for a moment, then asks, “How many do you think got out?”

Arben makes a tired sound. “Who knows? The ones you warned would have made it, but we’ll have to look at the security feed to work out the specifics. We took out all the top togs. Lincoln got Crouch, and Raptis caught up with Phillip Prior. As for the others, some might have crawled through the cracks. But I don’t think the Dark River Pack will live to see another day.”

“Good.” There’s a hardness to Ferrier’s voice I haven’t heard before. “You should still plan to do some mop up, especially of any others who double-crossed you with Crouch. And think about your place in what’s coming. You know I don’t believe in a Head Alpha position, but you’d make an excellent council member if we ever got that off the ground.”

Arben snorts. “How many of them do you think saw me in beast-form? It’s one way to get a unanimous vote, I suppose.”

“We use the gifts we have.” Ferrier chuckles again, then asks, “And your plans for the children?”

Arben grunts. “Careful. I’m bonded to half of them, and tempted to bite the others. Don’t make this fucking weird.”

“There’s nothing weird about a fated pack.” There’s a shocked silence, and I lean against the wall, holding my breath so I don’t miss a word. “What? You’re surprised I’d call it that, when you have two powerful omegas at your core, and alphas bonded tighter than blood?”

My chest clutches to hear us described like that – something I thought was only in fairytales - and Arben makes a strangled sound. “Yes, but I’m not…”

“What? Guardian material? You know the old stories as well as I do, brother. The omegas are the heart of the pack, but you are the head. You show them the way, keep them safe, pick them up when they stumble…” Ferrier is silent for a moment, and there’s a note of sadness to his voice when he goes on, “Can you imagine what this world would look like if others followed your lead? No more omegas being hunted and traded. No more lonely old men wondering why they didn’t do more with their lives…”

“If you’re the old bastard in this tale,” Arben growls, some of his monster showing, “you should take your own advice and rest. Because you must be in shock if you don’t think you’ve done enough for this world.”

Ferrier clicks his tongue, but sounds a little lighter when he says, “Either way, there’s still plenty more we can do. I’ve spoken to Mrs. Lewis and if you are all comfortable with it, we will open the house to omegas again. Just the third floor to start, but we have so much room…”

“And so many in need.”

This, they clearly agree on. And as their conversation turns to plans for housing omegas, I sneak away before I’m caught like the kid Ferrier thinks I am.

A fated pack.

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