“Agelius isn’t a part of it. He happened to be near their pack for other reasons and when he saw they had Irian there, he fabricated an excuse to join the pack.”
The beta collapsed back in his seat, a few of the lines easing from his face. He wiped a hand over his face.
“Thank the Goddess. I was afraid I must have made a terrible mistake bringing him into the pack.”
“Not at all,” Talius shook his head. “He’s loyal.” I felt his head moving above me. “We were lucky he was there. I don’t like to think what would have happened if he hadn’t been.”
“And you’re sure he’s on our side?”
“Yes, very sure. He’s joined their pack on the pretense he didn’t like it here. And he told them that I wouldn’t be interested in paying a ransom to get Irian back if he was harmed in any way.”
“And Zarbius believed it. Clever.” There was a note of pride in Johnson’s voice. Agelius had joined our pack at a time when Johnson had stepped in to run the pack for Talius. It was when Talius and Irian had been coaxing me back to life after Zarbius had left me for dead on the most terrible night of my life. Johnson had always had a soft spot for the young alpha. Hemust have been immensely relieved to hear that Agelius hadn’t betrayed us.
“Zarbius wants the money and he wants Isca – which we knew was likely once he found out he was alive. But Agelius convinced him he couldn’t take the risk of something happening to Irian and spoiling any leverage he had.”
The moment I heard Zarbius wanted me, all my muscles stiffened. Of course he did. This wasn’t about Irian, although the money was no doubt a part of it. Zarbius had always been obsessed with controlling me.
The conversation moved on, but my thoughts churned. I bit my lip. I rubbed a hand over the pain in my chest. I was going to have to leave my two mates. Talius would have to give me up to save Irian. I whimpered quietly, feeling sorry for myself. I closed my eyes against the tears that wanted to fall and tried to compose myself. I couldn’t let Irian stay there. It was a fair trade. I couldn’t expect Talius to choose me over Irian. Irian had been his mate long before I joined them, and this was my fault – none of this would have happened if I hadn’t come here. I’d endured Zarbius and his pack before, and I could do it again. I trembled. I was very afraid.
“How did he find out?” The voices went on around me, but I only heard them as if from a distance.
“I don’t know. But if they grabbed Irian in town, then maybe they’d heard rumors. Who knows?” Talius responded with a shrug. “He also believes they’ve got an omega trafficking business either underway or about to start, and that if we don’t act soon, Irian will be on the next truck out of there.”
Although my heart felt like it was cracking in two, I slid off Talius’ lap, my feet making a soft thud on the wooden floor.
“Where are you going?” Talius’ brows scrunched, a deep V forming between them as he pierced me with a questioning gaze.
“I’m going to pack my bag,” I said softly, swallowing hard and trying to stop my chin wobbling. “I guess we’ll be leaving soon.”
Talius’ eyes widened, an expression of horrified disbelief on his face.
“You’re not coming with us!” he snapped. “You’ll stay right here until we come back with Irian.”
“But Talius, he wantsme!”
“I’m not letting you go back to him,” Talius insisted.
“But Irian…”
Talius cut me off. “We’ll get him back, but we’re not involving you. Chances are Zarbius won’t stick to any agreement we make anyway.”
I bit my lip. I wanted to argue with him. To tell him this was all my fault, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Irian because of me. But I didn’t dare. He was my alpha, and for many reasons I had to submit to his wishes. I also didn’t want to make a scene or be disrespectful to him in front of Johnson.
I sighed. “I’ll just go and watch some TV then.”
Talius nodded, still frowning slightly, and turned back to Johnson. I left the room and wandered listlessly down to the living room, switched on the television to drown out the sounds I knew I was going to make, threw myself face down on the couch and began to sob.
*****
I felt like I cried for a very long time. My heart was breaking. If I hadn’t come into their lives, Talius and Irian would still be together now, oblivious to all the fuckery that went on in Zarbius’ pack. Instead, I’d brought misery into their world.
At some point, I heard Johnson leaving, the murmuring of voices at the front door as Talius saw him to the door. A few moments later, the edge of the sofa beside me sagged as Talius’s heavy frame settled into it. His large hands were warm on my shoulders as he rubbed soothing circles.
With a sigh, he stood up, rolled me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom where he lay me on the bed. The mattress sagged as he lay down beside me. I felt the soft press of his lips in my hair, and with his warm body pressed up against me, I slipped into an exhausted sleep.
When I awoke, my back was cold, the bed empty beside me. An oppressive silence filled the house, pressing down on me with a devastating loneliness that seemed to echo in my head. Talius had gone, I knew it. I patted the sheets behind me, finding the faintest trace of warmth in them. If I hurried, I might still catch up.
Hurriedly I tossed a few clothes into my shifter bag and clipped the collar around my neck. There was no time for tears anymore. I loved my mates more than anything, more than I believed it was possible to love anyone. Even if I’d only had a short time with them, I’d always be grateful for it. It had been the best few months of my life.
