She sucks in a shuddering breath, and then reaches for her phone. “It is my fault because I forgot that asshole would never let me live free.”
“That’s definitely not your fault—” My words sputter out as I spot the message in her inbox.
Did you think that was the end, Lev? If I go down, I’m taking you all with me.
My breath catches, and I cough to clear my throat. What the actual fuck? “Who is this from?” I demand, tone sharper than intended.
She scoffs under her breath, and when she speaks, her voice twists with hatred. “Only one person calls me ‘Lev.”
Shock tingles through me. “Him? Ray sent this?”
Red nods mutely.
How the bloody hell did he even get her number? “Fuck. Callisto has to know about this. So do the police.”
She gestures limply at the phone in silent permission.
I screenshot the text and create a group chat with Callisto, Josef, and Pierce.Guys, it wasn’t random.Ray’s behind this whole attack. Red says he’s the only one who calls her by that name, and he’s the one who went down in the court case.
A moment later, Josef shoots back a reply.Thanks for sending this through. We’ve started an official OCB investigation, but so far no one’s heard of a scent attack that wasn’t in person.
Callisto’s profile jumps down to ‘read’ and my heart beats faster.I want to be present when you interrogate Ray,he sends.
A weight drops off my shoulders. Callisto’s on the job, reliable as always with legalities, which means I only need to focus on my omega. But after weeks of sharing that role with Zack, the house feels unbearably empty.
Where are you, Calli?I type, dreading the answer.
Laversham State Alpha Center. Just saw Zack get taken inside.
I can’t contain the startled cry that slips through my teeth. Zack’s in prison already?
His next message confirms it.Fuckers were waiting with a bail denial and shipped him straight out. But I’ll do everything to get him free, Ricky.
Red turns, her eyes asking what her mouth can’t.
I wish I could sugarcoat it for her, but I gotta be honest with my omega. “The cops denied Zack’s bail, and he’s in prison already. Callisto says he’s at Alpha Lodgings now, trying to see him.”
My omega shudders, her shadowed lids closing as she processes the dreadful news.
I lean my head on hers. “I’m sorry, Red. So sorry. We both know how hard you’ve worked to keep him out of a cell. But this isn’t your fault, Biscuit. Trust me on that.”
Her breath catches, the hitch echoing like a bruise in my own air passage.
I thought the court case would solve everything, could free Red from her past. Instead, it plunged us into a darker hell. And as icing on this devil’s cake, Red’s heat will be here within days. The rooftop nest isn’t finished yet, but we could put up some plastic sheeting and ask the builders not to come for three days.
“Biscuit, about your heat,” I begin.
Red gets up, wooden as a puppet, and I know I’ve touched a sore spot. My hands quiver as I haul myself off the couch to follow her to the kitchen. Guess I’m a coward, because even though this is an urgent discussion, I can’t make my tongue form the words again. She’s been through too much this week. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Instead, I wrap my arms around her waist as she pours herself a cup of water. “Are you really going to work in the morning?”
She shrugs, a cold, dismissive motion. “What else am I supposed to do?”
I rest my head on her shoulder, wishing I could suck all her pain into myself through the contact. “Want me to call your therapist? She might do a house visit.”
Red glances at her sunflower art on the fridge door but quickly looks away. “No, I don’t want to see her ’cause the useless quack was wrong.”
When I sputter out a denial, Red pulls out of my hug and walks toward the stairs. “I need to go over my lines for the upcoming scenes.”
