“Maybe,” Ricky says with a giggle as he serves me a plateful.
I reach out and snag Zack’s hand, giving it a squeeze as I say, “I’m glad you’re home, Zack.”
He cocks his head. “Home?” The big alpha looks around quizzically. His unspoken question asks how this mountain cabin can be our home. Then he stiffens and turns slowly back to me. “Ohm-ee-ga home is with her alphas?”
I hadn’t thought about it like that, but he’s right. “Yeah, Zack. Wherever my pack is.”
The pleased expression on his face makes my heart thump with love, and the heat sears through the bond.
“I’m glad I home too.” Zack traps my hand on his thigh and then glances down at his empty plate. “Now eat ice-cream in tub?”
I laugh.
Chapter fifty-two
Rickon
After the thrown-together meal of bolognaise sauce on top of boiled potatoes with cheese and sour cream, we huddle on the couch in the living area. The room boasts floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the dark forest valley, and misty rain rolls in, providing a soft pattering backdrop for our conversations.
I turn on the fireplace with the heat on the lowest setting, the red flames mesmerizing as they flicker behind the glass.
“Won’t we get too hot?” Red asks.
I shake my head. “It’s mostly for looks on this setting.” I wink at her. “A bit of ambiance.”
“That’s handy,” she says, coming over to investigate. “Damn rich people come up with great ideas.”
“Did you forget you are a rich person?” I tease.
“Me?” Her eyes widen in genuine shock.
I shoot her a grin in the mirror over the fireplace. “You own a penthouse in downtown Laversham, are working on a contractworth a million dollars, and the richest man under forty just joined your pack.”
Red freezes, staring at me. “Callisto?”
I laugh and rinse my mouth out so I can talk properly. “Yep. There are others who come from wealthier families, but Calli owns a lot outright as well as being the only heir to the Wren fortune. And, if the Wrens take over Alpha Cash, that net worth could explode overnight.”
“Well, fuck me,” Red mutters.
I chuckle and return to the couch. Pretty sure Callisto mentioned something about chasing compensation money for Red after the OCB agents uncovered the haze distribution center, but since that will take months or possibly years to untangle, I leave it as a surprise for later.
After weeks apart, we finally have time to sit and chat. Zack wants to know everything, and the questions he asks show a surprising depth of understanding.
I feel a bit like a parent whose child went away to boarding school and came home all grown up, but I know it’s the stacking of experiences on the foundation Red and I built for him that’s allowed him to learn so quickly. Zack wasn’t a child; he’s been a thinking adult since we met him, but he hadn’t received enough insight into the world. Now his perspective’s blown wide open.
Always in touching range, we sit with our feet curled up under us, listening to the gentle rain as we share our stories. Zack tells us everything about prison, and what happened in the library and out in the yard. When he mentions Owen, I make a mental note to ask Callisto to find out what the guy’s story is. Maybe we can help him.
But more than anything, Zack wants to understand us. It warms my soul, even as Red and I talk carefully about our painful pasts.
The big alpha vibrates with rage as Red explains her situation at the trafficking center in simple terms. He pulls away from us to pace back and forth as she finishes the story.
“Years?” Zack mutters, still pacing. “How long is years? Zack was in prison for one year?”
“No,” I tell him, shaking my head. “You were in prison for one and a halfmonths. There are twelve months in a year, and twelve is as many eggs in a carton.”
Zack freezes, and his mouth drops open. He holds up his fingers, but as far as I know he can only count to five. I haul myself off the couch and spread his hands, adding two fingers next to his. “This many is twelve. You’ve been with us for nearly four months, so a year is a long time.”
His eyes sheen with tears as he scans the number of fingers. “And Red was in cells for more than year?”
