“But, Ram, all that is the practical side, but there’s the other side too. Everything about us had to happen a certain way. That night at the Fundraiser where you were working and I was giving a speech, we were all at a crossroad, and destiny had to wait because our future could have gone in any direction with the decisions we made.” She scents like a field of cut apples in the morning sun, mouth-wateringly and refreshingly sweet. And then she smiles and it’s a reflection of how she feels about me, nothing but love and admiration sparkling in her eyes getting swept up in a reminder of fate and destiny. “Ayden chose Leigh. You chose me. From that point on, we were always going to be.”
Heidi stares at me triumphantly, looking lighter. Even in the face of the tragedy of today, it’s like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. I suspect her clarity comes from both an acceptance of our fated bond, but it’s also validation of every time she felt unseen and unheard, because that is exactly what they were doing; she didn’t imagine anything.
She looks calm and at peace after figuring it all out, while I’m struggling not to explode. I break. Obviously.
“Fuck, Heidi. I am exhuming their bodies and finding a black witch to trap their souls on this realm with me and my brothers,” I snap before I slam my mouth to hers, in a savage kiss that is nothing about my insatiable need and love for her.
ChapterFifty-Five
HEIDI
The way he kisses, replacing the air from my lungs with his scent is as necessary as talking theories. Ramses gives my racing thoughts and adrenaline another outlet, a deep, searing connection that’s all about encouragement, and confirmation.
He stakes another claim of my heart and soul, in his near primal desperation of what could have been. And in a way I hope we spend every day feeling those same big emotions, because this is what falling in love should be about. This is what being in love entails; unscripted, foundation shaking reminders of honest, heartfelt respect and an insatiable need for one another.
A knock on the door puts an end to my Alpha’s beautiful reminder, his eyes reflecting everything I feel in mine.
“Hold up,” he calls out.
But Douglas stands up and walks towards the door.
Ronnie’s voice bounces back. “The detectives want to put eyes on Ms. Holmes.”
“Yeah, well I want to put my claim on her throat,” he whispers urgently against my lips, twisting slightly and calling out.
“She’s finishing up in the bathroom. We will be there in a moment,” Douglas says, drowning out the conversation Ramses and I are having.
I kiss him quickly. “Not until Allan has the law sorted, Ram.”
“I’m not sure I can wait, baby,” he admits, a cloud of guilt at being impatient almost stealing his yummy orange scent.
“We’ve got all the time in the world now. You know I’m yours as much as I know the same, Alpha.”
He kisses me on the forehead before licking the tip of his finger and brushing it up under my nose. “Sorry, Heidi, it’s an Alpha thing. I can’t have you smelling anyone but me.”
“We made a deal, you and me, I get all of you. Even when we should be mourning, or searching for answers, answering questions, I get you and that comes first.”
I curl into Ramses’ protective arms, and shelter for a few moments thinking about how fortunate I was today. Yes, I will have a lot of guilt to resolve, knowing I put all my employees at risk, Allan, Douglas, and my pack too, but I also know I’m not the one responsible.
And then in typical us fashion, we move apart before saying the same thing at the same time. “Ready to do this?”
Ramses laughs softly like I do before he dips down to kiss me chastely and then step away, letting duty reclaim us both. He hurries to the bathroom to check all his disguises are still in place, which is lucky because I honestly couldn’t tell what he looked like because he ‘feels’ like my Ramses.
I wait where he points, as Douglas opens the door, before he takes a standard security stance near me. The move is not missed by the police, but it’s not commented on because there’s nothing strange about me being surrounded by guards, especially after what just happened.
“Can we ask some questions?” one of the Alphas asks.
“Of course. But one of my security team is injured, and my staff need my attention too. I’ll answer any questions as long as you are looking for answers, not looking to lay blame,” I offer quietly, but I also set the scene as to how this interview is going to go.
The lead investigator bristles before he starts his interrogation, with Douglas staring him down. He’s not confrontational at all. I offer my version of events and it’s interesting to hear Ramses, Douglas and Ronnie offering theirs. We all saw different things but there is no denying we witnessed the same tragedy unfold.
Allan joins us, providing the police with a HR file on the now dead beta. Allan talks almost robotically, outlining how he believes the man was rehired and hidden by the Board members, as well as talking about why. He provides photocopies of journals I never knew he was keeping about events and his thoughts that he sees as important in the scheme of things. And I am not surprised he has everything done in the space of a few minutes, his methodical and compulsive nature allows him to.
Gracey returns looking stressed and pale, but she brings refreshments and updates with her. She stays, providing another testimony of what happened, while inadvertently corroborating parts of what I had shared with the detectives about Pack Lowly.
The hours pass with endless questions. Every time the detective excuses himself, Gracey does too. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was reading the room right and already knew Ramses was more than a guard.
Each time the room empties, I climb up on Ramses lap and listen to updates. Darius was taken to ER at Our Mother of Mercy Private Hospital, coincidentally the same hospital I was taken to, his brother by his side.
