Barely a pump later, my throat is flooded by Ramses’ release while Kai fills my pussy.
ChapterFifty-Six
HEIDI
NINE WEEKS LATER
We have our first argument on the day of Raney’s pack celebration. And it’s a doozy, so large in fact we’re still yelling at each other on the way to the airport.
“We do not need to all go,” Darius growls. A-fucking-gain.
Ronnie chuckles from the front seat, which makes me flick my eyebrows up at my three Alphas, triumphantly because the fact is they do actually know I’m right, just like Ronnie does. I smile smugly.
“I will get Ronnie to pull over and take a walk while I remind you who you belong to,” Dare snarls, his top lip lifting while waves of very spicy, chai latte crash over me.
“It’s not about me not knowing who I belong to. I’m pretty sure I know,” I purr back at him.
“Damn right you do,” he sasses, while Kai growls in my ear, biting down on my shoulder. Ramses makes his masculine satisfaction known through our mystical mate bond. And much like my heart, that tether is crammed full of binding emotion and love.
The new tattoo on the top of my ass is testament to me being theirs too and is a reason they’re cocky AF about our love. Which isn’t what we’re arguing about, although it probably should be. Except I melted like a freshly emerged Omega when I saw the altar on my butt. A flipping altar—not a crown or a heart, but an ancient Egyptian inspired altar surrounded by three vibrant, yet identical phoenix flowers. It’s absolutely fucking stunning, and the symbolism of the Denali Triplets only decorating one altar is not lost on me.
No, we’re arguing because they don’t like the fact I’m going to Raney’s without any of them posing as Kai.
“You do need to go together,” I push back sweetly. “It’s too much work for only two of you. We stepped through the plan and, in all honesty, Ronnie should be doing this job with you.”
In the space of a few tumultuous weeks, Ronnie became family. Even the Denali brothers feel completely at ease with him. He has a loyalty that is bone deep, and an iron-willed disposition to match. He’s inner circle and knows about The Phoenix Group, and why Allan is working day and night on his research on triplets.
“No! I will not have anyone involved on this one. It’s too close to home. We should never have accepted Koz’s request for help. And if it wasn’t for Raney being one of your girls, we wouldn’t have,” Ramses snaps, his Alpha finally losing the battle of being diplomatic. He swipes a hand over his shaved hair in his frustration. My eye catches on his nude patch of skin, my eyes jumping to Kai then Dare’s. It looks weird that their tattoos are missing, but they’re on the job and that started the second we packed Nanu and Tut and our bags.
“Stop!” I growl, though it makes Darius smirk when I do. A flash of heat hits his eyes, and I know I’ve won the argument with him. I look up at Kai, and he’s still not happy. I cup his face. “Before the sun goes down, I will be walking in the door at The Great House with the kittens.”
“It’s close to your heat,” he admits.
“And who is going to be there that we don’t trust?” I screech.
“It’s not that,” he growls, looking away.
“What is it?” I ask, trying to be soothing and dropping a big, intentional cloud of my scent over them also making Ronnie press the button to separate him from us in the car. Once the screen is raised and we have complete privacy, I ask him again.
“Rohi, you know we can feel parts of you that no one else can,” he says quietly.
I know they can, and I haven’t hidden once how some days my heart is full of grief and sadness. Some of my emotions are harder for them to deal with than others.
In the aftermath of the shooting, I wore a mask of duty and dependability during the day while at the office. I saved my tears for the middle of the night with my kittens on my chest and my pack surrounding me.
What happened at Verdune Headquarters haunts me. I feel terrible that our staff were put at risk. I feel worse that we didn’t see or understand the whole story until it was too late. Some days the guilt along with knowing how close I came to losing people I love is consuming.
But I also suffer another guilt. And this one is difficult to resolve because I shouldn’t feel remorse thinking of Ayden, but in a way I do.
As suspected, his remains were found in the basement of Leigh’s home. I want to believe he was trying to escape from the situation he’d found himself in, but despite the obvious signs of trauma including a fractured skull, the coroner’s report was inconclusive. The report also listed numerous substances found in his DNA suggesting long term drug use, further supporting what we all think happened. But with all the key players dead, it’s going to be one of those situations where speculation is going to be the only answer we get. What the report also did was confirm Leigh was the father of Ayden, which we knew, but also the genetics confirmed the dead beta was Ayden’s half-brother, and Leigh’s son.
Ayden’s body was found on the day of Leigh’s commemorative service. Which, incidentally, Allan and I were not invited to.
The police had visited each of the dead Board members’ homes to search for evidence. Bits and pieces were found at each. Except when the authorities went to Leigh’s house, they were denied entry. The moment Leigh’s pack left for his commemorative service; the authorities swooped in and raided the property.
Adyen’s body was found in a room that also contained fingerprints from William, John, Troy, and Leigh along with the beta’s. The police collected a treasure trove of evidence including data on the trial of the drug dubbed, Dissolutio, based on what they wanted the drug to do to bonds. A 3D printer was also seized, with the police confirming the last STL in the memory of the laptop attached to the printer was for a gun, exactly like the ones used in the shooting.
I’m conflicted about how I feel knowing Ayden is dead; some days I’m so fucking glad. But the flip side is I don’t want to live with that kind of hate in my heart, which makes me feel guilty for feeling the way I do.
