“Jesus, you did it again. Did you miss the part where I said Tristan was in danger? You know what, Koz is right, now is not the right time because I can’t fucking look at you.”
“King, that’s not fair,” I insist, rubbing his back, trying to make him stop saying shit he’s going to regret.
“You want to talk about fair?” he barks down at me. But his anger is not directed at me, and I know that.
“No, I don’t want to talk about fair. I did what I set out to do today, which is tell Raney. You can’t control how she reacts because that is not fair. Not at all.” I step out of the safety of his arms, a little closer to her, and I watch her avoiding looking at me. “Every lie I told you, Sim, and Heidi was like a cut on my soul but it didn’t change the fact that I would do it time and time again to protect what we have. But lying about being with King was necessary because it wasn’t safe. You know how to get in contact with me. I won’t push you but I do need you to understand, King is always going to be your father, and I will never leave his side.”
I make it three steps before King is next to me, his arm around my shoulder, his fingers interlinked with mine. Behind us Koz is talking softly to Raney, but it is their conversation, not mine. I feel better than I thought I would. Without doubt I’m heartbroken at her reaction, but truthfully if she’d reacted differently I think I’d be more worried. At least she’s being honest.
“Tris, Dad,” Raney’s voice is unexpectedly small when she calls out, and we turn to look at her. She rolls her eyes, wiping her tears away. ‘“I’m pregnant and anything sets me off, everything actually. I’m so pissed at you both for lying but at the same time kind of relieved.” She throws her hands up in the air, stomping her feet. “See, not even that makes sense!”
Epilogue One
STEEL
Flicking Joker my middle finger as a sign off for the day, I don’t waste time grabbing anything out of my locker or even stopping to clean up my paint gear after reading Tyson’s text. Trissy’s in heat, and nothing else matters.
The ride through the morning traffic back home gives me the chance to check we’ve got everything in place.
“Is she good?” I ask Mav even before he says hello.
There’s a beat of silence but those pauses no longer scare me. Now we’re bonded I can feel him under my skin. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say I can now properly trust and acknowledge the connection we’ve always shared. Because now I don’t need to deny my attraction or bond to Mav, I feel like he’s an extension of me.
“You know it.” He’s walking through our house. I can hear exactly where he is too. Each room sounds so different; the parquetry has a clipped sound, the thick carpet in our bedroom makes your feet sound like you’re walking through a field of thick fresh spring grass. Or it just might be that bond we share again. Either way, right now his steps are heavy which lets me know he’s in the kitchen, and I’d put money on him stockpiling drinks and food for her nest.
But he’s there for another reason too. And I definitely know why.
His smile widens, and I hear it in how he speaks. “I got your flowers today.”
I grunt a noise, a real fucking happy noise.
Maverick teases me so good. “I love them, not as much as I like you.”
“Fuck off, Mav, you don’tlikeme…”
“You’re right. I love you. And am fucking happy with where we’re at finally. I’ll be fucking ecstatic when you’re home, and so will Tristan.”
“Where is she?”
He laughs and at the same time as the bottles rattle in the fridge door. “Tyson sent me up to grab extra food for her. You know how he gets.”
My brother gets over the top bossy in the way he worships our Omega. I get it though, all of us have freely and happily jumped into caring and fussing over her. But the thing is Trissy likes to fuss too, despite being a fucking terrible cook.
“King’s over at the clubhouse letting JB and Twinkles know.”
“Yeah.” I pull up at a set of lights, the sun hitting me in the face and with Mav’s voice in my ears, my Omega reaching out impatiently to see where I am. I look up and thank which ever fucking deity is listening that my life got a fuck tonne better than I ever thought it could.
“I’ve locked the front gate too, Steel. All the cameras and sensors are on, so go through the compound and ride straight in the garage.”
“It’s not open, right?” I snap, getting all antsy about nothing.
I know Maverick’s got everything fucking right. But if it weren’t him letting me know, it’d be King or my brother. We’re all a bit over the top about her security. We’re also a bit obsessed with everything else about our fucking pack too,and it ain’t money or possessions, though Trissy loves her little fucking knickknacks. It’s the trust we’ve got, the truth we tell and the future we’ll willingly kill any cunt to protect. Lucky for the fucking world though, it’s been smooth sailing for the Cameron Pack.
King, of course, was fucking right about how much judgement would fall on Tristan’s shoulders if she was associated with The Fallen. But none of us properly understood the weight of her family name. Doors closed because of King, Mav, and me but Trissy and her family just fucking kicked those doors back open.
Meeting her family was a humbling experience. They looked at the four of us, ignoring our cuts, tatts, and scars and welcomed us into the family, before her dads took us out the back to where they have a yard of pigs, and threatened the fuck out of us. Trissy got her fucking vicious streak from them—ain’t we a match made in heaven, because we’re all a little deranged when it comes to keeping her safe.
I can see where she gets her sunny happiness from and when we went and paid Troy a visit, I saw where the shadows came from too. The arrogant prick pretended he couldn’t remember what we were talking about. Maverick made it impossible for him to forget though. And King makes the prospects ride out past Troy’s pack house every month, reminding them that we’re watching.
