Bianca shrugged nonchalantly, gazing from her mother to her fathers with equal indifference. “We don’t have to ever speak again for all I care, but you’re not going to disown me. You’re going to give my alphas that bonus, make me the executive director of Bonnycastle Charities, and compensate me for all future labor at a fair rate. Since I’m feeling generous, we can consider my past work as paid in room and board. We’ll need to move the headquarters to my pack’s building for my convenience, but don’t worry. We have plenty of space and will give you a good deal on the lease. I’ll have our receptionist set up a meeting to work out the details.”
Dante chuckled behind her and Bianca shivered at the sound. She could feel Daniel’s grin without even having to look, just as she could feel Callum and King glowing with pride.
Astrid looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. “Why the hell would we do any of that?”
“Because you care about your reputation and legacy, of course,” Bianca replied, giving Arthur a pointed look. “You don’t want your disowned daughter to sit down for an exclusive interview with Gen V. I’m sure the intrepid reporter would love an inside look at the dark secrets of one of society’s most prominent families, complete with forced matings for money and near kidnappings by vengeful suitors. The ton would delight in the scandal of it all. You thought Serenity Rhodes’s story made waves? Imagine just how sordid a tale I could weave.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Astrid snapped, face aghast.
“Fucking try me, Astrid.” Bianca held her mother’s outraged gaze for a long moment, before looking at each of her fathers. When it was clear none of them had anything further to say, Bianca smiled coldly and turned away. “Teresa will be in touch. Goodbye, Mother. Daniel, would you mind seeing my parents out? They’ve stolen most of our day, butthere’s still time to salvage the night. I’m thinking takeout and a horror movie.”
“Horror comedy,” Daniel argued cheerfully, gesturing politely for her parents to get the fuck out. “I think we could all use a laugh after the day we’ve had.”
Bianca’s fathers stood as one, Winston resting a placating hand on Astrid’s shoulder and steering her from the room. Gregory stormed out behind them, not sparing Bianca a glance. Arthur was the last to leave. He nodded contemplatively at each member of Pack King as he passed.
“Please don’t test me,” Bianca said before her father was out of earshot. “The last alphas who underestimated me barely lived to regret it.”
“Miss Bonnycastle, Serenity Rhodes is here to see you.”
Bianca was looking over design notes for the new Bonnycastle Charities office when Teresa called from the lobby to announce her visitor. Her family’s foundation would be the first official tenant of Crown Hall, and Bianca was enjoying the process of decorating and organizing the space, even though she already had plenty of plans to oversee between the building’s other renovations and the small matter of being mated soon. It’d been a little over a week since her life had flipped upside down, and she was glad to have the distraction of work to give her a sense of normalcy and control.
If she kept busy, she didn’t have to think about what Frank and Robert had done. Or what they might’ve done if Pack King hadn’t shown up.
She couldn’t dwell on it. The bastards were in jail now and that’s where they’d stay for a long time. She reminded herself every morning that she’d put them away where they couldn’t hurt her or Callum or anyone else.
Bianca had spoken to Serenity Rhodes briefly to arrange a conversation with the FBI’s anti-trafficking unit but hadn’t provided much explanation for the request. Chloë had checked on her a few times, but Bianca had kept the conversations short. She hadn’t felt like talking about it. Hopefully, Serenity had an entirely unrelated reason for stopping by.
“Send her up,” Bianca answered, trying to inject some warmth into her voice. “And, again, please call me Bianca.”
“Of course, Miss Bonnycastle,” Teresa replied timidly. “I mean, Miss Bianca. I mean. Um. I’m sorry, I’ll send her right up!”
Teresa disconnected the call before Bianca could say anything else. Bianca sighed heavily. Unlike Callum, she hadn’t become an immediate hit around the office. In fact, most people had quickly learned to stay out of her way, which she didn’t mind except in Teresa’s case. Bianca had tried her best to be nice, but the kindly receptionist was still anxious around her and insisted on being overly polite.
Oh, well. She couldn’t win them all.
Bianca met Serenity at the elevator, taking the opportunity to show the other omega around. It filled her with pride as she pointed out the pack’s offices, the woodworking studio and nearly completed furniture showroom, and even the meeting rooms. Bianca was still marveling at the idea that it would all be hers soon. This business she was helping build would be another of the many things she’d share with her mates.
Serenity gave Bianca an amused smile after she told her about Avant-Garde Events, the official name of King’s Guard’s expansion intoevent rentals. “The boss lady vibe suits you, Bianca. You’re great at fundraising, but it’s obvious you have the heart of a tycoon. You remind me of Sebastián. He gets that same look on his face when he starts a new business venture. Your bodyguards got really lucky. I can’t imagine how they managed to flip you from client to colleague.”
Bianca felt her cheeks growing warm. She turned away quickly and motioned for Serenity to follow her back to her office. She hadn’t announced her engagement or even told anyone beyond their immediate families yet. There was always a plan for how these things were revealed in her circle, with strategic timing and a carefully polished narrative for the public.
Bianca had never had much news to share, so she hadn’t thought about this part. For so long, her expectation had been to mate the highest bidder. She’d known exactly how she was supposed to behave in that situation and would’ve played her part perfectly, not sharing the news until it would have the biggest impact and buoyed her family’s notoriety. She wouldn’t have worried about inadvertently letting anything slip to friends—not that she’d had friends to tell before anyway.
Now, here she was chattering on about the business like a lovesick fool. Anyone with half a brain would realize she was more invested in King’s Guard than an average employee. She decided to shift the subject, unsure if Serenity Rhodes was the first person she wanted to share her good news with.
“I’m assuming you had a reason for seeking me out today, especially since very few people know to look for me here, so I’ll stop boring you and let you get on with it. What can I do for you?”
Bianca gestured for Serenity to sit down, offering her a spot on the antique loveseat instead of in one of the stiff desk chairs. She wasn’t sure why, since she’d initially wanted to get rid of Serenity as quickly aspossible. Maybe her vanity liked being called a boss lady or maybe she empathized with the sappy way Serenity spoke of her mates, but Bianca wasn’t as irritated with Pack Rhodes’s omega as she normally was.
“I ran into Chloë the other day. She teaches a coding class at the center twice a month,” Serenity explained, settling on the sofa. “She mentioned how it was particularly meaningful this week to give back to trafficking survivors since you’d just saved her brother from becoming one of them. Given you asked me to introduce you to Agent Brandon, I made an educated guess about what might’ve gone down. So, I came to see how you’re holding up.”
Bianca frowned. She wasn’t surprised that Callum had told an exaggerated version of the story to his sister, and she genuinely appreciated Chloë’s concerns. The tech genius had already volunteered her skills and started working with King and Dante to strengthen the pack’s professional and personal cybersecurity. It was nice to have someone care about her and it made sense coming from Callum’s sister, especially since Chloë and Bianca were steadily growing closer.
Bianca didn’t understand why Serenity would care. They weren’t friends.
She didn’t bother to sugar coat it. “Why would you go out of your way to check on me? I’d never do the same for you.”
Serenity shrugged. “I thought I might be one of the few people who could understand how you’re feeling. There aren’t a lot of high-profile omegas who’ve survived trafficking rings and come out on the other side. I figured you could use someone to talk to who might get it.”
