“Wow! Gorgeous and smart,” Sasha quipped. “Not bad, big brother.” She gave Rivera the thumbs up. “Not bad at all.”
“My sexy librarian,” Roan spoke softly with heat. His expression showed pleasure and pride.
Rivera felt her cheeks heat as she carefully took the torque from Roan. “It’s solid, with some definite weight.” She hefted it in her hand, giving it a thorough exam. “The gold, despite its apparent age, is still quite shiny but has a deep patina that it only acquires after a certain time. But, this detailing, truly amazing. Such a deep, uniform, herringbone pattern on the entire body. You don’t see this sort of detail often, not with a complete piece. And these wolf heads.” She shook her head with amazement. “Such fine craftsmanship. With their mouths open, teeth bared, they look as if they could leap out at you at any moment. Even with the emerald eyes, it doesn’t detract from the flowing fur and snarling mouths. Exquisite,” She murmured. “Truly exquisite.” She handed the piece back to Roan who put it on. The wolf heads rested on each side of his Adam’s apple.
Taking in the complete picture, her True Mate resembled some old world warrior, the gold making his tanned skin glow in the sunlight. Too bad they had something else to do. She would like nothing more than to make love to her True Mate wearing that torque and nothing else. Her pulse sped up at the thought.
“Keep looking at me like that, sweetheart, and I won’t be responsible for my actions,” he growled as he pulled her close. The humour in his voice only belied the fire burning in his icy gaze.
She gave him a sultry smile, touching his hair roughened cheek. “Later then.”
“You can count on it,” he promised with a carnal grin of his own. “Now it’s time I taught three fools the true meaning of respect.”
Roan took her hand, leading her and the others up the steps and into the cool confines of the house. It was big with charming western touches that showed the house wasn’t just where the Alpha female lived, it was also a home. A very well loved home that showed its wear on floors and walls, but clean nonetheless. Rivera could practically feel the warmth of the place as they all trooped down a carpeted hallway on the main floor. But then, she was feeling rather warm herself. Like was having a hot flash. Her stomach was a little crampy, but that could be due to not eating anything before they left. Still, as they walked into the spacious office, Rivera wasn’t feeling well at all. She spotted an empty chair in the corner of the room and sat down.
“You alright, sweetheart?”
She gave him a wan smile. “Yeah, just a little tired and hungry.”
Before Roan could say anything further, Tristan spoke up.
“I’ll go get her a soda and a little something to snack on.”
“Thank you, Tristan. I appreciate it.” With everything going on, she wasn’t surprised her body was telling her it needed more than just coffee for breakfast.
“No problem.” His teeth flashed white with a grin. “Be back in a sec.”
The moment he left, a snide voice said, “Your True Mate is her? You can’t be serious, Roan. That freak can’t even shift.”
Rivera sucked in a harsh breath at the cruelty of those words. Roan, however, merely gave her a sweet kiss as his eyes began to glow with icy flames. When he finally turned to the owner of that voice, his dark hair was moving as if in a gentle breeze. Sasha stood beside him, Flynn and Dane flanking each Alpha.
The owner of the voice stood near a massive wooden desk. He was of medium height and build with brown hair, watery blue eyes, lightly tanned skin, and wore what appeared to be a black tailored suit. His resemblance to Mikeal was marked, especially around the full mouth and high cheekbones. But where Mikeal was affable with a ready smile, this man, Boone, seemed nothing of the sort. It showed in his stance. An air of violence surrounded him. The other two were close in height, though were both slim in build. One had jet hair and dark green eyes. The other had light brown hair and grey eyes. They too, wore tailored suits, but the one with jet black hair had a dark grey suit and the other’s was a deep brown. Their expressions were about the same as Boone’s. Haughty, condescending, and exceedingly arrogant. Rivera had feeling these three were about to get there come uppence. Looking around further, she didn’t see anyone else. The one they called Cole must have stepped out for a bit.
“My True Mate is no concern of yours, Boone. In fact, I’d say you have more than enough problems to contend yourself with.” His head turned to Dane.
“Is that so?” Boone drawled as Dane reached into his pants pocket, got out a brass key, and went to Roan’s desk. “I have no problems, Roan. But I’m sure the other high ranking families would greatly enjoy knowing our esteemed Alpha’s True Mate can’t shift and has never been bonded to the Pack because of her…affliction. I wonder what they would say. Just how would they react to such news?” He tsked with clear amusement.
Lord, but Rivera wanted to take that smarmy grin off the asshat’s face. Preferably still attached to his head. How Roan had put up with the little turd for so long was beyond Rivera. He certainly had more patience than she did.
“As Roan told you Boone, his True Mate is none of your business,” Sasha said with authority. “And before you get it in that weasely little mind of yours; no one in the Pack can interfere with a True Mate pair. Not even you and your lackeys.”
Said lackeys sneered. Their dislike of Sasha was clear. Still, that didn’t stop them from opening their mouths. Or inserting a foot.
“True Mate or not, she still needs to be bonded to the Pack, Sasha,” Grey eyes said with heavy condescension. “Otherwise, she’ll stay the outcast she has always been. Though why you would even bother is beyond me.”
“Not to worry, Kyle.” Sasha’s smile was sweet, but Rivera could see the power swirling around her almost as strong as Roan’s. It certainly answered her question about how Sasha could be a true Alpha, like Roan. Too bad the idiot triplets were blind to it. “I took care of that earlier myself. But then, if you three weren’t so busy snooping in here, you would have felt it.”
All of them had the grace to at least look guilty, but it quickly passed.
“Fine,” the jet haired one, or rather, Morgan, huffed just as Tristan came back into the room with a can of soda and thick sandwich on a plate. “The little mutant is bonded to the Pack. Can we please move along now? I have a very important date with Eloise Roux tonight that I’d rather not be late for.”
Tristan growled at Morgan’s rudeness as he handed her the soda and plate. She took them with a grateful smile, though she was sure it came across as more of a grimace. Tristan seemed to understand. His own smile was strained as he stood by her chair. His golden amber gaze zeroed in on the three men making complete fools of themselves. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was ravenous, the attitudes and complete lack of any manners would have put off her appetite. Instead, she dug into the sandwich and soda, letting the conversation and Roan’s calming presence wash over her.
“Sorry, Morgan. You’ll have to cancel,” Sasha told him. “There are more important matters to be discussed than whether or not you get lucky with your latest hook-up.”
“Eloise Roux is not some hook-up,” he snarled. “She’s-“
“Enough!” The power behind that one word was enough to make Morgan and the other two blanch. “Dane?”
“Sorry, Roan. Just wanted to make sure everything was here and not tampered with.” Dane cast a pointed glance toward the trio.
“And?”
Dane gathered a thick file with several CD cases on top then went to Roan’s side and passed them over. “It’s all there.”
Roan nodded as he opened the folder. If Rivera hadn’t been finished with her food, she never would have after catching glimpses of what was in the file. All were photos. Very detailed and extremely gruesome photos of what appeared to be the remains of a young woman. Rivera didn’t make a sound, just turned her head away lest she embarrass herself and Roan. The warm pat on her shoulder from Tristan helped s
omewhat.
After looking through all the photos, Roan closed the file, looked straight at Boone, and tossed everything at his feet.
“You are charged with the attack and murder of a human female,” Roan said. “You will be executed in front of witnesses according to Pack Law.”
“Wh…what?” Boone spluttered. The file at his feet had burst open to show everyone in the room the vivid proof of his crime.
“Christ.” Sasha shook her head, clearly dismayed. Her True Mate remained quiet, but Rivera could see the anger on Flynn’s face. His light eyes were glowing with it.
Being a part of his inner circle, both had probably been given a heads up about the crime. But knowing about it and seeing the proof, well…It was disturbing to know that such a seemingly civilized male could do such a thing.
Morgan and Kyle were visibly pale. Their eyes round with fear, the scent of it was thick in the room. Boone was giving off the odour as well, but there was also a whiff of anger. The longer he stared at the photos, the stronger that aroma became.
“You had me followed?” Boone growled. “How dare you!”
“I dare much when the safety of the Pack is at risk,” Roan stated calmly, but Rivera could feel the violence through their bond and the need to vent it.
“There was no risk,” He sneered angrily. “The girl was nothing but a whore. She was trash, a no account. One of thousands that nobody will miss. And you want to execute me over that? Oh, I think not.”
“Boone-“
“Shut your mouth, Kyle,” he snarled, limpid eyes never leaving Roan. “You have no idea of the power I hold within the ten families. This little…indiscretion, will be covered up and forgotten. Just like the nobody in these pictures.”
“Tristan.”
Reaching into his back pocket, Tristan pulled out a small note pad, flipping it open. “The young woman was Carrie Ann Hoyt, age twenty-two. She ran away at age seventeen with her boyfriend who OD’d a year later. Being an addict herself, Carrie resorted to prostitution to survive. Her parents, along with other family and friends have been searching for Carrie Ann for five years. She has one older and two younger brothers.” Tristan closed the note pad, golden amber eyes glowing with anger.
“Not such a nobody after all.”
“This changes nothing, Roan. And even if it did, you have no body and only these photos as proof.” Boone waved his hand over the scattered photos. “It’s basically your word against mine. Who do you think the families are going to believe?”
Roan then pointed to the CD cases lying near Boone’s feet. “Video and audio of you, Kyle, and Morgan taking the body out of the motel, dumping it twenty miles away, then coming back to hastily clean up the crime scene.”
“And a piss poor job they did of it too.” Dane snorted. “The only thing Boone didn’t flop was the motel manager didn’t see or even know about Carrie Ann. Otherwise, we’d all be screwed.”
“Boone-“
“Shut the fuck up, Kyle!” Boone then stomped on all the C/D’s as Kyle and Morgan backed away from him in sheer terror. “You think you have me, don’t you, Roan? You think you’ve cornered me.” He laughed, shaking his head with arrogance. “You don’t have shit. All this posturing is for nothing. And your so called leadership? A joke. You’re nothing more than a puppet, a figurehead. An outdated one at that. It’s the families that rule this Pack. Not you and not your so called strength. We’ve let you believe all this time that you were in charge, but no more. It’s time you and your Alpha bitch were replaced. It’s time this Pack was lead into the future it deserves.”
If Rivera didn’t think the man was a little unhinged, the maniacal gleam in his watery blue eyes told the tale. Of course, Roan had more than just strength to back his so called posturing up. Boone was in for a rude awakening.
“Are you quite finished?”
Boone growled. “For now.”
“Good.” Roan held out his right hand toward Boone, his head cocked to the side. When his fingers closed in a fist, Boone gasped. Before he could say anything, Roan pulled his hand back and Boone screamed. A wet pop then a dull flash lit up the room.
A wolf with wet, brown fur lay on the floor, covered in Boone’s suit. He was whimpering and panting heavily. Morgan and Kyle seemed to be frozen in place wearing varying expressions of horror as they stared down at Boone.
“If you’ll permit me to explain.” With that said, the foolish trio rose into the air, Boone’s suit falling to the floor as he cried out in pain. “Your arrogance and that of the families if truly astonishing. And as for being merely a figurehead, let me rectify that meaningless notion.”
He held out both hands. In the palm of one, a tiny tornado swirled. In the other, a small ball of blue flame formed.
“H…how?” Morgan choked out.
Closing both hands, the tornado and flame disappeared as Roan explained. When he was done, the trio suddenly fell, dropping to the floor in a heap amid shouts and yelps. Morgan and Kyle regained their feet quickly; leaving Boone to his own devices sprawled on the floor.
“And Sasha? Is she the same?” Kyle asked with clear trepidation.
She too, held out both hands. But instead of having fire in just one, the red gold flames were in both, swirling and spinning in her palms. “I’m better at fire than Roan is. Remember that the next time any of you morons think to piss me off.” The flames then winked out with a flick of her wrist.
“But, Jenna…”
“Jenna was never the true Alpha female. Neither was my mother,” Roan said. “The true Alpha female was killed a decade before my mother took the position. Jenna held it with strength alone.”
“Which is why there have been no children born until now,” Sasha went on to explain. “The Pack is all about balance. You upset that balance and disaster strikes. Nurture it and the Pack will thrive.”
“Lies…all lies,” Boone croaked. “It’s…the families…”
“The only power the families have is what my predecessors were naïve enough to allow them to have,” Roan told them with a cold tone. “But those days are over. Dane, Tristan, Cole.”
A man Dane’s size and height with long, night dark hair, hazel eyes, porcelain skin, and the face of an angel seemed to step from the shadows in the far corner of the room. He came to Roan’s side with a mischievous smile curving his cupids bow lips.
“Alpha.” The voice was whiskey smooth.
“Any problems?”
“No.” He shook his head. “These three couldn’t find their asses with both hands and GPS. Though, I do applaud their efforts to try and get a little dirt on you, Roan. But alas, they came up empty.” He sighed deeply with mock sadness.
“Indeed.” Roan snorted. “If you three would be so kind as to escort my…guests, to the clearing. We’ll follow along in a moment.”
“You got it,” Cole said cheerily as Tristan and Dane went with him to do as he bid.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Boone snapped at them, but it was weak, his body looked sluggish after being forced to shift.
“Roan?” Dane glanced back with a question in his light eyes.
“Use any means necessary, Dane.”
Dane nodded then looked down at Boone. In seconds, the wolf was in the air.
“Gentlemen, meet a part of Omega Squad. The eyes and ears of generations of Alpha’s,” Roan told them. “Just don’t let their youthful appearance fool you. They’re almost as dangerous as Sasha and I. Please act accordingly.”
With that veiled threat heavy in the room, Cole, Tristan, and Dane escorted their charges out the door.
When Rivera heard the final footstep move away from the house, Roan rushed to her as she gratefully collapsed in his arms.
During the course of the discussion, she began to feel worse despite having eaten. Now, she was shaking uncontrollably and sweating. It felt as if she were burning with fever.
“R…Roan…wh…what’s happening…to me?” She could barely get the words out she was
shaking so bad.
“Flynn!”
“I’m here, brother.” Flynn’s concerned light eyes swam in and out of her vision as he took her pulse.
“What’s wrong?” Roan’s voice sounded scared, their bond confirming it.
Before she could appease her True Mate, a strange lethargy stole over her, taking away the shakes and heat of her fever.
“Tired,” she slurred, barely able to keep her eyes open as she slumped in Roan’s embrace.
“Stay with me, sweetheart.” He shook her, trying to keep her awake. “Come on, Rivera. Let me see those beautiful eyes.”
“Yours…beautiful.” She smiled, but the heaviness was winning. She could feel it. Feel it creeping up her body. “My…beautiful. Mine.” She so wanted to touch his dear face. Her limbs felt like weights.
“Rivera?”
Her eyes closed, the heaviness pulling her under.
“Rivera!”
Her True Mate’s panicked shout was the last thing she heard as the darkness took her.
Chapter Eight
“Rivera!” Roan shook her again, her head lolling on his shoulder. “No. No!”
“Roan, stop!”
His brother’s voice finally broke through Roan’s panic as he desperately tried to wake his True Mate.
“Flynn?”
“Easy, brother,” Flynn soothed as Sasha rushed back in with Flynn’s black bag. Roan had been so worried for Rivera; he hadn’t even noticed Sasha had left. “Let me check her over, alright?”
Roan nodded, trusting his brother would do all he could to help Rivera. He gently sat in the chair, Rivera cradled tenderly yet securely, in his arms.
Taking out his stethoscope and arm cuff, Flynn took her blood pressure and pulse. He listened to her heart and lungs. Even checked her pupils. When he was finished, he let out a breath, an astonished expression on his face.
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