Pack of Lies, page 33
“I’m their scent match,” I insisted. “They’ll never get another. I hoped... being bitten into another pack would give them another chance, but it didn’t. The match is still intact. I stole their opportunity from them by rejecting them.”
“They’ll fucking live. I told you that five years ago, and I’m telling you again now. Dash Loranger’s self-destructive behaviour is because he doesn’t know how to deal with his own shit. It’s not because of you. You don’t owe them love because your scents were compatible.”
The tears that had been threatening to overflow since the beginning of this conversation finally did. I rubbed at my runny nose with the napkin, sniffling softly. We got a few glares from the surrounding betas. They probably thought Leighton, scary as she was, had made me cry.
“Scent matches are supposed to be together,” I muttered. “They’re the purest kind of match.”
“Biology can’t always account for lifestyle differences. If you’d mated them, you would have been right under Mom’s thumb for the rest of your life. You would have been miserable. You were miserable, all through our childhood. With your happy little pack life, you may have forgotten, but I haven’t. There were times when you wouldn’t leave your room for weeks, when your fingers would bleed from how much you’d bitten your nails, when you’d spend every night crying yourself to sleep. Being near that woman wasn’t sustainable. Not for you.”
Leighton’s nose was crinkled in disgust. She still dealt with our mother.
I hadn’t seen the woman since Denzel had told her he would air the family’s dirty laundry online if she ever tried to contact me again.
If I’d bonded the Loranger pack, with their old money and elite ties, she would never have let me escape her influence.
“I was their one chance,” I said quietly. “I should have been more careful about going around packs I wouldn’t be comfortable matching with.”
“Mom forced you to go to that event. You never left the house otherwise. There was no way you could have been more careful than you were.”
I chugged more of my latte, trying to make it hold back my tears. It didn’t work, droplets streaming down my cheeks and landing on the plate my pastry was sitting on. Rejecting my scent match pack was the worst thing I’d ever done as a human being. The worst. It was irredeemable, and I didn’t deserve a second chance at a scent match with Thorn, but my pack did. They deserved to feel what it should be like when you matched someone.
Not the dismay I’d felt when I’d caught Dash Loranger’s scent in the middle of an event.
Yet, I’d ruined that for them too.
Things with Thorn were so fucked up. She was falling for us, I could tell, but we had no confirmation she would stay. All because I’d let Denzel get so protective, allowed him to continue to believe he knew best even when we were following along behind him changing or fixing things.
“That’s not the point,” I said with a sniffle.
At some point, Leighton’s fingers had wound with mine, resting on the tabletop. It was about as affectionate as she got.
“The point is,” I continued, “that my pack is falling apart. Thorn is going to leave, the bond is going to break, and I’m going to be alone. You know I hate being alone.”
She snorted. “None of your packmates are going to leave you alone. If you never speak to Denzel again, I guarantee everyone else is going to stand by you. Even his fucking brother. You’ll continue living in your sickeningly sweet little house and they’ll probably get you an apology puppy and dote on you like they have since the moment they met you.”
“But the bond—”
“Bonds don’t matter. If the bond completely breaks, which is rare, you’ll still love each other. Love isn’t dependent on a pack bond or a scent match.”
“And Thorn?”
“If she loves you, she’ll stay. If she doesn’t, her being your scent match isn’t going to change that.”
My mind calmed, as it usually did when I talked things out with Leighton. She was so matter of fact it was hard to argue with her. There was no room for interpretation of what she said.
“I’d personally like to hear more about how she was experimented on and kidnapped. Not to make light of your interpersonal issues, but to me that seems like the more pressing matter,” Leighton said.
That made me smile because she was right. I was always more eager to talk about the emotional stuff as opposed to the practical stuff. Not bothering to hold any details back, I gave Leighton the rundown of everything that I knew about what had happened to Thorn. She pulled up the missing person bulletin on her phone as I rambled, scanning the information with a keen eye.
“This is the most passive aggressive missing poster I’ve ever seen,” she murmured. “I hate to say it, Lowe, but Denzel might be right about it being better for you to stay home. They don’t sound like they’re playing around, and they have government ties if they’ve gotten this on every TV screen in New Oxford.”
I nibbled my lip with my teeth, finishing the final pieces of pastry and last few sips of latte.
“He can’t keep me locked in the house,” I said.
“No,” she agreed. “But you should have brought someone with you. Reese would be more than willing to be your entourage, I’m sure.”
There was something about the way she suggestively raised one eyebrow that made my cheeks flame.
“Reese and I aren’t together, you know that.”
“You wear his mark with pride on your neck, little brother, and I’ve never missed the way he stares at you. Just saying.”
“There is no expectation for him to be interested in me simply because we brought him into the pack. We’re friends.”
“But you wouldn’t say no if he wanted to take it further, either. You’re leaving an opportunity on the table, that’s all I’m pointing out. In my mind, there’s no reason not to take the former fighter for a ride. Especially not when you’re already bonded.”
She smirked at me as my entire body heated, scent perfuming the space.
Reese had always been her favourite, and she always made fun of me. I didn’t want to pressure him! I hadn’t brought him into the pack with the requirement that he have a sexual relationship with me. Being platonic was perfectly fine. I’d told him he could find sex outside the pack, too.
Though I was pretty sure I would have torn his clothes to shreds if he’d come home smelling like someone else.
But it was only fair he be allowed to live his life. That’s why I’d helped him. I’d wanted him to have freedom. If he wanted me, he would tell me. He had the freedom to do it.
“You’re horrible. I don’t know why I was so eager to see you today.”
Snickering, she stood up and waited for me to follow suit. “I’m your favourite sister. I’m also walking you to your car so you don’t get attacked by whatever weird pseudo-governmental organization is after you.”
“Lucky for you, you’re my only sister. If I had another, you would have been demoted from the favourite position.”
“Damn, Lowe, you’ve got some bite today. This new mate gave you a backbone I don’t see often, and it’s a good look on you. Last time you were this sassy was when you squared up to Soren Rosania like he was a fast food cashier and you were an angry Karen.”
I pouted, not wanting to prove her point by shooting a complaint back her way. She led the way down the street, having already spotted the pack SUV, and I stayed one step behind.
“I’ll call you if I find anyone with enough sway willing to help shut the Centre down,” she said.
She threw the comment back over her shoulder with a quick glance. Then her eyes widened and she spun back around with a shouted curse.
A hand grabbed my arm and dragged me down an alley, Leighton’s realization too late for her to reach me on time.
Before I could scream a cloth was shoved into my mouth, a chemical scent flooding my nose. My eyes watered and I thrashed against my attacker, but they were far larger than me. I vaguely realized I was being shoved into the back of a van before the world went hazy, and then black.
FORTY-THREE
DENZEL
“Who’s been fucking Marlowe all day?”
My presence in the living room was greeted by glares, but all the pack members were present except Jubilee. He had to be up in the nest with our mate. Thorn was down here too, a colouring book on her lap as she peered wistfully through an open crack in the curtains.
I couldn’t forget what she’d looked like coming all over my face, though she’d been bathed in shadow and darkness.
I wanted another chance, so I could see for real in the light of day.
“What are you on about?” Reese asked.
He had a book in his hands, his wide frame leaning against the armchair Thorn was sitting in. It would make more sense for all of them to sit on the couch. Quentin was practically leaning over the arm of it in his attempt to get close to the omega.
“I haven’t seen Marlowe since this morning. Where is he?” I asked.
My brother’s eyebrows drew together. “We thought he was with you. Today’s his monthly meeting with Leighton.”
“I told him he wasn’t going.”
Thorn reached out a hand to flick at the curtains, before looking at me. “The SUV has been gone for hours.”
My heart dropped.
He’d gone without me?
Against my advice?
It wasn’t advice, a small voice said in my head. It was an order. You know Marlowe hates being given orders after what you did.
“He must have gone on his own,” Reese said.
Pushing himself up from the floor, he put his book on the coffee table.
“He should be home soon, then,” Quentin agreed.
But he stood too, all of us tense with worry. He met Leighton at a downtown cafe in the morning. They weren’t the kind of siblings that would chat for more than an hour, so it shouldn’t have taken this long.
I pulled out my phone, hitting his contact to call him.
It went straight to voicemail.
Panic threatened to overwhelm me.
“Someone call him,” I barked. “He might just be declining my calls.”
There hadn’t been a single ring, so I knew it wasn’t that. Quentin tried on his phone and shook his head.
“We’re going to go downtown to pick him up, then,” I said. “He’ll be at the cafe. We would know if he was in danger.”
The tenuous pack bond seemed to laugh in my face.
Would we know?
Every time someone disobeyed me, the pack lead, our bond weakened. No one had been listening to me since the moment Thorn was told the truth.
I clenched my phone to tightly in my hand I was surprised I didn’t crush it. When it rang with an incoming call, I answered without looking at the display.
“Hello?”
Quentin had run upstairs to grab Jubilee, while Reese was unlocking the safe where we kept our weapons. We wouldn’t need them because Marlowe was fine. He was fine. He had to be.
Ava’s terrified expression ran through my head, that ugly dark bond marring her neck. Her hands had trembled as she’d held the knife, and there had been blood — so much blood.
“You better fucking tell me you’ve already found my brother.”
Leighton’s voice pierced the veil of memories, the vision of Ava dissipating.
“Found him?”
“Oh, you fucking idiot. You didn’t realize he was missing? I can’t believe you’re stupid enough to think my little brother would listen to your dumb orders. He came out to see me, and he was fucking kidnapped. They got the drop on me, and I spent the last three hours unconscious in a dumpster.”
My fingers slipped on the phone.
It hit the soft rug and Reese was quick to snatch it up, demanding the explanation from Leighton all over again. I swayed back and forth in place.
Every precaution I’d taken since Ava killed herself was irrelevant now. Every lie I’d told. Every time I’d been overprotective.
It didn’t matter because Marlowe was gone, and Thorn hated me even though I was falling in love with her.
And this was all my fault.
We would have felt Marlowe’s panic through the pack bond if it had been stronger, and then we wouldn’t be three hours behind in finding him.
So much could happen in three hours.
Thorn’s fingers touched my arm, her blackberry and orange scent wrapping around me.
“Denzel,” she murmured.
I shifted away from her, but she followed me. Her hand trailed up my arm, palm cupping my cheek next. Dragging my gaze away from where I’d been staring blankly at the TV, I looked down at her instead. There were so many expressions playing across her face, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
One second, she was furious, the next terrified.
“You need to get yourself together,” she said. “You’re never going to save him if you shut down.”
Save him? He’d been taken. My track record for saving omegas that had already been taken was nonexistent.
Ava had already been given the knife by the time I’d gotten to her.
She’d stared apologetically into my eyes as she sliced her wrists, letting out a peaceful little sigh as she bled out.
My efforts hadn’t been enough to stop the bleeding. We hadn’t been able to call an ambulance; not when that pack had been within their rights to dark bond a gold pack omega, and we’d killed them for it. Paramedics wouldn’t have gotten there in time, anyway.
Ava had slumped in my arms as the light faded from her golden eyes, and my soul had shattered.
I should have been able to save her, and I hadn’t, because she hadn’t believed I would be able to keep her safe.
I hadn’t saved Thorn, either. She’d been kidnapped. Reese had saved her, while I’d been uselessly standing by.
Saving Marlowe was a pipe dream at best.
Her fingers pinched my chin and dragged my attention back to her once more. “We’re going to get him back,” she said. “They want me. I’ll give myself to them, and he’ll be sent back to you.”
She tried to step back, but this time I was the one to stop her. My hands grabbed both her forearms. “But I’m not letting them have you,” I said.
My voice was wispy and faint.
“They’re not getting you. When we don’t give you to them, what are they going to do to him?”
Thorn blinked at me, glancing down at her arms and yanking them back.
“They want me,” she said again, slower. “I bet they took Marlowe so we would do a trade.”
“There’s no fucking way we’re trading you for him,” I said, drawing up to my full height.
I shook off the slump and the brain fog, reaching out for Thorn and pulling her to my side. She looked a little stunned, her hands bracing against my chest and hip.
“I’m not going to fucking trade one mate for another, and if you think you’re going to be giving yourself over, you’re delusional,” I muttered.
It was too similar to Ava. Cripplingly so.
Everyone but me was suiting up now, draping weapons over their shoulders and holstering them at their hips. Thorn was right about Marlowe having a chance. They wouldn’t kidnap a Winston only to kill him — Marlowe’s parents would hunt down the perpetrator with almost enough vigour you would assume they actually loved him.
The Centre didn’t need that kind of attention.
Especially not when they were in the middle of creating a new lab. I doubted they’d kept the last one functional after we’d broken in.
Pulling Thorn with me over to the others, I pushed her toward Quentin. “She just threatened to trade herself for Marlowe,” I stated. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
No one was surprised by my protectiveness; not even Thorn. She was the only one who realized just how much Ava had affected me, and she had to see how similar this was to that.
We didn’t know where we were going, we only knew we needed to be ready to leave at the drop of a hat. Leighton had some of her sources on it and Reese had called his brother, who was looking into where the Centre could have sent a kidnapped omega this time.
I needed to speed my plan along and get the Centre shut down by the GPRE, but I hadn’t gotten enough time to find the right people to tell. The people who weren’t corrupt and would actually care about omega rights violations were harder to find than you would think.
Going public wasn’t ideal — we didn’t want general panic, and we didn’t want too many people to know about the potential for an injection to retroactively turn a gold pack omega normal. More experimentation centres would pop up, no doubt. But it might be time.
When a knock sounded on our front door, everyone froze in their frenzied rush to get ready.
The knock came a second time and I stepped up to the door, making sure everyone else was out of sight.
Opening it, the fist of a hired security guard was raised to knock a third time.
He cleared his throat. “We’re here to see Hannah Cecchi,” he said.
My eyes narrowed. “The missing woman on the news? Never met her before,” I said gruffly.
“We are aware she’s been hiding out here, and we need to take her in.”
He stepped forward and I blocked the door, noting the presence of two SUVs full of guys. This could be bad. I’d been so wrapped up in memories I had no idea if we’d called any backup in.
Looking the guy in front of me up and down, I said, “You’re not welcome in my house.”
“I’ve been told to inform you that extreme measures will be taken, if necessary.”
“Get off my fucking doorstep.”
“You’d be better off listening—”
“I don’t give a fuck what I’d be better off doing. My mate has been kidnapped and if you think I’m going to hand my other mate over to you without a fight, you’ve got another thing coming.”
I growled, letting my aura expand until the guard shied back.
He touched his earpiece a second later, fiddling with black plastic and nodding.
“If you give us the woman, Marlowe will be returned to you,” he said after a pause. “That’s their demand.”
