Talk About… Trouble (Rockwood Valley Omegaverse #4)

Chapter 32

Wren

“ D o they really have to make courthouses look this intimidating?” I muttered as we walked up the imposing stairs of the large stone building. It had everything from giant pillars to stone lions that flanked the front doors.

“I swear they do it on purpose,” Devon agreed, giving one of the lions a pat as we passed them, making our alpha and beta chuckle behind us.

“Oh, there you are, Wren,” my lawyer said as he waved me over. Carl Sands was an incredible lawyer, one that came highly recommended. He took this case not expecting much, honestly. In the legal world, omegas tended to come out on the bottom.

Somehow, he managed to find all the others, rounding us up for one big lawsuit. That was the only reason we were at this point.

“I’m sorry again, Wren,” he said, shaking his head. “This never should have happened. We did everything we could to stop it, but apparently, they thought they had nothing left to lose.”

Yelling from behind the closed doors had him wincing. I knew those voices. My heart pounded, and my pulse was thundering through my ears. Sweat made my hands clammy. Fuck. You can do this, Wren.

“Carl,” I said, my voice low. “Tell me that’s not them.”

“You brought her here with them in this building?” Shepherd growled.

Carl’s Alpha didn’t cower, he met Shepherd head-on.

“If I would have known, I wouldn’t have,” he admitted, and his words rang with truth. “They were not supposed to be here, but somebody fucked up again. I wish I had more control in the legal system, but it’s just my job to represent you.”

“This judge has a lot to answer for,” Nash said, the violence in his tone making me a little worried about having the pack stand behind me. The last thing I needed was an all-out brawl in the hallway.

“Braxton, stick by them,” I said. “The last thing we need is my alphas to end up in jail.”

I turned to my pack. “They are not worth it. This is the last I will have to see them. Stay strong for me, please.”

“We will,” Shepherd said, giving Nash a hard look. “But I might have to cut some wood after this, work off some of this anger.”

“Oh no, an alpha, shirtless and cutting wood for us to view? That sounds terrible,” Devon deadpanned, making Carl bark out a laugh that echoed in the empty halls.

A door in the distance opened, leading to another exit to the courtroom. Further down the hallway I could see them. They were wearing their yellow jumpsuits, which indicated they were in an alpha-only prison.

They were a danger to omegas and sure as hell wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near them, even behind guarded walls.

“There she is!” Brad screamed, his voice completely unhinged and desperate.

Travis whipped around, pulling at the guard who had him by the biceps. “You ruined our fucking lives!”

“You ruined those yourself,” Devon said. “I’ve never seen more pathetic alphas in my life.” Of course, I should have worried more that my omega couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Honestly, I loved him for it.

For once, I didn’t feel frozen. I let Devon’s anger fuel my own.

“You’re disgusting monsters, and I hope you rot in prison. Whatever I can do to make them punish you further for the stupid shit you’re doing now, I will. You deserve nothing less than to suffer for your actions. Honestly, if I knew people on the inside, I’d tell them what you did, because I’m sure you lied to everyone. You know they don’t really like people who fuck with omegas in there.”

“Actually,” Nash said, running a hand over his stubble as he pretended to think it over, “I know a few people inside, and a guard or two wouldn’t take much to bribe them to spread that word, would it?”

“Do you hear this?” Brad said, looking at his guards. “They’re just talking about bribing inmates, and you’re fine with it?”

“Sorry,” the guard shrugged, putting a finger in his ear and wiggling it around. “I’m really hard of hearing. I didn’t hear anything. Did you guys hear it?”

“No, all I hear is these inmates putting up a fight. Maybe we need to put them in solitary when we get there.”

The snarl that Brad and Travis let out almost made me laugh, but the situation was anything but funny.

“Enjoy your life, because I sure as fuck will be enjoying mine, with my bond and pack. Oh, and don’t worry, you didn’t break Avery, either. She’s got a whole life, and you’re just a mistake, one that was easily forgotten. I also hope you got that small knot looked at. No wonder you had to overcompensate.”

Devon’s laughter filled the halls, as did their screams, but Carl had had enough, pulling us into the courtroom now that it was vacated.

“Remind me to buy your omega lunch,” he muttered. “Good job, Wren. It’s good to see that fighting spirit back again.” He gave me a grin.

The last thing I wanted to do now was face off with this judge, but we’d come this far, and I couldn’t let anything get in the way.

Most of the omegas had handled the court system from afar, letting their lawyers do the footwork and putting in video testimonies if they had to. Honestly, the legal system did everything they could to protect us.

I was different. Most of the evidence I brought in was videos and recordings. Carl said we’d have a better chance of winning if I showed up myself. I did, facing these judges and my asshole abusers day after day.

When the judge walked in again, I had expected the sight to set me back, just like the call had the other day.

But all I felt now, after saying my piece to those assholes, was free.

My pack bond was burning with approval in my chest, pride and love filling it. I knew that this was never going to drag me down again.

I’d officially moved on.

“Miss Ellis,” Judge Bank said as he watched us walk to the podium in front.

“Actually, it’s Miss Harding now,” I corrected with a soft smile, gesturing to the pack behind me and the omega clinging to my hand.

The judge’s face broke out into a wide grin.

“I can’t even express how happy I am for you,” he said, then his smile faded. “And my regrets… While it should have been the happiest time of your life, I’m having to drag you back here and deal with those…”

He was going to say more but cut himself off with a shake of his head, taking a breath as if to calm himself. It was nice to know he was just as pissed off about the situation as I was.

“I do want to assure you that no matter what you show me today, at bare minimum, they will be further sentenced and fined for their lack of decorum in this courthouse today.”

“As her legal representative, I was able to acquire footage from the outside of the Omega Clinic where they were assaulted by the same omega who had confronted them prior. Upon further investigation into this omega and her past, it seems that there was correspondence between her and the alphas in question.”

“What?” I gasped, looking over at him. “So, it wasn’t coincidence that she had found me in that bar? But how did she know I was there?”

“Sorry,” Carl hissed back. “The more shocked you are by this, the harsher this judge is about to be. This isn’t all, brace yourself.”

His words had Devon’s arm tightening, and then I could feel all of my mates touching me, holding me steady while I faced whatever else was coming out.

“It seems this misguided omega had some hero worship complex going on. I’m unsure where it began, but when we had the police search her house, they found enough evidence to put her away with them. Videos and photographs that prove she has been stalking my client for quite some time. Along with that we have evidence of her plans to tamper with both Miss Harding’s job and housing by making false reports to her employer and the Omega Clinic.”

Then Carl turned to me.

“Before you have to worry, this will not involve you in any way. I have more than enough to charge her, too, and I won’t need your involvement.”

“You’re telling me an omega knew what these men did and was worshiping them?”

“Not to let the details out, but I believe it has something to do with her not actually being an omega. She’s a Beta. This ended up being bigger than I expected, but unfortunately, that is for a different case at this point, one that the federal council is taking over. She was taking hormone and pheromone-changing drugs. A beta that could smell like an omega. I think she was living out some delusional fantasy.”

“And they took advantage of that to attack Miss Harding,” the judge concluded, shaking his head. “You are right. This is much bigger than just this case now. However, I can assure you, these names on this investigation, they will handle it. This team does not hold back. As for the case at hand. With this footage, I’ve seen enough. And unlucky for them, there are protective stipulations in the law that allow me to add to their sentence for transgressions made from within prison. Because of their breach of contract and behavior, they will be further fined and will be going a year without contact with anyone outside of their lawyer. No correspondence, no family visits, nothing of that sort.”

Carl looked at me with a grin.

This was huge. There’s no worse punishment than isolating an alpha from his pack mate. And honestly, for a person to not be able to talk to anyone. They would be as miserable in prison as they had made me for far too long.

There was no sympathy left for them, not that I had any to begin with.

The rest of the hearing passed by in a blur. I gave my statement, my men added in details that I might have missed since we were all present, then we were walking out, leaving this bullshit behind me.

I’d asked them to donate anything that was coming to me from their fresh fines to an omega fund.

I didn’t need the money, nor did I want it.

“Do you really have contacts in the prison system?” I asked Nash curiously, as I glanced over. My alpha gave me a wink.

“No, but I guarantee I could fucking find one.”

“Oh yeah, we could,” Shepherd said, all on board already. “I swear, I remember someone I worked with recently talking about having a partner who worked within the prison walls. Grease the right palms, and I’d say we’ve got ourselves a gossip, don’t you?”

“I’m telling you, one word around that prison that they were fucking with pheromones, and forcing omegas... they’ll end up in the wrong crowds.”

“You can’t tell me they’re the only ones who do that kind of thing,” I countered. “There’s plenty of alphas who aren’t afraid to hurt omegas.”

“You’re not wrong,” Devon said, holding up his phone and showing me a picture of a prison. “But I looked into it. We’ve all heard of alpha high-security prisons. That’s not where your abusers are. Because of the high profile of this case, they were sent closer to the capital. They were supposed to be kept separate in the alpha-only wing, so they are not in a prison with like-minded alphas. The alphas around them are not going to let this slide.”

“Good,” I said. “But I have a feeling we don’t have to get involved. Did you see those guards? They were over them already. I say we let natural karma take effect and we wash our hands of this entire thing. I’m ready to go home, be with my pack, and let it go.”

“And what do you want to do, omega?” Nash teased.

I flashed him a flirty smile, swaying my hips a little more as I took the lead, walking toward Shepherd’s SUV. They groaned behind me. We all knew exactly what I had in mind.

As I flooded the bond with my heated fantasies, the feel of my lust was enough to make the alphas growl low in their throats. They were too easy to mess with.

The moment we got home, this would be truly in the past. I had a pack that was ready to drop everything to defend me, do anything to make sure that justice was served.

But all I wanted was for them to take me home to our nest and let them promise me that no one would ever touch me again, except them.