18. Sol
CHAPTER 18
Sol
I could understand Orion’s frustration. I could even understand how he would feel angry by my keeping such a secret from him. But his harsh words continued to echo through my mind on repeat.
“How am I supposed to bring you into the pack now?”
I didn’t want to be a part of his pack. I didn’t want any of this. But fate hadn’t given me a choice, and now I needed to learn how to live with the decisions I’d been forced to make in order to protect myself.
Pull yourself together, the logical side said. You are a smart woman. You can handle this.
But my fox, that new feral side of me, it just wanted to take off to Bastard territory to find Orion and make him understand. Our shifter sides were so deeply connected that we wouldn’t be able to live without each other, no matter how upset he was.
“He’ll come around,” Lycan said, bringing my attention back to them. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. You’re his mate, and there’s no undoing that.”
If that were true, we’d both have some groveling to do. Sure, I’d kept a hell of a secret from him, but he’d practically rejected me in front of his alpha and his pack. How could he do that? How could he live with his wolf after that? It had only been an hour and my fox clawed at the insides of my mind, urging me to fix this any way I could.
I would give him some space, give him time to cool down. He wasn’t entirely to blame, my temper had also gotten the best of me. This could hardly be the first time mates had argued or, God forbid, broken up. Once we’d had some breathing room, I’d ask to meet in person to talk it out. We were already far too deep in this to stop it now. My fox had accepted him, his wolf had accepted me. Like Lycan said, it was too late.
Besides, I had to fix this situation with Percy and Marx. I couldn’t simply refuse to marry the Scorpion. I had already tried to do that. I’d made terms with my wretched brother, ones that included him signing over the controlling share of the company to Liam and Guin. But I had as much of a bone to pick with Liam as I did with Percy. He hadn’t protected me from our eldest brother, and I had no reason to believe he would protect any of my other siblings.
No. The only people who would or could protect them were me and Guin. Which left me only one choice…
“Thank you both for being so kind to me,” I said when they pulled up in front of the Vanderbilt Estate. I stared at the mansion through new eyes and wondered how the hell I’d lived there all these years. Compared to the Fiver, it was a different world—so unnecessarily lavish and overrated.
“Hang in there, Princess,” Poe said. “We’ll see you soon.”
Doing my best to stay tough, I nodded and climbed out, pulling Orion’s clothes tighter around my body as I made the long walk up the stairs to the front door. One of our butlers opened the door with a gasp and wide eyes.
“Miss Isolde,” he said. “You’re home.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Where are my brothers?”
“Liam has returned to Bozeman, and Percy is away on business.”
“Business,” I repeated, my tone begging for more information.
He shrugged and shook his head. “Something to do with securing his standing in Vanderbilt Holdings.”
I smirked and thanked him for the clarification.
Oh, Percy, Percy, Percy. You’ve underestimated me for the last time.
Perhaps fueled by rage or this new beast living inside of me, I’d come out of my experience at the Fiver with a fresh perspective on what would happen next. I had calls to make and pots to stir, and the sooner I started, the better. I made my way to my room and stripped out of Orion’s clothes, blinking back tears at the surge of his scent pluming around me.
Don’t think about that now . There are other problems to fix.
After I showered and pulled a stoic mask up around my emotions, I started working. I called Guin to secure her buy-in, and once she got over how proud she was of me for coming up with it on my own, she decided to take half of the responsibilities.
“I can call Jan and Randy. I’ve been working on them since Father passed,” she said. Those two shareholders would be the toughest to crack and would require the most convincing. After all, I didn’t work for Vanderbilt Holdings, and other than a business degree, a few semesters of internships, and the right last name, I had nothing to prove that I could do what I had planned. But I knew myself better now than I ever had. I was a shifter. I was a Vanderbilt. I was my father’s daughter, and if anyone could outmaneuver that little shit, Percy, it was me.
I didn’t know why Father hadn’t given me a position in the company when I came home from college, and I never would. Perhaps he really thought I wasn’t good enough, but I’d suddenly grown so tired of men thinking that about me.
“If we don’t do this,” I told Guin, “he’ll sell our entire family out to whoever makes him the best deal.”
“He’s always been a slimy little fucker,” she said, “but after this, he’ll be backed into a corner. He won’t have another choice.”
“What about Marx?” I asked. “Do you think we can work a deal with the Bastards?”
“That depends on you,” she said. “You spent the last few weeks with them. Do you think Kodiak would be open to it?”
I sighed and rubbed my fingers over my eyes. “Let’s take it one step at a time. If we get rid of Percy, maybe the old workers will come back.”
“You can start by calling them,” she continued. “I’ll have our payroll send you a list. See what you can do.”
“Okay,” I told her. “Thank you for hearing me out.”
“Thank you for being so smart.” She let out another villainous laugh. “I’m headed home now. I’ll be there in a few days. By that time, I think we’ll have everything in place.”
After I hung up with her, I did what she asked. I made the calls I said I would and explained the new situation to any shareholders that would hear me out. It went better than I could have expected, and short a few old-timers that would rather a man be in charge, I started to feel better about my prospects.
A few hours later, a knock at the door broke my concentration. Hesitation coursing through my veins, I stood and walked closer, the delicate scent of my sisters calming my fox.
“Hi there,” I said, opening the door and stepping aside so they could come in.
“Holy shit, you’re alive,” Ava said, wrapping her arms around me. “I thought we’d never see you again.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.” Maeve said, hugging me next. “Where were you?”
“How was the lake house?” Ava asked. “Are you well rested?”
“Yeah, you seem…different.” Maeve narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what it was.
“Thank you for covering for me,” I said. “I owe you both.”
“Percy was ballistic,” Ava said with a grin. “I’ve never seen him so out of sorts. Not even before his wedding.”
“It was hilarious,” Mae said, laughing as she walked closer to the mess of paperwork I’d made on my bed. She squinted at some of the articles, reaching down to pick up a piece before bringing it up to her face for inspection. “Wilbert Walkins…isn’t that the guy that Percy?—”
I grabbed the paper from her hand and put it down on the bed. “It is.”
“Why are you researching him?” Ava furrowed her brows, seemingly begging for an explanation.
I pursed my lips, debating whether I should tell them. Undoubtedly, I could trust them. I knew that. They’d covered for me while I was gone, and if there were two people in the world that I would consider my best friends, it was them. But I didn’t want any backlash to hit them. If Percy retaliated in the way I thought he might, he could use Mae and Ava against me…against each other.
“Sol,” Mae said, grabbing my hands tight in hers. “What are you doing? What’s happened?”
“I promise I’ll tell you,” I said. “I’m trying to protect you, to protect us all.”
“Oh, a devious scheme,” Ava said with a grin.
“A devilish plot,” Mae added. “How can we help?”
I let them in on the game plan, and together, we worked to try to restore what little respect the Vanderbilt name still carried.
But that night, after Mae and Ava had fallen asleep on either side of me in my enormous bed, I thought about Orion. I remembered the way he’d smiled, as if I was the only one that could make him laugh. Notes of his woodsy scent ricocheted through my mind, and I tried to tamper down my fox’s whine.
She couldn’t understand the separation. To her, the argument had been petty and ridiculous. Why couldn’t he see that I’d done my best? That I’d told him when I thought the time was right, when I could trust him with such information? For as much as they thought I was a spy at first, I’d likewise thought they’d kill me and bury me somewhere no one would ever find.
We’d been separated nearly a day, and I missed him more than I ever thought I would.
“How am I supposed to bring you into the pack now?”
I grimaced at the stinging humiliation slicing down my spine and into my heart.
But Kodiak’s words gave me hope, though I suspected he hadn’t meant that by saying them.
“Imagine my surprise when I enter the shift with fifty-three pack members and come out with fifty-four.”
Did that mean I was already part of the pack? Did that mean I was already Orion’s mate, no matter what happened? When we’d been in bed together, before I’d revealed the truth, he’d held me with such affection. He’d said he wanted to do right by me, that he wanted to mark me in the mating ritual. Was that all lies?
No, I didn’t believe that. This was an argument, and nothing more. The first of many, I would presume, but the only one that would drive this much of a wedge between us. Once I dealt with this Percy mess, I’d crawl back onto Bastard territory and beg him to forgive me. I’d forgive him, too, and then I’d make him take me the way a dominant takes a submissive. And all would be right in the world again.
My eyes burning with unshed tears, I reminded myself to be strong and let unconsciousness take me.
As it turned out, business moved fast when the reputation of the CEO of Vanderbilt Holdings was on the line. With the twins’ help, we’d contacted most of the ranchers the following day and negotiated half of them to return. Once I got the courage to reach out to Orion, I suspected we could make a similar deal with the Bastards.
Now, the only thing left to do was to break it to my savage older brothers.
* * *
“Isolde,” Liam said, entering the parlor with a smile on his face. “You’re home. How was the lake house?”
Of the two, Liam had the least amount of bite. He’d been mostly passive while Percy sold me to that perverted old man, but in doing nothing he had told me what I needed to know. Percy wasn’t worthy of the top position, but neither was Liam. If it took bringing him down to topple the monarch at the top, so be it.
“Snowy,” I said.
He pulled me into a hug before going to the bar cart at the far corner to pour himself a drink.
“Have you heard from Percy?” Liam took a sip of whiskey and turned to face me and my sisters. I leaned against Father’s desk, holding all of the paperwork I needed to ruin Percy’s life. Mae and Ava stood on either side of me with matching grins.
“Oh sure,” I said, glancing at the clock on the mantel. “He should be here any second.”
A few moments later, the sound of loafers on the marble floor preceded the sight of Percy walking into the parlor. He wore an expensive suit with his hair slicked back, his hands in his pockets as his dark eyes flicked between me, Liam, and our sisters before ultimately landing back on me.
“Dearest sister,” Percy said, tilting his chin up so he stared down his nose at me. “It’s good to see you home…in one piece.”
“Hmm,” I said, crossing my arms and narrowing my gaze on him. “Yes, it’s been quite a revelatory two weeks.”
“Well,” he said, taking another step closer. “A lot has happened here as well. Our allies have grown impatient.”
“I needed time to think,” I said. “To consider this alliance more fully.”
“Is that why you drove onto Bastard territory and wrecked the SUV?” He raised his eyebrows and walked to the bar cart next to Liam, uncorking the crystal before pouring himself a glass of whiskey.
Of course he already knew where I was. He’d probably tracked my phone that first night. He’d probably known all this time and had refused to do anything about it. No, he’d want me to come home with my proverbial tail tucked between my legs, perhaps begging for his mercy. He’d get no such submission from me. My time away had done nothing but emboldened me.
“Oh dear brother.” I shook my head. “I’ve decided I won’t be marrying the president of the Bloody Scorpions.”
He snorted a disbelieving sound and glanced at Liam, who shook his head and gave our brother an “ I told you so” look.
“Oh, really?” Percy raised an eyebrow. “And just what do you propose we do instead?”
“I’ve made my own arrangements.” I lifted my chin higher, certain I could smooth things over with the Bastards. Even if I couldn’t, the ranchers had decided that working for Guin would be more reasonable than Percy. I’d made promises and compromises that he never would have considered.
Maeve and Avalon snickered, covering their mouths when I glanced at them. Liam shook his head and crossed his arms, leaning against the bookcase.
Percy, for once, seemed speechless. He opened his mouth and blinked, practically aghast with the suggestion.
“And just what, pray tell, are these arrangements?” Liam said. “Certainly not a deal with the Bastards. They hate us. We hate them.”
“The past is the past,” I said. “From what I understand, our father was not very kind to them. They were forced to do what they had to, and I don’t think they killed our mother.”
Percy laughed like he couldn’t believe my audacity. “Two weeks away and you’re already a buckle bunny. Very nice.”
“So easy for you to say,” I retorted. “Especially when you tried to turn me into a whore for the fucking Scorpions.”
“Better a whore for the Scorpions than nothing to the Bastards,” Percy said, running his tongue over his teeth and scowling. “You think they’ll accept you? A Vanderbilt? You’re the daughter of the man who—” He looked at our sisters and stopped himself, clearing his throat before taking another long sip of whiskey. “It’s not just about territory. It’s about blood.”
I opened my mouth to talk, but the sound of the front door opening stopped me. Guin curled her lips into a wicked grin when she saw us all gathered together. She had on a tailored suit and matching Louboutin heels that made her seem even more powerful and sinister.
“Well, well, well,” she said as she sauntered in. “A family meeting without little ole me.”
“Great,” Percy murmured, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I thought you were in the Sierra Nevada, scaring the hell out of old men with mommy issues.”
Her dark emerald eyes twinkled. “Oh, baby brother. You know me so well.” Guin glanced at the twins before raking her penetrating gaze over me, eyeing me up from head to toe like she was trying to find my fatal flaw. “Welcome back, sister.”
I kept my chin up. “You too.”
“Have you already broken the news?” Raising her eyebrows, she widened her grin.
“Oh, no,” I said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Taking another step forward, she glanced back at our brother and shook her head. “Oh, baby bro. You’ve fucked up big time.”
Percy gulped down the rest of his whiskey before setting the glass down on Father’s desk. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you know why the ranchers deserted us after Father died?” I asked, glancing around at my gathered siblings. The only one missing was Galahad, and he’d already gone back to school. “Anyone?”
“They didn’t trust Percy in charge,” Liam said. “Everyone knows that. They told us before they left.”
“Hmm.” I nodded, pulling my smile even higher. “That’s right. Never worked on the ranch a day in your life, so why would they stick by you now?”
“But I know something you don’t know,” Guin sang. She’d always been bolder and meaner than anyone else in our family, and if there were one person who took after our father in attitude and spirit, it would be her. It wasn’t a surprise the workers had decided to return as long as they worked for her instead.
“Do you know who else I managed to convince not to trust Percival Vanderbilt?” She shook her head and stalked closer to our brother, raising an eyebrow as he squared his jaw and stared her down.
“No,” he murmured with a grimace.
“Oh yes,” she said. “The board of trustees has grave concerns about some new allegations against you, little brother.” She grabbed the folder I’d been holding and slammed it down on the desk before clapping his shoulder.
“And luckily for everyone involved,” I added, “Guin has recently appointed a new head of Vanderbilt Energy, which means she’s freed up her time to run the ranch in Father’s place.”
“You fucking bitch,” Percy said, ripping open the folder to peer through the pages, flipping them urgently as Liam came to stand next to him. “What did you do?”
“The Board has appointed me CEO and head of the trustees,” she said. “After much convincing by Isolde and the disturbing reports by your own sisters, who would want you in charge?”
“And there will be no deal with the Scorpions,” I continued. “While some marriages in this family have been arranged, times have changed. Father is gone, and the only member of this family with a price on their head now is you.”
“And the ranchers?” Liam asked, glancing up at Guin.
“They know me and Guin,” I said. “They trust us. I have half of them back. And the other half?” I shrugged. “Perhaps the Bastards would be agreeable to a deal…without the coercive marriage bit.”
“Hell,” Liam said as he read over Percy’s shoulder. “You two did all of this in two weeks?”
“No, we did this in two days,” I said.
Guin turned to look at me, her eyes gone a momentary amber before quickly shifting back to green, but I saw it. I knew what it meant. I flashed my own amber back at her with a grin. It had practically taken a miracle, but we’d made it work. Whatever God was on our side had been looking out for us…looking out for me.
“Fuck you,” Percy cut in. “How could you do this to me? How could you betray your own brother?—”
“You better watch what you say next.” Guin raised an eyebrow and clenched her jaw. “How could I do this to you? How could you do this to our sister? Selling her to the Scorpions like that?”
“She agreed to it!” Percy’s face had turned a beet red and the veins in his throat bulged.
“In exchange for you giving up your controlling share,” I said. “But unfortunately, the scales were still too uneven for my tastes. Turns out, I didn’t need to agree to anything to get what I wanted in the end.”
“We needed to save the ranch,” he whined. “This was the only way.”
“Apparently, it wasn’t,” I said.
Percy gave a sardonic laugh and shook his head. “You have no idea what you’ve done. Sure, get rid of me. Push me to the peripheral, but make no mistake, the Scorpions won’t let this slide. They were promised?—”
“You think I’m afraid of some silly motorcycle gang?” Guin scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Father kept them at bay for forty years. I intend to do the same.”
“That’s what I was doing.” Percy clenched his hands into fists. “You’re the one that’s fucked-up, big sister. You don’t even know how badly. Your arrogance is going to destroy this family, just wait.”
“Better it be my arrogance than your greed.” Guin tilted her chin up. “Now, run away, little brother. Go lick your wounds in peace and leave the grownups to take care of business.”
Percy shook his head and narrowed his eyes at both of us before storming out of the parlor and turning toward the front door, slamming it shut behind him.
“That was dramatic,” Liam said, raising an eyebrow. “Are you certain you can get the workers back?”
Guin raised an eyebrow but didn’t deign to answer Liam’s question, only turned to me and my sisters before saying, “What’s for dinner?”