Chapter Twenty-One
Vaughn
The coffee was percolating. The breakfast casserole was in the oven.
And I was one happily mated alpha.
Karissa was upstairs with Poe and Holt and everything was going to be okay.
Our mating was remarkable even though it was born out of raw, desperate need to keep Karissa safe, or try to.
I’d just poured my first cup of coffee when I heard a heavy truck pull up in the driveway. No way. Had we mated her right on time. I flew to the window and looked out to see not one but two black unmarked vans tearing up our driveway with no respect at all.
Oh, it must be the Bureau.
“Holt,” I called, knowing they were already awake and in the shower. “They’re here!”
In seconds, Holt and Poe came running downstairs while getting dressed. Karissa was on their heels and, already, I could feel her anxiety. Her heart quickened. Her scent turned from happy and content to scared and unsure.
Goddess damn those nosey people.
I understood their purpose for protecting omegas, but to terrorize? No way.
A knock sounded at the front door, but Holt was already prepared.
“Can I help you?” he asked, cool as a cucumber.
“We’re here for the omega. No need for anyone to get hurt.”
Holt shook his head. “For our omega? Our marked and mated and bonded omega? Now, why in the fuck would you be here for her?”
One of them flung open the door and nailed Karissa with a stare. “You’ve been reported as unmateable. We have to take you in.”
Karissa tugged at her shirt, one of mine, and showed the officer her marks. “Clearly, that’s not the case, gentlemen. I’m marked by my new alphas. My fated mates. This is my pack.”
The officers eyed each other with confusion. “But our reports say…”
“Doesn’t really matter, now does it?” Poe added. “She’s marked now. Those reports were false. You should really go after the alphas who reported such nonsense. They wasted the Bureau’s time and resources.”
“But it only counts if your pack is registered. Marks don’t mean anything without the proper paperwork.”
I grabbed the piece of paper that had been printed out and stuck to the fridge since before dawn. “This one? The registry we made of our pack and our new omega this morning and paid for all the processing? This one?”
Holt moved toward them, putting himself in between Karissa and the officers.
“I have it on good authority that if she is ours now, which she clearly is, and she is registered, that there is no reason for you to arrest her. On unmateability charges? Trust me, she’s mateable.
And markable. And ours.” He growled the last part, and I was damned proud of him.
Take that, fuckers.
Most of the officers stepped back, but one remained. “We’re finished here. Good luck, Karissa. You’ve got one hell of a pack.”