Chapter 18
18
APRIL
Kelly’s wedding is in two days, and I try not to think about it.
Instead, I work at the café, pouring lattes and serving cookies to customers who always seem to have something to say to me.
“I’m so happy they found you,” a middle-aged Beta woman says to me. “I was praying for you.”
I hide my grimace and instead plaster a fake smile on my face. “Thank you,” I say. “That’s so kind of you.”
After the rush dies down, Devyn makes a face at me. “Doesn’t that get tiring?” she asks me. “Everyone always asking if you’re okay all the time?”
“Devyn, it’s been tiring since the first day I came back to work,” I sigh. “I stopped counting after the thousandth time someone asked.”
She slurps her iced coffee loudly. “I would lose my mind if that kept happening to me.”
I look at her incredulously. “I’ve been losing my mind for months .”
She slurps her coffee louder, the straw making obnoxious sounds, and I want to smack it out of her hand. “That sucks! You should have said something!”
Before I can lose it on the younger Omega, Skylar comes out from the stockroom, our café’s landline phone in hand. “It’s for you, April.” There’s a weird look on her face as she hands it to me.
My heart beats wildly in my chest. Part of me hopes it’s them , but the other part doesn’t.
I need a clean break from the pack, which is why I changed my number.
Keep calm, April.
Baby steps.
“This is April,” I say.
“April? Hey, it’s Kelly,” the chipper voice on the other end of the line says.
I freeze. “Kelly?” I repeat weakly.
She’s the last person I would expect to hear from. I head into the stockroom, clutching the phone tightly.
“Yup, it’s me. How are you?”
What a ridiculous question.
“Uh, fine. Um, how did you get this number?”
I lean against a shelf, my face burning with embarrassment.
Why would Kelly call here? What does she want?
“Well, the guys wouldn’t give me your number, so I had to do a little research,” she says. At the mention of the pack, my stomach tightens. “I heard you’re not coming to my wedding…is that true?”
She sounds genuinely disappointed.
I swallow. “Yeah, I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have miss it.”
Devyn has followed me into the stockroom, eavesdropping with wide eyes. I try to shoo her away with my hand, but she ignores me.
Kelly sighs deeply. “They fucked up, didn’t they?”
I cough. “What?”
I want to end the conversation. Why on earth does she care if I show up at her wedding or not?
And why is she calling me two days before? A random guest should be the last worry on her mind.
“I’m sure they did something dumb,” Kelly says. “But whatever it is, my invitation still stands.”
“That’s very generous of you,” I say slowly, “but I can’t make it.”
“Sure, you can. You have a spot on Sophie and Tom’s yacht.”
My head spins. “Kelly, I really can’t. I’m really sorry, but I know?—”
“Can I be honest with you, April?”
Skylar has entered the stockroom too, and now my two closest friends are eavesdropping on my conversation with Pack Axton’s ex.
No matter how many daggers I shoot at them, they don’t leave.
I’m going to fire both of them.
“Sure.”
“Make them regret whatever they did to you. Let them think you’re not coming, and then at the last moment, bring them to their knees.”
I blink, unsure I heard anything Kelly said correctly. “I mean…I like the way you think, but… why ?”
“Because I live for the drama,” she chuckles. “And also, because it’s the first time those idiots had seemed happy in a long time, and they shouldn’t be let off the hook that easy. And honestly? I don’t want to watch them mope around at my wedding. Everything will go easier for me if you’re there. So, for kind of selfish reasons, too.”
I nod. “I can respect that.”
“Exactly. So…you’re coming then, right ?”
Skylar and Devyn both gawk at me.
“Um…”
“Come on. It’s two days before my wedding, and I personally called you. I didn’t even use my assistant! You can’t say no to the bride two days before her wedding! If you don’t do it for me, do it to make Pack Axton regret losing you, at least.”
I should say no. I should let this be a clean break, and forget about everyone and everything related to Donovan, Liam, and Hunter.
The contract doesn’t matter anymore, so the wedding doesn’t, either.
“Sounds good,” I choke out.
“Great! Sophie will reach out to you to coordinate. See you there!”
Kelly ends the call, and I stare at the phone in my hand, wondering what the fuck I just agreed to.
“Holy shit, was that their ex?” Skylar blurts.
I nod. “Yeah. I guess she wants them to suffer as much as I do. She wants me at the wedding.”
“And what did you say?” Devyn asks. “Did you say you’re going?”
I nod slowly. “And it looks like I’m going to need your help dress shopping.”
Devyn squeals so loud I cover my ears.
The rest of my shift goes by in a blur, with plans for Skylar to come over for dinner as I break the news about the wedding to my mom.
I still can’t believe I agreed to go. Sophie reached out almost immediately after I hung up with Kelly, and we’ve coordinated a driver to take me to their place.
From there, we’ll go to the harbor where they keep their yacht.
And it’s all happening in two fucking days.
Skylar joins us at the dinner table that night as my emotional support, but my mom isn’t surprised at the news.
“If anything, it shows that you keep your word and aren’t afraid of them,” she says. “It shows your character.”
I frown. “Really? You don’t think it’s ridiculous of me to show up after not speaking to them?”
My mom shakes her head. “I think you’re an adult woman who makes her own choices. You exude strength in everything you do.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Mom, come on. Don’t be ridiculous.”
She places her fork down and looks at me pointedly. “I’m not. Whether you go or don’t go, I’ll support you. As long as you’re safe .”
“I still can’t believe those assholes haven’t even tried to apologize,” Skylar mutters.
“I mean, I did change my number, to be fair,” I say.
She shrugs. “Yeah, but they could at least…” She pulls out her phone, taps the screen, and inhales sharply. “Oh, shit,” she whispers.
There’s a knock at the door at the same time, and my mom stands from the table to answer it.
But I’m too focused on Skylar’s panic to be bothered with whatever my mom is doing.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper. “What happened?”
“I just got a text from Vincent,” she says, frowning. “Um, I don’t know how to tell you this…”
“Tell me what? Is everyone okay?!” I ask, and Skylar nods.
“Everyone’s fine, but?—"
“April?” my mom calls. “There’s a package for you.”
I keep watching Skylar, who shakes her head. “I’ll tell you in a second. It’s fine.”
My mom comes back in with a white box that her arms barely fit around. “What the hell did you order?” she asks, placing the box on the couch next to the table. It rattles as she places it down. “A bunch of pieces of metal?”
“I didn’t order anything,” I murmur.
“Oh my god. Is it a bomb?” Skylar whispers, and my mom and I both turn to her.
“What the fuck, Skylar?!” I exclaim.
“I don’t know, your exes are crazy!” she snaps. “Who’s to say it’s not a bomb?”
“Honey, it’s not a bomb,” my mom says calmly. “But…maybe you want to call your detective boyfriends over, anyway?”
I look at my mom incredulously. “You have got to be kidding me,” I mutter.
She shrugs. “Stranger things have happened. I’d rather not risk it.”
My life is a joke.
Vincent, Landon, and River stand in my front room, staring at the mystery white box on the couch while Skylar chews her nails in the corner. Somehow, Ben ended up here, too, with Devyn cowering behind him.
“It’s not a bomb,” River declares, tapping the box with his booted foot. Devyn squeaks and presses her face into the back of Ben’s sweater.
“This is insane ,” I hiss. “Of course it’s not a bomb . Can I open it now, please?”
“But you didn’t order anything,” Landon adds. “And there’s no return address.”
“ And ?” I snap.
He shrugs. “Maybe it’s a little overkill,” he admits, “but it doesn’t hurt to be wrong about these types of things.”
“No one mailed me a bomb .”
Ben shakes his head. “No, they didn’t. But they should have used a return address.”
“Are you going to open it?” Devyn asks, her eyes wide.
I sigh as River moves out of the way so I can pick up the box. It’s heavier than I thought it would be, and the pieces inside rattle around loudly.
But then I catch a subtle hint of the ocean, and my chest tightens.
It’s the lightest whiff, barely a whisper of a scent, but I would recognize it anywhere.
“It doesn’t need a return address,” I murmur. “I know who it’s from.”
Vincent still looks suspicious, though.
“It’s not a bomb,” I tell him. “I promise you; Donovan wouldn’t mail me a bomb .”
“We should mail him a bomb,” Skylar mutters, and my mom sighs.
“Alright, kids, I’m done for the night,” she says, putting her hands up in exasperation. “I’m going to bed. And unless your names are April, Skylar, or Devyn, I expect you all to go home. I’m not having a giant slumber party at my house.”
River snickers. “Goodnight, Tammy.”
I roll my eyes. I’m still not used to the fact that Skylar’s pack is on a first name basis with my mom.
But that’s what Tammy does. She extends her heart out to people, and they always find a way to her.
I wonder if that’s what Pack Axton felt when they met her.
Did they realize that she could have been an important part of their lives?
What a shame that they’ll miss out on having Tammy Waters in their corner.
“Hey,” Skylar says to me. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
I scoop up the box and grimace at the weight. “Yeah, you want to come upstairs with me while I open this?” I ask her, and she nods. River runs up to her, pecks her on the cheek and subtly smacks her butt, then leaves with the rest of her pack, along with Ben and Devyn.
We head to my bedroom, and Skylar stops at the inside of the room.
“Can I shut this?” she asks quietly. “I know you like to keep it cracked.”
I nod. “That’s fine. What’s going on?”
“Okay.” After closing the door, she sits on the edge of my bed, chewing her lip. “Don’t freak out.”
I sit on the floor with the package, ripping at the tape. “That bad, huh?”
“I’m serious. Promise me you won’t freak out.”
I successfully pull a long piece of packing tape off one side of the box. “Just tell me, please. I can’t promise you a reaction without knowing what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Okay, so I had Vincent look into the thing that you told him not to look into.”
I pause. “What are you talking about?”
She swallows. “You know, the guy that died in prison?”
I hold my breath and drum my fingers on the edge of the box. “…yeah?”
“Vincent knows who paid the prisoners to jump him.”
I clutch the box tightly. “And?”
Skylar doesn’t answer me.
“Skye? Who was it?”
Silence.
I finally turn my attention away from the package and to my friend, reading the answer on her face.
“Oh, what the fuck,” I mutter, letting the realization sink in. “It was Donovan, wasn’t it?”
Skylar nods.
My gut instinct was right.
I let go of the box and wrap my arms around myself, curling into a ball.
Donovan paid to have my captor killed.
Why?
“I’m sorry, April. I know you said you didn’t want them to look into it…but I thought it would be better if you knew.”
I shake my head, taking in deep breaths.
Donovan had someone killed for me.
The person that hurt me the most…
Besides him.
I wonder if Hunter and Liam knew.
“April?” Skylar whispers. “I’m sorry,” she repeats.
“I need a moment, Skylar,” I say through clenched teeth. “Just let me process this, please.”
Part of me is horrified.
But how many times did I fantasize about killing… Kevin ? How many times did I wish I could sneak into his prison cell and end his life myself?
Donovan did that for me.
I don’t understand him. I don’t know if I ever will.
“Are they going to arrest him?” I murmur.
Skylar scoffs. “ Please . You already know the answer to that.”
Of course, they wouldn’t. Skylar’s pack hates our captors almost as much as we do.
While one part of me is terrified, there’s another part that’s elated.
My inner Omega feels cherished, protected, and nurtured.
Alpha protects us!
My inner monologue is a mess.
“Wait,” I say, turning to my best friend. “Is that why you thought this package might be a bomb ?”
Skylar shrugs. “I figured if he was capable of murder, maybe he was also capable of mailing explosives.”
I make a face at her. “Skylar, why the fuck would he do that?”
She throws her hands up. “I don’t know, April! It was just a thought, and I ran with it.”
Very on brand for my best friend.
I sigh. “That sounds about right. But also, you do realize that your pack would have done the same for you, right? If they had a chance to make everyone that hurt you disappear, they would do that in a heartbeat.”
Skylar smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, I guess. Well, I’m still pissed at Donovan. Just because he killed someone for you doesn’t mean he’s off the hook.”
I chuckle weakly. “Yeah, I’m not surprised.”
The package sits on the floor, unopened and still smelling like the Alpha in question.
I haul it back into my lap and finally rip off the rest of the packing tape while Skylar watches. When I lift the cardboard flaps to see what’s inside, I make a face.
“Um…” Skylar says, peering over me. “Are those… doorknobs ?”
I dump the contents of the box onto my carpet and stare at them in disbelief.
The reason the box was so heavy was because of all the doorknobs with locks that are now spilled out onto my bedroom floor.
“They’re the doorknobs to the packhouse,” I say slowly.
An envelope spills out of the box as well, along with a keyring.
I try to process what I’m looking at, but my brain short circuits.
“ Sorry ,” Skylar says. “Did you say those are from the packhouse?”
I nod slowly. “They are,” I murmur. “I recognize them.”
“What the fuck, April. What. The. Fuck. ”
“What the fuck,” I agree.
I slowly pick up the envelope, which simply says April in fancy script.
I already know whose handwriting it is.
“Holy shit,” Skylar mutters again. “Did he just get rid of every lock in their house and mail them to you?”
“I think so,” I murmur, removing the contents of the envelope. I unfold the white piece of paper, read what’s on it…
Then burst out laughing.
“What does it say?” Skylar says.
But I can’t stop laughing. I laugh so hard tears fill my eyes, and I hand the paper to Skylar wordlessly.
“This is a receipt,” she says. “Why did he send you a—oh my god is this his bill for therapy ? What ?”
“It is,” I whimper, caught somewhere between crying and laughing hysterically.
Donovan paid for a year’s worth of biweekly therapy sessions for himself in advance.
He’s also been to sessions since I’ve left the packhouse—one a day.
“There is no fucking way !” Skylar yells. “What is your life ?”
“I don’t know,” I murmur. “But I’m glad he’s finally going to therapy.”
“Wow. Wow. ” Skylar joins me on the ground and picks up one of the doorknobs. “Do you think he paid someone to take them off, or do you think he did it himself?”
“The second one.”
From what I’ve learned of Donovan, I’m sure he quietly did it in the middle of the night himself.
Or maybe it was the only way Hunter and Liam would let him back into the packhouse.
“Who would have thought the way to your heart was a receipt for therapy?” Skylar says. “And doorknobs.”
I nod, staring in disbelief at the pile on the floor.
“How do you feel?” Skylar asks after a moment of silence. “What are you thinking?”
I pause.
“There are too many things I’m feeling,” I admit.
But my inner Omega has the loudest, most primal feelings of all.
This isn’t just an apology from Donovan.
It’s a gesture of something much more.
“I’m thinking that I’ve never met someone with a bigger heart than Liam,” I say quietly. “And I’ve never met someone that wants me to succeed as much he does. And that Hunter matches my wit and makes me adventurous. Both of them make me feel safe to just be…me.”
I fiddle with the locks on the knobs, swallowing nervously.
“With Donovan, it’s like I’m looking in the mirror. He’s someone that beats himself up for never being enough. He’s convinced he’s fundamentally flawed. And maybe he is, but so am I.”
Skylar starts to protest, but I cut her off.
“You see me through rose-colored glasses, Skylar. You put me on a pedestal I don’t deserve, constantly. I’ve been a shit friend to you for the past few months. I’ve even been downright mean sometimes, and you, Devyn, and my mom just take it. And I don’t understand.”
“Because you’re a good person, dumbass,” Skylar says, choking up. “Underneath it all, you’re good . We both had shitty hands dealt to us, and?—
“I came back wrong, Skylar,” I mutter, staring intently at the lock.
“What do you mean, wrong ?”
I shake my head. “I mean wrong. Defective. Something is fundamentally not right with me anymore.”
Donovan’s face flashes in my mind. I remember the self-loathing in his eyes as he told me he could never save me.
Maybe we are the same person, hating ourselves so much that we sabotage our futures.
My best friend scoffs. “If I said the same thing to you about myself, what would you say to me?”
I answer without a second thought. “I would say you’re an idiot, and that we adapt to our circumstances.”
I turn to face her, and she raises an eyebrow.
“It’s different with you, Skylar.” I try to backtrack, but she doesn’t let me.
“No, it’s not. Now take your own advice. Trust me when I tell you that you’re still you , just with new life experiences. And a box of locks from some emotionally stunted Alpha that’s madly in love with you.”
I choke out a bitter laugh. “Skylar, he doesn’t love me.”
“I’m pretty sure all three of them love you, April. You are pretty loveable, believe it or not. River says he wishes I would talk about him the way I talk about you.”
I laugh. “Rose-colored glasses.”
“If you say so. So, now what?” She motions to the mess on the ground. “You’re still going to the wedding, right?”
How could I not after this?
I don’t think I can forgive Donovan just yet, but I miss him.
I miss all three of them.
And even if it’s just to say goodbye to them, I want to see them.
“Of course I am,” I murmur. “There is one problem, though.”
“What?”
“My Heat is supposed to come soon.”
Skylar sighs dramatically. “Looks like we’re making a trip to the pharmacy for some emergency suppressants. When did your luck become so shitty?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Probably around the time I was kidnapped.”
“I hate when that happens.”
“Me, too.”
I’m glad we’re at a place where we can both joke about it. It’s still awful, and the PTSD is prevalent in both of us, but dark humor gets us through it.
“Honestly?” Skylar says, nudging me. “I’m glad you’re going to the wedding. You get to tell them to fuck off or fuck them. I’m not sure which.”
I snort. “Skylar, I doubt that’s going to happen.”
“I’m just saying…have fun. Just don’t come back with a mating bite.”
I make a face at her. “Are you kidding me? I’m not that impulsive.”
My best friend is ridiculous.
Even if my inner Omega peeks her head out, the thought of belonging to Pack Axton secretly making her giddy.
But Skylar doesn’t need to know that.