8. Graeme #3
“No, not that,” she rushed out. “I agree there’s no recourse but for him to have a watcher, starting now.
The blackmail is despicable, and he deserves to be stripped of his freedom for that trespass alone.
Alphas must be held to a higher standard or the entire system will fall into chaos.
If we cannot look to our leaders, then we’re lost as a species. ”
“Agreed.”
“Apart from the blackmail, however,” she began, exhaling slowly. “Graeme, those omegas are all of age.”
“Yes,” I conceded, because she wasn’t wrong.
“They all sought Remy out. They made the choice; they paid him; no one forced them. And, as far as you know, none of them were violated.”
“Of course they were vio––”
“Their trust, their faith, absolutely. That’s not up for debate. But Graeme, to dismantle whatever’s left of Remy’s trust fund, selling his home, liquidating his possessions in order to return money to omegas who got exactly what they wanted from him, is that fair?”
“I can’t believe you’re defending him,” I chided her.
“I’m not defending him,” she retorted, bristling. “I’m spreading the blame, as it should be. There’s plenty enough to go around.”
“They’re young,” I stated. “They didn’t know any better.”
“Okay, into the deep end we go,” she declared before sucking in a breath. “I think the fact that your mate is an omega is clouding your judgment.”
My fury was instantaneous. I was never to be questioned. I was going to attack, absolutely annihilate her, put her in her place, but I hung up instead, because in that instant my mate, my beautiful golden-haired, silver-eyed mate crossed my mind.
Acting on instinct, I called him.
“Hi” was all he said, but his tone, low and husky, instantly soothed me.
“I wanted to ask you what you thought about something,” I apprised him. “Concerning the omegas Remy mistreated.”
“Hit me,” he replied gamely.
“First, though, I must tell you that I’m going to have a vordr assigned to my cousin.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I think that’s great. Remy deserves a vordr who will, in essence, strip him of his alpha status and the ability to make a decision about anything beyond what he wants for lunch.”
Succinctly put.
“What are your thoughts on the omegas?” he asked me.
“My first thought is to pay them all back.”
He was quiet a moment. “May I speak frankly?”
If anyone had ever told me, even a day before, that I would be waiting to hear the thoughts of an omega—ever—I would have told them they were insane. But the truth was, to me, Avery had no rank; he was neither lowest nor highest. He was my mate, and I wanted to hear all his thoughts on everything.
“While I think it’s quite chivalrous of you to want to make things right with them, first you have to speak to their alphas and explain what you’re paying them back for.”
He was right, to a certain degree. No one was allowed to speak to a bonded omega without first speaking to their alpha.
It was, regardless of the circumstances, not permitted.
By virtue of my position as a cyne , however, I was entitled to more leeway and wasn’t bound to those protocols.
But given the circumstances surrounding this case, Avery raised a valid point.
“That would be problematic,” Avery apprised me, “wouldn’t it?”
“It would.”
“And if you spoke to an alpha who had been tricked into a bonding with their omega, and told them the truth, you could potentially be putting those matches in jeopardy that have been working great for years now, even though they started out shady.”
Quite true.
“So maybe,” he began, “since you have a lot of money and resources, you could put a team together to track down each and every omega. Then the team could look at each case individually and determine which omegas are in successful relationships. Not happy, because not all wolves are, and deciding who is or isn’t wouldn’t be within the team’s purview.
All they would be judging is which bondings are successful as it relates to the financial and familial benefit of each party.
You can also look at those omegas who weren’t able to secure a match, even after Remy put them in mock heat. ”
With every word he spoke, I warmed more to the idea.
“If you do that, you could provide for those omegas who are currently a financial drain on their families by helping to offset whatever costs are being incurred, without divulging why, of course, and give omegas who would prefer not to be mated the necessary funds to stay single.”
He made good sense, but I had a terrible thought.
“And for the unsuccessfully mated ones, you could provide a parachute, a way out of the situation they’re in.”
I was quiet.
“What do you think?”
Quick clearing of my throat. “I think that’s a well-thought-out plan.”
“Really? Because you sound like you’re not sure.”
“No I…I just—you didn’t want to remain unattached, did you?”
It was his turn to be silent, and with every passing second I died just a bit.
“Avery, you––”
“I thought I did,” he murmured. “And I’m sure I would have…if there was no you.”
Amazing how such simple words from him could settle me so quickly in my own skin.
“When I saw you at Remy’s tonight, you helped, you know? Like, I felt calmer just seeing you, more grounded, almost––”
“Settled in your skin?”
“Yeah.” He exhaled, as though relieved to have his feelings put into words. “Exactly.”
The man was made for me, and all I wanted was to have him close, right there, so I could touch him.
“Graeme?” He sounded tentative.
I had no idea I could enjoy hearing my own name so much. Other people using it had certainly never resulted in this swell of pride and possessiveness rolling through me. “Yes?”
“Remy was adamant when he was talking about you and what you wanted from a mating, and that you would never want an omega.”
The truth was always the best. “Remy knows very little about me, but that is true. My mother was an omega, and she was, perhaps, the textbook definition of one, delicate and easily broken. At the gatherings, one is treated to the worst kind of alpha and omega interaction, and never, no matter how beautiful, did I ever look at any of them twice.”
He was quiet, listening.
“But Avery, your scent had me bewitched,” I confessed. “I had to find you, and when I did, imagine my delight at discovering you to be a beautiful, strong, virile man who is exactly the mate I’ve always needed and wanted.”
“But still an omega.”
“It doesn’t matter what you are, only who you are. I need to put my mark on you so you’ll know how I feel and won’t second-guess my words.”
“I won’t do that. I believe you…or, I want to believe you.”
“Good. Wanting will suffice for now until I claim what’s mine.”
His breath caught.
“Avery?” The low, seductive, husky chuckle from him was a surprise and sent a roll of heat right to my cock. “Something funny?” I barely got out.
“No I—it’s just, you’re very sure of everything, and I should mind that you think of me as belonging to you, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t breathe there for a second.”
“I’m thrilled to hear it.”
“Okay so, about the omegas, is it a plan?”
“It is,” I agreed. “I’ll task my brother with it.
He’s quite discreet, and it should go without saying, but I will have him wait to contact anyone until the police—you—conclude your investigation.
We certainly don’t want to risk tipping off a murderer in our zeal to make amends.
That would be exceedingly counterproductive. ”
“Yes, it would,” he agreed, and I could hear the mirth in his voice.
“Something you find humorous?”
“ Exceedingly counterproductive . I would’ve said it’d be a shitshow. You’re so proper and smart and gorgeous and…”
“Gorgeous?” I stopped him, hating myself because of how pathetic I probably sounded, as though fishing for a compliment. But this was my mate. “I’m horribly disfigured, you know. Perhaps gorgeous isn’t the adjective you were looking for.”
“It’s the right one,” he replied, his voice thick, smooth like honey. “And I…I see the scar, but to me it only adds; it doesn’t take away.”
The man rendered me mute so easily.
“I see you, okay?”
“Yes,” I managed to croak out.
“There are life and death parts of being a wolf that most people never think about because they’re not cynes who have to put their lives on the line for members of their holt , like I’m sure you had to do, right?”
“I did,” I confirmed for him.
“You being a champion, taking care of everyone—I don’t want to change you, but I also wouldn’t want to lose you,” he murmured, his voice like a caress.
“And there’s so much for us to talk about.
I would like one of them to be us discussing who you’ll put your life on the line for in the future, since you’ll be mine first.”
Mine first …the words echoed in my mind. I knew I had wanted things, important things, but for the life of me, at that moment, I couldn’t think of anything I’d ever wanted more than to belong to Avery Rhine.
“I would like to see you before dinner this evening,” I told him, realizing that it was very early in the morning at this point, and neither of us had been to bed.
“Dinner?”
“Your family and mine are convening for cocktails at seven and dinner at eight, to make arrangements for our mating ceremony—our wedding—but also to meet.”
“Oh no, we can’t do that until the investigation is––”
“I must insist,” I broke in quickly, wanting to make certain the next time I slept in my bed he was with me.
“While I appreciate the fact the police must investigate all crime, we both know when you find the murderer, that person will be punished by their alpha. This won’t be a matter for the human courts.
The attack was perpetrated by one lupine on another. ”
“Yeah, I know, but––”
“Then there’s no reason for us not to move forward.”
“We should wait.”
“For what?” I asked gently. “Truly? For what?”
He had no answer.
“Avery,” I said hoarsely, “I want my mark on you.”
“Yes,” he rasped, and I knew I had him.
“Now tell me, if Remy has a master list of the omegas he mistreated, would you want that? Would that be of help to you?”
“That would be amazing,” he breathed out.
“Hold on,” I said, and walked quickly back to Remy’s room, my phone pressed to my chest. One of the officers held the door open for me, and I was at his bedside in moments. “Do you have all the names of the omegas? Is there a master list?”
“Yes,” Remy whispered, his face ashen. “It’s in my safety deposit box with the hard drive.”
“Which bank?”
He told me.
“There is a list,” I reported to Avery, crossing the room to the window. “I’ll send my brother for it when the bank opens and have the list and hard drive delivered to you.”
“But it’s Remy’s box, how will––”
“I’m a cyne ,” I reminded him. “I have access to the possessions of everyone in my holt .”
He chuckled. “Privacy laws will catch up with the wolves, mark my words.”
“Perhaps,” I agreed. “But not today.”
“No,” he conceded, and I heard the smile in his voice. “Not today.”
I got his email address, stressed how much I was looking forward to seeing him later, and then, even though I didn’t want to, I let him go. I then called my brother back.
“You scared us,” he told me. “You never hang up. You always make us aware of your anger, and it takes weeks to––”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I’ll work on changing that.”
Long silence.
“Stone?”
“I’m here, and I need you to tell me, what were you doing the nine or ten times I tried to call you back?”
“I called Avery, and he had an excellent idea.”
“You…you called your mate and—Gigi,” he yelled, thankfully not into the phone, “he called his new mate.”
“Stone,” I barked.
“You should see her,” he mused, and there was a trace of pain in his voice. “She’s been scrunched up on the couch, waiting, certain that when you did call back you would hit her with both barrels.”
“I…” What did I want to say?
“Yes?”
“I don’t want to attack her.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Well, I’m terribly glad to hear it,” he announced dryly.
“I hate you,” I assured him.
“Yes, I’m aware.” He sounded thoroughly smug, but somehow, from him, it wasn’t annoying.
“So let me see if I understand. This new mate of yours, this omega, has a terribly calming effect on you that resulted in you and Gigi not clashing, me not being thrown in the middle of it, and he had an idea you seem partial to. Are those the facts in evidence?”
He was a lawyer, so he got a bit high-handed on occasion, but he was right.
I was the leader of my family, what I said became law, and Gigi, who belonged to my holt through her mating, did not always agree with me.
Our rows were epic, we were both alphas after all, and Stone almost always ended up stuck in the middle of a ruthless game of tug-of-war.
It had to be exceedingly difficult on him, and while I loved him, it was in my nature to win.
That same need was instilled in Gigi, and I had never given a lot of thought to what it must be like for Stone.
Not until now. Many siblings I’d come across were not close, but I loved my brother and was thankful that was not the case with us.
I needed to make certain the warmth remained.
“Yes,” I admitted, “those are indeed the facts in evidence.”
“Well, Graeme,” he said, sounding quite pleased, “I can hardly wait to meet this man, and I know I can speak for Gigi when I say she feels the same.”
“I do,” Gigi revealed, and I knew I was on speaker. “Now tell us about this plan your omega came up with. I want to help in any way I can.”
“Excellent,” I stated, and then outlined everything for them as Remy lay there in the bed, listening to every word of the plan to try and make amends for some of the horrors he’d committed.