Chapter 96
NINETY-SIX
LAUREL
My father didn’t even glance at me as he walked over to the bar. As usual, he’d failed to think of me as anything other than a meek, harmless omega.
He bent down with a groan and poured himself a glass of whiskey. Then he sat on a leather chair, staring at the suite’s balcony.
I followed him, sinking down into the chair opposite him.
He looked up, startled for a second. “Laurel,” he said, and sighed.
We sat in silence for a minute.
“Laura used to dress like that,” he said, and I blinked at him in surprise. He never talked about my mother. “For a second, I thought… You look so much like her, you know,” he continued, bitterness lacing his tone. “You and…that boy both.”
I remained silent, fingers gripping my pants. Was this why he’d always put me in dresses? So I didn’t remind him of my mother?
“The power you hold, Laurel. The power to ruin men. To make them fall in love.” He sneered at the last word, and the statement caught me off guard.
I didn’t hold my tongue; I didn’t have a reason to anymore. “You loved our mother?”
“I shouldn’t have,” he said. “Where did it get me? A pack who betrayed me, a wife who despised me, and weakness that she passed to our children.”
He shook his head, taking a long sip of his whiskey, then leaned back, staring at the chandelier hanging above him. I was fine waiting; I could hear footsteps moving by the elevator, pick up the faint sound of a quiet struggle.
Father lowered his head to study me, a frown creasing his brow. “And you. What’s this I heard about you going behind your alphas’ backs? Undermining and humiliating them? I raised you to be better, Laurel.”
I watched him carefully, wondering if he would lose his temper, but he just looked resigned. He shook his head again.
“And this is the mark I leave on the world? My legacy marred and compromised. I was punished for my weakness with Julius. What a disappointment. There was too much of her in him. A lost cause.”
The sound of heels clacking against the marble sounded, and the curtain near us was swept aside.
“I think that’s my cue,” Jewel said, stepping smartly into the room. He’d taken off Jade’s wig but still wore the dress, his heels, and a face full of makeup.
I grinned at him, stifling my amusement; he must have taken off the heels to walk over here quietly, then put them back on for his dramatic entrance.
My father’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head, and his face turned a rather impressive shade of red. “You,” he hissed, jumping to his feet.
I stood with him, pulling my weapon from its holster.
“Ah ah! Wait,” Jewel said, pointing at me as I clicked off the safety.
My father whirled around and froze as he found himself staring down the barrel of my gun. “What is this?” he spat. He was shocked, and I snorted because of course he was. I doubted he could have even imagined me holding a gun, let alone using one.
“This is justice,” I told him. “For everything you’ve done to your so-called family.”
His face darkened, and I watched his throat bob as he swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, his voice edged with annoyance. “I’ve given you everything—”
“You took everything!” I snarled, cutting him off. I’d wanted to keep calm and aloof for this part, but fuck that. I was sick of holding back my emotions in front of my father. I wanted him to see the truth of it, of what he’d done to me.
“You took my mother, my other fathers, my brother, and my scent matches. You took away every single choice that you could. You took everything that I am!” My face was blazing and my scent unfurled, bitter with misery.
“So, don’t pretend you did it for me. Don’t pretend you ever cared about me or Jewel. ”
“You little bitch,” he spat.
Jewel gave an airy laugh. “Oh, I’d be very careful how I spoke to her if I were you.”
My father’s lips curled back in a snarl, but he didn’t speak again, his eyes darting to my finger on the trigger. Calculating.
“You’re wrong,” I said, standing tall before him in an oversized hoodie and pants, an outfit he abhorred.
“Mother wasn’t weak. I have never been weak. The only reason I stayed here as long as I did was because I knew it wasn’t Jewel in that casket.”
“Let me guess,” Jewel said, rolling his eyes. “He called you crazy. Threatened to have you certified. It’s all rather contrived, don’t you think? You’re stuck in the last century.”
My father’s lips twitched back in a silent snarl.
“It’s a shame,” I added, a hint of true regret bleeding into my voice. “Imagine if you hadn’t underestimated and dismissed me. If you’d embraced Jewel. We’d have been your biggest assets.”
“Instead, he’s left being a bigoted ass,” Jewel quipped.
A grin tugged at my lips. “Nice one,” I said, looking at him.
My father lunged forward, ever underestimating me. Apparently, he’d decided that I wasn’t going to make good on my threat.
I pulled the trigger, the force of the gunshot reverberating down my arm.
My father’s face twisted in shock for a split second.
Then he slumped forward, folding over himself as he collapsed on the ground. There was rather a lot of blood.
“Ew,” Jewel said, wrinkling his nose as he stepped back from the puddle.
My breathing was coming in harsh pants, and my palms were sweaty as I stepped back. Jewel’s eyes met mine and his face softened.
“Easy, easy there,” he said, taking the gun from my hands and dropping it onto the floor. Then he swept me up in a hug, rubbing my back in a soothing motion.
My heart was beating wildly in my chest as I looked down at what was left of Thaddeus Fairchild. I didn’t linger on the mess that the bullet had made of his head taking in his limp, crumpled form instead.
Just a man, in the end.
An evil man, but one that could be stopped like anyone else.
“Laurel? I’ve got you,” came a deep voice, and then I was being swept up in a cloud of persimmon and lime.
I finally relaxed, letting Finch hold me. I inhaled his scent in deep breaths, my brain starting to turn again. “Sorry,” I said, turning to face Jewel. “If you were planning on saying anything else to him.”
He shrugged. “Eh, not really.” He waved a hand at me. “I’m just a bit jealous, if I’m honest.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed.
“Okay, let’s plant some evidence, and skedaddle,” Jewel announced, taking off his heels and disappearing from sight. When he came back, he was carrying Prince’s limp form.
Finch and Jewel had used the tranquilizers we’d stolen from the pens to take out the bodyguards and Jag quietly. They’d seen me up here, so we had to use a lethal dose for all of them. Dax had been tranqued, and Jewel had dragged him off somewhere to deal with him in private.
Prince had been given an extremely light dose, and he’d be waking up soon. It would look like he’d come back to finish off my father in a rage after losing his pack.
We wouldn’t likely have the police even step foot in here, but the family would have someone look into this. We’d need the evidence in our favour.
“Should we kill him?” I asked, frowning as Finch tossed Prince beside my father. He wiped off my gun and placed it in Prince’s hand. Finch shrugged.
“Leave him like this and he’ll be disgraced, carted off to spend the rest of his sad life in prison. I’d say that’s a good ending.”
I beamed. “It really is. Now, we have a feral alpha to bring home.”