Chapter 111
Chapter One Hundred-Eleven
Falcon
It’s close to midnight when we return to Robin’s suite, muddy, bone-weary and ready to pass out on the nearest soft surface. The trench has been prepared for the new installation. As soon as the panels arrive in the morning, we’ll be back out there to finish the job.
It’s work that could have easily taken a week.
Now, it’s going to be finished in two days.
And it’ll keep Robin and Harper safe while we’re living here.
I can’t think of a better way to use my time at the academy, besides with my mates directly.
I stop at the door, and I look at Shayne, who’s stifling a yawn.
“I think we’re going to like it here.”
He laughs lightly. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“What? Covered in dirt and sweat?”
“Hah. No. I’m not talking about that. You’re … hopeful. About everything. It’s kind of nice.”
“Have I been that miserable?” I ask.
“You’ve been moody,” he corrects me. “Pessimistic.”
“Sorry. That sounds insufferable.”
He shrugs. “As long as you start making up for it now, I think we’re all good.”
“Trust me, I intend to make up for lost time.”
I reach for the door handle, and the door opens when I turn it.
Not locked. I step inside and find Jay sitting on the sofa in a T-shirt and boxer shorts.
He gets up as Shayne follows me inside.
My gaze goes straight to his throat.
Two marks.
Wait, two?
“Harper?” I ask.
“It was about time,” Jay says, glancing at my throat. “We’re complete now, Falcon. There’s no reason to hide anything, if there ever really was.”
“If I wasn’t ready to pass out for the next four hours, I’m sure my teeth would be tingling.”
“We can mark each other once that new fence is up,” Shayne adds. “There’s no rush.”
“Is it really that unsafe here?” Jay asks, raising an eyebrow.
It reminds me how little he knows, and I feel wearier just thinking about telling him.
“You can take the first shower,” I tell Shayne. “Try not to wake Robin and Harper.”
He nods and leaves the room. I look back at Jay.
“Warren Corvina used to brainwash Omegas at the academy,” I start, watching Jay’s eyes widen. “It seems like his plan was to sell those Omegas to the kind of Alphas who treat Omegas like property.”
“Isn’t he in prison for killing someone?”
“Yeah, but apparently, he likes to possess other people.”
That catches him by surprise, for sure. He blinks at me.
“Possess other people? What does that even mean?”
“He calls it astral projection. He leaves his body to control someone he’s been brainwashing for years. The last guy he possessed is his old neighbor. That’s the guy Owen and I caught trying to break into the academy. He almost got in. That’s the crazy shit we’re up against out here.”
Jay frowns. “If he’s been brainwashing Omegas here, why wouldn’t he just possess one of them?”
“That’s a good question.” I move to the door and make sure it’s locked.
Shayne must have locked it after he closed it.
“Is there an answer?” he asks.
“I’ll make sure I find out when I speak with Owen again.”
He blows out a breath. “I’m glad we’re here now, but holy fuck that’s some of the craziest shit I’ve ever heard. How do you deal with possessed people, anyway?”
“No more questions,” I tell him, as I crouch to unlace my boots.
They’re muddy enough that I don’t want to walk around the suite wearing them.
I see Shayne ditched his sneakers by the side of the door, managing to think of it before me, like he also did with locking the door.
“When do I get to interrogate Owen?” Jay asks, giving me a wry smile when I give him a look of despair. “Last question, I promise.”
I sigh as I haul my boots off.
Setting them next to Shayne’s sneakers, I think about it.
“When the fence is done, I’ll look after Harper and Robin. You can spend the day with him then. I’m sure he’ll be delighted by that.”
He snorts. “The guy has no idea what’s about to hit him.”
I take off my jeans and T-shirt and ditch them next to my boots.
Finally, I’m clean enough to sit down on something soft.
“I’m doing an all-nighter tonight, right?” Jay asks.
“Looks like it,” I tell him with a yawn.
“Cool,” he murmurs. “Now I know I shouldn’t trust anyone who isn’t one of us. It’s good to know.”
“Don’t use it as an excuse to knock out any doctors.”
“What? How? Shayne told you, didn’t he?” Jay scowls at me. “It was nothing. I wouldn’t have touched him.”
“Corvina can only possess people he’s brainwashed. That’s a small group of people, okay? Don’t forget that.” I walk over to the couch and sit down, sighing as I lay back.
“I assume Owen can give us a list?”
“No more questions, Jay. I’m way too tired.”
He goes quiet, and then he clears his throat.
I groan softly as he comes to the couch and sits down on the other side.
“There’s something I should tell you.”
“Uh huh?” I ask, resting my head and closing my eyes.
“Robin’s father has been in contact with her. It sounded like he wanted her to talk with her sister. He mentioned something about her sister having an eating disorder.”
I open my eyes and sit up straight in my seat, now totally awake.
“Robin’s father? What do you mean, her father? Her mother was owned by Ivan Hamilton.”
“This guy,” he says, passing me his phone.
“Steve Barrister?” I ask, seeing the name before I focus on the image.
It’s clear the second I look at the guy that there’s a family resemblance there.
“How is this possible?”
Jay takes his phone back. “He gave her a story about meeting her mother at a party and not knowing she was with Ivan Hamilton. He woke up alone, and he couldn’t find her again.”
“Seems unlikely,” I mutter. “Where was the party?”
“Robin didn’t know. She knows it’s a bit suss, but it’s pretty obvious she’s hoping he’s not a lying piece of shit, or worse.”
“What does Lana think about it?”
He shrugs. “Lana let him in to visit because Robin wanted to meet him. She was in the room with them the whole time.”
“See what you can find out about that guy. I don’t trust him.”
He could be her dad, sure, biologically at least. Whether or not that’s the truth, there’s a pretty good chance he’s a creepy asshole with zero redeeming qualities either way.
“I’ve been looking into him. It’s all above board and boring as shit so far, but that’s what most creeps look like on paper.”
“She doesn’t need this shit,” I murmur.
I’ve barely seen the guy’s face, and I already hate him.
Robin’s been through so much. The last thing she needs is to be scammed by a random creep who looks like her, or, worse, by family member who has bad intentions.
“Yeah,” Jay agrees. “I think she really wants to have family, but she’ll get through it. She’s strong. All we can do is try to make it less painful.”
Shayne walks back into the room in his underwear, a towel around his neck.
“Shower’s free,” he says. “Harper and Robin are still sleeping.”
I get up, knowing if I don’t, I’ll pass out on the couch before another minute passes.
“Are there spare sheets somewhere?” I ask.
“In the closet,” Shayne says. “I kind of forgot about that. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Stay here. I’ll get them when I’m done with the shower.”
It’s dark in the bedroom, the only light coming out of the ajar bathroom door.
I close the door to the main room, shutting out the quiet conversation Jay and Shayne are having. The soft sounds of breathing from the bed are calm and peaceful and for a second, I’m tempted to sneak in beside my mates to get the sleep I’m desperately craving.
My eyes adjust after a few seconds and I can see that Robin is in the middle of the bed, with Harper’s arm draped over her from behind.
I can hear him snoring, a little bit, like he sometimes does when he’s in a deep sleep.
She sighs softly in her sleep, and I smile as I head toward the bathroom door.
Everything is happening quickly, but it all feels right.
It’s like life is finally catching up to what we all wanted and needed for so damn long.
We’re complete as a pack. All we were waiting for was Robin, and she’s as keen as the rest of us to make sure we don’t miss out on a single second together.
I slip into the bathroom feeling as if I could take on the world.
There’s nothing out there that could possibly ruin this.
Fate has spoken. It never steers me off course.