30. Roseland
Roseland
Pix shoves her up against the wall, but I grab his wrist and squeeze.
“Let her go.”
“Are you serious?” The bitter betrayal on his face hurts, but he doesn’t understand. He has no idea.
“You’re going to side with her? Choose her again?”
I grit my teeth, wishing I could tell him more than I can, but it’s not safe. I don’t know who I can trust and who I can’t anymore. What I do know is that the collection of alters known as Merle Kestrel needs someone helping her.
“If Raven says Father knows about you all, then you need to run.”
“Me too?” Pix asks softly, and his expression is one of absolute heartbreak and so much anger. “You want me to disappear as well?”
No! “Yes. You need to go with your family. With Pack Prince. Vanish.”
She’s staring at me, but I refuse to look at her. My skin can feel her gaze like she’s touching me. Like it’s a physical stroke of the most gentle compassion. She knows. Of course, she would. She’s too damn intuitive.
“You don’t want to see me again, Roseland?” Pix snaps out.
This hurts more than I would have thought possible. But if I can’t keep them safe, maybe I can save one.
“No, I never want to see you again.” I want you to live. I want you safe.
What happened to me? What happened to not caring? He’s worked himself into me, like a splinter, driven straight into my heart where I can feel him with each and every single beat, with the rush of blood, with the air in my lungs.
I swallow hard.
“You want me gone?” Pix snarls. “You got it.”
I refuse to look at him as he storms out of the room. I refuse to look at the alphas who stare at me in bitter betrayal but don’t argue. Instead, I stare at the spot on the wall, just over her shoulder. It hurts.
“That was remarkably noble of you, Aaron,” she murmurs.
I jerk my head, staring hard at the beta in front of me. Tears burn in my eyes.
“Raven.” Her name is a whisper of relief, pain, and longing, all mixed up in an agony of knowing the ones I love will never be mine.
She dips her chin, her eyes so deep and dark. The amber glow is almost gone. But Raven carries the secrets and the knowledge that will undo them all.
“Was this all part of the plan?”
She shrugs slightly. “Not the entire plan, but one learns to improvise. I like these people. He would have come after them sooner or later. Removing them from his reach means he’ll focus all his considerable power on me and what I took from him.”
They don’t know. The other parts of her don’t know what Raven has done. Even I don’t fully understand it.
“Raven, we need to talk. You need to tell me-” I cut off, frustrated, but her face goes slack, and when she blinks, it’s not her anymore.
Her eyes leave me instantly, stricken as she searches and finds Pix. Her eyes return to me, pleading. Fuck, this is cruel. Merle, it’s Merle looking up at me, begging. I shake my head, warning her to be quiet, not to say anything. She bites her lip and squeezes her eyes closed as he stalks past us.
“Merle?”
She looks up, her eyes brimming with tears that fall over like jewels. Pix storms out of the house, and her lip wobbles. She trembles. Collapsing on the wall, falling apart.
I shield her from the others, protecting her from the curious gaze of the Sandersons.
I pull her into my arms and hold her tight as she buries her face in my chest.
“It’s going to be all right, I promise. We’re going to take care of it. I won’t let you down.”
She pulls back and wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper before glancing at King. He’s staring at her intently, shock and wonder on his face.
She rushes to him, jumping into his arms. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her tight against him.
His fingers tangle in her hair and drag her mouth to his, where they share the sweetest kiss I think I’ve ever seen.
A twinge of envy hits me. Don’t be a dick; she’s allowed any and all kindness.
She pulls back, brushing her fingers down his cheek. When Rolly and Sage join them, the four of them exchange a poignant reunion that I don’t feel like I’ll ever be part of.
“What is this?” Mark asks from beside me.
“This is Merle. She can’t or won’t talk. But…”
“They all love her, and she loves them. How does that work, anyway? Do you have feelings for the other alters or not?”
Honestly, I’ve thought about it a lot. If anyone had asked me months ago, I would have said it wasn’t possible. There was only one alter I was in love with.
“I love Raven,” I admit. “But I have feelings for Merle, and I can see myself falling for Kestrel, too.” It’s a relief to say it out loud.
To say it out loud where I don’t have to be smothered by the guilt of just thinking it into being.
“I met Raven at the beginning; I only met Merle and Kestrel recently. For me, she is everything.”
“And the others? I assume there’s more?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think Jay would welcome our attentions, and I have spent no time with the other two.”
“So, what does that mean? Does one alter intend on taking over so you can all be happy? How do you decide which one is yours? Do the rest go away?”
His question is one that has haunted me. How do you have a happy ever after with multiple alters?
“You’re assuming we all survive this.” I point out the obvious so I don’t have to admit I don’t have the answers.
Mark laughs softly, brushing his golden-brown hair back from his face. “Nice deflection, and sure. As that is looking unlikely with the world’s most prolific serial killer declaring open season on you all, fair statement.”
“Mark, I don’t know you well.”
“I have enjoyed every second of pretending to be Pix’s love interest to get you jealous. Truly, you’ve been a good sport.”
I snarl at him, but he just grins widely.
“What do you need from me, big boy?”
“I need you to keep him angry, make sure he goes with you and stays there. Don’t let him come back.”
Mark’s smile falls. His shoulders slump, and I can tell how much he hates this plan. “Pix is a target?”
“I have been a thorn in Father’s side, finding his bases, taking what belongs to him and putting it out of his reach. He will and has tried to come after anyone who is connected to me. If Pix disappears now, there’s a chance he might ignore him.”
“And Sage? He’s one of Pix’s alphas, isn’t he?”
“It’s too late for Sage,” I whisper, staring at my stepbrother. “I tried to keep them all away from me; no one would listen. Sage is a target now, he is, after all, my stepbrother.”
“Mark, we have to move!” Mitchel shouts.
The alpha claps me on the back. “Don’t die, asshole. I don’t want to have to hunt you down in the afterlife for hurting my boo.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m going to try not to.” A horrible thought occurs to me, I hesitate. “If…”
Mark waits, staring at me with too much wisdom in his gaze.
“If we fail, and she’s alone…”
“I’ll take care of her. You have my word.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, and then he’s gone. The Sanderson’s, their dogs, their kids, their lives, all gone. I listen to the cars tear away, straining until I hear the roar of a bike.
When I look towards the door, Bonnie and Meg are standing there, staring at us. They are hesitant and unsure. They know, someone told them about Merle and they don’t think leaving is right. I get it.
They’d also have been informed of who she is. The wary respect in their eyes startles me.
“Run,” Raven says. “Run and don’t stop. Keep moving and stay alive. Be smart. No patterns, nothing he can track.”
Bonnie dips her chin. “Be safe, sister.”
Meg growls, pushes past, and pulls Raven into a hard hug. “Make sure you bring that silent bitch back alive. I’m going to teach her how to throw a punch properly.”
Raven lets out a startled laugh. “Will do.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
There’s nothing else to say. I watch the two omegas disappear and the sound of their cars reverse.
I plant my feet, but at the last moment, I rush to the door and out onto the lawn, ignoring the roses, ignoring the neighbours watching, my eyes on the figure in black on the motorbike as he races away.
Leaving me shattered and broken again.
A hand grabs hold of mine. It’s not Raven, and it’s not Merle. When I look at her, it’s Kestrel, her expression twisted into one of pain and sympathy.
“That was one of the bravest things we’ve ever seen anyone do, Aaron Roseland. You are an incredible alpha, and we are so glad to know you.”
I turn into her arms, burying my face in her hair, pretending that I’m not crying, that I’m not falling apart. That it’s not breaking me into a million pieces that the omega I’ve spent the last year trying to escape from is finally leaving me.
I love him, too.
“Come on, Aaron. Let's get out of here,” Sage murmurs and pulls me off Kestrel, helping me into the car Vale left for us.
I climb in and fall into a numb state that takes way too long for me to claw my way out of. The conversation around me is stilted and uneasy.
“There’s a drive-thru burger joint ahead. Go through it. Let's get food, and then I’m going to tell you what I know.”
“Isn’t that against detective rules?” Rolly says, half teasing. He’s been much quieter, withdrawn into himself, watching the unraveling of the pack over the last couple of days. I don’t think he’s terribly happy about it.
“I was fired seven months ago,” I say flatly.
Sage jerks hard, almost driving us off the side of the road. “You were what?”
“I was fired, Sage. He’s got reach everywhere. They are investigating me for tampering with investigations, calling me a dirty cop. My career is gone.”
“What the fuck?”
“Food first, then let’s talk, okay. There is a whole lot of information you’re going to need to know if you even want a chance at surviving this asshole.” I feel ancient and broken. How much more can I take before I collapse?
Sage parks the car while Blaze hands out the food. Rolly opens Kestrel’s burger and hands it to her. He’s cautious and hesitant, but it’s a gesture, it’s an attempt to make nice.
“Thank you,” she murmurs.
I pick at my food, not wanting to eat when I know what conversation is coming.
“Beetroot on burgers is the best,” Kestrel says happily as she bites into hers.
“How can you say that? Beetroot is the food of the devil!” Rolly growls and picks his out, throwing it with perfect aim so that it sticks to the side of the sign.
I snort a laugh, surprising Rolly and Kestrel both. I lean into the side door, staring out the window and take an absent bite. The ache in me isn’t going away; in fact, it’s getting worse.
Leaving my scent matches over and over should be easier.
Why is it getting harder?
“Okay, Aaron, talk to us,” Blaze says with his calm command.
I turn back and find that they’ve all finished eating, and everyone is waiting.
“Right. Um. So, what do you know about Father?”
Rolly snaps his fingers. “Highest body count of known victims, suspected that there are heaps more. Is genius levels of evil.”
“Yes, all that. Sadistic, cruel, a true psychopath. His techniques are both mental and physical. It’s important he breaks the mind of his victims first; that’s part of his MO.”
I do not look at Kestrel, I don’t dare. I don’t know for certain how she ended up like that, it’s all speculation.
“Interesting. How did you get mixed up in all this, Aaron?” Sage asks, and when I look up, there is a fury in his eyes that is matched only by a deep concern. A car turns into the car park, and I tense, watching until it drives through the drive-thru line.
“I was given a case to investigate and found a witness. It wasn’t any big thing, it was just part of the job.
But it went from there. I kept getting pulled in: another body, another clue, another sign.
Eventually, I accidentally stumbled upon the serial killers Unknown, Vengeance, and Marrow all by accident, but that brought me into your world.
I didn’t care about them, but I had to check everyone out.
Prince, Pix, the Sandersons. Then I found that I was being followed.
Hunted. I tried to shake them off, but I couldn’t.
So, I went to my boss, and I told him I was being followed.
Suddenly, I was off the case, my badge taken from me.
Suspended. Then fired. My house got broken into, they started paying more attention to Pix.
A tip-off reached me that he was coming after me, so I snatched him up.
I was taking him somewhere safe when Merle ran into my car. ”
“Fortuitous.”
“I don’t believe in coincidence,” I mutter, glancing at Kestrel.
“Well, Raptor and Raven may have been looking for you, so maybe it wasn’t entirely accidental,” Kestrel admits.
I blink at her easy capitulation.
“I stayed because I was worried about Merle and Pix ,and you have a damn underground bunker, but then those cops showed up and were killed.”
Kestrel winces. “Uh.” She lifts her hand in the air. “So, Raptor was a bit angry, and she made a mess.”
I blink and blink again. “That was Raptor?” I choke out.
She shrugs. “She’s got rage issues; we are working on it, though therapy is expensive. And before anyone asks, I know that Father wants me back and that he trained me, and we escaped somehow, but I don’t remember the specifics.”
“All right, but you left us,” Sage interrupts, giving Kest a look that says they will come back to that soon. “In the forest, you said you were going back?”
“Yes, except when I got to the car park and found the car, things felt off. I checked, and there was a bomb on it, and someone waiting for me.”
“Mmm, it took us a while to kill the three of them,” King admits. “They had some expensive hardware.”
I rub my jaw.
“Why not keep Pix with us? Why send him off?” Blaze asks in a cold, angry voice.
“Because he’s not involved, and he has a chance at a normal life. Don’t you want that for him?” I almost shout. “Shouldn’t at least one of us survive?”
“No, I want him with us. To live or die with us. That is how we should be. You made a call for all of us because you are the one he’s closest with, but you shouldn’t have. We are a pack. We make the choices together.”
I stare at him. “A pack?”
“Clearly, Aaron Roseland, we have been acting as a pack for weeks now. We are just a bit dysfunctional, but it was all coming along nicely until you sent our omega off. It’s time you stop thinking as a you and start thinking as a we.”
Kestrel pats my thigh. “You’ll get used to it.”
I close my eyes. “Not even for a moment do I regret it. I want him to live. I want him to be happy.”
Sage sighs and leans his head back on the headrest. “You are adorable, Aaron, but so messed up.”
I think that might be the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time, which reminds me of Daega.
“I did the right thing,” I whisper. “I know I did.”