Chapter 33 Ryder
RYDER
“The file really said nothing about what happened to her after her family died?” Tray asked, his normally buoyant demeanor deflated.
“Nothing,” Mac walked slowly in front of the rest of us as we filed out of the pack suite.
“Just speculation, like the damn news articles,” I added. He and I had both scoured the internet and read the file again; we both knew all-too-well how little real information there was about Tessa’s nearly two years alone.
“Why would she say that?” Dixon was riding the edge again. He ground a fist into the palm of his other hand.
“It was true, that’s why she said it.” Tray’s voice was serious, uncommon for him. “For some reason, she’s had to resort to that.”
“To eating out of a fucking dumpster?” Dixon snarled. “How the hell would someone like her, an Omega of the goddamn Fortune Pack, end up that way?”
“I don’t know, Dixon, but we’ll find out,” I assured him. If we were going to make this work, we had to know everything about her. We needed to know what broken bits required extra care, otherwise she’d never bring down her walls and bond to our pack.
Tessa had bolted to the left, taking the long route.
We passed two of our bedrooms, before hanging a right past the next two.
The mansion was organized in a square, with the pool area and garden at the center.
Eventually, our newly arrived Omega would find herself waltzing into the foyer past the half-bath if she kept to the hallway and didn’t deviate.
I was glad our toy room was locked down.
I could only imagine what she would think if she walked in there.
Everything else would be fine to explore.
The home gym. The theater room. The library, which was pretty much for show.
She might take the elevator, if she spotted it.
The door matched the surrounding walls and only the buttons and slight depth difference gave it away.
We walked slowly, giving Tessa space to get her bearings.
When we took the next right, we found Tessa studying the only locked room in the house. She heard our approach and took a few steps backward before turning to face us.
“I tried every door, but this one wouldn’t open.” She studied us, eyes narrowing. “Have you guys ever read the story of Blue Beard?”
It was strange, how suddenly she wasn’t the scared girl who’d bolted from the bedroom. Wasn’t that only a few minutes ago?
Mac glanced back at the rest of us, smirking, before giving her his attention. “I believe I get your meaning.”
“So, you’ve read it?” She seemed surprised. “It’s ridiculously old. My brothers used to scare me with it every Halloween.”
“Well, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Dixon grumbled.
“The only blue thing around here is Dixon’s balls,” Tray blurted, quickly side-stepping Dixon’s fist as it flew his way.
“Tell us what you mean, Tessa.” I stepped forward, curious what had changed her demeanor in such a short time span.
“So, the story goes that Blue Beard’s this pretty atrocious, ugly guy,” she took one arm from beneath Josie’s body, shifting the cat securely against the remaining arm, and waved her hand dramatically through the air, “but he’s got a huge estate.
Tons of money. That’s all people cared about in his day.
Long story short, he ends up marrying this beautiful girl from a good family.
Which is pretty wild, considering it was well known the dude already had several wives and nobody knew what the heck happened to any of them. ”
Perhaps realizing she was growing increasingly more animated, Tessa clapped her mouth shut. Her face turned pink, and she cringed a little. “Sorry, this is stupid I guess.”
“You can’t stop there,” Tray admonished, “It was just getting good.”
“Really?” She bit her lip, obviously unsure.
When Tray nodded, and the rest of us waited patiently, she smiled.
God, it was beautiful. Fucking took my breath away.
“Okay, so they get married, Blue Beard and this new girl, and he takes her home. At first, she’s absolutely, like, gobsmacked by the wealth.
Blue Beard had these giant storerooms stuffed with caskets of gold and silver.
Filthy rich, right?” She waits to see if we’re following along.
“Sounds like she was set for life,” I offered, trying to encourage her.
“You’d think,” she nodded quickly. “Everything seemed great at first, but then Blue Beard had to leave for a while. Traveling for business or something. Before he went, he gave his new wife the keys to the castle. She could do anything she wanted, go anywhere, but he forbids her from unlocking this one mystery door. He wouldn’t tell her what was inside, or why the secrecy.
After he left, her entire family came to drool over her new life.
She acted like she was the luckiest girl in the world.
Once she was alone though, her husband’s words kept knocking against her brain.
Don’t go into that room.” Tessa gently hit her fist several times against her head.
Even though it was part of the story, Dixon took a step forward as if to stop her.
I held a hand out to stop him, shaking my head a little so that he’d chill.
“Did she go into the room?” Tray pressed, excitement in the question. He always did like a good story, especially if it turned racy.
“She did!” Tessa answered. “And that’s where she found all the other wives.
Strung up against the walls, throats sliced.
” She ran her thumb across her neck then shrugged.
“The first time my brothers read it to me, I was six and had nightmares for a week. After that, it just became an October tradition.”
Mac moved over to the wall, crossing his arms and leaning against it. “Is that how they ended the story?” He asked, amused.
“Yeah. I think so. I mean, it’s been a while since I heard it.” Her face fell, like she was realizing her brothers couldn’t tell it to her anymore, no matter the holiday or month. “Is there more to it?” She swallowed down whatever she was feeling and finally asked.
“A bit more,” Mac smiled kindly at her. “The newest wife wasn’t an idiot,” he picked up where Tessa had left off, trying to distract the obviously saddened Omega.
“She knew survival depended on hiding her transgression. Unfortunately, she’d dropped and bloodied the key while in that forbidden room.
No matter how she scrubbed, the crimson stains wouldn’t disappear.
So, she hid the evidence. Only, Blue Beard wasn’t an idiot either.
Once he returned to the estate, he asked for his keys.
The minute he held them, he knew the truth.
The telltale key wasn’t among the others.
He knows there’s only one reason why it would be missing, and he informs his young wife that she will soon join the others for her betrayal of trust.”
“Your version is just a longer version of Tessa’s,” Tray pokes with a shrug. “The newest wife ends up ding-dong dead.”
“Not exactly,” Mac locked gazes with our Omega.
She looked back, her own eyes shining with interest. He continued.
“You see, the wife's brothers were supposed to arrive that day to visit. They’d promised. The wife asked her murderous husband for time to pray; hopeful the brothers would arrive in time to save her. Against odds, they did. So, the last wife survived. Curiosity,” his gaze flicked down to Josie, “did not kill the cat.”
Tessa grinned widely. “I never, not once, thought to look up the story myself. If my brothers were alive—” she halted abruptly, grin dying away. Seconds later though, she gave herself a little shake and finished. “I’d kick their butts.”
“Just so we’re clear here,” I walked forward, closing the gap between me and Tessa. I wondered if she’d shrink away from me, but she didn’t. “We don’t have bodies behind this door. Although, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to see inside regardless.”
“Hmm,” she cocked her head, considering. “Yeah, I’m not sure what to say to that. All you just accomplished is making me wonder what other terrible, horrible things you guys might be hiding instead of dead bodies.”
“Just show her,” Dixon rumbled to life. “She’s not going to feel safe if she thinks we’re keeping secrets.”
“I agree,” Mac added.
“Can I hold the cat while you look?” Tray bolted forward, eagerly outstretching his hands.
Tessa looked down at his waiting arms. She considered for a moment but then shook her head ‘no’.
“Oh, that’s okay,” Tray backed up, sheepishly putting one hand on his hip while the other slipped through his hair. “Whenever you’re cool with it.”
“Thanks,” Tessa offered him a tentative smile. “I just can’t let her go… yet.”
While they were talking, I punched the code into the keypad mounted next to the door.
The deadbolt retracted with a whirr before the security light transitioned from red to green.
I turned the knob and pushed the door inward.
The lights were motion activated, so they glowed softly to life, casting the entire space in calming blue light.
We could change the hue with a remote, whatever fit our mood.
Tessa took one step into the room, looked around, and whistled.
“So… not… dead bodies.” She breathed out, moving further inside.