37. Chapter 37 #2
He lowered an eyebrow, but his lip twitched under my finger before I pulled it away. “We need counseling to learn how to communicate better. Fuck me, we’re going to have an interesting life together, aren’t we?”
“I hope it doesn’t get too much more interesting. I need to call Fergus and find out if I still have a job.”
“If he tries to fire you for your ability to Spool, he’s an idiot. But you’ll need twenty-four-hour protection, and you’ll have to wear trackers for the rest of your life.”
A shaky breath escaped me. “I know, but it’s time to stop hiding.”
He turned us sideways and stared into my eyes.
“We’ll help keep you safe. Our Pack is your family now, and you are my soulmate, Riley Blackthorne.
I also want to give you a life filled with people who love you, maybe kids someday, and a safe home.
When you told Fernanda I only mated with you because of your abilities, it gutted me. ”
I wrapped an arm around his neck. “I’m afraid,” I admitted.
“Of what?” he whispered.
A dam broke in my chest as tears spilled down my cheeks.
“That this will all go away again. My dad is dead, my mother is gone, and people close to me tend to die. You left me to suffer, and god help me, I hated you so much. But even then, I still loved you and missed the Pack. If you do something like that again, I’m gone for good. ”
He gathered me into his arms and rocked me. “Never again. I’m so sorry, love. I give you my solemn pledge. If I don’t come back someday, it’s because I’m injured or dead.” Soft air swirled around us as his words settled into my soul.
Later that afternoon, I walked through the field with Mangus and Athena. Reporters were camped out at the gate, but the Pack’s public relations person, whoever that was, had taken over fielding calls and inquiries for interviews. I pulled out my phone and called Parker.
“Hey, Bug. You’ve been busy lately.”
“I’m not the only one. You and your buddies did a thorough job.”
He chuckled. “It was the most fun we’ve had in years. You told me to make sure it’d never be operational again.”
“You blew it to smithereens. I guess that’s one way.”
“You comin’ back here, or are you staying in Colorado for a while?”
“We’re coming back. You, Feeny, and my office are there. I still have a job, but Fergus yelled at me for a good ten minutes this morning, and said Dad would be livid about me exposing myself like that.”
Parker exhaled. “They’re going to try and get you to Spool for them. If you give them a fucking inch, they’ll take a hundred miles.”
“I know.”
“Eli is dead, Riles. I think he destroyed that facility in Colorado, and died on the mountain in the fire. Or they took him out.”
My heart ached, but the pain was muted. “I know that too. But I never knew why he died. And now we do.”
“Now we do,” he repeated softly. “He was a fuckin’ great brother, and my best friend. I miss him.”
I walked back to the house with the hellhounds flanking me. Mangus growled at the reporters outside the gate, but I patted his head. “It’s okay, buddy. They’ll go away when a bigger story comes along.” It wasn’t the reporters I worried about.
When we got to the house, John Bailey, Conall’s occasional FBCI partner, stood waiting on the front porch. He had a short, stocky build and salt-and-pepper hair. John was a raccoon shifter, and he was with Conall that first day when they detained me outside my ecology classroom.
He eyed the hellhounds. “I saw your interview. Damn, you’re a Spooler. No wonder you were such a big help on the ApGen case.”
“How’re your little girls? Still keeping you busy?” I didn’t want to discuss my abilities with John. He was a nice guy, and his energy was friendly and stable, but he was still a career FBCI agent.
His dimples flashed as he rocked back on his heels. “Yep. One of ‘em got into a can of paint the other day, shifted, then ran around the house, leaving little paw prints everywhere. My wife had a conniption.”
He had dried paint on his hands. “I’d like to meet them someday.”
“I hope you do.” His smile died.
“You’re not here for Conall, are you?”
“No. Director Langston was found dead this morning. No one was surprised. The acting director ordered our office to bring you in.”
Mangus and Athena went still beside me, sensing my sudden tension. John noticed and took his hands out of his pockets.
“Do you have a warrant?” I asked carefully.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “No, but they’re working on one. Listen, I told them I’d come talk with you and see if you’ll come in voluntarily. But honestly? I’m here to warn you. They want to recruit you, and while the acting director isn’t as crooked as Langston, she’s a hard ass.”
I let out a long exhale. My implant and I were in complete agreement that this needed to be shut down once and for all.
“I’m not coming with you, but I have a message for your interim director and all the other Fed organizations that think they can come after me. They will start a Pack war, and not just our Pack. I will also sue them within an inch of their lives and air their dirty laundry for years to come.”
He folded his arms. “This could get ugly.”
“It’s already ugly. If the FBCI and the entire Central Federal Government don’t leave me the hell alone, you need to plan on going to war, especially after the recent shit they’ve pulled.”
“I’m sorry–”
“I will also sue the FBCI for assault and illegally trying to detain me in Yellowstone, and flat-out kidnapping me in Utah.”
“It doesn’t have to escalate–”
“You know I was sexually assaulted while in their ‘custody.’ And Langston stood there and got off on it,” I interrupted.
“Fuck,” John sighed, his face going pale.
I gave him the one thing that would guarantee my Pack’s safety. “You can also tell her that if the Feds leave us alone, I’ll see if I’m available to consult on one or two cases a year that are worth my time, for a hefty fee. I’m also vetting the cases.”
John’s whole body relaxed. “I’ll tell them. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
He looked at the reporters by the gate. “Director Cochran would be a fool not to take you up on your offer. She might lack any personality or sense of humor, but she isn’t stupid. Well played, Blackthorne. I think Conall and the wolf shifters are rubbing off on you.”
It was more the device and chip embedded in my brainstem, courtesy of Apex. Somehow, we’d figured out how to work together, and I only sent it visions of me brutally cutting it out of my neck every so often. The device gave me a soft zap.
Right after John left, Conall walked out on the porch. “Drew mentioned you were out here talking with Bailey. How’d it go?”
I told him about our conversation. “We’ll see how she responds. When can we go home?”
He drew me over to the patio loveseat and pulled me into his lap. “You just told the Feds and specifically the FBCI to fuck off, then gave them a carrot if they behave. You scare me sometimes, and we can leave whenever you want. I miss Feeny.”
I laid my head on his shoulder. “I miss her too. Owen, not so much.”
He squeezed me, and I grunted, then laughed. We sat on the porch together, lazily enjoying skin contact. I kissed him softly, nibbling his bottom lip. When he pulled back, he stared at the scar on my cheek and the faint claw marks on my jaw, courtesy of Feeny’s mother.
“You’ve got so many injuries and scars, and most of them happened after I met you,” he murmured regretfully, bringing my wrist to his mouth.
I cupped his cheek. “Before you tracked me down outside that classroom, I was lonely, and just existing. You aren’t responsible, and I’d do it all again if I could still be sitting here with you.”
His eyes grew glassy. “My wolf and I would be lost without you. I expected that when I finally chose a mate, we’d tolerate each other like most Alpha couples. But I cherish and treasure you, Riley Blackthorne, Spooler, Resonant, and Mate of my heart. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
A tear slid down my cheek, but I smiled as I wiped it away. Our combined energy swirled around us, and little sparks rose from my skin and crackled in the air as his words filled my soul.
I intertwined my fingers with his, kissed his scarred knuckles, and gazed out at the quarter horses peacefully grazing in the pasture.