Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
KAELEN
My alpha paced, unhappy with how sad our omega was. A distance lingered in her eyes, her scent not as sweet as it usually was. After our visit to the vet, all she did was cuddle Shadow, fidgeting with her scarred tail.
I didn’t try to placate her, giving her space to talk to me if she wanted.
While I tried to ignore the feeling, I knew it was more than Shadow. Inside, she was grappling with a lifetime of abuse she suffered at the hands of her father along with her own marks. I wanted to hold her close, tell her that those burns on her skin, on Shadow’s, strengthened them.
Unfortunately, this was something Willow had to come to terms with on her own.
In her own way.
And me springing on her that her parents were attending a dinner with us this weekend didn’t win me any favors. I tried to spin it as an opportunity to see her mom, which made a light spark in her jeweled eyes.
I hated forcing her to spend time with that piece of shite. Yet it was the only way I could get close to Isabelle Sterling. All I had to do was get my mother-in-law alone long enough to convince her to let my private nurse take a blood draw.
Then I would send it to Robert Sweeney for a diagnosis. Once I knew what was wrong with Willow’s mom, I could help her.
Not just Willow’s mom, but mine too. Isabelle Sterling was my blood, and I wouldn’t allow her to suffer a moment longer. And once she was taken care of, I’d crush William Sterling like the fucking maggot he was.
The door squeaked open, and my eyes shot up to it, only now realizing someone had been knocking for the last minute. Torin loomed in the entrance like a cryptic shadow. My jaw stiffened as I leaned back in my chair.
Torin was family in every way that mattered. I trusted him as much as Aidan or Liam. The anger clinging to him reminded me faintly of the night he came to me after his sister had been raped.
He moved across the room, standing stone-still at the edge of my desk.
“Willow asked something of me,” he said, his tone tight and emotionless.
My fingers toyed with the ring on my finger. I debated replacing it with something new, still wearing my da’s since I used it that day to trick the Italians. Instead, I took comfort in something from the past, tying me to the present.
I trusted Torin to protect my wife, my omega. I intended him to keep her safe, but it seemed my sweet girl wanted something more from Torin. Something he was uniquely capable of giving her, if his demeanor was to be believed.
Blood. Revenge.
Torin never went into too much detail of his time in the Marines. However, he had been open when we first met, ensuring me he was uniquely qualified to make people disappear without anyone noticing.
“Are you asking permission or telling me?”
The steeliness in Torin’s features faltered for a second, struck by my words. Side-stepping my question, he continued, “She wants me to find the person who tortured Shadow, and extend them the same courtesy they showed the pup.”
A darkness hid beneath the surface of my gorgeous omega. Pride swelled in my chest at her protectiveness. If she rallied so fiercely for a rescue puppy, I imagined how intensely she would care for our children.
Images of her pregnant with my child filled my every thought, and I growled.
Torin mistook the reaction for anger, stumbling slightly.
“Boss. Apologies. If you would prefer I leave it, I’ll tell her I couldn’t find the guilty party.”
I waved a dismissive hand, standing. Color returned to Torin’s already pale cheeks when he dropped his shoulders from the pinched position by his ears.
“Do whatever Willow asks of you.”
Curiosity weaved into my thoughts, wondering why my omega asked Torin and not me. It didn’t take long for me to realize that what Willow had asked Torin probably stirred up too many emotions.
Guilt. Confusion. Grief.
Grief for the person she was versus who she has become.
A queen capable of ordering death and destruction.
It wasn’t only Torin. Any of my men were at her command. And the sooner she understood that, the stronger she would be.
Regardless, I was so fucking proud of her. But I wouldn’t force the issue. She would tell me about Torin and this request when she was ready. Until then, I would spoil her and keep her close.
Footsteps receded as Torin left. I pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk, taking out the wrapped box.
The size didn’t quite encompass the scope of the gift in my hands, but ever since I saw her curled up in that tiny kennel with Shadow, I knew exactly what to gift my wife. I shoved it into my pockets, unsurprised to find my omega dozing in her nest, snuggling with one of my dirty shirts.
Fuck. My dick hardened, and I willed it to go down.
Quietly, I padded into our bedroom, hiding her gift in my end table. Shadow kicked in her sleep, looking as peaceful as a hellhound. The menace decidedly claimed our bed as hers, too good for the overpriced dog one on the floor.
I rolled my eyes, hating how easily I was wrapped around a puppy’s paw. Someday, it wouldn’t only be a dog. I was already at the mercy of my omega, even if she didn’t realize it. And once we had a child, my daughter or son would own me just as much.
Careful not to wake Willow, I slipped into her nest, a quiet purr vibrating my ribs as I tucked her into my chest. Sweet, sleepy noises fell from her, and she unconsciously snuggled closer, burying her face in my neck.
I traced a spot over her pulse, the place where I’d make her mine with my mark.
Two days later, Torin told me it was done. It didn’t take him long to find who had hurt Shadow. Fucker boasted about it on social media, and Torin enjoyed making him scream for mercy.
I paid personally for the arsehole’s care, ensuring that he survived.
The rest of his life would be spent with crippling burns marring one side of his body.
With that knowledge from Torin, a weight lifted from Willow. A light twinkled in her eyes, different from what used to be there. Something glacial gleamed in her sapphire eyes, hardening her in a way that made me ache to fill her.
While eating breakfast, I tugged her onto my lap, moaning at the beautiful, carefree giggle that rang almost melodically around the room.
“I have something for you,” I said, fishing her present out of my pocket and placing it in her lap.
The silk of her tiny top was smooth under my fingertips as I stroked her stomach. She wiggled, dragging her bum over my dick in tantalizing movements that had me groaning in her ear. My hand drifted from her belly, down to her bare thighs, caressing the sleep-warmed skin.
A minute later, the tone shifted, and my girl turned cold, sniffling in my arms.
“I did a bad thing,” she whispered, her hands shaking around my gift.
I had a feeling what this “bad thing” was, but wanted her to tell me, so I could prove to her how wrong that belief was. What she’d done was necessary. If left unchecked, that prick would have continued to hurt animals, escalating to people eventually.
What she did was a service, and therapeutic for her. Once she accepted that, the easier it would be.
Now I understood why she was conflicted about her dad, if this happening to a stranger tormented her so much.
“Nonsense,” I said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You are my good girl.”
“I asked Torin to hurt the guy who injured Shadow.”
The bright light faded from her face, and I pinched her chin, forcing her to look at me.
“And?” I prodded.
Her brows pinched, a tiny frustrated sound rumbling under her sternum.
“And it’s my fault that someone will spend the rest of their lives suffering. Omegas are supposed to be sweet, quiet, and loving. Not orchestrating pain and murder,” she said, her last few words so quiet I barely heard them.
Such bullshite propaganda.
Everyone assumed omegas were quiet and submissive, and to an extent they were. But at the heart, they were powerful and protective, more so than most alphas. Their maternal instincts were terrifying when unleashed.
Willow was beautiful and venomous, like lily of the valley.
“Oh, mo chroí, you are wrong.”
She hissed, and I chuckled.
“Everyone wants omegas to believe that they are fragile, tender things that need an alpha to protect them and take care of them. And that is because alphas egos are so delicate they cannot accept omegas true nature.”
My hands slipped into her hair, holding her attention.
“Omegas are fierce, unyielding, and protective of anyone and anything they deem pack. Shadow is yours, just as I am. You protected her when no one else would.”
A stilted silence hung around us, and slowly, her burned scent shifted, returning to those sweet, floral notes that drove me mad.
“Willow,” I said, making her eyes widen with the intensity of her name on my tongue. “My men are at your command… as am I.”
My words landed, and before she questioned it, I fused her lips to mine. She relented to me, allowing my tongue to slide into her mouth, her body soft and supple. I grinned when she raked her nails across my back.
“Good girl,” I crooned, my lips hovering over hers.
Smirking, she stole another biting kiss, and the fire I loved about her erupted in her gaze.
“I needed to hear that. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” I said, nudging the forgotten box in her lap. “Now open.”
The lightheartedness from earlier reappeared as a broad smile split across her swollen, kiss-bitten lips.
My adorable omega wiggled in my lap again, and I choked down the inappropriate thoughts flashing in my mind as she tossed the lid away.
She unfurled the piece of paper inside, her eyes narrowing as she reread the legal document multiple times before pouting at me.
“What is it?”
“A deed for fifty acres outside of the city.”
A cute furrow nestled between her brows. I rubbed the wrinkles away, kissing the spot before explaining.
“The permits for an animal rescue and sanctuary on that property have been approved. Construction will begin next week. You can be involved as much as you want. A beta from Georgia has agreed to relocate here to handle the running of the rescue. She has the knowledge and experience.”
“Kaelen,” she breathed, knocking a plate full of eggs to the floor as she scurried into my lap.
“Ooof,” I grumbled, surprised by something so tiny knocking the wind out of me.
My arms instinctively wrapped around her. Unshed tears glimmered in her eyes, and my alpha preened at how happy we made our omega. It wasn’t pain or grief in her gaze. It was pure joy. And I put it there. And I would for the rest of my life.
The sapphire on her ring was smooth under my fingers as I brushed it.
“Sorry,” she squeaked, eyeing the spilled food as a pretty blush colored her cheeks. “This is… It’s… I can’t believe it. This will help so many animals.”
All the blood in my body rushed south, and I hissed internally for my cock to relax. Now was not the time. No matter how Willow’s nipples tightened against that silky sleep top, or how her cute arse shimmied in my lap.
“Anything you want, is yours,” I murmured, kissing her temple.
An intoxicating cloud of honey, wildflowers, and fresh rain blossomed around us. I kissed my girl and she perfumed so prettily for me. She mewled, trying to crawl into my skin, and I traced the notches on her spine.
Finally, I think she understood what I was willing to do for her, and now, she was strong enough to accept it.