Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
LARK
Current Day, Widows Peak
It’s time to come home, Aurora.
I bite my lip as I read the message for the fiftieth time. It hasn’t changed. Not that I expected it to. But part of me keeps hoping it’ll disappear. Not exist. Go. Away.
“Ugh.” I pick up my coffee and take a sip, wishing the caffeine would ease the ache growing inside.
“Ugh is right,” Luna says as she plops down across from me at the bakery cafe. “I don’t know how you drink it like that.”
I glance at my cup of heavenly liquid and look back up at her. “You mean… you don’t know how I drink coffee the way it’s intended to be enjoyed?”
She rolls her russet-brown eyes. “Says the woman who refuses to try a cappuccino.”
“Why would I want to spoil a perfectly good cup of coffee with milk?”
“It’s so much more than that, my dear Lark,” she replies, her slender fingers clasping together on the small table as she leans toward me. “Now tell me why I’m risking my ‘one baked good a week’ rule by hanging out with you here.”
I twist my lips to the side. I called her because she’s the only one I can talk to about this. She knows enough of my history to understand my predicament.
“We really should get a donut,” I admit, glancing at where Emma is standing behind the counter. She’s currently helping a beta pick out a sweet treat. “Or maybe a dozen donuts.”
One of Luna’s dark mahogany eyebrows wings upward to her matching hairline. “That sounds ominous.”
“Because it is,” I mutter, then show her my phone.
The use of my legal name—Aurora—is a dead giveaway. She’s the only one in Widows Peak who knows my true identity. And very few people outside of this place refer to me by my given name.
“Fuck.”
“Yeahhh,” I drawl, then take another sip of my coffee.
“You’re going to need something stronger than a donut,” she says, leaving me to go stand in line.
When she returns with a pair of warm cinnamon rolls, I almost smile. Almost. But the message on my phone is still there. Still reads the same way. Still gives me the same instructions.
Come home.
My stomach twists. “My father must be in bad shape for Gio to send me that message,” I say softly.
Luna’s brow furrows, probably because talking about my father makes her think of her own.
Our fathers were colleagues of a sort. If criminal syndicate members can even be called that.
Her father is also dead. While mine… mine was very much alive the last time I checked. But Gio’s text this morning suggests that status is about to change.
I should care.
I should want to go home and say goodbye to the man who helped create me.
But we were never that close. I was a pawn. A bargaining chip he couldn’t wait to play.
That’s why I’ve stayed here—in Widows Peak—to hide.
The only member of my family who knows where I am is Gio. Everyone else probably thinks I’m dead. Not sure. I’ve let Gio handle all that.
However, his assistance has always been associated with a certain price. You will come home when I tell you to, he said years ago.
I agreed.
And it seems he’s decided it’s time for me to earn my keep.
I pick up the cinnamon roll, not caring at all that it’s messy and sticky, and shove part of it into my mouth.
Luna watches with a wary expression. She knows this life better than anyone else in Widows Peak. Although, her background is cartel related, while mine is the mafia.
My father is a don. One of three in New York City, part of a trio of old families that once split up the land into three even pieces.
Bianchi.
Ricci.
Ferraro.
I shiver just thinking about the history between those names. I’m a Bianchi. A coveted omega daughter. The ultimate prize in my father’s world.
Yet I disappeared.
Not on purpose at first. But I just never went home.
I’m not na?ve, though. I know why Gio made me promise to return when he requested it. He might be a good older brother, but he knows I’m valuable.
“Gio won’t auction me off, though. Not like my father probably would have, anyway.” The words are for me, not Luna. “Which means he has something else in mind.”
“Maybe a leadership role?” Luna suggests, not at all bothered by my wayward commentary. She’s used to my chaotic conversation style. I often change topic or discussion direction mid-sentence.
I snort. “That doesn’t happen in the infamous mafia trio. Omegas are kept and bred. That’s it.” I saw what my father and his two enforcers did to my mother. They treated her like a toy.
A very expensive, well-dressed, pampered toy. But a toy nonetheless.
“I mean, you could just… not go?” She utters the words slowly, phrasing them like a question. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I drawl. “Best case? Gio sends some enforcers to retrieve me. Worst case? He comes himself. Either way, my secret is revealed, and I’ll probably be kicked out of Widows Peak for causing trouble.”
Luna gives me a stern look. “That would never happen and you know it.”
“Which part?” I ask, feigning innocence. “Gio coming to get me or my identity becoming town knowledge?”
“The Widows would never kick you out,” she tells me, referring to the six of us who founded Widows Peak. “We’re bonded in a way that’s impenetrable. And if you think you’re the only one here with secrets, think again.”
I study her, wondering if she’s referring to herself. Or maybe someone else has shared something in confidence.
Regardless of what it is, I don’t pry. If anyone can respect the right to privacy, it’s me.
I pick up my cinnamon roll again to take another bite, then use a napkin to wipe the icing off my hand.
Meanwhile, Luna uses a fork to eat hers.
I normally would, too. But today is not the day to care about manners.
We eat in silence for a few moments.
Then Luna gets up without a word to go grab some bottles of water from Emma. “On the house,” Luna tells me as she sets them down. “I guess Emma can tell it’s not a great day.”
I glance at the petite omega and force myself to give her a thankful smile.
Then I look back at Luna and say, “You know I have to go back.”
“Yeah,” she replies. “Yeah, you have to go back.”
I growl and pick up my coffee to finish it. “I was hoping you would be the voice of reason.”
“I tried that by suggesting you just stay here, and you turned me down.”
“Because Gio would just come get me.”
“Because Gio would just come get you,” she echoes. “Maybe he simply wants you to visit?” Her uncertain tone tells me she knows how ridiculous that sounds.
However, I huff a laugh at it anyway and mutter, “Anything’s possible, I guess.”
“Pigs could fly tomorrow,” she agrees.
“They could.”
“And alphas could stop obsessing over their knots,” she adds, making me snort.
“Now, we both know that is never going to happen.” I take the final bite of my cinnamon roll, the flavor doing little to calm my nerves. “I guess I’m…” I trail off as my phone lights up with a new message. My brother’s name scrolls across the screen, causing my stomach to dip. “Fuck.”
I pick up the device to read what he’s written and feel my heart stop in my chest.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I breathe, reading and rereading his words. “You didn’t even give me twelve hours!”
“Lark?” Lexi’s familiar voice drifts through the bakery, making my shoulders stiffen.
I love all my omega sisters here—the Widows I escaped Henderson estate with—but I’m not sure I can mask my mounting fury.
And fury leads to questions.
Which leads to me having to reveal secrets or lie. And I really don’t want to lie.
Not sharing the full truth of why Widows Peak was a safe location for us all to run to… was a choice I made to protect my friends. However, not sharing my past—my real name—was a choice I made to protect myself.
“Everything okay here?” Lexi asks as she walks toward us. She must have heard my tone when she opened the door.
Shit.
“Oh, yeah,” Luna replies, waving a dismissive hand. “Lark’s just annoyed about a message someone sent her. Probably work related or something.”
She shrugs and pushes her plate to the side.
“I need a cappuccino,” Luna adds, intercepting Lexi. “I assume you’re here for a box of maple donuts?” Her dark eyes lower to Lexi’s belly, where a baby bump has started to show. “Pregnancy cravings?”
“Ughhh,” Lexi groans. “Yes. All I want to do is eat.”
Luna’s lips twitch. “Good thing you came to the bakery, then.” She loops her arm around Lexi’s neck and guides her away from the table. Then she glances back at me to ask, “Want another coffee?” Her voice and tone are even, but her eyes show a hint of concern.
She didn’t get a chance to read my brother’s message, but she clearly knows it wasn’t good.
“No. I… I need to pack.” Because I have thirty minutes before a driver named Noah is coming to get me.
“Pack?” Lexi echoes, looking at me again. “Where are you going?”
“New York City,” I mutter, standing. “I… I need to deal with some family stuff.” I wince at how lame that sounds. Then cringe when I see her blue eyes light up with interest.
“Family stuff?” She frowns then. “I… I don’t think I know anything about your family.” She looks at Luna. “That’s weird, right?” Her eyes widen now. “Oh my God, I’m a bad friend. A really bad friend.”
“No, you’re not,” Luna inserts before I have a chance. “You’re an amazing friend. The best. And you need to eat, remember? Maple donuts?”
Lexi glances between us, her eyes welling with tears. “These pregnancy hormones are killing me.” She swipes furiously at one of the drops that falls down her cheeks. “All I do is eat, cry, and…” Her cheeks pinken. “Well, that part I don’t mind.”
By the way her peaches-and-cream scent heightens, I assume she’s now thinking about sex with her new pack.
Two sexy alphas and a sinfully handsome omega.
Yeah, Lexi hit the jackpot with her men. As did her twin, Silva. Both omegas only recently found their packs, making it all pretty fresh and new.
The law enforcement links with both their pack mates made me a little nervous at first, but their presence here only bolsters the security of the town. And it’s not like any of them specialize in wire fraud or property deeds.
Not that I left any evidence behind of my tampering, I think. It was all legal… on paper.
Clearing my throat, I stand and walk over to give Lexi a hug—because she looks like she needs one—and meet Luna’s gaze. I don’t say anything out loud but promise her with a look that I’ll be in touch when I can.
Then I pull back to meet Lexi’s gaze. We’re roughly the same height, making it easy to do. “You’re going to be an amazing mom, Lexi.” I feel the need to say those words in case I never see her again.
Unfortunately, they’re the wrong ones to voice because she starts to cry again.
Luna’s eyes widen, and she takes over hugging our friend. “Emmett?” Luna mouths, referring to Lexi’s omega lover.
I nod and go grab my phone. It feels good to swipe my brother’s text off my screen, almost like I’m ignoring him.
I can’t, though.
Not for long, anyway.
Dismissing the nerves twisting my insides, I pull up Emmett’s name and type out a quick message. Lexi is having big emotions in the bakery. You or one of those alphas of yours should probably get over here. Stat.
Emmett’s reply is immediate. OMW.
Slipping the phone into my pocket, I take in Luna and Lexi’s embrace and feel my stomach twist again.
Widows Peak is safe.
It’s home.
It’s ours.
Leaving feels unnatural and wrong. But that note from Gio was pretty fucking clear. Noah will be there in thirty minutes to retrieve you. The jet is waiting.
Luna’s comment about me being annoyed is an understatement. I’m annoyed and pissed. Because how fucking dare he not give me time to accept his summons.
I could have booked my own flight, I start typing, letting my fury guide my fingers. I don’t need to fly home on the family jet, Gio.
Actually, maybe I should refuse.
Tell him I already booked something for tomorrow.
Or later this week.
Give me a few days to process his demand.
And I don’t know anyone named Noah, I add. Why would you send a stranger to pick me up?
Which has me wondering if this is even legitimate at all.
What if someone else has Gio’s phone?
What if something’s happened to my brother?
Eyes narrowed, I delete everything I’ve typed so far and respond with one word. Tuna.
If he doesn’t respond with the appropriate reply by the time I get home, then I’ll know something isn’t right.
But if it’s the response I expect… I’ll let Noah take me to the jet. And face my fate.