Chapter 33
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Dhara
“There’s my girl,” Frankie said as he scooted into his booth, looking genuinely pleased that I was working today.
“Hey there. I missed my morning crowd. I couldn’t stay away.”
I gave him a wink that had the old man chuckling. He glanced toward the back and then frowned.
“Wait... where’s your protector?”
“Actually, I found a pack, and he’s with them right now. He doesn’t have to come in every day. They’ll get him to school.”
Frankie’s eyes softened, looking more like a grandfather than the old flirt he was usually good for.
“Good for you, kid. You deserve some happiness.”
“Thanks,” I said as I flipped his mug over and poured him a steaming cup of coffee that I knew he’d be wanting.
A fresh wave of customers walked in the door, so I said a quick goodbye to Frankie before putting his order in with Max. Then I fell into the easy comfort of work.
Busy mornings were always my favorite. I may be running around like crazy, but the tips were good, the customers were fun, and I liked staying busy. It made the day fly by.
“Here, woman. Hydrate,” Lydia said, sliding a water my way.
“Thanks,” I said quickly, sucking down half the cup before putting it in my usual spot to keep it safe.
We had finally hit a lull in customers.
“Why don’t you put in your breakfast, now? You know it’s on the house.”
I started to protest out of habit, and she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at me.
“I let you get away with lying to me that you’d already eaten breakfast every day because I knew you wouldn’t accept it if I said it was fine. But Gavin isn’t here. He’s probably having a nice meal with that pack of yours, so how about you tell me what to put in for you?”
My cheeks flushed. “You knew I was lying?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course, I knew you were lying. I know you like my own sister. But this is part of the perks of working here. We all get our meals, and I’ll be damned if my girl goes hungry.”
“Okay, okay. But I can put my own order in.”
“By all means,” she said, waving me toward Max before raising her voice so he could hear. “She’s putting in an order, Max. Make sure my girl eats.”
“About fucking time,” Max grumbled. “Gavin’s not here for you to shove your breakfast onto. You have to eat it yourself.”
I huffed out a laugh. They were impossible. Sweet, but infuriating in a way only family could be.
I went around and did a few refills, making sure everybody had what they needed before Lydia took over.
“You go put some meat on those bones,” Lydia said as Max hit the bell. His face was stern and he stared me down until I walked over. His face was warning me silently that I better eat every bite.
I took my plate and sat down at the counter, digging into the biscuits and gravy, fluffy eggs, and a side of bacon.
The same thing I ordered every time.
It smelled incredible. Half of it was gone before I’d even had a chance to breathe.
“Hey.” Lydia slid my phone over. “This has been going off like crazy in the back room. Maybe it’s important.”
I frowned as she pushed my phone across the counter. Gavin would call the diner if there was an emergency.
A knot tightened in my stomach when I saw the social worker’s name—the one who’d helped us get emergency custody. She’d had to make sure we had a place to live and means to stand on our own. Most of which had been taken care of by my pack while I was at the hospital.
I’d only met her in person once, but I was already the person taking care of him. Even my mother had to admit that.
I’d done my interviews. We’d proven that we could take care of him. Conrad had even put his car in my name and added my name to the house to prove even further that we were stable.
So, what could be the issue now?
“Hey, Dhara, breathe. You went real pale on me there,” Lydia said, reaching over to touch my hand.
I jerked back, blinking up at her as I tried to get my brain to both calm down and catch up to the current moment.
“I have to make a call,” I said, shoving my plate away and grabbing my phone.
My stomach was rolling with nerves as I dialed the number back.
It rang twice before her voice echoed through the speaker. “Dhara.”
“What’s wrong?” I managed to choke out.
“Listen, first I need you to breathe. I know seeing my name probably didn’t do you any favors.”
“Please, Hannah. Tell me what’s going on,” I begged.
“Let me just get it out there. Your mom is out of jail, and she is now petitioning the court for custody again. She’s claiming that it was all a misunderstanding.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I burst out, pacing the back storage room as I listened to her. My hands were curled around the phone so tightly it was digging into my palm.
“With all the evidence stacked against her, she’s not going to have a chance,” Hannah said.
Her voice was calm but it didn’t help. “But we are going to come with just as much evidence as we did the last time. No judge will look at this case and hand him back over to his mom, and to be completely candid, your lawyer would never allow it. Not in a million years. He’s one of the best in the business. Your pack did not play around.”
I’d never been so grateful for them in my life.
My lungs were so tight it felt hard to take in a single breath.
“I just can’t lose him. She can’t have him. She’ll hurt him if I’m not there, and I can’t go back.” My voice cracked. “She put me in the hospital, Hannah.”
I’d poured out my heart to this woman, giving her every detail that I thought could help me. She’d been horrified with every new detail she’d heard.
“I am going to call your lawyer, if you give me permission to do that, of course.”
“Yes. Anything you need,” I rushed out.
“Perfect. We’re going to make a game plan, and, apparently, your mother knows someone because I’ve never seen a trial move forward this fast. They want to petition for custody. We’re going to counter-petition for full custody to go to you.”
“Yes, as it should,” I growled. “She’s not getting her hands on my brother. I fought too damn hard for this.”
“She’s delusional, and she’s desperate.”
“I’m not sure why,” I argued. “She shouldn’t care. I freed her of the burden she always complained about. I gave her the chance to go live her life without us.”
“In her eyes, you also sent her to jail. She’s probably doing this solely for revenge against you. I’ve seen people like her far too much in my line of work.”
Hannah was always blunt. Good. I didn’t need pretty words, I knew exactly who my mother was. I always had.
“You’re probably right,” I said.
I had to forcefully swallow down the lump forming in my throat at the fact that my own mother hated me so fucking much that she would fight me for custody of the child she’d abused and neglected his whole life.
“The lawyer will get back to you with the actual court date,” she promised, “but I wanted you to hear this from me. Keep an eye out. If we need to do an emergency no-contact order, you call him immediately and get one. Keep me in the loop. Remember, as far as the law states, she has no right to contact you or Gavin.”
“Okay,” I said. “Okay. I’m going to make some calls. Thank you, Hannah.”
I ended the call and immediately dialed Gavin’s school. The poor secretary who answered was met with my frantic voice.
“Hello. Hi. I am the current legal guardian of Gavin Livingston. It was said before that I am the only one allowed to pick him up, well, me and my pack. I need to make sure that every staff member there knows because his mother is out of jail and is likely going to attempt to show up. If she does, call the cops. Do not release him to her.”
“Oh wow, yes, definitely. I’m opening up his file now.” I heard typing in the background. “I see the note in bright, bold letters. I will let security and staff know, along with sending out a school-wide memo.”
“I’m trusting you to protect him,” I said, voice hard to drive my point home. She had my whole world in her hands and I needed her to know this was serious.
“I promise, ma’am. We will.”
After that call ended, I started shaking so violently that my phone clattered to the floor. Lydia found me before I could pick it up. She took one look at my face and simply tugged me closer, holding me tight.
“It’s okay. Tell me what’s going on. What can I do?”
“She’s out of jail. She’s trying to get Gavin back. She filed for custody. She’s making us go to trial.”
“It was always headed there, sweetheart,” she said gently. “This just speeds it up, and no one in their right mind would ever do anything that would send him back into danger.”
“She’s calling my lawyer. I need to call the guys,” I rambled on, still shaking.
“You’re going to sit down before you pass out,” she said, gently guiding me to one of the extra chairs.
She picked up my phone and put it back into my hands.
“You call the guys. I’m going to work on character witnesses.
We’ve seen everything she’s done. We’ve seen the bruises you’ve tried to hide.
We’ve seen both of you barely scraping by.
I watched her stalk you to keep control.
We will get every person we can to come forward and write a character statement for you against her.
You have a whole community behind you here in South Lake. ”
Part of me doubted they’d say a word against her. No one ever intervened.
Bitterness aside, I knew that wasn’t true. People reported. The system just failed us every time before now.
“Thank you,” I said, swiping at the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. At the moment, all I could think was that I needed my alpha. I knew my deltas would be here in a second, but for some reason, my omega just needed her alpha.
Conrad answered on the first ring. “Hey, baby. How’s your morning going?”
“Conrad...” My voice cracked before another sob escaped. I tried to hold it together and explain what was going on, but I failed.
Just hearing his voice had the dam blowing wide open again.
“Baby, where are you? Are you at the diner?”
“Yes,” I choked out between sobs.
“We’re on our way.”
“What’s going on? Is she okay?” Lachlan’s voice was just as frantic.
“Is she still at work?” August asked.
I heard the rev of an engine seconds later. He didn’t give them much as he whispered reassurances to me. I didn’t hang up the phone, I just sobbed quietly.
All the years of pent-up emotion spilled out of me, and I couldn’t seem to stop it. Then I was hit with a wall of my pack.
Shockingly, Lachlan was the first to find me.
He pulled me close, the scent of pine, blackberry, and rain. It was sharp and electric, breaking through the panic enough to reach me.
“Lach...” I sobbed again. “She’s trying to take him away.”
“Who’s trying to take him away, baby?” Conrad was here now. The scent of toasted coconut, vanilla, and ocean air washed over me in a calming wave that settled the tears enough that I could speak.
“My mother.” Then I gave them the entire story in one breath. Their reaction was as visceral as mine, though without the tears.
“She’s not touching him,” August said. He pulled me from Lachlan’s arms, placing his hands on my cheeks and forcing me to look at him.
His green eyes were vibrant and full of fury. His lime scent was so sharp that it almost drowned out the cedar and basil.
“We have evidence and history on our side. We have stability.”
“My brother sent me everything he had just in case,” Lachlan said.
“I’ve got images of her in Vegas and a few other times that she simply disappeared.
I made sure they were casual photos that looked like they were taken out on the street, and I sent him money so it looks like we hired him as a private investigator.
That way everything is above the board and legal.
Our lawyer has already agreed to take everything I’ve gathered, and he’s checking it over. ”
“And remember, Gavin has a say in this,” Conrad reminded me.
“He’s going to tell the same story you do in that courtroom.
If not worse, because while you were busy protecting him, he was watching you take every hit, skipping meals so he had food to eat, and giving everything you had to him.
That kind of impact doesn’t just get washed away because your mom has a few random connections and some corrupt cops. ”
“She’s never going to touch him again,” I vowed, finally letting their confidence reassure me past the moment of panic.
“No, firecracker. She’s not,” August promised.
Something about the dangerous quality to his voice told me that no matter what was left unsaid, they meant every word.
They’d promised me once that we’d run if we had to.
I had a feeling they’d follow through no matter how this trial turned out.
Gavin was going to be safe.
No matter the cost.