Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Thane
“You had cameras? For what?” Leo asks, standing up.
“Doesn’t matter. Dad ruined those plans, didn’t he?” she snarls at him.
“Thankfully,” Leo shudders before pointing an accusing finger at her. “You were going to set us up?” he demands, and she glares at him.
“I needed the money. I couldn’t ask Dad for it. He would have wanted to know why. And Corbin has connections with the vamps.”
“You were going to use the footage to blackmail your own uncle to make Talon’s debts go away?” I ask, and she hangs her head.
“Yeah, but I didn’t expect my father to show up, so that didn’t work.” She cringes as if remembering something unpleasant.
“So, you’ve always known Corbin is your uncle?” I ask her and she nods.
“Yes,” she says. I turn to glance at Leo questioningly.
She continues. “Corbin didn’t know, though.
Dad told me he could never find out. He didn’t want to risk Corbin using me as a weapon against him.
It’s why he sent me away to boarding school and then college.
That’s where he thought I was, at school, not here.
He didn’t know I dropped out and started working for Tal. ”
This entire situation is becoming more bizarre. Why would Curtis hide his own daughter from his brother? “Why did he think Corbin would use you against him?”
“Because one, I am Omega. I never bloomed,” she says, dropping her head.
Another confirmation of what Leo told me.
“Dad didn’t want me to get lost in the system, so he registered me as Beta.
He made me promise to never tell Corbin who I am to him.
Uncle Corbin used to visit the facility when I was a kid, and up until I left, Dad was worried Corbin would kill me.
He believes Corbin killed their father to gain control over his assets.
Dad didn’t care about the money, he just wants me alive,” Bree tells me.
“And your mother?” I ask her. Bree shrugs.
“Dad never spoke of her. He says he found me on his doorstep and awoke to the sounds of my cries. A note in the basket claimed I was his. He did a DNA test to confirm it and kept me hidden. I was raised by Mrs. Yates. She was a warden at the facility,” Bree answers.
“When was Harlow at the facility?” I ask, looking at Leo.
“Her paperwork says she was delivered there by the authorities when she was a teenager,” he answers, and I look back at Bree.
“So, you didn’t know Harlow?”
Bree shakes her head.
“No, Dad sent me to a boarding school for Betas when I was ten. I only saw him on holidays when he would visit.”
“How did he get you into a Beta boarding school?”
“He forged my documents, and the warden there owed him a favor. Dad helped him find a suitable Omega, so he helped cover up what I am. Not that it mattered. I am a defect Omega, anyway.”
“Defect?”
“Yes, I am missing some chromosomes, the ones that force us to bloom. I have everything else, just not the essential bits,” she explains.
I sigh, knowing we’re at another dead-end. She told me nothing I don’t already know, and I still have no idea where Corbin is hiding, so I get up.
“Wait, you’re going? What about Talon?”
“Corbin is wanted in every state right now, Bree. The authorities are searching for him, and he’ll be located soon enough,” I tell her.
“But Talon could be dead by then!”
I shake my head. “What exactly do you expect me to do about it? You said yourself, you can’t get a hold of Corbin, and you don’t know his location, which is why I came here. I was hoping you had answers,” I tell her. She nods, her lip quivering.
“So, we just do nothing? You aren’t even going to look for him?” she asks.
“No, I am going to visit your father, if you want to come?”
She quickly shakes her head.
“Dad and I are not on good terms right now, and if he finds out that Corbin has Talon, he will ask Corbin to kill him,” she says, breaking down again.
I look at Leo, who is also looking away from Bree. One thing about Alpha genes is the instinct to protect and comfort lower ranking wolves, and Leo and I both have to fight that urge right now.
“If you love Talon so much, why haven’t you let him mark you?” I ask her. It is no secret that Talon is in love with her. She looks up, and a tear slips down her face.
“Because I can’t give him the one thing Alphas want: an heir.”
“Talon doesn’t care about having an heir,” I say, feeling bad for her.
“He says that now, but if I let him mark me, he will be tied to me. I don’t want to take that from him.” I shake my head at her words but she continues. “And if he marks me, changes his mind, and tosses me away, I’m forever tied to him,” she whispers, and my stomach sinks for her.
“We’ll get him back, Bree,” I tell her, and she nods her head sadly.
“I hope so,” she whispers, wiping away a stray tear. “Harlow?” she asks.
“At home with the others. She gave birth to our daughter,” I say, and Bree perks up, smiling brightly.
“That’s great news! I was worried when I heard Corbin went out there. I’m glad she’s okay.”
“I’ll tell her to call you when she gets a chance. Just hold on and focus on this place. We’ll get Talon back. You’ll see, everything will be fine.”
She nods. I walk out, followed by Leo.
“So now where?” he asks.
“The airport to get your daughter. Then we are paying Curtis Black a visit,” I tell him.