Chapter 33
Luciano
“Let me pass.” I glare at my brother.
He stands there with that irritatingly calm expression, which only makes me want to punch him more.
Stood in the doorway of Kaiden’s bedroom, with his big ass arms folded over his chest, acting like some type of guard.
Syl said he heard the shower a few hours ago, and I know damn well Val wouldn’t have left Revea’s side for a refresh.
Which means she was awake.
Which means my brother didn’t tell us.
Which means he’s about three seconds away from being tackled.
“She needs to rest.”
“But she’s been awake, right?” I say.
No response.
“Even had a nice, long shower. Good of you to tell us.”
He glowers, so I change tactics.
“I just want to see her. I won’t wake her.”
I go to move past him.
He moves to block it.
“I swear to God, Val.” I grit my jaw, my alpha pacing. “Last chance, let me in, or there’ll be a fight.”
He cracks his neck left, then right. “Guess there’ll be a fight then—”
I tackle the fucker, slamming him to the ground with a loud thud. Winded, I barely make it to my feet before he grabs my ankle and yanks me back down. I kick out, hitting something solid. He grunts, but a second later, he’s on top of me, forcing me onto my stomach.
I growl, twist, using everything I’ve got to shove the big fucker off me. We roll. My arm hooks around his neck just as we slam into something with a crash.
“Let go... you fucking…” I tighten my hold around his throat, but he’s slipped an arm under mine, and his hand’s slapping my face. “I’ll bite.” Another slap. “Your fucking fingers off—”
“Stop.”
We both freeze. On the ground. Val’s fingers in my mouth.
My eyes, the only part that can move, dart to the petite, sock-clad feet coming closer.
Slowly, my gaze trails up long bare legs, over a white t-shirt, until I finally reach the amused smirk of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.
I haven’t seen her in person for over a week, almost nine full days, and if I wasn’t frozen from her bark, I would be from this—her.
Long pink hair spills over her shoulders in soft waves, the late afternoon light turning the strands a soft peach. When her bright green eyes catch mine, they hold.
And that mouth, curved like she knows exactly what she’s doing to us.
Dios, I’ve missed that smile.
Her bark might have locked me in place beneath her, but I am more than happy to stay.
“Hi, Luc,” she says, peering down at me with a little wave, smile set, and fucking hell.
I might be frozen here, but my dick doesn’t get the memo.
More footsteps join, heavier, louder.
“You dickheads.” Kaiden’s voice rumbles through the bond, eyes glancing over us before sweeping up to Revea. “Are you okay?” His tone is ten times smoother.
“Yeah, I just woke up to...” She tilts her head, all that soft blush of hair tilting with her. “I’m not really sure what, but I barked at them to stop.”
“Is everything okay...?” Sylvan’s voice is behind me, but I clock the moment he sees Revea because his words trickle out and his steps quicken.
He walks into the room, stepping over me and Val like we’re not even there, reaches Revea, and kisses her.
It’s like a movie kiss. One hand slides to her waist, and he dips her like we’re in the middle of a fucking ballroom scene.
The jealousy surging through me heats my blood until my fingers twitch, and when a breathy sound escapes her, the bark breaks completely.
I push Val’s big ass off and jump up just in time to catch Revea’s flushed face as Syl restraightens her, his nose brushing hers.
When he looks like he’s about to go in for round two, I place a halting grip on his shoulder.
“Let her breathe, man,” I chuckle softly.
“She can breathe,” he says without missing a beat.
Then she looks at me, gaze glassy, half-lidded. “Yes, I can.”
She yanks me down by my shirt, and her mouth is on mine.
It takes me a second to realise what she’s done, that she’s kissing me, then everything and everyone disappears.
My hands find her waist, tongue slipping into her hot mouth, dominating, claiming as I step us back until I find the nearest hard surface to push her against.
“Omph.”
My brows pull together, mouth still on Revea’s, as my eyes meet a frowning Sylvan, pinned between her back and the wall.
“Shit, sorry, man.” I laugh.
She joins in, but it’s all soft and raspy. Damn, that sexy little laugh rushes through me like a sedative.
I stare at her, magnetised. “I missed you.”
I freeze. Shit. Where did that come from?
But she just smiles, reaching up to hold my face with those skilful fingers. “I missed you too,” she says simply. Then glances over her shoulder to Sylvan. “And you—”
Sylvan’s on her again, hands gripping her waist above mine. When she shifts to reach him better, she brushes up against my groin, and my mouth falls to her neck on a pained groan.
Fuck, this is hot.
Revea between us. Sylvan coaxing out these breathy little moans that urge me to grind into her—
“Alright, enough. She needs rest,” Val grumbles over the bond, his jealousy so damn sharp I’m keen to ignore it. “Seriously. She isn’t fully recovered. I need her to eat.”
That makes me pause. Reassess.
I realise the heat of her skin beneath my lips isn’t just arousal. The sour tang of her scent only confirms it.
She might be feeling better, but she’s still ill.
I sigh against her shoulder and start plying her away from Sylvan, walking backwards with her in my arms.
But he holds on.
“Let go,” I rumble.
He growls. I snarl back.
But Kaiden’s growl is louder, rumbling the room like thunder as he moves to us.
“Stop,” he barks. “Now—”
“Sorry, alpha,” Revea whispers.
She’s looking up at Kaiden, but we all feel that alpha.
And she doesn’t sound sorry, not at all.
Doesn’t look it either with that sly little smirk.
“I forgot to say thank you.” With me holding her up, her hand is able to cup his jaw. “Thank you for finding me, alpha.” We all watch as her thumb brushes over his parted mouth. “I missed you.”
Pretty sure we’re all hard now.
Thankfully, Revea’s distraction means Kaiden’s bark breaks, and I’m able to separate her from Syl.
I head straight to the bed while the others try to recover from Revea’s presence.
“She didn’t even need to bark,” I joke with Val, who’s followed me to the bed, already pulling covers back.
He smirks. Good to know our fighting is over.
I place her down, then immediately slide in after, pulling her into my lap and propping her against my chest without pause.
Seems everyone has recovered, because each of my packmates is staring at me with dark expressions, like they’re ready to rip off my head just to steal my place.
“You smell so good.” She sighs, leaning back into me.
I grin so wide my jaw aches. “So do you, baby,” I murmur, nudging her throat with my nose. “How’re you feeling? Need a new guard? I’m more than happy to replace Val…”
He mouths fuck off, but Revea laughs.
She tilts her head back, smiling up at me. “I feel much better, thanks. Especially since Val told me…” Her eyes dart over to my brother, who’s perched on the edge of the bed.
But then her head drops, fingers toying with the bed cover. “He said you’ve… dealt with… everything.”
“We did.” Sylvan appears to her left, tablet in hand. “I’ll show you.”
“If you’re up to it,” Kaiden says, sitting on the bed a little lower down by her legs. “We don’t have to talk about it now. It can wait.”
She shifts, sitting higher in my lap. “It’s okay. I want to know.”
A soft hum fills the room as a projector screen descends from the ceiling.
“What else does this house have?” Revea murmurs.
I place my lips to her ear. “I’ll give you the grand tour when you’re better.”
But our private moment is interrupted as the large screen flickers to life.
Revea blinks at it. Then Sylvan. Then back to the screen. “Is this... a presentation?”
“Yes. It’s the most effective way to share information,” he says, unfortunately not catching her confused tone or noticing her fond smile, already clicking to the next slide.
Then a mugshot of a man appears.
“I knew it,” she says sourly. “That’s the alpha who attacked Serena, right?”
“Yes. I started by tracking the footage by going back to your servers. There’d been a few successful hacks. I found them all, then narrowed them down with background checks. Wasn’t difficult.”
More mugshots appear. Four men.
“These are the hackers. If you can call them that,” Sylvan mumbles. “Accessing their emails was embarrassingly easy. That’s how I found who hired them.”
He flicks back to the original mugshot.
“I could have stopped there. What I’d gathered in their emails was enough evidence for arrest on charges of blackmail, stalking, threats, hacking.” His eyes sweep to Revea’s, and his tone drops. “But I didn’t.”
The next slide contains the four hackers again, but this time, underneath each image is a list.
“I found every bad thing they ever did. Petty things at first.” He reads some from the screen. “Parking fines, phishing emails, scams.”
Another slide appears, filled with more writing.
“Then… worse things. Other victims they’ve blackmailed. Often for money, but not always…” Sylvan stops, his jaw tightening. “Every victim was a woman or an omega. These hackers are a pack and part of an Alphasphere group. A forum where alphas discuss traditional roles for omegas.”
He pauses, scanning the information lining the screen.
“For alphas with such strong convictions, it’s interesting that none of them attach their real identities to those opinions.” He tilts his head slightly. “Until I leaked them.”
I huff a laugh. Syl is always so casual about his skills; he’s not even seen Revea’s awestruck expression.
Then he continues. “The alpha who attacked your employee, Edward Pembroke. He comes from old money, generational wealth, and his crimes run just as deep.” Sylvan scowls as he reads, “Countless assault charges—all dropped, buried. Then there’s the fraud.”
Bank account screenshots appear.