45. Idris #2
“I have the preserved chain,” Kade says. “The account pulled Callie’s calendar from Garrett’s home network. It also accessed the three older transition files we identified yesterday.”
Zana lifts one of the folders. “The assistant has retained separate counsel. Through that attorney, she has denied giving Garrett her credentials and stated that he had access to her work laptop during their relationship.”
Callie shifts beside Theo. Sloane’s anger reaches me immediately, hot enough to tighten the new bond before he takes a breath and contains it.
“When did that relationship end?” Callie asks.
“Four months ago,” Zana answers. “She changed her personal passwords afterward but did not realize her firm credentials had been saved on an older device he still possessed.”
Theo’s fingers tighten around Callie’s sleeve. She covers his hand with hers and waits for Zana to continue.
“The account access gives us a direct link between Garrett and the campus confrontation,” Zana says.
“The older files matter because each contains a transition in which a Beta was removed shortly before or after an Omega joined. In two cases, the records include dissolution documents that don't match the court’s retained copies.”
Theo’s fingers tighten around Callie’s sleeve, Theo’s unease sharpening through the bond. His mind reaches for the old structure, for every time Garrett told him Callie was dangerous or unnecessary, and I move from the chair to the couch before the feeling grows.
Theo makes room without being asked. I sit beside him and place one hand on the back of his neck while Callie keeps hold of his fingers.
“Do those Betas know?” she asks.
“Not yet,” Zana says. “I will not contact them until I know what I am asking them to revisit and what protections are available. Their cases strengthen yours, but they are not evidence to be used without consent.”
Callie nods slowly. Relief passes through the bond because Zana did not reduce strangers to useful files, and I feel my own respect for her deepen.
“What happens next?” Dash asks.
Zana glances toward him on the floor before answering.
“Tomorrow morning, I file the expanded complaint with the access logs, the campus footage, and the witness statements. Kade will provide the verified digital chain directly to the investigator. Callie’s records will only be included after she approves the exact documents. ”
Dash looks toward Callie. “You should see every page before it goes.”
“I intend to,” she says.
Sloane’s thumb moves over her knee. He is impatient to act, but the bond carries the effort he is making to wait for Callie’s decision rather than rushing ahead of it.
Zana opens another folder. “Theo, I also need to discuss your statement.”
Theo goes still beside me. His first reaction is old and instinctive, but he does not disappear into it.
“What part?” he asks.
“The commands, the heat decisions, and the statements Garrett made about Callie’s place in the pack.
” Zana’s tone remains direct without becoming harsh.
“You can provide a written statement, speak to the investigator, or do both. I will prepare you before any interview, and you may stop at any time.”
Theo looks at Callie. She does not answer for him or tell him what would help the case.
“He used commands when I asked for her,” Theo says, his voice soft but clear. “He told me I was confused because I was close to heat. He said she was making me unstable.”
Zana writes something down. “Are you willing to include that in a formal statement?”
“Yes.” Theo’s hand closes around mine while his other remains beneath Callie’s. “I want them to know he spoke for me when I was trying to speak.”
Pride moves through Callie so strongly that the bond warms across my chest. Sloane feels it too, his affection pressing against all of us as he leans close enough to kiss Theo’s hair.
Zana does not praise Theo or turn his choice into a lesson. She gives him the next practical step and promises to send a draft that uses his own words.
Kade moves to the security portion of the call. The house network has already been isolated from the system Garrett accessed, but the filing will alert him that the case has advanced. Exterior coverage needs to be extended along the rear entrance and the older service door near the lockoff.
Dash shifts toward the laptop. “I can install another camera at the service door tonight.”
“I will review the placement first,” Kade says. “There is a blind angle from the eastern fence that needs to be covered without pointing into the neighbor’s property.”
Sloane looks at me. The urge to handle every detail ourselves passes between us, but Callie is already leaning forward.
“Will any of the new cameras record inside the house?” she asks.
“No,” Kade says. “Exterior approaches only. Nothing in the living spaces, and nothing added without everyone here agreeing to it.”
Callie relaxes, and I feel the change immediately. Theo does too, his shoulder settling beneath my hand.
Dash’s section on Callie’s bracelet lights while he remains beside the coffee table. She looks down at it, then toward him.
He has one hand in his pocket, touching his paired piece while he listens to Kade describe the rear coverage. When he realizes she has noticed, he does not pull his hand away or pretend the contact was accidental.
Callie smiles at him. The warmth that moves through her has no bond to carry into Dash, but his expression softens as though he feels it anyway.
Zana finishes by confirming the next morning’s filing time. Callie will receive the final packet tonight, Theo’s draft statement will follow, and the investigator has agreed to preserve the assistant’s device before Garrett can reach it.
“There is one more point,” Zana says. “Once the filing is accepted, Garrett may become less predictable. He has already lost access to Bellwether, and Crane and Vale placed him on administrative leave this afternoon.”
Sloane’s anger flares again. “He still has a license.”
“For the moment,” Zana says. “The bar complaint is separate, but the access logs will be included. Do not contact him, don't respond if he contacts you, and don't assume professional consequences will make him less dangerous.”
The call ends with plans rather than promises. Kade will send the camera layout within the hour, Zana will transmit the records packet, and Dash will coordinate the installation after everyone reviews it.
When the screen goes dark, the room remains quiet for several breaths. Theo leans into my side, and Callie’s concern for him moves through the bond before she turns and kisses his temple.
Sloane reaches for her hand. “Do you want to look at the records tonight?”
Callie considers the question instead of answering quickly. “I want to read them once, mark anything that is wrong, and send them back. Then I don't want Garrett in the rest of the evening.”
“That is what we will do,” I say.
She looks toward me, and the new bond warms between us. There is trust in the feeling, but there is also expectation. She isn't handing the decision over to me; she is waiting to see whether I will honor the one she has made.
I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “You choose the documents. We handle the security after.”
The oven timer sounds from the kitchen. Theo raises his head immediately, and Callie’s mouth curves as she pulls her legs from Sloane’s lap. “They need another minute before anyone touches them.”
Theo follows her anyway. Sloane stays close behind them while Dash gathers the laptop and carries it to the kitchen table.
I remain in the living room long enough to feel the three bonds stretch toward the next room. Callie’s anticipation warms first, followed by Theo’s hunger and Sloane’s affection as he places his hands on her waist again.
The amount of love moving through me would have been impossible to imagine before I claimed it. Garrett nearly replaced it with silence and left each of us believing the others had chosen the loss.
I enter the kitchen before the thought can hold me there. Callie’s transferred the cookies to a cooling rack, though Theo is already reaching toward the nearest one. She catches his wrist before his fingers touch it and draws his hand back to her chest.
“They’re hot,” she says. “Wait.”
Theo remains pressed against her side, watching the cookies with visible longing while Sloane stands behind her and kisses the flour still clinging to her hair.
“Milk or cocoa with them?” Sloane asks Theo.
Theo looks toward the refrigerator. His mouth opens, but nothing follows. Sloane waits as Theo tries once more. His throat moves without sound, frustration beginning to pinch between his brows.
Sloane rubs his thumb once over Theo’s shoulder. “Take your time, sweetheart.”
Theo closes his eyes for a second. “Cocoa,” he finally whispers.
“Cocoa it is.”
Sloane turns toward the cabinet and Theo watches him go, then steals the edge of Callie’s cooled cookie while she’s looking the other way. Dash sets out plates, then takes the chair beside Callie.
She breaks one cookie in half once it has cooled enough to hold. Steam rises from the center, carrying chocolate and butter through the kitchen, and she turns toward me with one piece balanced between her fingers.
“Come here,” she says.
I step between her knees where she sits on the stool. Her free hand rests against my chest while she lifts the cookie to my mouth.
I take the first bite from her fingers. Theo reaches for the other half, Sloane’s arm settles around Callie’s shoulders, and Dash’s knee presses against hers beneath the counter while the bonds remain warm inside me.