JUSTICE
Justice
“There’s only one bed.” Mackenzie and Theo both tilted their heads to the right.
Ren’s laughter echoed through the apartment. “Justice Twill owns one of the most expensive condos in all of Port Haven and he only has a king size bed, a leather couch and a gaming console.”
“My home office is also decorated.” I said defensively.
“Did you…” Theo hedged, “like, pick this out of a showroom and just have the whole thing delivered?”
Ignoring that, I stepped out into the hall. “I figure you two can take these three rooms at the end of the hall, and maybe make your nest in between. We could have builders come in and knock down the walls if you want separate nests or make it one huge room or have adjoining doors or something.” I cracked open the door right across from mine. “Ren and I will take the rooms at the top of the hall, of course.”
“Of course? Why can’t we have them?” Mackenzie asked.
My brain lit up with irrational fear. Ren got the same look on his face that I had.
“It’s an alpha thing,” Ren explained. “I don’t think either one of us would sleep if you were closest to the door.” She shrugged, accepting that as truth. I rubbed away the literal heart palpitations that started.
“Seriously, though,” Theo stepped into the hall. “Did you just look at a picture and say, give me one of everything?”
“Or if you want, we can buy something else. Move to the suburbs. I can commute. Oh, we can buy the apartment below and make it a duplex. I’m going to call my real estate agent.”
“Port Haven has everything, so maybe there is a store just for nerdy yet sexy alpha decor.” Mackenzie spun through the living room with her arms out, looking up at the vaulted ceilings.
“Maybe we can do the living room up in ex-car thief chic.” Theo added.
“Ex? You quit your job. I didn’t say I was going to quit mine.”
Theo glanced up at the ceiling, too. “This place is big enough for a jungle gym and a swing.”
Mackenzie gasped and spun to Ren.
“Absolutely,” he vigorously nodded his head. “We are getting a swing for your nest. Absolutely.”
“Alright, you’ve had your giggles over my poor little rich boy life. Let’s go to Cuddle Puddle and buy beds. We’ll book time with a nest consultant to make everything perfect for you. I’ll get Aria to recommend interior designers.”
Theo folded his arms and gave me a look.
“Okay, fine. Yes, there was a bedroom I liked on PackSpace. I contacted the designer and had her give me exactly that. Happy now?”
“You have a PackSpace account?” She asked.
I sighed and hung my head. “I have sock puppet accounts.”
“Of course you do.”
I sorted through the mail on the side table by the door and ripped open the envelope Glenn had sent by courier. I handed out the cards to my pack. My pack. Even after a week on that yacht, none of this seemed real.
“It’s a Black Card.” Theo said, looking at it.
“What’s a Black Card?” Mackenzie asked.
“It’s just a credit card.” I said, sorting through other mail with my fingertip.
“Oh, for necessities. Where do we put the receipts?”
Confused, I looked at her. “My accountant…” I closed my mouth. Daryl had kicked her out with no bank account. No money. Now I had to wonder if she ever had money of her own. Anger flared in me so hot that my vision dimmed.
“Just.” I didn’t know if Ren said that out loud or just in my head or the pack bonds or whatever.
I swallowed. While we’d bobbed on the ocean for a week, I’d discovered that I could hold back my more intense emotions from the pack bonds. From the omegas at least. But never from Ren.
Lying under the stars while they slept those first few nights, Ren and I had talked about the Mackenzie issue. We put together what we knew and what we suspected had gone on in her relationship with Daryl. We touched on financial abuse, but it wasn’t uncommon for omegas to not work or deal with finances at all. The problem arose when money was used as a tool for manipulation. The bigger problem was that we didn’t think she saw the red flags as red flags. The line between being a shitty alpha and abuse was so fine, you could blink it away. We didn’t see immediate value in pointing it out to her and digging for details. We knew enough to start plotting retribution, the rest we’d deal with later.
“It’s just a credit card. Use it however you want. My accountant will figure things out.”
Theo poked his head into the kitchen.
Ren held the credit card in his hands, staring at it like he was in shock. I rolled my eyes.
“Ren, I don’t want to do this. My teeth are on your neck. The pack registration is already filed. The paperwork is all done. New IDs are on the way. All the accounts and trusts are set up. It’s not my money. It’s pack money. And I don’t want to get into a dick measuring ego contest about who makes what money. It’s pack money.”
He looked up and prowled towards me, and backed me into a wall with a hand around my neck. “I don’t give a fuck about that. I will happily spend your, our, money. But this?” He held the card up in front of my face.
I took the card and squinted at it, not getting it until my eyes settled on his name. Fuck.
“I’m sorry. My assistant ordered the cards. I didn’t specify. I’ll have him order new ones.”
He took my other hand and put it between his legs on his hard cock.
“Ren Twill? Wearing your name might be the sexiest thing that has ever happened to me, Alpha.”
I growled, stroking him as he claimed my mouth with his tongue. Hearing him call me that scrambled my brains maybe worse than Theo’s “Sir”.
He finished the kiss by biting my bottom lip. “Although, in my fantasies, it always sort of went the other way.”
“What way?” I said between pants.
“Justice Delano. Thank fuck I love topping from the bottom.”
“Are you two going to have sex, or are we going shopping?”
Ren growled, patted my cheek, and let me go. He put the card in his wallet.
I picked up my keys from the table and cursed. “I’ll have to order a car. Wait. We’ll have to buy a car. Maybe two.”
“You don’t have a car.”
“I have a sports car. Two seats.” I held up two fingers and then tossed the keys to Ren. “We need something bigger, safer. I’ll get you all keys.”
“Me too?” Mackenzie asked.
“If you get a license. Oh, and Glenn is having phones dropped off this evening.” I took out my phone and texted my car service.
“Glenn the Butler?”
“Glenn, the executive assistant.” I answered absently. I had my head down in my phone. “If you want a butler, we can hire one. They are usually called chiefs of staff or house managers.”
“Wait, we can have our own Todd?”
“Sure, I have a private chef and housekeeping staff, too.” I picked my head up, clueing into the conversation. “Wait. We need to establish a rule.”
“Number three?” Theo said under his breath and blushed.
“No one is buying panties for the omegas but us.” I put my phone back in my pocket and nodded to the door.
“Personal chef?” Theo asked.
I put my hand on the doorknob and paused. “I, we, have a stupid amount of money. I grew up broke, so I understand it’s a mental adjustment. But I am not spending my time mopping floors, because I don’t enjoy it. I don’t expect any of you to do anything in this pack that you don’t enjoy. Theo, I get that you’re a foodie, but I don’t expect you to make all of my meals. Cook because it makes you happy, not because I have to eat.”
“Good, because you have no food in this house.” He grinned.
“Oh! Can we get Chinese on the way home?” Mackenzie asked.
“I made reservations at Paramour. I thought we’d go to Sanctum for drinks after.”
“Sanctum? You just don’t go to Sanctum. You have to be invited.”
“Justice probably has his own table.” Ren grinned at Mackenzie.
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“I’ll buy a new dress.”
“I can’t wear the blue one. Aria has seen that.”
“I’ll buy you a new dress.” I repeated. “If we’re done picking on your alpha, can we go?” I held the door open for my pack to file out into the elevator lobby.
“Justice Twill!” a melodic voice burst from the hall. “You disappear for three weeks and,” she gasped, “two omegas? Sparkle is going to die.”
I gritted my teeth. “Meet the neighbors.”
“Perfume?” Mackenzie squeaked. “You live next to Perfume and the AlphaBetas?”
“Oh, my god,” Theo whispered.
Perfume was a vision of chaos. Her blond hair was perfectly styled to be a wild mess. She wore skintight leather pants, a cut off t-shirt that hung off one shoulder, and a bag that hung off the crook of her arm that dripped with chains and little teddy bears with mohawks. She looked every bit the rock star that she was. The alpha standing with her even more so. He was lean, in artfully ripped jeans, a leather jacket and rings on all his fingers.
“Perfume,” she touched her chest, “Apex, guitarist. And Rylee, our manager.”
“Manager? You’re an omega?” Theo gawked at him.
“I am. On both counts.” Rylee stepped forward to shake hands. Apex kept a possessive arm around him, letting the alphas know Rylee was his. We finished up introductions.
“Your scent…” Theo blurted.
“Marshmallow. I know. It’s nonstop gooey insides jokes.”
Theo shot me a glance. I coughed into my fist to cover up my laugh.
“Oh, and Stone. Head of security. Don’t piss him off.” Perfume motioned to her bodyguard.
“Ren.” Stone nodded.
“Stone.” Ren nodded back. “I stole a car from his former boss.” He whispered to Mackenzie.
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. It was just big enough to hold us all. Stone was the last in and took up position right by the door.
“So we’ll plan the pack-warming party,” Perfume started. “I’ll get Sparkle to ask Tora Yamamoto to have Pagoda cater. We’ll set that up in your place and we’ll do Bao Down dumplings in ours.” She tapped her bottom lip. “Some sort of anime theme, maybe. Just let Kawaii go crazy with it.”
“Perfume, your parties are…” I tried to get out of this, but she cut me off.
“Don’t worry. It will be classy. I’ll invite La Luna. Oh, I know you’re not my mother’s client anymore, but are you still fucking Aria?”
“Perfume…” I tried again.
She touched Mackenzie’s arm like they were in a proper gossip sesh. “Sparkle is a paragon. Retired now. Your alpha is a legendary fuck boy.”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
Mackenzie squealed. “The Sparkle? The paragon who, like, twenty years ago fucked the mayor’s daughter with a strap-on at the Tea Dance?”
Perfume hooked her arm around my omega and they strolled out of the elevator and into the lobby. “She only causes drama like that because she doesn’t want anyone to find out she can’t dance.”
They all got out of the elevator and I took the opportunity to bang my head against the wall.
“Alpha.” Ren drawled. “You alright?”
I blew out a breath and stepped into the lobby. “We’re going to have to establish some boundaries around the neighbors.” Ren laughed at me. Not with me. At me.