He smiled when he saw me.
“Couldn’t wait? We’ll see what you think when you see what I’ve got you. I have presents.” I took a wary step backwards. A gold-plated Dentabone wasn’t gonna get him out of this shit fit. “Not that kind—not the ones a man might give a woman to lull her back into a false sense of security. You may hate me even more at the end of this, but I need to know. I’ll place them on the bed and you can take a look, see if you accept them. You know this already, but you’re under no obligation to. If you decide to walk away from us…well, that’s probably no more than we deserve.”
He nodded and then picked up a plastic bag, pulling out one thing, then another, and placing them on the neatly made bed.
The first one I didn’t like at all. It reeked of her, my front paw raking over my neck as the stink of angry omega filled the room, but Tobias placed two silver broken halves of the eternity ring that Chloe had been wearing on the bed. The next four things were confusing. I could still read but my wolf couldn’t, and so I just peered at them blankly. What looked like lots of black squiggles filled each page. He set them down and then moved to pull more out. A brochure and a key were the next things, as well as one last item which had me making for the door—a silver collar of the kind I knew all too well now. This one was smooth and complete, shining in the morning light as he set it down on the bed, but he saw my rapid retreat and shook his head.
“It’s not for you.” I let out a low growl in response, but he shook his head. “I would never… I couldn’t…” He let out a huff of breath, then straightened up. “I would never presume that I could earn your trust in such a way as to make a permanent statement like that. Please, Sage, come back to skin.”
He picked up a familiar-looking fluffy robe, one I’d kept stashed in my suitcase.
“Put this on. Listen and read, then I’ll answer every single question you have, I promise.”
We shifted restlessly then, at his words, at his request. That was what it was, an offer when it could have been a barked command, and he just waited us out until we decided.
Until I did.
Coming back to skin felt like stretching for the first time after being stuck in a cramped plane seat for eighteen hours or going back home after a many-years-long estrangement—it was familiar and unfamiliar, painful and a relief all at once. He spared my naked body the smallest of glances before rushing forward, slotting my arms into the plush robe, and then wrapping me tightly into its softness.
“Thank you for this. I don’t deserve…” He stopped the words from tumbling out, then smiled slightly. “Let me explain each gift, and you can accept or reject them without explanation.” That smile widened for a second, then faded. “I’m being high-handed again. Just know I’ll accept whatever judgement you choose to make, and I’ll ensure my brothers do too.”
I nodded, not wanting or willing to speak, not yet.
“This is Chloe’s collar.” He picked up the two pieces of now mangled metal. “I had to have someone come out with a diamond saw and cut it off her. I lost the key an age ago, forgetting I’d even put the damn thing on her on some level, just like I forgot her. She agreed to cutting it off, for a price. I’ve given her a nice little nest egg, which could last her for her life but probably won’t. I gave her that and made her sign this to make clear that any arrangement between us is over.”
This was why I needed to be in skin. I needed hands to take the paper from him, I needed human eyes and a human brain to decipher the legalese. So I read and I read, until my focus snapped back to him.
“You’ve been paying for her upkeep?”
My voice sounded rough, ragged, my throat convulsing from disuse, and Tobias, he just nodded slowly.
“At first, it was because I thought she was my mate, just not one I could sacrifice my brothers for. Then when the truth came out, I felt responsible for her. It will be hard for her to find an alpha who will care for her with my bite on her neck, and while I didn’t want her in my life, I didn’t want her suffering for my mistake.”
I let out a little growl at that, and he smiled.
“Yes, I know. She always seemed to be able to twist things so it looked like she was the victim. You should’ve heard the song and dance act she put on when we came back from searching for you. I just stared at her, hearing her babble out the same self-serving bullshit, and knew what had to be done—no matter what you decided, we would be cutting ties with Chloe, literally.”
His hands went to the mangled ends of the collar pieces, careful to not touch mine.
“In return for cutting this off and getting the fuck out of our lives, she would get a nice chunk of change.” I looked at all the zeros on the page and felt like our definitions ofchangewere very different. “Any attempts to contact you or any other member of my pack would be considered a breach of contract, and she’d have to repay every cent. She spluttered something about what if we were at the same parties or whatever, but I made it clear.”
One of his hands went to the contract, his finger pointing to the relevant part.
“This is effectively a mutually agreed upon restraining order. We will not be in the same room or the same building as her ever again, and as recipient of the money, the onus is on her to uphold it. Now, if you…”
He went to take a hold of the document, but I yanked it back, holding it close to my chest. I wasn’t sure why, but he just smiled in response.
“You want to keep that present?” I nodded more slowly now. “OK, let me show you the next one.”
He reached down and picked up each bundle of papers.
“This one is a summary of the charges being levelled at Miranda. Our legal team is on alert, looking for anything else they might be able to use, because I told them in no uncertain terms, that woman isn’t coming within ten feet of us. I’ll sell Dacian and sack everyone employed there if that’s what it takes to keep her away from us. Our lawyers think the case against her is very strong. Joey has been scouring Miranda’s emails and voicemails and found some further incriminating evidence.” He peered down at me. “You’ll be safe from her, Sage, no matter what. I have a security team set up just for you, and they’ll have eyes…”
He stared as I took the piece of paper and hugged it to my chest. It was mine now, along with the trauma that came from being fucking darted, caged, and threatened with murder, but still, mine. He nodded and then handed me the next one.
“The house is sold. We were beyond fucking stupid bringing you there. I don’t have a reason or an excuse except…”
He tried to smile and failed, something naked appearing in those warm brown eyes.