I look to the blonde. She’s now deep in conversation with her visitor, an older woman—perhaps her mother. “Funny what love can do,” I say, thinking once again of my guys.
“Ain’t it though?” She lets out a long, slow breath, one it seems she’s been holding a very long time. Maybe ever since that tragic day with her brother.
“Well,” I say after a few more quiet moments pass, “I guess I should be going. Thank you again for agreeing to talk to me.” I rise from my seat and start toward the door, happy with how the meeting went. I came in unsure of what to expect, and I’m leaving with so much more than I ever could have hoped.
“Violet, wait,” Bokerah calls, still seated at the table I just abandoned. This is the first time she’s used my name, and it feels strange to hear it on the other woman’s lips.
I turn back toward her askance.
“If your offer of money is good, I’d be a fool to say no.”
I smile to myself, happy I can help her too in this small way. “I’ll be in touch.”
NOAH
Violet floats out of the prison with a huge smile on her face. Kind of an odd reaction if you ask me, but I’m happy it went well for her.
When she first told me that she wanted us to visit Bokerah, I laughed. I mean, it had to be a joke, right?
But no, she was deadly serious. Kind of like Bokerah with that knife a couple years back.
“Closure,” she said. That was the reason, and Ben nodded along as she explained.
I, for one, already got all the closure I need the day the judge sentenced her to serve time for her crimes against our pack. Back then, I was so wrapped up in protecting my own lies that I hardly had the time to think about anyone else’s.
Archer was always the strong one. I thought he’d healed. I thought Bokerah’s stab had been nothing more than a flesh wound to him. I hadn’t realized it cut to his soul.
I’m seeing things a lot more clearly now that my mind isn’t clouded with phony pheromones.
Nearly a week has passed since our epic brawl at the campfire, and I am a changed man. I understand all the choices Violet made to bring us to this point, and I understand Ben’s too. That’s my job as a beta, to go where needed and keep the peace.
Both Ben and Violet were prisoners of circumstance, just like me. Ben didn’t fess up, because he was terrified Archer would cut him from the pack. We were brand-new then, volatile, not even sure if we’d make it long enough to get our paperwork approved. And we had four alphas—or so everyone thought back then. A pack only needs three to function. Ben could have lifted right out. Losing Muldoon would have meant losing his chance at a better life. He would have been right back on the streets he was fighting so hard to escape.
And Violet. She never planned what happened to her, and I know now she hadn’t wanted to hurt us. She was vulnerable and terrified, being pushed around by a very demanding mother figure. She saw us as her only way out. And even though she tried to keep her distance, her omega nature won out. We all fell for each other, fast and hard. She could have kept her secret for the rest of our lives, and we wouldn’t have ever been any the wiser. But she chose to take the high ground.
And I love her like hell because of it.
As a true beta, I’m now seeing everything so much more clearly. And I know our pack needs to find a way to mend itself. It’s what Violet’s wanted all along, which is why she simply nods when Ben shares the steps he’s taking to create a new pack. She doesn’t want to start over. She wants to fix what we already had.
And I do too.
seventeen
VIOLET
“C’mon, it’s time to go,” Noah says after the three of us enjoy a quick lunch at the pizzeria where this morning’s visit with Bokerah was the topic of discussion.
“Back to the hotel?” I ask with a mischievous smile. The closer we get to my heat, the more I need to indulge my baser desires. Ben and Noah can hardly keep up with my need for sex three times per day now. What will it be like when I go into a full-blown heat and need forty-eight hours of non-stop carnal pleasure? That’s a problem for another day, but that day will be upon us soon. And thanks to first my pregnancy and then nearly a year of taking suppressants, this heat is going to hit like a fucking meteoroid from space.
“We’re going to the house,” Noah reveals, settling in behind the wheel of his big blue truck.
I slide in beside him and Ben clambers in after me. I feel tension rolling off him in a thick fog, but for me, the sun is finally shining through the gloom. “To see Archer and Miles?” It’s all I’ve wanted this whole time.
“Yes,” Noah responds, putting the truck into gear before Ben’s even managed to close his door.
“Wait, aren’t we even going to discuss this?” Ben hisses, yanking his door shut with a scowl. He may be a mild-mannered alpha, but he’s still an alpha, and he doesn’t like being removed from the decision-making.
“We are not,” Noah answers with a shrug, keeping his eyes glued to the busy downtown street.