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“Okay, spill. What’s going on?” I asked, facing my surly alpha. He frowned and ran a hand through his beard. I’d never seen him nervous, so that only added to my anxiety.
“A lot happened during this heat,” he started, “but I need you to know that we protected you through it all. We did what we could with what we had.”
“Okay,” I said, drawing out the word. It wasn’t like these guys to dance around a point.
“Oh my god. I can’t. This is painful,” Alessandro interjected. “The PI who attacked you was working for those fiancés you mentioned. Well, they were coming for you whether we liked it or not, so we got legally married as a pack to protect you from them. Otherwise, they’d be here with law enforcement, saying we kidnapped you. We weren’t taking the risk that they had falsified documents proving you’re their wife or establishing a conservatorship or something. We aren’t taking risks with you, Hazel.”
“If I didn’t sign anything, how could it be legal?” I snorted, thinking they were joking. Until I realized I was the only one laughing. Glancing between all of them, I realized they were serious.How the fuck did this happen?“I didn’t sign anything! I would remember that.”
“You did. I ordered you to,” Maximo said with a wince. “Valentina is ordained. I assure you it was all done legally.”
“But not consensually!” I argued, panic making me lash out. My heart pounded in my chest. Married? “Fuck. They’re going tokillyou! You have no idea what kind of power those men have.”
“Wait, you’re concerned about us? After you just found out we got married while actively fucking you through heat?” Emiliano asked.
“Oh, I’m kicking your asses for that later,” I reassured him.
Was I mad? Yes. Definitely. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
“If it helps, they did try to come get you,” Maximo added. “Some representative came by, saying you were promised to his son.”
“Fuck that guy,” I said, instantly knowing who he was talking about. “He might have been worse than my own father. The day I first met my ‘intended’ pack, he took me aside to explain how his son was a bit rough and that I’d have to learn to take him like agood omega.”
“So, add him to my hit list. Got it,” Alessandro said. I was sure it was meant to be a joke, but his voice was ice cold.
“You have a hit list?” I questioned.
Maximo shook his head with a long sigh. “You know, that actually makes sense.”
Alessandro shrugged. “I do a lot of things. I’m a jack of all trades. But is myjobsomething we should be discussing right now?”
Speaking of... “What happened to the PI?” I asked.
“We just got back from a long conversation and a drive. He’s alive and mostly unharmed,” Sutton said. From the evil smirk on his face, he’d enjoyed that little bit they were able to do. That should probably freak me out, but when faced with something as sinister as the Humble Creed, I was glad to have these killers and mobsters on my side. Call me crazy, but I still stood by what I said. There were far worse things out there than the mafia.
“We tracked your fiancés,” Maximo continued. “They weren’t at their lab, which likely means they’re coming to find you. We can’t order you around, but please, for the sake of our sanity, stick with us.”
“Done,” I said without hesitation. The memory of that alleyway confrontation was a bit too fresh to ignore.
“My guys found a group of omegas being held in the labs under deplorable conditions,” Maximo said reluctantly. I appreciated him telling me, especially when his tone made it obvious that he didn’t want to be doing that.
My eyes went wide, and my heart stopped. “What happened to them?”
“They’re safe,” he promised. “Valentina is with them, trying to get them the help they need. I’ve got my doctors and lawyers there too. We’re building a case against the Humble Creed. My guys were smart enough to get copies of every document and thing they saw in that lab. Even the mafia needs to do some things the legal way… unless it doesn’t work out.”
“Good. I want to see them go down in flames,” I said vehemently, “including my supposed parents. No matter how that comes about.”
“They’re buying and altering illegal drugs, so that’s one hit. They imprisoned unwilling and drugged omegas. Our doctor documented every bit of bloodwork he did as well. We’re going to get them for you, Hazel. They can’t have you.”
“Thank you,” I said, choking up at the weight of the gesture they were making. They were putting themselves at risk to protect me at all costs. That level of loyalty and sacrifice was something I never thought I would get.
“You don’t have to thank us,” Sutton reassured me before he placed a kiss on my temple. “You’re part of our pack now, and we willalwaysprotect you.”
I just hoped they could keep that promise because if I knew anything, it was that my former fiancés would not give up that easily.
I couldn’t believewhat my life had become in the blur of the past week. I’d ridden out my first-ever heat, and all of the men were taking turns resting, eating, and recovering from our week of non-stop sexcapades. I had napped for a while, wrapped around Zaven, until my best friends came knocking, demanding to see me for themselves so they could get answers.
When I told them about being married, they were surprised, and Eliza revealed she had brought over the legal documents for them to get the marriage license. That was when they found out about the fiancés I had failed to mention, and even though I apologized, I could tell that Eliza was deeply hurt by the secret.
