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“Kyle?” She pushes past the doctor and beams her smile at me. It immediately shifts my mood, and the pressure in my chest decreases. “What are you doing here?”
The doctor’s hand lands on her shoulder when she tries to take another step toward me, and my gaze narrows on where he’s touching her. It’s intimate, far more familiar than her doctor should be acting.
Were they in there alone together?
Right as the question crosses my mind, I hear the twins talking from deeper inside the room. A fraction of relief passes through me. I’m going fucking crazy with not knowing she’s safe. It’s the only explanation for how I’m acting.
“We didn’t get to finish our talk, Peardrop. I can’t handle not knowing you’re okay. The killer is still stalking the halls.”
“How do you know that?” the doctor growls, and I can hear the murmured conversation between the twins cut out.
Is he for real? “Because Ryland didn’t do it. I believe Verity’s faith in him. And with the council thinking they caught their man, they’ve already become lax in keeping her safe.”
Verity rushes toward me, and I barely have time to move my arms out of her way as she hugs me. I wrap my hold around her, soaking in her affection as I take in a deep breath of her pear scent. It smells warmer than it has the last several days, like it’s her first moment of happiness since Ryland was taken into custody.
“Thank you for believing me,” she says into my chest, her words sounding choked up. Some of my alpha instincts ease as I’m able to comfort her, rubbing small circles with my palm on her back. “And him.”
“What do you mean they’ve become lax?” Andrik interjects, opening the door even further so he and his brother can see me.
I notice the doctor eyeing the way I’m holding her. Something in his gaze gives me the impression he’s contemplating pulling her away from me. My grip tightens and I turn my focus onto Andrik. “Last time I came to talk to her, there were betas guarding the doors into this wing, they weren’t there this time.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jedrik curses.
“How will we keep her safe? What’s the plan?” I ask, not wanting to beat around the bush. This is serious, and I’m not happy they haven’t looped me in before this. I thought we came to some sort of understanding at the lake, an acceptance of all of us being in her pack and helping each other to stay at the top of the charts.
“We’ve got that covered,” Jedrik says, pushing by his brother and the doctor to reach for Verity. I turn my body, shielding her to make sure he can’t take her, and she lets out a huff. I can picture the eye roll accompanying it.
Suddenly, I understand what’s going on, and I feel like a complete idiot for not getting it sooner. “You think I’m a suspect?” I don’t even try to hide the disbelief in my voice.
“It’s nothing personal, man. We aren’t trusting anyone until we know without a shadow of doubt that they’re innocent,” Andrik tells me with a shrug.
“You guys, come on,” Verity huffs out, stepping out of my hold and putting her hands on her hips to stare them down.
My first instinct is outrage, but it quickly turns to appreciation. At least they’re being serious about protecting her. “No. It’s okay, Peardrop. I appreciate them being cautious.” I give her a smile before facing the other alphas. “What do I have to do for you to trust me?”
The twins share a look before Jedrik growls from deep in his chest. “Come inside.”
Well, at least they didn’t flat out turn me away, but I don’t feel any warm fuzzies of acceptance either. I follow them inside Verity’s room and take it in. It’s a far cry from the alpha quarters. They certainly prioritize pampering the omegas. My gaze tracks over all the comforts she has in the large room until I find her nest.
The sight of it alone makes my heart speed up and my dick jump in my pants. It’s so meticulously put together, and there are obvious signs of things she’s taken with our scents on it and woven them among the pillows. The blanket we shared during the movie is already tucked into the wall.
“Short of finding the real killer, I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do for us to trust you.” Andrik drags my attention away from the nest and onto the men sitting on the couch, where Verity is tucked between the twins. I eye the doctor again, wondering why he’s still here.
“Surely I can help you figure out who it is. My instincts are riding me to protect her, and I can’t continue to smother them. I need to be a part of this for my own sanity,” I admit, hoping it doesn’t make me sound weak. I went from feeling like we were already building a pack together to being an outsider. It’s disconcerting.
Verity… my sweet little Peardrop turns to first one twin, then the other, giving them the most adorable puppy dog pout I’ve ever seen. It’s fair to say she has us all wrapped around her pinky.
“Fine,” Andrik huffs out, his reluctance clear. “You must stay with either my brother or me at all times.”
“Truth be told,” Jedrik continues, “we don’t think you’re the killer. But it’s simply not worth the risk of us being wrong.”
“I agree. Let’s get started then, shall we?” I clap my hands and rub them together, eager to begin and clear my name and the beta. “We need to get Ryland out of containment.”
Verity beams at my comment and when I sit in one of the chairs next to the couch, she moves to sit on my lap. Her arms wrap around my neck as she snuggles into my shoulder. Holding her close to me seems to have an immediate affect on my anxiety. All those storming emotions stirred up by being kept on the outside, dissipate.
“Well, we know the victim’s body was moved. They left it at the front gate,” Jedrik says, jumping straight into the nitty gritty. Either that or he’s testing me for my reaction.
“I was kinda out of it when we saw the body with my heat coming on, but I’ve been thinking about that. What if he wasn’t dropping the body off there? What if he figured he’d leave it to clean the crime scene, and he was planning on getting rid of it later? It’s not like we walk by the gate ever, and you can’t see it from the mansion aside from the roof.”
