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“She told Ox to kill an innocent woman,” Kelly snapped. “An Omega. She said it was the only way. And we believed her because we trusted her. She said there was nothing to be done to help her, nothing that could save her. Ox did what she asked. I don’t give a damn what you think of her, not when I remember feeling what Ox felt in that moment, when he took the woman’s face in his hands and twisted until her neck broke. And she wasn’t the only one. We sent many Omegas back East because Michelle said she’d deal with them. And she did. By killing every single one of them. And you were furious about it. Or at least the Robbie I knew was.”
I was speechless. Surprised, even, at how much those words hurt.
Kelly was breathing heavily. He grimaced and looked like he was about to say something else. Instead he huffed out an angry breath and followed his Alpha, leaving me to stare after him.
There was a bridge, wood painted red and picture-perfect over a stream.
On one side was a plaque, six words in metal.
May our songs always be heard
Kelly and Ox stood in front of the plaque. Ox reached up and put his arm around Kelly’s shoulders. Kelly traced the engraved words with his finger.
I stood away from them. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t for me.
I thought about running.
Their backs were turned.
I’d have a head start. I probably wouldn?
??t make it very far, but I wouldn’t know unless I tried.
I’m trusting you, Robbie.
I stayed where I was.
They turned to face me. I wanted to ask what the plaque meant, but I didn’t. Powerful scents have a way of lingering, and this place was filled with fury and blood and something much, much deeper that pulled at the back of my mind.
Ox left Kelly standing near the bridge. He came to me. He filled up my entire world until all I could see was him.
He said, “One day and one day soon, I’m going to ask you about Caswell, Maine. I’m going to ask you to tell me everything. The layout. The people there. How strong they are, and if they’re willing to fight for Alpha Hughes or against her. Because a reckoning is coming. Alpha Hughes has long held a position that was always meant to be temporary. And we’re going to take it back. Do you believe me?”
I could only nod.
He said, “But I’m not going to ask you that today. Because today you don’t trust me. Today you don’t know me. You don’t have any reason to believe me when I say I don’t want innocent people to get hurt. That I want as little bloodshed as possible. But anyone who doesn’t stand with us stands against us. And it’s going to be the last thing they do.”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He spoke again, lips against my skin. “You have this void. This hole in your head and heart where you know something should be but isn’t. It’s the same for all of us. We were taken from you, yes, but you were also taken from us.”
He stepped back.
And then he said something so ridiculous that I couldn’t make sense of it. He said, “It’s almost my birthday. I’d like for you to join us this coming Sunday. It’s tradition.”
Then he stepped around me and started back the way we’d come.
I gaped after him.
Kelly sighed. “I told you, man. Enigmatic dicks. All of them.”
“Sorry about this,” Kelly said as Ox and Joe looked on.
I said nothing.
Kelly closed the line of silver, trapping me in the basement once again.
Ox nodded at me before heading toward the stairs.
Joe said, “Your tether.”
