ROWAN
“Do you miss me that much?” I ask with a smile as I collapse into my bed, my phone in my hands. “We talked a few hours ago and here you are calling me again.”
“I missed you the moment you stepped out of my embrace and into the car. When are you coming back?”
“Viktor, seriously?”
“Fine. I have hot news for you. A lot of news.”
“Oh?”
“I just got off the phone with Kaylee,” he says, jumping straight to the point. “She told me about your request to find out things from the obsidian pack.”
“I only mentioned it in passing, I didn’t think she would take it to heart. What did she say?” I ask
“She’s been keeping tabs on them,” he explains.”Says there’s a lot going on.”
“How would she know that?”
” She’s got a spy in their pack.”
I raise an eyebrow, even though he can’t see it. “A spy? In their pack? How did Kaylee manage that?”
“She is resourceful. And vengeful, you know that,” he replies. “She is also very observant, especially when we are together. That’s how she figured it out.”
“Figured out what?” I ask, feeling confused.
“That we are mates,” he says, his voice light and amused.
“Oh, shit!” I exclaim. “How did she know?”
“She said she could tell by the way we acted around each other. She is sharp, Rowan, but don’t worry. She promised not to tell anyone.”
I exhale slowly, trying to push down the unease that is bubbling up. “She better not. This isn’t the kind of thing we can afford to get out. Not now, at least.”
“Hmm. I know.”
“What else did she mention?” I ask after a few seconds. “About the Obsidian pack?”
“According to her, the night Dominic and I had that fight…”
“Yeah?”
“He had beaten the hell out of his own beta, Calvin.”
“What?! Why?!”
“Because Calvin had the audacity to try and stop the fight. Dominic considered it an insult and lost it. Sent him to the pack clinic.”
“Damn,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. “That is only going to stir up more trouble. The last thing Dominic needs is more animosity from his pack.”
“But it is exactly what we need and it doesn’t end there,” he continues, his voice getting lower, more subdued.
“What?”
“His mother is back.”
“Harriet is back?!” I ask, stunned.
“Harriet?”
“Yeah, his mother’s name.”
“You called her by her name?”
“Hmm, yeah. What did she… how is…”
“Well, she is not happy with how he has been running things. Kaylee says she threatened to take the park from him.”
“Shit! Take it from him?” I repeat, the implications hitting me like a punch to the gut. “Really? Is she serious?”
“Serious enough that people are talking. Either she takes control, or Dominic loses his temper and does something he can’t take back. Like kill her.”
The words hang in the air, heavy and suffocating. I close my eyes, trying to process everything.
My feelings for Hariert are complicated at best
She was a mother to me when I lost mine.
Taught me how to be a woman, went shopping with me… she was my…
She was my mother.
And when she chose Dominic over me… when she tried to cover for him… after what he had done… it hurt.
I know he was her son but I thought…
I thought she loved me too.
I hated her weakness…her choice… but I couldn’t bring myself to hate her.
Not even now.
“Ro?”
“What … what do you think we should do?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“We keep our heads down and stay ready,” he says, his tone firm. “This is what we wanted… what we were waiting for. Kaylee’s watching their every move so we will know what is coming before it hits.”
For now, that’s the best we can do. But the sense of dread gnaws at me, relentless. I have a bad feeling about this, like we are standing on the edge of a cliff, and the ground beneath us is starting to crumble.
I should be happy
This is what I wanted
To watch as everything he holds dear crumbles
So why… Why do I feel so anxious?
Like something is severely wrong?
“Calvin came to see me,” he says after along silence
I frown, shifting the phone to my other ear. “Calvin? What for?”
“Dominic sent him. They think or they thought that you were still here with me.”
“How would they know that?”
“What do you think?”
“That fucker is still spying on you,” I mutter. “He doesn’t listen at all!”
“You sound surprised.”
“I know right, I should be used to it by now. What did he want?”
“He was ordered to bring you back to Obsidian Park.”
I feel my tower snap as the anger rises a low growl building in my throat.
“They think they can just come and take me? Like what? Like I am some lost puppy?”
“That is what I told him,” Victor replies, his tone darkening. “Or at least, a semblance of that. I made it clear that you are not here and that I know who you are to them, about your past with them. They shouldn’t think that no one is aware of their past actions.”
The insult cuts deep.
Come and get me.
Like some child.
The assumption that I would simply go back with them as if I have no will of my own.
“How could they think I would just go along with it? I am not some weak, submissive thing they can control. Not anymore!”
Victor’s voice softens, but there’s an edge to it. “I made sure Calvin understood that. But I am sure he already knew that. It is his Alpha that is the problem. But I didn’t stop there,” he continues. “I offered him a partnership, to take down Dominic and put him in as Alpha instead.”
I am silent for a moment, the weight of his words sinking in.
A partnership with Calvin? It’s a risky move, one that could backfire spectacularly.
“Viktor, they were really close growing up-”
“Hmm, you mentioned that. He, Calvin, Clarisse and Tobias. He killed Clarisse, allowed Tobias to be executed and sent Calvin to the clinic. I am betting their dynamic has changed.”
Do you think he will take it?” I ask, my voice low.
“He didn’t dismiss it outright,” Victor says. “He is smart enough to see that things can’t keep going the way they are. If he is half as tired of Dominic’s tyranny as he seems, he will come around.”
I bite my lip, uncertainty gnawing at me.
Dominic is a powder keg, and any spark could set him off.
And then there is Harriet, the woman who was like a mother to me, now a stranger with memories and regrets.
“Victor,” I say slowly, “What if this doesn’t work? What if Calvin betrays us? What if-”
“Rowan,” he cuts in, his tone firm but reassuring, “I know it is a gamble, but we don’t have a choice. Dominic’s grip is slipping, and if we don’t act now, it will only get worse. Trust me, we will handle whatever comes our way”
“I-”
Knock. Knock.
“There is someone at the door,” I tell him. “Let’s talk later, okay?”
“Sure. I love you,” he whispers
“I love you too,” I say as I end the call and make my way to the door.
“Alden?” I call in surprise as I open the door. He usually waits until I am out of my room to talk to me. “What is wrong?”
“We just got news. The Luna mother of the Obsidian pack is dead.”