“He didn’t go with you to the coast?” Ronan asked.
“No. He had…um…work to do,” Abe answered lamely.
“Ah.” Ronan exhaled, folding his arms over his chest. “It must have been important work.”
“Just the usual,” Dale said, turning to leave. “But if you haven’t seen him, I guess we’ll be going.”
“I never said I hadn’t seen him.”
Dale halted. “So you have seen him?”
“What do you think?” Ronan asked, an edge in his voice.
The indignant beta stretched his fingers, and Ronan’s eyes dared him to form them into fists. “I think you’re giving us the runaround,” Dale sneered. “Either you’ve seen him or you haven’t. Which is it?”
“I don’t think I owe you any answers.”
“Me neither,” Teal added, also crossing his arms.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Dale sputtered. “Sorcha is my nephew. If you’ve seen him, tell me.”
“No,” Ronan stated. “I don’t answer to villainous pieces of shit who leave their blood kin to die in their bedrooms. And my husband and I don’t owe explanations to betas who dishonor their family and themselves by leaving a vulnerable omega to go through heat by himself with only a few toys and some protein bars to get by.”
Dale’s beady eyes widened. “What are you playing at, if you’ve known all this time?” he hissed. “Where is my nephew?” A vein twitched in his forehead. Abe put a placating hand on his husband’s shoulder. Both men looked ready to pounce, but they stayed put, since neither had a chance in any sort of physical altercation with Ronan.
Ronan turned to his husband. “Baby, do you think I’ve been clear that I’m not answering any of their questions?”
“Yes, alpha, perfectly clear.” Teal glanced toward the betas. “And they must be thick to keep asking when it’s obvious you aren’t going to tell them anything about Sorcha.”
Ronan eyed the men menacingly. “I could have you jailed for what you did. The decrees protecting omegas may not be great, but they definitely cover attempted murder—”
“We didn’t try to murder him!” Abe protested, but Ronan put up his hand.
“He could have died. Easily. In my mind, that’s attempted murder. Not to mention the long-term suppressant usage you forced him into.”
“In case you hadn’t heard, I’m an excellent lawyer.” Teal moved closer to Ronan until they filled the doorway. “If anyone could convince a judge you tried to kill Sorcha, I could.”
The color drained from Abe’s face. Every person in the state knew about Teal’s skill in court. “We didn’t mean to hurt him,” the beta insisted.
“The sick part is, I actually believe you,” Ronan said. “I’ve watched you treat your beautiful nephew like an inconvenience who is occasionally useful to you when he provides free labor. Of course you wouldn’t take his need for a heat service seriously.”
“Where is he?” Dale asked, attempting to look past the couple into the house.
“He’s safe,” Ronan replied. “That’s all you need to know. And you won’t be seeing him again unless he chooses it. But I doubt that will happen.”
“You have the rest of today to pack your things and move out of the duplex,” Teal said. “And if we hear from you after that, we’ll meet you in Low Court. In fact, it would probably be in your best interest to relocate yourselves far, far away. I’m feeling generous today, but I can’t guarantee I won’t wake up tomorrow wanting revenge for what you did to Sorcha.”
“You can’t do that!” Dale stammered. “Sorcha is my nephew, my brother’s son. He’s nothing to you!”
“He’s someone we care about,” Ronan said definitively. “And that’s why we can’t stand by and allow you to hurt him.”
Ronan wished he and Teal had done more to help Sorcha before the situation escalated. But they’d had no idea Dale and Abe would do something as vile as ignore an omega’s heat. Still, from the moment Ronan spoke with Sorcha in the driveway afew months ago, his inner alpha had known Sorcha was his to protect. He’d always regret not stepping in sooner.
Ronan couldn’t change the past, but he’d never fail Sorcha again. As he, Teal, and Sorcha had discussed the previous night, the thing that mattered most was how they planned to move forward.
The first step was distancing Sorcha from his uncles.
“You can’t just take him,” Dale said. “There are decrees.”
