I want you to live a happy and good life, without knowing about any of this pain.
But that means I’ll have to take the Hearts down first, so I’ll have to be a bad person for a while longer.
Just a while longer.
Just a little while longer.
Once you’re here, I hope the world will be a little less evil.
I’ll make sure of that.
I promise.
3
Caleb
The first thing I do when we get back to the house is to check where my Omegas are.
Being away from them after what happened tonight was horrible, but Jorge and I were the only people from our pack who were in any state to go pick up Luca’s family. So we did what we had to.
I’d already spotted Vera with Luca on the balcony as we drove up, so I know where one of them is, and she seemed pretty good too, though tired. She even gave me an enthusiastic wave when she caught sight of me.
That leaves Mathew.
The house is full of activity as I make my way to his office, generally the best place to start looking for him, and closest to the garage.
The door to the office is open and I barge in, not wanting to wait any longer.
Mathew is sitting at his desk, his eyes dark, his body tense and a strange scent floats through the space. It’s not very strong, but the deadly intent in it is clear, making my stomach churn.
That’s not good, at all.
When his eyes fall on me, they widen in surprise, his face flushing, before he seems to really focus, his mind temporarily out of whatever dark place it was in.
I slam the door shut behind me, pulling a chair in front of it so nobody can get in, before I cross the space over to Mathew’s desk and pull him up, taking him in my arms. He tries to push me away for a moment before his arms come around me and he pulls me against him too.
Fucking hell.
I have no idea what happened here, but it’s clear that he’s not in a good mental space.
“Your pack is home.” I let out soothing pheromones, though that doesn’t seem to help much, as he lets out a growl, trying to push me away.
“I have to stop them. I have to go after them and stop them.” His voice is hard, his pheromones like knives, though luckily not directed at me.
“We will stop them. We’ll go after them together.”
“I have to go now. I can’t wait.”
“Yes. You can. You can wait.” I walk him back, trapping him between me and the wall so it’s easier to keep him in place. I don’t have the time or the energy to talk in circles with him tonight, so I try a different strategy.
“You promised Vera that you wouldn’t go on your own. You promised that we’d all go together.”
“That doesn’t have to mean all the time. That just means that we have to go together when we go take them down, not when I’m only going to collect some information and maybe take out a few people.” The way his words come out, how they seem to be stuck in a pattern, it seems like he’s been having this exact same argument with himself already.
But I’m not letting him go. “You made the promise to Vera. You’ll have to ask her if she meant only when we take them down or if she meant also for information collection and things like that.” If there’s anyone he listens to, it’s her, and he knows it too.
“I don’t have time to ask her.” He struggles against my hold, trying to get away, and I flood my pheromones around him, showing him how much I care for him, how much I want to protect him.
