Page 169 of Drown My Sorrow

He sweeps in, glowering around at the gathered people, and picks up my crystals. In the next moment, I’m swung up into his arms.

“You don’t need to do this,” I whisper.

“Of course, I do. You never give me chances to rescue you. I’ll cherish the memory of it forever.”

He sounds so matter of fact that it takes me a moment to register his words.

But by then, we’re walking away.

“Wait!”

I look over my shoulder and spot the guy from the car. He stands up, reaching a hand out, his face slack with shock. I’m curious for a moment and then scared, so I don’t say anything. I just turn my head, burying my face in Keagan’s shoulders while the people of Black Valley get out of his way.

PresentDay

The press drags every secret we have out. The only relief is they are too scared of Shale, Keagan, and Beau to dig into them too much. But they pull out the reckless crimes of my deceased father.

They drag Kelly through the mud, pasting all his exes and fuck buddies on papers. Trying to create a divide, I’m sure.

They go after Ryn and Fate’s Destiny, accusing them of lying to the public for money. They are slammed by their peers and their concerts cancelled.

The day after, they go after Lia and the Mirakill Pack, listing a whole slew of crimes that occurred in Blackburn and pointing the finger squarely at the club, who comes under fire with raids from law enforcement. The packs disperse to deal with the threats, leaving the rest of us shell-shocked.

They expose Locke’s abuse for the entire world to see. I cried when I read that. It had me wavering. I spent an hour on the phone with Finn, who assured me that Locke didn’t want us to give up but also that they could not remain here, and they were sorry for it.

Bethany’s mother is brought up, and the tragic story of Pack Crow is twisted until it’s barely recognisable. I know this hurt Bethany, and she and pack Crow chose to retreat to Justice Farm to escape the awful things they were saying. She wept with such guilt that I couldn’t even be annoyed with her. I didn’t blame her at all.

Even Raider can’t escape them. He gets slammed with false stories of intimidation and tampering with the team’s victories. This is refuted on all levels by management of the Greene Demons, but after that, they go after Kit.

And to my shock and horror, when I thought we were ruined and there was nothing else they could do to hurt me, they went and dragged out an omega named Charis and announced her as Ezekial’s fiancée.

I’m shaken down to my bones. The horrible lies these people are saying have left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I don’t know how to beat them.

Gael was right. They came at him again, too. Keagan and I held him that night and the next while those soul deep wounds bled once more. In those early hours lying there, I remember seeing him sitting in the car, staring at me. Another chance encounter that could have been.

We’re sitting in Ezekial’s bedroom, no one is speaking. I think we’re all in shock. I know I am. He explained about Charis and her age when his mother was suggesting it, and he vehemently refutes any relations with Charis. He’s never even met the adult version of her.

“What do we do?”

The question comes from Ezekial. He’s not taking this well, but being here in this house has been slowly whittling his confidence away. He’s fading. We all are.

Even Kelly is disappearing under the weight of responsibility and the horror of his uncle’s crimes and reach.

I stand up and limp out of the room, needing space to breathe away from the oppressive depression that is destroying us.

From deeper in the house, I hear Lia scream. I close my eyes and wonder what it is now. It takes me a bit to get to them, but when I do, I find her enfolded in the Mirakill club’s arms. They’d returned this morning, having decided they had to stay here because the raids are relentless.

“What are they saying now?” I ask softly, leading them back to the front of the house where the rest of the pack is gathering.

Ianto holds out a phone. I take it and read about the sick beta abandoned in her house. They go into a lot of detail. They talk about how she seduced her mother’s boyfriend.

I whirl around when the front door slams open with a huge crash that has me jolting painfully. Shale growls menacingly at the stranger silhouetted in the door frame.

A huge biker with a fierce scowl storms in and opens his arms. “Come here!”

Lia flies past me and into the arms of the stranger.

“Dad!” Bailey snaps. “I said wait for me. You can’t just barge into another alpha’s house!”

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