Page 135 of Your Wild Omega

“Don’t worry about it,” I say with a grin. “Tell Juan it’s for his therapy services.”

Money isn’t a problem when your family runs one of the country’s biggest upmarket retail chains, so why did I act like earning more would change my worth? I run one hand roughly through my hair. I’m negotiating buying a fucking city-center apartment building without breaking a financial sweat, for crying out loud.

Well, I can think of one good place to spend my money, to buy a certain omega a little peace of mind. I dig into my pocket and pull out the business card forSteve’s Car Sales.

Flagging down a taxi, I give the street name to the driver, choosing a location a couple of blocks away from. Should I see if they have a cute car that might suit Red, in case she gets her license in the future? And with the car comes theirmaintenance package.

A necessary solution. I’m risking everything by crossing this line, but really, isn’t that what I should have done for Red in the first place? Now I’m simply putting things back how they should be.

Having failed her once, I can’t let it happen again. I need to secure her future.

No matter the personal risk.

Chapter fifty

Callisto

Court day arrives with a gale and a smattering of raindrops on the windowpanes. Today everything changes. After weeks of trawling through precedents and scratching my brain, it’s time to go into battle.

My heart feels heavy as I straighten my gray vest, checking my reflection in the mirror one last time while reciting my opening address. Although I arranged for a fast settlement on the new apartment building, I haven’t convinced myself to move in yet. Somehow this basic hotel room feels like a kind of necessary punishment. Or perhaps it’s because I know how much the empty apartment will remind me of the pack I missed out on. But I can’t put off moving forever, so I’ll start as soon as this case finishes. It’ll keep my mind busy.

And give me an alibi.

A small voice in the back of my head asks what today’s outcome might’ve been if I hadn’t rejected Red that day. Could I have supported her through her trauma to testify? Would shehave felt safe enough if her first scent match never abandoned her?

I brace my hands on the tiny kitchenette counter and groan. I need to shake off this despondency. It’s go time. Time to face the lunatic who destroyed the beautiful omega’s life.

“Even if I can’t nail you, you’re going down, motherfucker,” I promise darkly. Because the burly motorcycle club leader agreed to take on the job. I’d love to know how he verified my story about Ray’s guilt, but the man remained tight-lipped, no matter how much money I offered.

I straighten and spritz on cologne before knotting my tie. After a quick survey of my appearance, I collect my materials, double-checking everything is in place, organized neatly in my folders with the important bits highlighted. I’m as prepared as I can be.

Quinton, my assistant lawyer for the case, waits for me on the courthouse steps, sipping from a coffee cup. “Morning, Callisto,” he says as I jog up the stairs.

I turn to stand beside him, looking out over the busy street with the towering buildings as a backdrop. “Catching the last bit of sunlight for a few days?”

He nods. “I think this one’s going to be brutal.”

I nod. “Yeah, the OCB legal team told me these trafficking cases are the hardest.” Harder again for me because I’m Red’s, well, nothing, I suppose. Maybe if parallel universes exist, I’m her alpha in one of them. Surely at least one version of Callisto Wren won’t be an idiot. The thought makes me smile.

Quinton claps me on the back. “Come on. Let’s go bag you another case win.”

It’s pointless bravado, but at least he’s trying to cheer me up. I’ll have to make sure I don’t keep him late on his family date nights anymore.

Allen, the OCB legal representative, sits at our table already and I shake his hand as Quinton settles on my other side.

The door creaks open behind me, and I can’t help myself. Ray Fibbistachi follows his lawyer down the aisle, looking neat and non-threatening in a brown suit and pale, patterned tie. A monster walks among us. My roving gaze locks with the tall blond man in front of him: the country’s top criminal defense lawyer. Antonio Pike smirks at me, and nervous energy flocks to my belly.

I used to survive on this sensation of hyperalertness, but now I recognize its true nature—anxiety.

If I have a panic attack in court today, no one will ever take me seriously as a lawyer again. How strange to have a piece of myself I used to love morph into something so potentially catastrophic.

Ray sits down at the defendant’s table, looking serene. To calm myself, I count my breathing and remind myself he’ll get what’s coming to him. How dare he sit here like he’s done nothing wrong? I’ve combed through the records so many times, and reflected on everything Red told me. Every detail of his despicable crimes is etched deeply in my brain.

It wouldn’t be enough to tear Ray limb from limb. He needs to suffer, to feel helpless like Red did as he locked her down and destroyed her life. All those vials stolen from her. And Red goes into heat extraordinarily frequently for an omega. That’s a lot of strain on her slender body to begin with. And the way she screamed during her heat and tried to burn her nest—the memories still haunt me.

I’m on my feet before I’ve registered my movement. A wave of rage floods through me, sweeping away reason. What if I just took him out now and saved us all the trouble?

“Callisto,” a familiar voice calls behind me.

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