Page 38 of A Promise of Forever (The Vallaverse #3)

Forrest

After returning to the cottage, Sterling passed out almost immediately, his body exhausted from his impending heat.

He's curled up against my thigh now, the Omega completely trusting me with his safety.

I thought about returning to the main house to handle the mountain of work waiting for me, but I can't bring myself to leave him.

The need to stay close overrides every practical consideration.

Everything my father did truly is making more sense. As he slowly moved away from the main activities of the business, he spent more time out here with my Omega father than in the main house. It was their sanctuary and now it’s going to be ours.

I run my hand through Sterling’s curls before refocusing my attention on my laptop.

I've been trying for the past hour to find a legal way around Wilson's increasingly loud protests regarding his claim over Sterling.

The cop has been making his case to anyone who will listen, showing up at establishments throughout the city and claiming that I stole an Omega from him in some kind of twisted power play.

People are starting to talk, asking questions about where Sterling came from and whether I'm holding him against his will.

The problem is that from everything we've been able to find, Wilson has no legal claim over Sterling. They were never formally mated, never married, and Sterling doesn't carry Wilson's bite. By every legal standard that matters, Sterling is a free agent who can choose his own protection and pack.

But society doesn’t see Omegas that way and Wilson's power within the police department is giving him leverage that pure legality can't counter.

He's using his badge and connections to paint himself as a concerned authority figure trying to rescue an Omega from a dangerous criminal.

The narrative is persuasive to people who don't know the truth, who see a cop versus a Valla and automatically assume the cop must be the good guy.

And then there's the Thatcher problem complicating everything.

Some faceless drug kingpin pushing substances around the city, always one step ahead of our attempts to identify him.

The connection between Wilson and the drug trade feels significant, but we haven't been able to prove anything concrete yet.

A message pops up on the side of the screen, an email from someone on The Forge staff.

Mr. King,

I was told to reach out to you when I had more information about the Omega from that night.

Her name is Rose and physically, she’s doing well.

They kept her for a few days to monitor any lingering symptoms. She’s now returned to where she was staying and has accepted the help of Forge’s lawyers to sue Alistair.

Good.

I was worried there wouldn't be a more favorable outcome amidst all of the other bullshit.

But that knowledge doesn't make me feel much better. Something in my gut tells me that any moment now, Wilson is going to try something different. He's been too quiet over the past day, which means he's planning rather than just reacting.

My phone vibrates with an incoming call from Caelan, the timing a bit strange. I try to slip out from under Sterling carefully, not wanting to wake him, but he shifts closer in his sleep and makes a small sound of protest at my movement.

I lean down to kiss his forehead, breathing in his sweet scent and committing the moment to memory. “I'm not going far, little dove.”

Then I slip from the bed as gently as possible and walk outside into the late afternoon air.

The brisk temperature hits my bare chest immediately, but I welcome the discomfort as a distraction from my growing anxiety.

"Couldn't handle the business during lunch? What needs my attention so urgently?" I ask, pushing some amusement into my voice so my brother knows I'm not mad at him.

Unfortunately, Caelan's tone shifts the mood to something more serious. "As much as I want to joke around right now, I need you to brace yourself. Are you with Sterling?"

The question sends alarm bells ringing through my system. "I'm standing outside the cottage. Why?"

"Good." Caelan takes a breath like he's preparing to deliver terrible news.

"Wilson has somehow convinced a judge to issue a summons requiring you to bring Sterling in to be checked.

They want to verify that he's not being held against his will and that he doesn't currently carry anyone's bite.

It's essentially a wellness check with legal teeth behind it. "

A horrid growl tears from my throat before I can stop it. I punch the side of the cottage hard enough that pain explodes across my knuckles, but the physical sensation does nothing to ease the rage flooding my system.

"Great reaction," Caelan says dryly. "And it gets better. They want you there in an hour."

"What the fuck?" The words come out as a snarl. "An hour? That's not enough time to prepare anything, to get legal representation, to even explain to Sterling what's happening."

"I only just intercepted the summons from whoever delivered it to the main house," Caelan explains rapidly. "Wilson has pulled some serious strings, Forrest. He's got connections higher up than we realized, people who are willing to bend procedure to help him. How close is Sterling to his heat?"

I drag a hand down my face, a mixture of emotions swirling around in my chest. "Pretty damn close.

His fever is elevated and his scent is getting sweeter by the hour.

I feel like if I take him into a stressful situation right now, I'm going to fucking lose him.

The stress could trigger a full heat, and having that happen in a courthouse or police station would be a nightmare. "

"Wilson doesn't have a legal claim," Caelan reminds me, though his voice carries doubt.

"At least not that we can see in any documentation.

Maybe you should ask Sterling directly? Find out what you're walking into before you show up unprepared?

I don't know what seeing Wilson again is going to do to Sterling's mental state, but I need you to not freak out on him.

He's going to look to you for how to react. "

Caelan pauses, then adds, "I'm sending Thea to go with you. She's the only one of us who won't immediately snap if Wilson starts talking shit. Bryn and I would probably end up in jail for assault, and Lorcan would definitely kill someone."

I feel myself getting angrier with every word, my control fraying at the edges. The thought of taking Sterling anywhere near Wilson makes every protective instinct I possess scream in protest.

"I'll have a driver waiting outside the cottage so you don't have to come through the main house and face questions from staff," Caelan continues.

"You've probably got fifteen minutes before you need to get on the road, or they'll send someone to forcibly retrieve Sterling.

And Forrest? Don't let them separate you from him.

Whatever happens, stay in the same room.

They'll try to get Sterling alone for questioning, but you have rights as his claimed mate even without a formal bite. "

I hang up without responding, too angry to form coherent words. I just stand there in the cold air, my breath visible in white clouds, trying to figure out how to handle this situation without completely losing my mind. I am grateful, however, that my brother is keeping a level head in all of this.

He's not saying anything, I don't know when it comes to dealing with the police, but my first reaction would absolutely be violence rather than rational thought.

The cottage door opens behind me, and I turn to see Sterling standing there wearing nothing but my shirt. The garment hangs to mid-thigh on his small frame, and he's barefoot despite the cold. Those gorgeous hazel eyes are locked on me, already understanding that something terrible has happened.

"He got to me, didn't he?" Sterling's voice is surprisingly steady despite the fear I can smell rolling off him in waves. "Wilson demanded me back."

The calm acceptance in his tone breaks my heart. Like he always knew this safety was temporary, always expected someone to come and drag him back to hell.

"Fuck, I'm not giving you back, sweetheart," I say immediately, closing the distance between us and pulling him against my chest. "We just have to prove that you're here willingly, that you chose me and want to stay with me. It's a formality, a legal requirement."

Even as I say the words, I know they're not entirely true. This is Wilson using the system against us, finding legal loopholes to create opportunities for harm.

Sterling's body goes rigid in my arms. "I shouldn't have to, though. He's not my Alpha. I was given to him by my mother like I was property, but I'm not his. I don't have his bite and we're not married. I never promised myself to him in any meaningful way. I'm not his!"

His voice rises with each sentence, panic and anger bleeding through the words. "I don't want to be his. I don't want to go there. Please don't make me go there. Please, Forrest."

The plea in his voice destroys me. I wish I could wrap him in violence and protection so thick that nothing could ever threaten him again. But the law is different from physical threats, harder to fight with the tools I've spent my life developing.

"I wish I could stall this, wish I could tell them to fuck off and leave us alone," I admit, my voice rough with barely contained rage.

"But I'm not sure we have any more time.

If we don't comply with the summons, they have legal grounds to take you from me forcibly.

They could send officers with a warrant, and then I'd have to choose between fighting them and risking criminal charges that would actually stick. "

I cup Sterling's face in my hands, making sure he's looking at me and hearing every word. "I will fight for you, Sterling. Regardless of what happens in that courthouse, regardless of what Wilson says or claims, you're coming home with me. Always."

Sterling lets out a sob that sounds like it's being torn from somewhere deep in his chest. Then his legs give out completely, and he sags to his knees on the cold ground. I go down with him immediately, not willing to let him fall even an inch without my support.

"I knew the dream would end," Sterling gasps out between sobs. "But I didn't think it would be so soon. Do you promise? Do you promise to bring me back here? To not let them keep me?"

The heartbreak in his voice makes my own chest ache with sympathetic pain.

He's already resigned to losing everything, already preparing himself for the worst possible outcome.

The fact that he's experienced enough trauma to make that his default assumption fills me with murderous rage directed at everyone who ever made him feel disposable.

I crouch in front of him properly, ignoring the cold ground against my knees. "I told you a few days ago that I was falling for you, but that was wrong. That was me being cautious and scared of my own feelings."

Sterling's tear-filled eyes meet mine, desperate for whatever I'm about to say.

"I've already fallen," I continue. "I'm in love with you, little dove. Completely, irrevocably in love with you. You're mine and I'm yours, and Wilson cannot take my family. I will make him pay for ever thinking he could try."

Sterling lets out a shuddering sob and throws himself against my chest, his small body wracked with the force of his crying. I hold him tight, letting him soak my bare skin with tears, not caring about anything except making sure he feels my complete commitment.

I press kisses to the top of his head, to his temple, to anywhere I can reach. "I love you," I repeat, making sure the words sink in. "That's not going to change based on what some judge says or what Wilson claims. You're mine."

"When do we have to leave?" Sterling asks, his voice muffled against my chest.

"Right now. We have maybe ten minutes before the driver arrives, and then it's a twenty-minute drive to the station."

Sterling pulls back slightly to look up at me, his face blotchy and wet with tears. More tears continue falling as he processes the timeline, the reality of how little time we have left in our sanctuary.

"Promise you won't let me go," he whispers, his hands gripping my shoulders like he's afraid I might disappear. "Promise me, Forrest. I need to hear you say it again."

"I promise," I say firmly, holding his gaze so he can see the truth in my eyes. "I promise I won't let you go. I promise you're coming home with me. I promise that Wilson will never hurt you again. And I promise that I love you more than anything in this world."

Sterling's face crumples with fresh tears, but he nods. It's not quite belief, not quite trust, but it's acceptance that I'm telling him what I genuinely feel. For now, that will have to be enough.