Page 54

Chapter fifty-four

SOFIE

It’s been three days since the incident, Violet slowly coming out of her shell until she’s almost the same woman she was before. She’ll never be the exact same, in the way that her gaze always seems to find Puma wherever he is and then she burrows herself into his arms. She does the same with Hawk, finding safety with them that she didn’t need before.

And then she crawls into my bed every night, holding me so tight I might suffocate. I hate that Marion almost took something from my Beta but the fact is—what he did take was worse. He took a piece of her sanity, her safety, her confidence. Her outspoken nature has softened just a bit where she’s more submissive than before, melting faster into our Alphas’ embraces like she craves it.

And while I love that—I hate why that is.

Violet hasn’t talked about what happened in that house after Marion’s intentions changed. All I know is that he didn’t get far.

I breathe out a sigh, stepping into the hallway, immediately searching for Violet because after three days of waking up to her—her absence is felt. I feel through the bond, trying to gauge what she’s feeling when I hear genuine laughter ringing in the living room. I rush toward the sound, Puma eyeing me to stay put. He’s leaning against the counter, watching the same scene I am. She’s curled up in Hawk’s lap, Gray leaning forward with a sloppy grin on his face, his hands moving a mile an hour.

It’s the first real happy sound I’ve heard from her, my heart surging with love for my Beta. Her cheeks are flushed, a bright smile spread across her lips, her body more relaxed than I’ve seen it for a while. Lance comes up behind me, kissing the top of my head. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

I nod and then immediately redirect the conversation. “When are you going to bond her?”

Lance snorts. “Whenever she’s ready, sweetheart. These things can’t be rushed and while I would have done it the same night we bonded you, Puma and Gray fucked her unconscious. I’ve got my kinks but that isn’t one of them.”

A giggle falls from my lips as I cozy up to Puma’s side, the Alpha throwing an arm around my shoulder. He’s offered me a pack bond—something akin to a tattoo—if I wanted it, explaining just why that’s all he could give. My heart broke at his story and the loss he’s suffered, which explains why he’s been so protective of Violet. And I fucking love that. And now I’m sporting the Ashford pack’s bond on my shoulder, showing everyone that I’m Puma’s too—even if it’s a little different.

“You going to be okay, Sofie?” Puma asks. “The shit storm is going to be a bit before it blows over.”

He says that like he has a plan. Our Alphas have been all secretive, in and out of that office, throwing around words I don’t understand. I’m sure that they’ve been contemplating something after Marion was taken into custody. He hasn’t told the officers much, that I know of. “What’s the plan?” I ask. Puma raises an eyebrow as he glances down at me. “I mean it. Don’t shut me out.”

Lance humors me as he pulls up a seat near the counter. “Sofie, there’s many moving parts. Marion has said fuck all but I guess that’s a good thing, seeing as he tried to frame us and that didn’t work. The main detective on the case is kind of an acquaintance, I guess you could say, and there’s been no additional information regarding who’s actually behind the scenes.”

I glare at him. “But what about the painting you guys bid on? Where is that?” Violet’s quick thinking, calling Puma at the time saved her from having to recount any of the details. Puma was able to retell everything he heard to the detectives and we were able to move on. Mostly. The part I hate is when I saw all those horrid threats Marion sent my Beta—down to the fucking pictures he took of all of us. I can’t imagine how much it hurt to see that firsthand.

He laughs. “You’re too smart for your own good. Sweetheart, all we know is that he’s dealing in fakes. He’s got his hands in deep and he is trying to pin it off on someone. I can guarantee you that we’re the easiest target but not the only one. However, there might be a way to draw him out into the open.”

I lean toward him, sucking my bottom lip through my teeth. “Really? Why haven’t we done it? Why are we sitting here?” The smirk playing on Lance’s face is starting to piss me off. I grumble at him but the longer I stare, the more my body heats until my goddamn scent gives me away. “No. None of that. Tell me and you can fuck me later.”

“I’ll hold you to that, sweetheart. Now, how do you feel about parties?”

I hesitate, mostly because I’m not sure what kind of party Lance is talking about. Like the drunken ones at Temple where Violet always had to pull me down from a table? Or the pish posh ones like at the showing? Or like a gala?

“Is that a no, Sofie?”

I twist around to look at Puma and shake my head. “No. I just don’t know what kind of party. Is this one of those rich ones?”

“Absolutely. You’ll have to dress up and there will be hors d'oeuvres and lots of really fancy people you’ll get to meet. See, we’re all pretty sure that whoever is fucking around is enjoying that from within the circle. It’s why throwing a party, almost as a last hurrah will bring all those wishing for our downfall, those itching to find out the truth, and the one person who’s hoping and praying we’ll go down under. At least, we hope it’ll work. A few officers will be here. Banks thinks we’re doing ourselves a disservice and Hawk over there says if someone so much as looks at either of you wrong, that the party is over. I feel the same.”

I wholeheartedly agree but I’m worried that Violet isn’t ready for something like that. My gaze darts over to her, that warm smile still on her face as Hawk peppers kisses all over her cheeks, Gray being a dumbass as he holds her hand to his lips.

“Sofie, you’d be surprised. This was her idea.” Puma laughs at how fast I twist to look at him. “She’s not broken. She was hurt and confused and…”

“Tell me,” I whisper, wanting to know what happened. No one’s said anything. And for a little while, I didn’t want to know but I need to understand the terror in her eyes.

“A gun was involved and it went off but I don’t know much more than that. Sofie, she fought so goddamn hard to make it out of there. She hit him a few good times, held him off until we got there. I think of that moment every goddamn day, trying not to think of what could have happened had we been a few minutes later.” Puma rakes his hand through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh. “She’s here with us and that bastard is in jail. If he makes bail, he’ll regret it.” There’s no hesitation in his voice and I know for a fact that Marion’s mug shot would have looked a lot worse if the detectives hadn’t gotten there when they did. “As for whether or not Violet is ready, she’s the one who suggested we ‘do it like the movies’, for better or worse. I think she’s stronger than any of us really know, Sofie. She’s an amazing woman.”

“Yeah, she is,” I mumble before squeezing Lance’s hand and moving toward the couch. Violet immediately perks up, hands reaching out for me. I crawl into her lap, right on top of Hawk, the man drawing us both into his chest as I let my Beta devour me with kisses. “Thank you for coming back to me,” I whisper against her lips.