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Chapter Twenty-Two

Ronan

T he next morning, Niall brought the boys home to have breakfast with Ronan and Teal as promised. When Ronan asked, Niall told him Jax had stayed at their apartment to work and clear his calendar. He planned to remain in town during High Court to support Niall and the McGinns.

“How is Sorcha doing?” Niall asked Ronan in a whisper while Teal made smiley faces with raisins in the boys’ oatmeal.

“Good. He’s sleeping upstairs now.”

“He’s here?”

“Yes. After what he’s been through, there’s no way I’m letting him be alone in that house, or worse, stay with his uncles.

” Ronan remembered that Niall only had basic details about Sorcha’s situation, and he didn’t want to get too specific with the boys seated feet away.

He settled on, “We’ll tell you more later, but for now I’ll just say that Dale and Abe left their nephew in a very precarious position.

It all worked out in the end, but it could have gone a different way. ”

Niall gave Ronan a knowing look, replying, “Well, I’m glad Sorcha had you guys.”

“Me too.”

An hour later, Niall left with the twins to drop them off at school. Teal was in the living room with Zayne, half-heartedly working on prep for High Court. Ronan could hardly believe the tribunal started in two days.

Ronan’s shoulders stiffened when he heard Dale’s car turning into the driveway.

Teal frowned at him over Zayne’s head as the telltale sounds of the beta couple returning home drifted through the air.

Car doors opened and closed. Muffled voices conversed.

Plastic suitcase roller wheels dragged roughly across the garage cement.

Ronan’s blood boiled. Dale and Abe didn’t seem to have a care in the world, acting like they hadn’t left Sorcha locked in a makeshift prison that could have killed him.

They chatted happily, as though they’d just come back from a fun trip.

They’d probably enjoyed themselves, away from the responsibility of being decent human beings to their nephew.

Teal and Ronan stared at one another as they waited. Dale and Abe would surely check on Sorcha, would discover the kicked-in door and the disheveled appearance of his room.

The doorbell rang less than a minute later.

Ronan and Teal had already discussed how they would handle this. They’d spoken with Sorcha about it last night before he’d fallen into a deep post-heat slumber.

Ronan nodded at his husband and calmly opened the door. Both of Sorcha’s uncles stood on the porch.

“Hello, gentlemen. Can I help you?”

Dale took a step back. “Oh, Ronan,” he stuttered, tightening his forehead. “You’re home. We figured it would be your beta nanny.”

“No. Teal and I are both here today. He has High Court later this week.”

“Oh, right.” A sour look crossed Abe’s features.

Ronan narrowed his eyes. “Did you need to speak with Niall?”

The betas exchanged flustered expressions. Ronan felt a grim satisfaction at their discomfort.

“We just got home from the coast,” Dale said. “And, um, our nephew isn’t at home.”

“Okay,” Ronan replied, stone-faced. Teal came over and placed a gentle hand on his forearm.

It was a subtle reminder to stick to the script they’d agreed on.

If Ronan had his way, the consequences they’d planned for Sorcha’s uncles would be more severe, but Teal and Sorcha had insisted on a subdued approach.

Still, Ronan wanted to make the awful men squirm as much as possible.

“Well, have you seen him?” Dale asked irritably.

“Or maybe you heard something at the house?” Abe chimed in.

“What do you mean, ‘heard something?’”

Abe’s face looked pained as he ground out, “You know, noises. Like maybe something got broken.”

“What got broken?” Teal asked.

Dale scraped a hand over his jaw. “We never said anything got broken. We just wanted to ask if you heard anything. Or if you’ve seen Sorcha. We were expecting him to be here when we got home.”

“He didn’t go with you to the coast?” Ronan asked.

“No. He had…um…work to do,” Abe answered lamely.

“Ah.” Ronan exhaled, folding his arms over his chest. “It must have been important work.”

“Just the usual,” Dale said, turning to leave. “But if you haven’t seen him, I guess we’ll be going.”

“I never said I hadn’t seen him.”

Dale halted. “So you have seen him?”

“What do you think?” Ronan asked, an edge in his voice.

The indignant beta stretched his fingers, and Ronan’s eyes dared him to form them into fists. “I think you’re giving us the runaround,” Dale sneered. “Either you’ve seen him or you haven’t. Which is it?”

“I don’t think I owe you any answers.”

“Me neither,” Teal added, also crossing his arms.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Dale sputtered. “Sorcha is my nephew. If you’ve seen him, tell me.”

“No,” Ronan stated. “I don’t answer to villainous pieces of shit who leave their blood kin to die in their bedrooms. And my husband and I don’t owe explanations to betas who dishonor their family and themselves by leaving a vulnerable omega to go through heat by himself with only a few toys and some protein bars to get by. ”

Dale’s beady eyes widened. “What are you playing at, if you’ve known all this time?

” he hissed. “Where is my nephew?” A vein twitched in his forehead.

Abe put a placating hand on his husband’s shoulder.

Both men looked ready to pounce, but they stayed put, since neither had a chance in any sort of physical altercation with Ronan.

Ronan turned to his husband. “Baby, do you think I’ve been clear that I’m not answering any of their questions?”

“Yes, alpha, perfectly clear.” Teal glanced toward the betas. “And they must be thick to keep asking when it’s obvious you aren’t going to tell them anything about Sorcha.”

Ronan eyed the men menacingly. “I could have you jailed for what you did. The decrees protecting omegas may not be great, but they definitely cover attempted murder—”

“We didn’t try to murder him!” Abe protested, but Ronan put up his hand.

“He could have died. Easily. In my mind, that’s attempted murder. Not to mention the long-term suppressant usage you forced him into.”

“In case you hadn’t heard, I’m an excellent lawyer.” Teal moved closer to Ronan until they filled the doorway. “If anyone could convince a judge you tried to kill Sorcha, I could.”

The color drained from Abe’s face. Every person in the state knew about Teal’s skill in court. “We didn’t mean to hurt him,” the beta insisted.

“The sick part is, I actually believe you,” Ronan said. “I’ve watched you treat your beautiful nephew like an inconvenience who is occasionally useful to you when he provides free labor. Of course you wouldn’t take his need for a heat service seriously.”

“Where is he?” Dale asked, attempting to look past the couple into the house.

“He’s safe,” Ronan replied. “That’s all you need to know. And you won’t be seeing him again unless he chooses it. But I doubt that will happen.”

“You have the rest of today to pack your things and move out of the duplex,” Teal said.

“And if we hear from you after that, we’ll meet you in Low Court.

In fact, it would probably be in your best interest to relocate yourselves far, far away.

I’m feeling generous today, but I can’t guarantee I won’t wake up tomorrow wanting revenge for what you did to Sorcha. ”

“You can’t do that!” Dale stammered. “Sorcha is my nephew, my brother’s son. He’s nothing to you!”

“He’s someone we care about,” Ronan said definitively. “And that’s why we can’t stand by and allow you to hurt him.”

Ronan wished he and Teal had done more to help Sorcha before the situation escalated.

But they’d had no idea Dale and Abe would do something as vile as ignore an omega’s heat.

Still, from the moment Ronan spoke with Sorcha in the driveway a few months ago, his inner alpha had known Sorcha was his to protect.

He’d always regret not stepping in sooner.

Ronan couldn’t change the past, but he’d never fail Sorcha again. As he, Teal, and Sorcha had discussed the previous night, the thing that mattered most was how they planned to move forward.

The first step was distancing Sorcha from his uncles.

“You can’t just take him,” Dale said. “There are decrees.”

“Yeah,” Abe whined. “And you can’t kick us out of our home without warning. We have a lease.”

“Technically, you’re right. Since Sorcha isn’t twenty-five, he can’t leave your household unless he marries or you emancipate him. That’s why Teal drew up some emancipation papers this morning.”

Teal disappeared for a moment before returning with the legal document that would make Sorcha responsible for himself.

“Sign it,” Ronan demanded, holding the thick cream-colored paper and a pen out to Dale.

“Sign it and then go rent a truck, hire movers, or do whatever you need to do to get your stuff out of the unit by midnight.” To Abe he said, “Consider your lease terminated. And if you try to fight us, we meant what we said. We’ll see you in tribunal for attempted murder. ”

“Just walk away,” Teal said with a sniff. “It’s the best deal you’re going to get. Frankly, you’re lucky Ronan isn’t introducing you to his fists right now. But your nephew asked him to be merciful.”

Dale snatched the papers from Ronan’s hands, muttering under his breath. “He’s a whipped alpha is what he is, under the spell of his omega husband.”

Ronan released a mirthless laugh. “That’s not the insult you think it is. Sign. Now.”

Dale pretended to look the document over, but all four men knew he didn’t have a choice.

With a shrug, he signed, effectively freeing Sorcha from the prison he’d been in since his parents died.

When Teal and Ronan spoke with the little omega last night, he’d been clear.

He never wanted to see his uncles again.