Page 14

Sin

W e still had two days left of Kai’s heat, and we were not faring well.

Caspian was furious, Kai even more so. I was doing my best to balance the situation, but they were temperamental enough on a good day.

With an incomplete bond on one side and a rejected scent match on the other, the chances of an enjoyable week at the Spa had utterly vanished.

But it didn’t matter how much Kai hissed and whined and cursed Melanie ever since she left so suddenly. It was entirely his fault.

I refused to sugarcoat it for him. He chose to treat Melanie that way, and his desperation for her was the result. Being bonded so tightly to Kai also meant that his need transferred to Caspian and I.

I believed her rejection was final. The pain of the break still rang clear inside me, but the scent match refused to sever because of the bite. And there was nothing to be done about it unless we waited for the bite to fade. Which I didn’t want.

I had to wait until my mates exhausted themselves with their own rage-fuelled sex before I could slip out of the heat suite undetected.

If we had been more tactful before Melanie left, maybe we would still be making love. She would have stayed wrapped in our arms as my mates mellowed out. We might have even talked about taking her home.

Though I knew these were simply fantasies. And a lot less plausible than tip-toeing down a flight of stairs like a criminal on the hunt for my—for our— omega.

We could use Caspian's connections to find her, if not for the fact he was completely against it. All my closest sources that could dig up more information on her were tied to our mothers, and I couldn't afford to alert them to her presence. At least for now.

Just the fact that Melanie was going through what could be her first heat without us was abhorrent. But I was sick enough to hope she had chosen to suffer alone rather than entertaining the possibility that she had found another pack to sate her.

It was well known that if an alpha and omega were apart, it could cause a fracture in the bond that would lead to madness. I had no clue if this also applied to omega bites, but, considering how Kai had behaved since she left, it would not surprise me if it was the same.

Stepping into a formal hallway, I snuck through corridors lined with deep blue carpets, cream walls and intricate gold frame paintings. But the mock-Georgian decor couldn’t hide that every room behind the numbered dark wood doors were used for intense bouts of fucking. Even if I couldn’t hear a thing, I could sense the auras of other alphas in rut as I made my way to the reception desk.

It was exactly why every employee I had met at the Spa had been a beta. And why each guest of the Spa had to be accompanied by a trained beta attendant when they moved through the building.

I already had plans for how we could apologise to Melanie. Gifts and promises and touches that spoke of my need for her.

But none of it could happen if she had disappeared from our lives forever.

I descended into the plush reception, and two suited betas behind the desk widened their eyes as they registered I had arrived sans attendant.

I could tell that professionalism was still their priority, as they were instantly prepared to handle me.

I was fully ready to use the Risler name to gather information. I didn’t care how underhanded I had to be.

Yet five steps away from the reception desk, I choked as a wall of power slammed into me, and I was nearly thrown to my knees.

My chest constricted, my breath stolen as I doubled in half. Shock pounded through me as my vision suddenly blurred and every defence I had disintegrated.

“Mr Risler,” a familiar voice curled from behind me as my composure vanished, and I thumped my palm against my chest.

I only had seconds to summon my aura, gasping as I forced a pulse of energy to tear through my body and bring me back.

I could feel precisely how far away he was, and I shot back up, standing tall, every cell in my body screaming in danger as I forced myself to remain still.

The receptionists watched us with tense gazes as I composed myself just in time for Michael Farringdon to emerge into view.

“What a pleasant surprise,” he said with a placid smile.

It appeared I had some professional handling of my own to do.

“I’m glad you think so,” I replied dryly as I locked eyes with the last person I wanted to see while engaging in an activity I would much rather keep a secret.

His aura was so strong I was left suffocating under the pressure of it. And I knew from experience it was barely an effort for him.

Michel Farringdon had a way with his aura that was unheard of, depending on which circles you moved in. The strength and control he had over his own power was deemed terrifying by anyone who’d had a taste firsthand.

If I hadn’t experienced Caspian in his rogue state, I would not be able to face Michael as he focused his attention on me.

“And can I ask what you’re doing here?” I said as my shoulders unwillingly relaxed.

“Hm… You mean besides the fact that I own the place?” he asked with a glint of amusement in his eye.

“I mean, because the last I heard, you were safely tucked away in China, and five thousand miles away from me.”

Michael paused, his aura shifting, pressing even harder into me as he adjusted his cane in his right hand.

Any stranger who had never had a taste of his aura underestimated him. He was incredibly short for an alpha, but it worked to his advantage. As did the all-black suit, though I could have done without the bowler hat. The reason for his black leather gloves was very different from mine, but anyone who knew him wouldn’t dare ask why.

I had seen him level a room, freezing every soul inside just so he could take two steps towards Zania and threaten her. While quite exhilarating, it was something I would rather not repeat.

“Now, would you like to tell me why you’re…hm… wandering about the halls? And please don’t say you’re simply here for a visit. I can smell more than one omega all over you.”

His countenance gave the feeling of a kindly older man. Except the chances of pain if I answered him incorrectly were incredibly high. Even in a public setting such as this.

I straightened my back as the pressure thickened.

“It is a private matter between myself and my pack.” And information I absolutely didn’t want someone like Michael Farringdon to have. If he learned of our deal with Zania, or that we had another scent match, I didn’t want to imagine what he could do to us. Information was the currency of his business, just before sex.

“I don’t believe you can say that when you are a guest at my establishment, Mr Risler.”

Though money flowed between the Farringdons and the Rislers daily, it was of no concern to him. He had made that plain so many times that it was almost comical how furious Zania had grown over the years regarding his absolute refusal to sell even one Knottinghill stock to her.

He tilted his head, his eyes thinning as his smile deepened.

“And…” he trailed off with another innocent look. “How is your charming sister doing these days?”

I stemmed my sharp dart of irritation. Though I appeared calm, my heart jumped at a single mention of her.

“She is fine, thank you,” I replied, wishing I had the means to remove her from his memory so he could never touch her.

I needed to halt the search for Melanie and escape this conversation instead. I didn’t want to go down this path with him.

“It’s been four months since I’ve seen her out and about. Such a shame. I miss that pretty face of hers.”

I tried to remain calm, but I was certain he had a skill that allowed him to sense the tension in another person, like a shark circling bait.

“You’ll have to excuse her absence. Summer is a difficult time for her.”

There was another pause as his chin dipped. “As is the spring, autumn, and winter?” he asked with an arched brow.

“Indeed,” I replied with a nod, as though the not-so-subtle conversation would keep him away from Camille. He had already found her enough times at various events since she’d presented as an omega, and he still waited for her to accept his proposal.

“You know my offer is always on the table. Noon or night, all you have to do is call.” He sighed, as if he was actually concerned. “I would hate for her to have another—hm, how shall we call it? Another accident .”

Camille having another ‘accident’ was exactly what he had hoped for since her aura manifested and things began to go awry. If he hadn’t noticed her issue when he did, chances were she wouldn’t have lived so long.

But accepting his advice regarding her illness was a far cry from allowing him to gather her up and hide her away at one of his ‘research’ facilities.

“You can’t keep her safe forever, Mr Risler,” he said, the warning even more jarring with his smile.

“We are perfectly capable of dealing with it by ourselves, thank you.” I refused to be cowed by the spike in his aura as I denied him yet again.

His weight shifted, and a corner of his lips hitched. “The Hiscoxes and their little potions are not the answer to your dilemma. I've already experimented enough with their ‘methods’ to know they will fail.”

My heart froze for the second time.

Thankfully, I was pale enough that he failed to notice how the blood drained from my face as fear rolled in my stomach.

How had he discovered that piece of information? The Hiscoxes had an agreement with my family that the details of their bonding would remain a secret until they exchanged bites. And that any medical treatments they gave to Camille should never be made available to the public. Absolutely no one outside of our families and our lawyers should know of the plans.

But I couldn’t show my surprise. Any more signs of weakness, and he would close in.

“As I’m aware,” I replied smoothly. “Which is obviously why we are searching for other avenues. Ones that do not involve you.”

Michael chuckled before bowing his head. But I would be a fool if I thought he was conceding.

“If you say so. But please don’t forget I have already warned you what will happen if she goes, ah, untreated.”

The fabric of my gloves tensed as I squeezed my hands at the memories of how deeply Camille had been wounded in the past.

Even if her body suffered further damage, it was better to keep her with us and her bodyguard, where we could make sure she was taken care of properly.

Michael claimed he could help her, but he was still the owner of the Spa, and Knottinghill clubs, and a hundred other facilities where people were sold for sex.

“It’s always a pleasure, Mr Risler. I’ll call an attendant to show you back to your room, since you are so very clearly straying.” He arched a brow.

“How kind of you,” I replied, tucking my hands behind my hips to ensure he didn’t see my minute response.

Caspian may call me a ‘stoney-faced asshole’, but it was particularly useful in situations such as these.

Another soft smile followed. “Well then, I wish you well in your endeavours.”

I felt especially drawn to violence the moment he lifted a hand to the brim of his hat, tipping it. He left me with another brush of his aura that sent shivers of wrongness fluttering through my body.

As soon as he was out of sight, I extracted my phone from my breast pocket.

I needed to call home and make sure Camille’s nurses and bodyguards were still in place. If he really wanted to, Michael could take Camille without much struggle.

He had no qualms about killing to get what he wanted.

Once I knew she was safe, I had to continue with my mission to find our omega. Both for my mates’ sanity, and my own.