Page 169 of Broken Bonds

“Who did you lose?” I gently ask, because that level of barely constrained rage can only come from personal loss.

“Well, first my cousin, Dahlia’s brother,” she says. “In a different attack. But then my parents. The atmosphere in the room settles. “I killed one of the fuckers because he’d been injured and his people left him behind. I…convinced him to tell me who hired them. He admitted that while it was shuffled around to help disguise the true source, it was on Sterling’s orders, and he was of Sterling’s pack.”

Morning examines a hangnail. “She kept him alive over seven hours before she finally killed him. She got the information out of him in less than fifteen minutes.”

“The rest was for funsies,” she snarks. “Because I could.”

Morning’s cold smile returns as he meets my gaze. “Frankly, I think she was too kind. But she earned points from me for style.”

A chill fills me. Not from her energy, but because of my worry for Mal and for Todd. “So what do you know of the…situation?”

She glances at Morning before focusing on me again. “Nothing, although I have my suspicions. Don’t worry; he didn’t break your confidence.”

“Do I have your confidence?” I ask. “Because without that we can’t go any farther. I have sworn to offer protection, and no one will make me break that oath.”

“You do have my confidence, and my oath that I will not harm anyone here today. I have also sworn an oath to this one”—she hooks a thumb at Morning—“to behave myself today regardless of what’s going on. Unlike Sterling, I never break an oath, unless I die.” She holds her hands out. “And I’m not into auto-necromancy, so my track record so far is pretty damned good.”

I can’t help it—I like her. I really like her. Rocky start or not—and I fully and readily admit that was my fault—I suspect she’ll soon become a welcome fixture around here.

“Shortly before Marchman approached me,” I start, “our pack took in a refugee shifter, running from their birth pack for a variety of reasons. Unbeknownst to me at the time was the identity of the refugee’s problematic…family.”

She waggles her fingers at me in a “give it to me” way. “Just rip the bandage off, Spot.”

“He’s Sterling’s youngest son, a gay omega. He despises his father and ran away several times, just for them to track him down and haul him back. He successfully hid that he was gay until this last time, when they caught him in a compromising situation, and his father was forcing him to marry a female omega, or else. And the ‘or else’ option was unambiguous.”

“Sounds like that fucker. And?”

“Normally, we have a process that takes several weeks to acclimate newcomers, make sure they’re a fit, and then we…initiate them.”

She smirks. “You fuck their brains out in an orgy. I dance skyclad all the time and have dabbled in sex magick, so you’re not shocking me.”

“Anyway,” I continue. “Obviously, the circumstances have greatly shortened our usual timeline. I gave serious thought to moving him somewhere else and hiding him until things die down, but Morning warned me Mal’s life was in danger on multiple fronts, and not just from his father. That moving him was riskier than integrating him into the pack.”

She slowly nods, her smirk fading and turning grim. “And you are 100% right about that,” she quietly says.

“He’s a good kid,” I continue. “He hasn’t been here long but he’s a hard worker, everyone who’s met him likes him, and I couldn’t in good conscience send him away. Especially since my best friend developed a mate bond with him and, long story short, we triggered his first-ever mating heat yesterday. By the way, did you know a beta elk shifter can get an omega wolf shifter pregnant right off the bat?”

Both her eyebrows skyrocket. Even Morning looks a little surprised at that update. “No shit?” she says.

“I shit you not. I’m biased, sure, but I think it’s safe to say he doesn’t smell like Sterling’s pack when his first time fucking during his first heat not only wasn’t with a wolf but an elk, and that same elk knocked him up.” I decide not to mention my own impending fatherhood.

She bursts out laughing. “That poor kid. If it weren’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have any.” She sits back in her chair, far more relaxed now. Her energy still swirls around her, but in a calmer, lazy way. “Well, suffice it to say yes, I feel a fuckton better.” She glances at Morning. “And yes, you told me so. Happy?”

He smiles but doesn’t answer.

“Can we go meet him first?” she asks me. “Sooner the better. That way, if there remains so much as a whiff on him that might cause trouble, I’ll have time to come up with something to help. I heard some…rustlings about the missing son being an omega, and potentially a gay one. With this development, I’m certain we’ll only have to worry about Sterling’s pack searching for him.”

Thank the Goddess something gives me hope. “Yeah?”

She nods. “Like I said, I don’t make promises I can’t keep. And once I put the word out that no one fucks with him, he shall remain unfucked.”

“Except by his mate,” Morning jokes.

“Lucky bastard,” she says.

I call Todd and hear Iris in the background. Combined with Todd’s tone when he answers, I can tell he’s already had a morning.

“This better be good news,” he says.