Page 29 of Property of Mako (Kings of Anarchy MC: Louisiana #1)

Threads of Truth

Mako

The moment the words left her mouth— our father —something inside me twisted.

I knew a lie when I heard one. Years of being a ruthless hunter, along with my time with the Kings, sniffing out rats, playing predator and executioner in equal measure, had sharpened my instincts beyond human comprehension.

But this… this was more than experience.

This was blood and bond, a tether I couldn’t cut even if I wanted to.

She wasn’t telling me the whole truth.

Lyra stood there, clutching the necklace like it might kill her if she let go, her pulse pounding in her throat, her eyes too wide. The scent of her fear—no, not fear. Shame. Pain. It seeped into the air between us, thick enough to taste.

I set my sister’s necklace on the dresser, the facets of the ruby catching the lamplight. “You expect me to believe that?” My voice was low, dangerous, but not out of anger. Out of knowing.

Her chin lifted, stubborn, but her hands trembled where they held the chain. “It’s the truth.”

I stepped closer, close enough that her breath hitched. My gaze pinned hers, sharp as a blade. “No, it’s not. You’re leaving something out.”

She flinched. Just barely. But I caught it. I always caught it.

“Calix—”

“You can lie to yourself,” I murmured, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face, my fingers lingering against her cheek, “but you can’t lie to me. Not to a vampire. Not to your mate.”

Her eyes widened at that, her lips parting, but she didn’t speak. Couldn’t.

Gently, I loosened her fingers and took the necklace from her grip.

With care, I set it next to my sister’s.

Then, I pressed closer, caging her against the dresser, both necklaces glinting at us like proof of some cruel cosmic joke.

“One day, you’re going to tell me what you’re hiding, Lyra.

And when you do…” I dragged in a breath, my fangs aching as the mate bond thrummed between us, “…I just pray it doesn’t destroy you. ”

She swallowed hard, her throat working, but she still didn’t confess. The silence between us was deafening.

I let her go, finally stepping back, though every part of me screamed to demand the truth. But pushing her now would only make her dig deeper into her secrets. And I couldn’t risk her shutting me out. Not when the storm was coming.

Not when I already knew this secret—whatever it was—would tear both our worlds apart.

Her silence followed me long after I walked out of that room. It clung to me heavier than smoke and iron, heavier than all the blood on my hands.

I wanted to shake it out of her, rip the truth from her throat. But the bond—the gods-damned bond—kept me from forcing her. I knew instinctively it wasn’t just her fear that kept her mouth shut. It was something bigger. Something dangerous.

And I couldn’t protect her from it if I didn’t know what the fuck it was.

Down in the clubhouse garage, the hum of tools and the faint scent of motor oil should’ve been grounding. Instead, I paced like a caged beast.

“Out with it,” Dexter said without even looking up from the scalpel he was cleaning. He always knew. Bastard had a way of reading me without me saying a word. “You’ve got that look—the one you had before you burned down that nest of leeches in Baton Rouge.”

I leaned against the workbench, arms crossed. “She’s lying to me.”

His brows lifted, but he didn’t stop working. He knew exactly who I was talking about. “Lying or hiding?”

I growled low in my chest. “Same fucking thing.”

He didn’t flinch. “She’s human. They don’t trust easily. Especially ones with scars like hers. You push her too hard, you’ll break her.”

“She’s my mate,” I bit out. “I know when she’s holding something back. And this isn’t small, Dex. It’s big enough to make her voice crack when she tried to say it.”

Dexter gave a low whistle, finally meeting my eyes. “So what are you gonna do?”

I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I pulled out my phone, thumb hovering over Crypt Keeper’s number. “What I do best. Get the truth—whether she gives it to me or not.”

By the time Crypt answered, my voice was all steel.

“I need you to dig into Lyra’s family.”

“What are you thinkin’?” Crypt’s gravelly tone came back.

“I’m thinkin’ her family’s neck-deep in something, and it’s about to bleed into mine.”

When I hung up, Dexter was watching me, arms crossed.

“Careful, brother,” he warned. “If you go digging, you better be ready for what you unearth. Mates don’t just hide secrets—they bury landmines.”

I clenched my jaw. Too late. I was already stepping onto the minefield.

* * *

Crypt Keeper rolled in late, smelling like smoke and whiskey, his shaggy dark hair damp from the rain. He had that wolf’s patience about him—slower to act than me, but when he moved, he didn’t miss. Exactly why I trusted him to dig where others couldn’t.

“You got somethin’ for me to start with?” he asked, sliding onto a stool next to me at the bar.

I tossed back what was left of my bourbon, the glass clinking hard against the bar top. “Lyra’s hiding something. Big.”

His brows rose. “Bigger than her being able to wear that glamour like a custom-made cloak the other night?”

No one had addressed that yet, and it set my teeth on edge to know that I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

I gave him a look sharp enough to cut steel.

“Don’t fuck with me, Crypt. I can feel it.

It’s more than just my natural instincts.

The bond’s got her heart beating in my chest, and I know when she lies.

Question is, why? And how the hell it ties into Lily. ”

Crypt leaned forward, forearms braced on his knees. “You think this lie has got teeth? Something that could bite us in the ass later?”

“Worse,” I growled. “I think it’s something that could put a target on both of them that’s bigger than Thane’s goddamn auction. He can deny that he’s part of it all he wants, but I know better. And if I’m right about my gut feeling with Lyra, the Covenant won’t be our only problem.”

He let out a long whistle, rubbing his jaw. “All right. What do you need?”

“Dig up everything you can on the Callahans. Parents. Land. Old records, history, secrets they buried. Start with her old man. I don’t give a shit how deep you gotta go—if there’s blood on their name, I want it.”

Keeper’s lips twisted into a feral grin.

“You know that means ruffling some feathers in town. Old money like that? They don’t like skeletons being dragged out of closets.

I can already tell you that the plantation she lives on used to be hers and her sister’s after the parents died.

She sold it off and put most of the money in a trust for her sister.

The rest she uses at that horse rescue she runs. ”

I smirked without humor. “Then it’s a good thing I like rattling bones.”

He stood, rolling his shoulders, the wolf in him already itching for the hunt. “If she’s sittin’ on something that could compromise us, better we find it before the enemy does.”

“That’s exactly why I called you.” I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling fan as it spun lazy circles above us.

“Because if her secret has even a whisper of a trail, I need it unearthed. Now. The last thing I’ll allow is another blindside—another fucking sis—person taken from under my nose. ”

Keeper’s eyes softened just a fraction. He knew what I meant. We’d talked long into the night once about the day I buried the last piece of my family. Besides Boomslang, he was the only one I’d confided in.

“I’ll find it,” he promised.

“Good,” I replied, hating that my voice sounded like broken glass. “Because if Lyra’s secret endangers her… or Lily…” My fangs slid long, the vicious beast in me barely contained. “…I’ll raze the world to keep them safe.”

Crypt Keeper’s lupine eyes held on me a moment too long. He knew there was more to this than I was saying, but to his credit, he didn’t push.

“One more thing,” I added, my voice low, the kind of quiet that came before a storm. “This stays between you and me. I don’t want it bleeding through the ranks. Especially without knowing who we can trust.”

He tilted his head. “Not even Boom?”

“Not even Boom.” My jaw locked. “If Lyra’s hiding something, I’ll deal with it before the club ever has to.”

Crypt studied me, then finally nodded. “All right, Mako. My lips are sealed.”

I leaned back on the barstool, stretching out my legs, but there was no relaxing in me. Not when the truth was coiled somewhere close, ready to strike worse than the venomous creature Boomslang got his road name from.

“Start with hospital records, property records, old adoption filings, sealed court shit,” I told him. “If something doesn’t line up with Lyra’s story or her family’s timeline, I want to know.”

He gave me a wicked grin. “Already know where to sniff. County records office has a basement most folks forget exists. I’ll shake the dust off and see what rattles.”

I smirked. “Good. Rattle hard.”

* * *

Two nights later, Crypt showed up at my room, his boots still damp with swamp mud. He didn’t bother with pleasantries, just motioned for me to follow him.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Lyra, who was already in bed and half asleep after I wore her out. She hummed noncommittally and snuggled into the pillow further.

We slipped into Boomslang’s office, and I closed the door.

He tossed a manila envelope onto the desk between us.

“What’s this?” I asked, already reaching for it.

“Paper trail.” His grin told me he was highly pleased with himself. “Your girl’s family has cleaner records than most, but even old money fucks up when they want to hide something.”

Needing to know what he was talking about, I flipped the envelope open. Inside were photocopies of birth records, dated hospital logs, and one document stamped SEALED in heavy black ink.

My gut tightened.

“What am I looking at?” I asked with a frown.