Chapter 77
It took several hours and several forms of torture I would have never thought of in a hundred years, but we finally got the prisoner to give up his co-conspirators. I was surprised by my father’s bloodlust, he let his hatred and heartache fuel him to use a lifetime’s worth of personal knowledge to his advantage. On the other hand, if the prisoner thought family ties or brotherly love was going to save him, he was quickly proved wrong. I wouldn’t have thought my father was capable of breaking a family member before and neither did the prisoner, I could see the moment he realised. My father became almost emotionless as he allowed the bond they once had to be destroyed as he skilfully dissected the body of the man he once loved, without the mercy of allowing him to die. Having gotten what I needed, Ben and I headed back to the house to get the girls, we still had to go to the hospital, to see Kyle before it was too late. Ben and I got out of the building and into my car without a word. I was still worried about my father, and his detached demeanour, like the prisoner meant nothing to him. I was pulled out of my thoughts by the Delta linking myself and Ben, informing us that all other co-conspirators in the plot had been arrested and they would be brought to the cells immediately. I informed him I would be back the next day to interrogate them, until then he was in charge of the prison, and shut down the link.
“Are you alright brother?” Ben asked as I started the engine.
“I’m worried about Dad, and Charlie, and a million other things.” I chuckled, humourlessly, before I pulled out of the barren patch of land that was used as a car lot. “It’s one of the joys of being Alpha,” I stated with half a smile.
“I’m worried it’s more than that. The joys of being the Beta!” Ben snapped back at me which caused us both to burst out laughing. We drove to the house, our moods a little lighter than they had been, but both of us knew we wouldn’t feel ourselves until we saw our mates.
When we entered the house, it was too quiet, I felt Ben stiffen beside me, he felt it too, no sounds from the kitchen, and the TV wasn’t on, something was wrong. I ran into the kitchen first, while Ben went for the living room, if there were signs of a struggle those were the most likely places to find it. I was just about to link the Delta to start a search when Ben linked me. “They’re here, they’re fine.” I sprinted to the living room, both girls were passed out on the couch, sleeping soundly in front of the fire. I let out a breath of relief, a small chuckle came with it, I indicated to Ben to follow me and headed back to the kitchen.
“I’m gonna make them both a coffee before we wake them, do you mind pouring some water for them both too?” I asked him.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry just got freaked out for a second there,” Ben replied, as he shook himself out of his daze.
“No problem.” I shrugged and sighed in defeat. “I know exactly what you mean, since this whole plot thing started, I feel like all I see is enemies everywhere. I’ve been terrified every moment since I met Charlie, that my life, my responsibilities, my past, will be the thing that will drive her away, but when you told me about the coup, my first thought wasn’t the pack. It was will this be the reason she uses to leave me, or the thing that takes her away for good. I’m the Alpha, my first thought should’ve been the pack, but I can’t think of anything but her first.” I admitted, a little ashamed.
“I have put the pack and you before Maria, but I didn’t want to. I still think of her first, her safety, her happiness. I don’t think it’s possible to think of anything but your mate first, they’re the other half of us. Besides, our father nearly ripped the pack apart for his mate, so we didn’t have the greatest example growing up. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Ben mused while filling two glasses of water from the filter jug in the refrigerator.
“That’s true I guess.” I laughed as I finished steaming the milk for the girls’ coffees.
“When did you get back?” Charlie’s melodious voice made my heart skip a beat, every time, and I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my face as I turned around and saw her again. Her hair was a little messy, and she was adorably tired, and wiped her make-up-free face, and yawned as she took a seat at the breakfast bar.
“Not long, I was just making you a coffee before we were going to wake you,” I said as I handed Ben Maria’s coffee and set Charlie’s down in front of her, Ben had already given her the glass of water, half of which was gone. She set it down at the sight of her coffee, her eyes lit up, goddess how could she be this cute and still be so unbelievably sexy?
“I love you.” She said as she looked up at me expectantly.
“I love you too,” I replied before I kissed her softly and headed back to the coffee machine to make one for Ben and myself.
“Mmm.” She hummed appreciatively as she took her first sip, it made me hard. A shiver went through my body as the memory of her making the same sound when she tastes me, popped into my head.
“I need to talk to you about something if you’re up to it?” I asked, desperate to think about anything other than taking her upstairs and never leaving the bedroom again.
“Yeah, I’m awake, and almost running on all cylinders, I think...” She mumbled between sips.
“What?” I asked with a chuckle, a little confused and unsure I had heard her correctly.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine, what did you wanna know?” She asked me.
“Kyle has asked if you would be willing to visit him. I said I would ask, but we don’t have much time, he won’t be conscious in a few hours, so we would have to get to the hospital soon.” I said as gently as I could.
“Yes, I want to see him. Are you really okay with me going to see him?” She asked me, but she didn’t look angry, just concerned.
“I don’t like other men around you, and the idea of you walking into a room of warriors isn’t my idea of a good time. But I know he wants to say goodbye, and maybe you do too, so I’m trying to be okay with it.” I answered as honestly as I could, she walked around the bar and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“I don’t want anyone except you, I know it’s hard to fight your instincts and trust that, so thank you for trying and being honest with me. I’m sorry about how I reacted earlier, it’s just-”
“I know, you don’t cope well with being kept in the dark...” I interrupted. “I’m sorry too, I should have told you sooner... I was worried for you. I didn’t want to force you to deal with anything more than the tribunal... I didn’t want you to have to deal with that! I just...”
“I know, and I know it’s one of my issues, you might even call it a Mommy issue. I hate when things are kept from me, and I don’t react well when I find out after the fact.” She whispered as she pulled my face closer to hers. Our lips had barely touched, when Maria wandered into the kitchen, grumbling about her coffee. Charlie pulled back, she let out a little giggle in embarrassment at our stolen moment being interrupted. Unable to resist her another second, I captured her lips with mine, my arms pulled her closer as I deepened the kiss.
“Alright you two, there are plenty of bedrooms upstairs for that when you have company!” Maria grumbled as she pottered behind me. Charlie giggled into my chest, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment, but I refused to let her out of my arms.
“How’s your head?” I asked Maria, almost sure she was paying for stealing all my whiskey.
“Fine.” She said with a grimace as she added a shot of espresso to her mug and chugged the whole thing before she set it down in front of me on the bar. “Next time, the only hangover cure I accept is a quadruple espresso.” She said as she shuffled back out of the kitchen, leaving Charlie and I to chuckle to ourselves.
“I think that was a request.” Charlie giggled, as I lifted her chin, to kiss her again, this time I was softer, trying to express wordlessly how much I loved her, and how much I had missed her while I was gone. Her words suddenly made sense and I released her to make Maria another coffee before I made something for myself and Ben. “I’m going to need a few minutes to get ready, then we can head to the hospital?” She asked as she moved to leave the kitchen.
“I think it’s going to take Maria a little while before she will be able to leave, so don’t rush too much,” I said over my shoulder as I resumed my position at the coffee machine.
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