Chapter 33

Iwake up to Ranger running his fingers through my hair.

"I have several gifts for you," he murmurs, kissing the tip of my nose.

"They're pack courting gifts." Tanner sits on the end of the bed, and he pats my calf over the blanket. "He's still an awful team player, but he did give Locke and me access to the pack bedroom."

"That he did," Locke agrees from his spot near Tanner on the end of the bed.

I smile as Ranger rolls his lips together. His desire to snap that it's his bedroom fills the bond, but he holds it back.

"You're ridiculously cute," I tell him, tugging him to me with his T-shirt. He might be a psycho, but he's my psycho.

I'm moody as hell at times. I can accept him if he can accept me. Also, knowing he'd murder someone if I asked him to is weirdly romantic.

He bends, and we share a playful, teasing kiss.

I'm so distracted that I barely notice when Ranger pulls my hand from under the blanket.

"A ring to commemorate our marriage." He slides the ring on my finger. "Or rather, our pack commitment. If we do form a pack, I would like to keep my last name. My sister is officially a Forbes, and I'm the last living member to carry on my family name."

"Aww, Ranger." I sit straight up, scooting back against the pillows as my jaw falls. "Holy shit. It's huge." Pulling my hand up, I wiggle my fingers from side to side.

Tanner snorts. "That's what she said." He laughs. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. It's beautiful, and for the record, I have no problem with the last name thing."

"I'm not attached to my current alias," Locke says.

"I don't need to stick with Spencer," I say, still a little mesmerized by the shiny rock on my finger.

"I have your next gift." Tanner hands me a cell phone box. "You'll be able to research anything you may want to know regarding pregnancy."

Ranger clears his throat, and some emotion I can't quite identify fills the bond. "There are things I need you not to do." He gives a tight smile. "No accessing your previous social media. No calling your friends or family from this device. That won't last forever. Only long enough that we can put a plan in place."

"You'll still be able to speak to your sister tonight." Locke grins playfully. "I've got to say, she might not be perfect, but I've got mad respect for her."

"Why?" I ask, frowning.

"It took a lot of bravery, or pure stupidity, for her to sneak into Will's penthouse to steal my drugs," Locke says, shrugging. "If she had simply told me she needed it as payment, then I would have paid your fee with cash."

"What fee?" Ranger and Tanner say in unison.

"The retainer to secure your services…" Locke's head tilts as his eyes narrow. "The fee for rescuing Laken."

"There was no such payment made." Ranger sighs heavily. "We aren't in the business of leaving kidnapped omegas with their captors, but there was a sense of urgency due to how Laken was involved in this mess in the first place."

"Did you warn your sister that there were drugs and money in Will's penthouse?" Locke asks.

"No, God no!" My head shakes emphatically, but then my stomach drops. "Okay, I did mention that he was dealing drugs, but only because I was explaining why we broke up and talking about why I couldn't trust him." My hand flies to cover my face. "I left her the spare key to my apartment, which had Will's key on it, and I mentioned that when I gave it to her. But how would she know where he lives?" My jaw falls open as my mind races. "We share our location," I whisper, dumbfounded. "She mentioned she'd seen me at home more often. Oh my god, I don't even know what to say."

Locke frowns, studying my face. "I'm sorry, kitten. I didn't mean to taint your view of your sister." He looks at Ranger. "I'm actually grateful I didn't know that you weren't paid. My panic would have been unmatched."

"You assumed she was safe enough, due to a paid contract for her retrieval." Ranger nods. "I also would have followed that thought process."

"There's a hundred thousand dollars of product somewhere…" Locke says, shrugging. "Enough to qualify as serious drug trafficking charges."

"Lyra was quite displeased when Maverick plucked her from your parking garage." Ranger hums. "That either means the drugs are stashed in your apartment or within her vehicle parked in your parking garage."

My heart pounds.

I haven't had a whole lot of time to focus on Lyra, because shit royally hit the fan in my own life, but as soon as she gets out of rehab, she could go back for that.

I want to believe that she'll be doing better, or at least well enough that it wouldn't be a major temptation, but I also know my sister. At the very least, she wouldn't overlook the chance to cash in on that payday, and being around such a trigger so soon after being released…

I just don't see it ending well.

I barely had the chance to take my new phone out of the box, but it shocks me by vibrating and lighting up in my hand.

"That's the facility," Ranger says, holding out his hand. "May I?"

I nod, handing it over.

"The call will be monitored. Don't risk discussing anything that could be incriminating." Ranger slides his finger over the phone, answering the call and bringing it to his ear.

"You're kind of a mess in the bond," Tanner says in barely more than a whisper. "Are you sure you want to talk to her?"

I swallow thickly as my mind races, asking me the very same question. I finally nod. "I need to hear that she's okay."

"Family has a way of being more disappointing than we could ever anticipate." Locke rolls his dark eyes. "But I suppose that's something we each need to learn for ourselves." He gives me a soft smile. "I'm on your side. I just want you to be cautious."

"I will," I assure him.

Ranger pats my arm, handing me the phone. My heart races as I pull it to my ear.

"Laken?" Lyra gasps. "Are you okay?"

"I am," I assure her. "How about you?"

"I'm fine. Where are you?" she asks.

"With Ranger, but truly, I'm good. How long will you be there?"

It's so weird. When she was in Vegas, and I was in Chicago, we talked regularly. Maybe it's everything I just learned that's throwing me off, but it feels awkward.

"Ninety days is the recommendation," Lyra says. "I don't think I need longer than a month, but after the first four weeks, it moves to a maintenance thing to help us transition back into the real world."

"When you were in Chicago, did you use Will's house key?" I ask, trying to keep things super vague.

"Listen, Elle," she says, calling me by the nickname she did when we were kids. "I have to go. Do you promise you're safe?"

My head shakes, and I fight the urge to snap at her. She always flat-out avoids a question when she doesn't want to answer.

"I'm good. I love you."

"I love you too. If you have a chance to get my car from your parking garage before it's towed…" She sighs. "I'm not going to have an apartment when I get out of here. I can't lose my car due to astronomical towing and storage fees."

"I'll do what I can." I hang up, frowning. "I'd say there's probably a good chance the drugs are in her car."

Ranger nods. "We'll discuss that more later. How are you feeling?"

"Happy with my courting gifts," I say truthfully.

Focusing on the bond, I send him and Tanner my gratitude and appreciation for having them in my life. It's hard because I want to do the same with Locke, but I haven't had the chance to ask him to bite me.

Ranger turns, pecking a kiss on the end of my nose. "When I sense your feelings in the bond…" He pauses, parceling out his thoughts. "It makes me very happy."

I've heard of cuteness aggression, but does that apply to a six-foot-five alpha with a torture dungeon in his basement?

Ehh, apparently it does, because I ache to squeeze his cheeks and tell him how much I love it when it says stuff like that.

I blink, tilting my head.

Love is kind of a big word when everything has moved so fast.

Then again, we're bonded.

Building an emotional bond is the goal, isn't it?

Ranger and Tanner leave Locke and me in the pack bedroom. It's under the guise of securing dinner and checking on a few things with Maverick and Gunner, but I think it's more of an olive branch to give me some one-on-one time with Locke.

I toss my cell phone aside and catch sight of my ring glittering in the low light. It's a princess-cut diamond solitaire, and it's exquisite.

My entire life, I've read stories and listened to alphas and omegas describe how quickly things move when you meet a highly compatible match, but I'm still reeling from how true those accounts were.

Locke's long, dark waves fall around his shoulders as his palms come to rest on either side of my knees. He moves slowly, crawling over me.

"Have I told you lately how fucking beautiful you are?" He smirks, moving closer.

"Stop." I chuckle. "You'll embarrass me."

"You're the sexiest woman I've ever seen." He kneels over my thighs, and his hand cradles my cheek. "You're carrying my fucking baby. I haven't had any connection to my family in ten years. Bless and I talk occasionally, but it's risky for her. I hadn't spoken to her in probably three years before I called in that favor for Braxton."

"That's hard." I stare up into his dark eyes. "But we get to build our own family now."

Locke pushes his lips to mine, holding himself up as he grinds against my core. My legs are trapped between his, but I love the way his weight presses me into the mattress as he falls on top of me completely.

He slides his hand between my back and the mattress and rolls us.

"You know, I never had a fetish for wanting to fuck a married woman, but…" He bites his lower lip as his eyebrows rise, and he's so freaking handsome, he takes my breath away.

My fingers dig into his dark beard as I kiss him.

He growls into the kiss, tightening his hold on my hips. "Don't even get me started on my newfound pregnancy kink…"

He tugs at the pajama dress I put on when I decided to nap earlier. Once it's over my head, he tosses it aside.

I'm still mostly leaning over his top half at an angle, and he pulls me higher until his tongue wraps around my nipple. My hand slides into his long hair, and his citrus and bergamot scent hits my nose. A painful wave of heat pulses through my lower stomach, and I groan.

Dammit.