Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

GAbrIEL

" Y our hair is so fluffy," I tease Auggie as I play with it.

The five of us are at a big conference table at Jasper's realtor's office going through photos so we can decide what properties we want to look at, while Bailey checks on something Tommy asked about.

"I need to get it cut," Auggie grumbles with a smirk as he picks up a photo. "It's been so busy."

"Bluebell makes a great hairstylist," Tommy says with a chuckle. "You should definitely have her cut your hair."

Cerenity blushes as she rolls her eyes. I don't know how, but his hair is still a brilliant shade of blue and shows no signs of dulling.

"I'll cut it and Gabe can help," she says with a smile. "Tommy, do we really need a place for a safe room?"

Paranoia isn't something he is ever going to grow out of.

"Yes," he growls. "What if something happens? My job isn't exactly flowers and rainbows, Bluebell. I need to know you have somewhere you can go if needed. Besides, how do you feel about kids?"

Oh fuck a duck.

"We haven't talked about them, but I like them fine," Cere says with a smirk. "Are you telling me I need to agree to a safe room for our hypothetical children?"

"Well, I think it's a good idea," Jasper says with a shrug. "I think we should have two. One in the basement and one in our pack bedroom."

"Can we start practicing?" Auggie says, flinching when Cere mimes pinching his nipples.

"I'm still on birth control, so you can practice all you want," Cerenity says. "I'll enjoy the knots and cum in the meantime."

A clearing of a throat makes her eyes widen as she glances over and sees Bailey holding back a smile.

"It's completely unprofessional for me to comment on your mates' breeding kink, so I won't," she says as Cerenity flushes pink. "Instead, I'll suggest that the Nightingale property has space to put in a safe room in both the primary bedroom and the basement."

Smirking, Tommy nods as he picks up photos of that property.

"It's in a gated community, as well, and looks as if the homes aren't close together," Tommy muses.

"Exactly," Bailey says as she steps closer. "It's set at the back, and there's about six acres for it. The house is beautiful with a wraparound porch as well. The main driveway is also set back from the road."

"Is it possible to go see it today?" Cerenity asks. "I'm slammed with work at the club tomorrow and I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to schedule a day where people don't need me."

Tomorrow is Friday, and I know her employees are excited to see her. Auggie has made sure everyone was paid, but they care about more than that.

"Absolutely," Bailey says with a smile. "I'm all yours today. The other property you may like is the Vates house."

Cerenity glances at the photo and nods. "Are they near enough to look at both?"

"Yes, I have access to both as well," Bailey explains.

"May as well," Cere says. I can tell she likes the Nightingale house more, and so can Bailey.

"Let's head to Nightingale first," she suggests.

The drive out there isn't bad, and the house is near everything we need to drive to, even though the area is tranquil and beautiful. I can already tell this is our choice when we get out of Jasper's SUV and Tommy whistles.

It's eight bedrooms, with a large backyard, an attic, and wrap-around porch.

"Wow," Cerenity whispers.

Augustine hugs her from behind as we stare at it, and whispers in her ear. I'm just close enough to hear it.

"Think your mom may want to stay here if we can get everything figured out for her?" he asks.

Augustine called the facility Cere's mom is at to check on her, and was told she was in isolation. He growled at them, asking why, to which Dr. Brunes stated she'd attempted to hurt herself.

She's never been someone to self harm, Cerenity said, so I don't believe him.

"Yes," she murmurs. "God, I want to get her out of there so badly."

Unfortunately, there's a lot of red tape to get her released, and we still need to find Cerenity's fathers.

"You will," Tommy says, overhearing her as he turns. "Let's go check out the house and you can find her a room she may like."

Tears overflow her eyes as she nods, and Tommy pulls her into his arms. "You're following what she wants," he murmurs. "She's not safe, and she said she's worried about you. Let's focus on what we can control, beautiful."

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Cere nods. "It all feels overwhelming to see this when I grew up on the run," she explains. "Maybe that's why I fought the idea of getting a house whenever Augustine mentioned it. I didn't feel like I deserved one."

Oh fuck no.

"You absolutely deserve a house," I mutter. It's starting to click why she wouldn't leave the apartment whenever Augustine mentioned it. "Cere, I hate that you think that. A house means safety, security, and a place of your own. I think Tommy is right. Let's see if you can find a room she'd like."

Bailey gets out of her shiny white Mercedes, smiling gently as she sees us.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asks as she shuts the door behind her and strides across the lawn to walk up the wide porch steps.

Following her, I have to admit she's correct. The house is white and gray with a dark blue trim, and there are large bay windows at the front. Stepping into the main front hall after Bailey opens the door, we all look around as she shows us the house.

Every room is open and airy, and Cerenity has a small wrinkle of concentration as she looks at all of the rooms.

"Can I see the attic?" she asks, eying the last set of stairs.

"Absolutely," Bailey says, not missing a step as she leads us upstairs. There are stained glass windows up here, the ceiling is much lower so everyone but Cere has to duck their heads, but she's smiling broadly.

"I think we've found your nest," I say softly as she nods.

"It's perfect," she says with a happy sigh. "I don't even think I'll need curtains in here. It needs a really good cleaning, but I love it."

Tommy sneezes hard, making us chuckle.

"This is the only room that wasn't cleaned," Bailey says, wincing. "When we close, I'll make sure I work it into our closing costs."

Jasper smirks even as he tries not to breathe in, the dust motes easily seen in the air. "I don't think you're ahead of yourself at all. It has everything we need," he says. "Tommy may have an aneurysm if he sneezes like that again though."

Hurriedly walking back downstairs, Tommy sneezes three more times before we're on the first level.

"This house has all the space I need," he says, sniffing. "I can easily have safe rooms built in here."

Cerenity touches the back door of the house that leads out, opening it. Following her, I have to admit the backyard is absolutely beautiful too. There are large trees for shade I can see being used for a tire swing for kids later, and tons of space to run and play.

"It's perfect," she says with a nod. "I want it. All in favor?"

Auggie's lips twitch because while he's our alpha, Cerenity is definitely our Mistress. She is our heart.

"Aye," we say around her. Sighing happily as Cerenity nods and says over her shoulder, "We don't need to see any other houses."

The ride back to the apartments is spent chatting as Jasper drives and teases Tommy. His nose is a little red, and he blew it four times.

"Dust and I are not friends," he grumbles as we get out of the SUV.

"Poor baby," Cere teases him, squealing when he picks her off her feet.

"That's right. I claim snuggling rights," he says.

Augustine rolls his eyes, looking devoid. "Sorry old man, but apparently I need my hair cut. You can snuggle afterwards."

Cerenity winks at me when Tommy puts her down and we walk up to the apartment.

"What are the chances we'd find the house on the first try?" she asks as she opens the door.

"Bailey has an uncanny ability to find properties that'll work for her clients," Jasper says. "She led me on a merry chase around the city though before she showed me the Underground."

"Maybe she thought you needed a tour of the city," she teases him, squealing as she ducks his arms. "Nope, I'm on hair cutting duty!"

"Fucking right you are," Auggie grunts with a grin as we walk to her bedroom.

"I have clippers in the bathroom," Cere says. "We need to get a chair…"

"I'll get one from the kitchen, Sweetheart," Auggie says, ducking out of the room.

"I always wondered who was cutting his hair when I didn't," Cerenity says lightly as she pulls a spray bottle, comb, and clippers from the bathroom.

"I always knew if I wasn't doing it that you were," I confess. "Augustine is too particular to let just anyone do his hair."

"You got that right," Auggie rumbles as he brings in the chair to set it in front of Cere. There's something about his deep voice that makes me sigh happily. It flows through my body, reminding me of the boy I met at fifteen.

His voice is much deeper than it was when we first met, though.

"Do you remember when my mom took me to the barber when I was sixteen?" he asks.

Snorting as I push him into the chair, then bend down to kiss him soundly.

"How could I forget? You came to school the next day practically bald," I remember. "The guy who usually would do your hair was training someone new, and the kid dropped the clippers on your head."

Cerenity makes a strangled sound between a laugh and a cough before snorting.

"Please don't die," I tease her, pulling her closer to me to give her a hug. "The barber's apprentice had already fucked up his hair since it cut an entire section to the scalp, so he had to shave his head."

"It took forever to grow back," Augustine groans. "I'll never have anyone else cut my hair."

Releasing Cerenity, I fill the spray bottle as I roll my eyes and close the top up. Spritzing Auggie's hair, I shake my head. "You're so dramatic. It was a freak accident, but since I like only Cere or me cutting your hair, I won't give you too much shit for it."

Snorting, Augustine sits still as Cere starts to cut his hair. She's precise in her movements, lovingly touching his hair as she cuts it. Even though we haven't spent much time together, it's obvious how much we love him.

Hair slowly drops to the floor as we get Augustine back to normal, and when we're done, he grins as he stands, leaning in to check it in the mirror.

"I stand by my words," he says. "I'm never getting my hair cut by anyone else. I'm going to clean up the floor and take a shower, Cere why don't you go baby Tommy for a bit? The old man is probably still getting over his sneezing attack. I didn't know someone could sneeze so many times."

Giggling, she kisses his cheek before she walks out, humming to herself.

"You really are the best alpha for our pack," I tell him as I run my fingers through his shorter hair. "There's grace when you make sure everyone is taken care of. I don't know if you see it or not, but I'm here to tell you."

Augustine's lips part in surprise as I wink at him and walk out. It's nice to see I can still shock him. What would be the fun in a life with Auggie if I couldn't?

CERENITY

Friday nights always have this energy no other day seems to have. It's the beginning of the weekend, I'm going to Club Serenity to work, and I can't wait to have a packed house.

One of our bartenders started her heat yesterday, and her pack mates texted me late last night before they went to take care of her. We're short staffed because no one else could come in, but Auggie and I decided we'd fill in.

"I've never wished I could bartend more than I do right now," Jasper yells an hour later as he leans over the bar. "You look way too beautiful to be slinging drinks right now."

Blowing him a kiss, I pass him a bottle of water. Gabriel is looking out at the club with wide eyes, and I don't blame him, because there's a lot going on right now.

Our cage dancers are dancing above everyone, my burlesque dancers changed back into club clothes after we opened to tempt people to dance, so the club is heaving with writhing bodies.

Fuck yes.

Moving easily behind the bar, I open tabs, serve drinks, and take cash with a smile. My dark wash jeans are molded to my ass, mesh top over my black crop-top is helping the tips I'm dropping into the cup for my bartenders, and my combat boots finish off the outfit with flair.

I'm hot from the steady pace, making me glad I braided my hair in two French braids.

My switchblade in my back pocket reminds me I'm not adorable or cute, and the throwing knives hiding in my hair reminds me that my alphas love me for it. I'm just a slightly overheated badass at the moment.

"Damn, it's been a while since you've been back here," Lana says with a smirk as she reaches around me. "It's always fun to watch you sling drinks like you were born for it."

It's true, I never worked behind a bar until I opened one. I was too young to bartend, I was told whenever I looked for a job. Look at me now.

Glancing behind me, I sigh as I see our two trash cans are dangerously close to overflowing.

"I'll take out the trash and be quick," I tell her. "It's going to overflow if it's not taken care of soon."

Augustine is talking to someone on the other side of the club who he hasn't seen in a while, and Tommy is chatting with someone from Corbin's organization. I love being considered neutral ground.

Just one big happy family. Well, if not that, at least it's drama free.

Checking on Gabriel talking with Jasper at the bar, I close up the trash bags and pull them out. My bartenders close the gap I left smoothly, but they won't be able to keep up with the pace for long.

Fuck, we are really busy tonight.

Quickly, I walk through the hallway to the left of the bar and down to the back door. It's cooler back here, allowing me to take a deep breath of relief. My blood is pacing from being on the go all night, but I'm having a fucking blast.

Pushing open the back door with my hip, I pull down the door stopper to keep it open. The last thing I need is to get stuck in this damn alley alone. Looking around quickly, I walk to the dumpster that's thankfully open and toss the bags up and over into it.

The sound of a door slamming shut makes me jump, glancing toward it. A thick arm bands around my throat, choking me while his other hand yanks on my braids, and I kick back repeatedly. I am absolutely not doing this shit again.

"Fuck, you're feistier than your mom," a man curses as I kick again and push away from him.

Breathing hard, I whirl around to see a man in a tailored shirt and nice black pants glaring at me. To my left is another man who's sneering at me as well.

"What about my mother?" I ask, feeling my skin crawl. Fuck, if this is who I think they are, where's the last one?

"She was the perfect omega," whispers a voice from right behind me. Goddamn it, how did he get behind me?

Turning and punching him in the face, I duck and move around him as he yells. Facing my fathers, I shake my head.

"You're hurting her," I tell them. "We both thought she was crazy, but she's not, is she?"

"The bond is the strongest I've ever heard of," one of my fathers sneers. "She always knew when we were close. It shows she's meant for us, despite biology. Alphas who are prey to their instincts are weak, which is something we aren't. It's not nice to keep her from us."

The three of them have perfect hair, straight noses, and look like alphas you would want to pack up with. Their eyes are dead, soulless, and malicious, though.

"You're worth nothing to us other than a way to draw her out," the man I know is Mallan Cockburn says. My mother spoke about him the most under her breath when we were traveling. I have a feeling he left an impression on her that was less than positive.

"Xavier was supposed to watch you, tell us when you'd be alone, and then we were going to kidnap you."

"Virgins seem to sell really well in the omega auctions." The man with the perfect blond hair and no stubble is Bryce Cockburn. They took Mallan's name when they became a pack.

"I'm not a virgin," I retort. "I have a pack, mate marks, and I'm not going anywhere with you."

"We'll kill your alphas," Mallan says with a shrug, pulling out a gun.

I don't know what it says about me, but I start to laugh. I can't help it. It's hard to imagine these are the people who killed Xavier. They've been my boogeyman my entire life.

"I'd love to see you fucking try," I snarl. "You clearly have no idea who you're dealing with."

"God, this is why I always said I would smother you if you were a girl. They're so damn dramatic," Neiman grunts. Yep, my three sperm donors all have douchebag names.

Grabbing me by the arm, he pulls me forward roughly. Even though the dumpster is near me, I can still smell the combined scents of sewers on a hot day, baby poop, and strong aftershave.

Wrinkling my nose, I jerk away.

"Do as you're told," Mallan alpha barks, which slows my movements for a moment until I force myself to break it. Mental exercises are something I've trained myself to do over and over. It gives me something else to focus on other than the command so I can break free of it.

Lifting my hand to my hair, I hope killing these assholes won't break my mother's mind anymore than they have. They aren't her scent matches, and instead took her choices from her.

These alphas have as much as confirmed it for me.

Letting Neiman pull me close, I whisper, "Thank fuck you never wanted me. It gives me so much more pleasure to kill you."

Pulling the knife from my hair, I shove it deep into his neck as the back door explodes open.

"Cerenity!" Jasper yells, blue eyes panicked and angry as he storms outside. Pulling a gun from his back, he doesn't hesitate to shoot the gun out of Mallan's hand. "You're about to have the kind of bad day you don't get to live to regret, asshole."

Gabriel, Tommy, and Auggie are right behind him, making me grin. I love their homicidal asses so much. Pulling my knife, I ignore the spray of blood, stepping back as Neiman slaps his hand on his bleeding throat.

"It was just too much for you to resist my coming out here alone, wasn't it?" I ask my fathers.

While I didn't throw the garbage out with the intention of hoping my fathers would find me out here, I had a feeling it might happen. I'm not a complete idiot.

Tommy leaves Neiman to choke on his own blood as he shoots Mallan's knee out, and Jasper calmly shoots Bryce as he attempts to run.

"I'm a little offended they gave all their good moves to Xavier," Augustine mutters.

"Thanks for that reminder," Jasper says, walking over to pull Mallan's head back by his hair. "What the fuck was your deal with Xavier, anyway?"

"He owed me some money," my father grunts. "Xavier said he had a pretty virgin cunt for me to cancel out his debt. When he brought me photos, I realized you were Olivia's daughter. You look too alike to be anyone else."

"It would be pretty fucked up for you to still want to fuck her," Jasper says as if with an understanding nod. My lips twitch as I walk forward, knowing that's the last thing my alpha is right now.

"God, no," Mallan complains. "Girls are too much trouble. Should have slit her throat and enjoyed Olivia's screams through the bond. The medication kept us from feeling her, but she's not taking it anymore."

Bryce groans as he sits up, struggling to stand up. "We just want our omega back. As alphas you should understand?—"

My other perfectly balanced throwing knife is pulled from my hair and thrown before I realize it.

"Fuck," Jasper mutters. "I'm going to refrain from talking about how hard I am right now. Goddamn, Tiny. You're a menace with those."

"You've seen me with frying pans," I tease him with a wink.

"Jas, stop playing with your food and kill the dickhead," Tommy grunts. "We're still getting our bearings in this city. I don't want to deal with the police today."

Shooting Mallan between the eyes, Jasper nods as he pulls his phone out to text someone.

"I warned Shaw and the guys we may have some trouble in the next few days," he explains. "He offered us a clean up crew. And… there it is. Shaw says he's sending someone and they'll be here in ten minutes."

"I need to send them something nice," I comment as I look around the alley, shivering. "Fuck, my mom?—"

"It's late, but I'll call the facility now," Auggie says, moving over to kiss my forehead. "You have some blood on your face, Sweetheart."

"I'll walk you back in to wash your face," Gabriel offers. "Are you okay?"

While I beat the shit out of people when needed, this is the first time I've ever killed anyone. Nodding, I feel the adrenaline start to drain out of me and my hands begin to shake.

"I'll clean your throwing knives, Bluebell," Tommy says, gently taking it out of my hands. None of them used silencers, but Minneapolis isn't exactly known for its quick response by police, so I doubt we'll have an issue. "You did so good, baby."

Tears prick my eyes and I take a deep breath as I nod some more. Fuck, I feel like a bobble head right now.

"We'll grab you a Coke too," Gabe murmurs. "I am not a great bartender, but I can pull a beer from the tap and take money just fine, so you can sit for a second."

Hand heavy on the small of my back, he whisks me into the building to get to the bathroom.

Gabriel gives zero shits for the fact that it's the woman's bathroom, peeking his head in quickly before ushering me in. People tend to use the other restrooms instead of this one.

"Talk to me, Mistress," he says as I step up to the sinks and catch a glimpse of my face. The blood has drained from it and there's big splotches of the red stuff across it.

"Pack Cockburn has been this shadowy threat most of my life," I explain shakily as I pump some soap into my hands. Scrubbing hard, I wash them and then my face. The blood on my cheek is stubborn, making me huff in annoyance.

"They ruined my mother's life, my childhood, and the way I saw alphas. In the end they're just men who were entitled assholes."

"They died too easily," Gabe grunts, grabbing a paper towel. "Come here, I'll get it before you rub your face raw, baby."

Turning, I let him wet the towel and clean it off. Stupid blood, I bet I helped loosen it at least a little. Gabriel dries my face and hands before kissing me hard. He bites my lip, helping me to center myself as I cling to his biceps. When he pulls away from me, I pout but I'm starting to feel better.

"They're gone, and can never hurt your mom or you again," he reminds me. "We'll figure out how to help her as well. It could be disconcerting being alone in her mind after so long."

He's right, which is why I'm glad Auggie is checking on her. Gabe walks me out of the restroom and sets me up with a Coke at the bar while he jumps in to help behind it.

The girls glance at me in worry, but it's a testament to how well they work that they keep moving forward.

The normal dull roar of music and people around me help loosen my muscles as I sip my soda, the caffeine and sugar getting rid of the post adrenaline shakes.

Augustine walks out of the back hallway, coming around the corner to find me.

"She's all good," he murmurs against the shell of my ear. I feel lightheaded at his words, and Auggie plasters himself against my back as he hugs me.

"You're good too, Cere. Fuck, I kind of want to spank you for strolling out the back door like you didn't have a care in the Goddamned world."

A hysterical giggle releases from my lips as I shake my head. I didn't know if my fathers would be out there, but it was too good of an opportunity for them to miss. Security has been tight, so they wouldn't have been able to get to me in the club.

I also didn't have perfect descriptions to bar them from my club, either, so I was winging it today.

There were some variables, but my pain when my father grabbed my hair flooded the bond, so the possibility of Pack Cockburn actually taking me was slim.

"Everyone was busy, and I didn't even have to pull my switchblade," I remind him.

"I know. The blades in your hair did the job well," he grunts. "The club is slammed tonight. I'm going to jump behind the bar and save Gabe. He's starting to look a little panicked."

Kissing my cheek, he moves quickly to save our beta. Smirking, I watch as Auggie taps Gabe on the shoulder and smoothly takes the customer's order. Gabriel gets the fuck out of there, taking a deep breath as he joins me.

"That was intense," he says, thanking one of the bartenders who hands him a bottle of water without a word. "Auggie can have that insanity."

Giggling, I raise my hand to show Jasper and Tommy where I am as they walk out of the back hallway.

My life is exactly that: intense and fast paced with moments of sweetness. I wouldn't want to have it any other way.