Chapter Fourteen

Sutton

I woke up and made a small pot of coffee after running to the compound kitchen to pick up breakfast casserole and bagels someone had cooked. Didn’t even take the time to check the schedule to know who to thank.

“Good morning,” Raven said, stretching his arms over his head. As he did, the comforter pulled down, revealing his torso. My cock bobbed. We’d been through hell and back, but I’d do it again for a lifetime of these moments.

“Good morning, mate,” I said. “Sit up. I have coffee and breakfast for you.”

Raven blushed but did as he was told. “I should be doing this for you, alpha.”

“I’ve told you before, you owe me nothing. Let’s not keep score, okay? It’s impossible anyway. A mating is never fifty-fifty. No one should expect it to be.”

He took a big gulp of coffee and leaned over to kiss me. “I didn’t know I deserved such a sweet and thoughtful alpha.”

“Well, you do, darlin’. This and much more. You’ll see.”

“Darlin, huh?” He laughed, spearing some of his casserole with his fork. “We have that meeting with the team today.”

“We don’t have to attend.” I took over, feeding him bite after bite. He hesitated at first but fell into being okay with it.

“What do you mean?” he asked, turning to face me.

“I mean, if you don’t want to deal with the others, I can take you away from here. You’ve been through so much. We deserve peace, and me being on this team will be anything but peaceful for you.”

“What would we do instead?”

I moved the food and placed his coffee on the nightstand. “We could go somewhere else. I can find work anywhere. I have contacts. And I’ve saved for a house. We could have a home and a normal life and not have to prove anything to anybody.”

Raven bit down on his bottom lip. “You would do that for me? I thought… I thought you were saying that that night because… Never mind. “

I wrapped my arm around his back and drew him into my warmth.

“I would do anything for you, omega. Anything.”

“I can’t believe you’re mine. After all the things I’ve done…”

I kissed his lips, hopefully, making him forget that dark place where his mind went sometimes. “That’s the past, Raven. Let’s focus on who we are now and, for the record, I’m the lucky one. Tell me what you want to do and we’ll do it. You’ve had so many choices taken from you. I want to give you choices.”

Raven sighed into another kiss. “I think we need to stay here, at least, for right now. You can help those omegas. There are still so many of them out there, struggling, needing help. I won’t take you away from that task. It’s too important.”

“Let’s go then. Face the music. But get dressed first.”

“Oh, really?” He laughed. “I was going to go naked.”

“Like hell you will. No one sees what is mine.” I growled but not at him.

“Why is that so sexy?” Raven asked, his blush more furious than ever.

“If you want to get to that meeting, you’d better stop looking at me like that.”

We eventually made it to the warehouse where the others were gathered. Once we walked in, all talking stopped.

The alphas and the omegas were present.

“Is this the part where I apologize again for what I’ve done to you and yours?” Raven asked. He had a death grip on my arm. This was hard for him, but he was so damned brave at the same time. “I can if it’s needed. I know I did harm to you. I would even understand if forgiveness is off the table.”

Everyone looked to Ryan and King. They were the ones who had experienced the most trauma at Raven’s hand, but not the will, of my mate.

Ryan stepped forward. “You are forgiven. Tyrus told us the anguish you went through. We’ve all been victims of these bastards for too long, been on the receiving end of their abuse in one way or another. I’ll never understand your pain. Now, let’s nail these assholes to the ground.”

King’s omega’s speech was followed by grunts, growls, and rumblings from everyone.

“We’re about to dive into the big leagues. With Sutton and Tyrus’ digging, we’ve found this person. Raven, do you recognize him?”

“Yes. He was one of the leaders. My mind is muddled from those times, but I’m sure he’s in charge somehow.”

I recognized the name scribbled in marker on the top but not the photo itself. “Tyrus?”

“Yeah. I found the picture. We had the name, and it took some work, but we found him.”

“Who is it?” Raven asked.

“It’s Samuel Vincent. And this man”—King put another picture on the table—”is Jeremiah Chains. He is the son and heir apparent of the Mountain Shadow Pack.”

I nearly choked. “The son of Isaiah Chains? The most crooked and evil alpha there ever was if his reputation precedes him.”

“That’s the one. It seems he has his hands in a lot of things no alpha should. His son is handling the meetings, so the alpha’s hands stay clean. He and Samuel are using the pack to bring in omegas.” Tyrus crossed his arms over his chest. “To the outside, it would look like the omegas are packing up with them, but they never get that chance. The alpha hands them over to Samuel for money.”

“We’re going to get more intel. On Tyrus’ and Sutton’s go, we will meet up and make a plan. If we take down the big dog, we’re hoping the puppies will scatter.”

Raven gripped my hand. “Is it okay if I come with you and Tyrus? Unless you’re tired of me being your shadow?”

“Never ever,” I said and kissed the top of his head.