Forget Me Knot (PoisonVerse #2), page 30
The weed wasn’t enough to stifle the anxiety that suddenly rocketed through King’s side of the bond. Viper caught that, cutting off.
A long, awkward silence passed. It wasn't like with Onyx. I didn’t know why silence between me and her was okay, but it was.
“You know about it,” King said, finally.
Viper looked uncomfortable. “I’m not… It’s not my business—”
I cut him off. “If we’re going to get that through the bond from you every time, it’s everyone’s business.”
Viper winced. “Sorry.”
I gave King a look. I knew King hated talking about why he had ended up in juvie, but this dude was stuck with us.
“You really don’t have to,” Viper said. King wrinkled his nose and shrugged, though it looked a little forced.
I ran my tongue along my teeth, thinking for a moment. “His mom had a history of negligence,” I said, knowing it was better to get it over with. “She was on her last chance. His sister fell down the stairs and died—an accident,” I added. “But King told them he lost control of his aura so the rest of the kids weren’t taken away.”
When I was done, King was ashen. Viper still looked guilty, but the discomfort we’d felt down the bond had vanished.
“She…” King’s voice was weak. “She wasn’t a bad mom. When I was young, there were… dark times. But then she’d got clean for me and Sarah.” I hated how shaky he got through the bond when this came up.
Part of the condition for King’s release when he was 18 was proving his aura was stable. Not an issue, since it had never been unstable. Arsenal’s had been more of a challenge, but then his charge wasn’t as bad. In fact, if he hadn’t been an alpha, he’d probably have never been locked up at all. His dad had been strangling him by the time his aura surfaced. But the Institute had to make sacrifices, and not locking up someone who’d left a body as mangled as that to roam free? It just wouldn’t fly. King, though? He didn’t belong here. He’d never hurt so much as a fly in his life.
“And you?” Viper seemed happy to shift the topic as he glanced at me.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I grunted. Ice snorted and King had to stifle a grin.
“Uh…” Viper glanced between us.
“Look. I’m not saying there’s anything funny about armed robbery—” Ice began.
“But when big, ol’ Mal got caught because of an old lady’s pet, then you have a story.”
“What?” Viper perked up.
“He was on a robbery and her bird attacked him,” King chuckled. “His mask came off, he was caught on camera.”
“It came at me like a wild animal,” I muttered. “And I hate birds.”
“A bird?” Viper asked, incredulous. “At least say it was big.”
“It was huge and fucking rabid.”
I was honest with my pack. Always. But until the day I kicked the bucket, I would never confess to my brothers that I spent four years incarcerated all because of a little yellow budgerigar.
“Look,” I said, before they pushed. “I was young and stupid and getting caught was the best thing that ever happened to me, alright?”
Juvie had given me distance from the Harpies, and I’d met my brothers there. Viper looked like he had more questions, though, so I changed the topic again.
“So,” I said. “You bike?” That bike he’d brought in for fixing was nice. Arsenal was obsessed with it. I’d caught him polishing the rims—not something we did for clients.
“Oh. No… I just got it from a shop for an excuse to scout you.”
“Would you?” I prodded.
“What?” he asked.
“Learn.” At my side, King and Ice both turned on Viper hopefully. Arsenal would never stop grumbling about how none of us wanted to learn.
“Fuck, no,” Viper snorted. “Scares the crap out of me.”
Damn.
“They sold it broken?” King asked.
“Uh… no.” For a moment, he looked quite proud of himself.
I stared at him, my eyebrows going up. “You… broke it?” A Hound?
“Yes…” He trailed off.
“If I were you, I’d make sure Arsenal never found out,” I chuckled.
“Okay.” Viper’s face was ashen. “Right. Noted.”
“How much was it?” King asked.
“Couple of hundred.”
“Thousand?” King groaned.
“They said it would make me look good.” Viper sounded defensive.
I snorted, leaning back in my chair.
My phone buzzed and I checked it.
Arsenal: We need to know what happened to Viper’s pack if we’re going to figure this out.
I stared for a while, my sluggish brain trying to catch up. Reality crashed back in, and I looked back to Viper.
The topic had changed to something else light, and I pondered for a while, glancing out over the city.
I hadn’t sensed this kind of peace through the bond in a while. Even King was more relaxed than usual. And Ice… I kept catching him eyeing Viper with… Okay, well, lust.
He was fucking smitten.
I grinned, the thought surprisingly cheerful.
Things were changing. I wasn’t alone anymore. And it wasn’t just Ice. Onyx was into them all.
We had Riot’s job in two days, and Onyx’s stalker to deal with with no end in sight.
We could have it all, if only we could deal with this fucker.
After the talk lulled and the quiet stretched, I finally asked.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice dry. “But I need to ask. Your old pack…?”
The peace in the bond shattered for Viper’s anxiety. “Gone.”
I nodded, handing him back the joint. “All of them?”
“I…” He was staring at me with wide eyes. He blinked. “Y-yes.”
That hadn’t sounded certain. I frowned, but King shot me a look before I could prod. Poison oozed from Viper’s side of the bond, and his expression was stiff.
Ice slipped his fingers into Viper’s, but when I looked to him, there was a thoughtful frown on his face and he caught my eyes.
I didn’t push anymore, but I saw Ice tapping on his phone. A few moments later, mine buzzed.
Ice: We need to figure out what happened with their pack.
Ice: He’s too unstable. Arsenal said his dad visited. Think we can go and talk to him?
I looked at him and nodded.
Me: Tomorrow.
Luckily, King had seized another topic and Viper’s anxiety was rapidly fading.
He was rich, spoiled, and came from another world, but he was also anxious. He was trying, and his sacrifice for Ice, it had been real.
I was starting to realise there was nothing at all that set him apart from my brothers.
FORTY
Onyx
“You think you’re ready, Duchess?” Arsenal asked.
“It’s take out.”
He gave me a look that said he wasn’t buying it—and he was right. But I’d agreed, and now we were doing it. We’d only been gone two nights, but Ice and Viper had apparently both insisted that I return now that Viper was awake.
When I entered the garage it was… different. Clean. Well, as clean as a great, industrial, concrete building could be. But the kitchen was empty of the old pots that had been a permanent fixture.
“You… cleaned?” Arsenal sounded disbelieving.
“All of us. Ice suddenly needed the place spotless. Won’t leave us be.”
“Turns out.” Malakai popped his head up from the shop. “He’s more annoying as a normal omega.”
Arsenal snorted. We walked over to the kitchen table. I set my handbag down, peering about.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“Viper’s napping. Still doing that a lot. Ice is with him.” King shrugged.
“Does he still have to stay with him all the time?” I asked. I hadn’t realised I’d missed the scents of the place. Of them. But there was something so comforting about Malakai’s riverside and clove, King’s apricot and champagne, and Ice’s roses and cookies.
“Nah, it’s better now,” Malakai said, crossing toward us wiping his hands on a rag he tossed to the pile that usually amassed outside the laundry cupboard. He frowned, seeing the lone rag on a now laundry free floor, then crossed to it, opened the cupboard, and put it into the machine. “But I think he likes to,” he added as he reached the sink, glancing back at us. “They’re getting on well.”
“You look cheery about it,” Arsenal said.
I’d noticed, too. Malakai had been tense before. It had been hard to pinpoint about what, but I had caught him giving Viper some lingering, cold looks in the hospital room.
“Yeh. We’re good.” He dried his hands off. “You want me to get them? Food’ll be here soon.”
“Sure.” That was Arsenal. My mouth had suddenly gone dry. My eyes flickered to the corner around which Viper and Ice were sleeping. I could see the warm light of the fairy lights spilling out.
He was just in there.
I didn’t know why that made me nervous. I’d seen him. Yet, knowing he would come out, awake, and would see me… I tried to tug my handbag closer without being too obvious about it.
I knew Ice had been right about it being my nest. I knew the others had picked up on it. I was too obvious about it, because Arsenal’s hand dropped to my thigh comfortingly.
Then Malakai was returning, Ice at his side.
“He’ll be out in a minute.”
Ice was wearing a white button-up with light wash jeans. I’d… Fuck, I’d missed him even just these few days. He grinned as he saw me, crossing over instantly and then I was being pulled into a tight hug. I clutched him, inhaling roses and cookies and traces of mint and mist. I tried to shove away the anxiety.
“I told them you’d come back,” Ice whispered in my ear.
Was that what this was?
Me coming back?
Or me saying goodbye?
I didn’t know why that thought went through my head. But I’d told Arsenal we could try. It held no guarantee.
“You alright?” Arsenal asked, clapping Ice on the shoulder when he released me. He darted Ice a look out of the corner of his eye and I noticed the slight hunch in his demeanour, as if he were just as anxious as I was.
“Yeh.” Ice bit his lip, shrinking a little. “We should, uh… talk later.”
Arsenal turned a little more, as if trying to read Ice’s expression. “Whatever you need.”
I spotted Ice shoot King a look, and King gave him a reassuring nod. That was all I saw, though, because then Viper was stepping into the room.
It was one thing seeing him ashen, on a hospital bed. Quite another to see him well and walking around. My heart rate picked up.
He was… beautiful. He was lean and tall, wearing a simple black t-shirt and matching joggers. I’d stared at him for so long at the hospital, but it was different now he was awake and out of a hospital gown. He had golden earrings along his ears just like Ice, and black gauges in his lobes, and there were scattered tattoos along his arms trailing to his knuckles. He had olive skin, dark brows, sharp cheekbones, and full lips. He was everything.
My whole world once upon a time.
I felt that, even if I didn’t know how or why. His eyes found mine. Bright and yellow and nervous, just like me.
There was a long pause in which we stared at one another, and he palmed the back of his neck. No one said anything.
Then Arsenal’s chair scraped and he got to his feet. Viper glanced at him, seeming to come to himself, taking a few steps forward as Arsenal drew up before him.
“Hey, uh…” He held his hand out awkwardly, nerves written all over his face. There was a long second in which Arsenal glanced down at his hand. And then without warning, he drew Viper into a hug.
Viper froze.
“Thank you.” Arsenal’s voice was low and gruff and I barely heard it.
Slowly, Viper’s arms came around Arsenal’s back in a movement more tender than I had expected.
When Arsenal let him go, Viper ran his fingers through his buzzed black hair, a little less nervousness showing on his face as he looked around at us as if he hadn’t expected that.
“How much uh…” His smile was odd. “How much did my dad pay you to do that?”
Arsenal was already sliding back into his chair at my side. “I told him it wasn’t necessary.”
That caught me off guard. Viper snorted a laugh, as if he’d only half expected it to be true after all. Then there was a knock at the door.
“Food,” Viper croaked. “I’ll… get it.”
He hurried to the door and then returned with armfuls of white bags that smelled amazing.
“Kirriman’s Noodle House? Never seen it in our delivery range,” Malakai noted as he helped us lay it all out. King was handing us all plates. By the time they were done, the island was sprawling with Chinese. There were boxes of rice, noodles, a massive array of meats and veggies, and a huge bowl of prawn crackers.
“Best food in New Oxford.”
“There’s one on the Westside, isn’t there?” I asked.
“That's the only one,” Viper said.
“Then how—?”
“I paid one of my dad’s chauffeurs. He gets real pissed when I do that.”
Ice snorted.
I opted to watch as the others began to chat, still working hard not to end up staring at Viper too much. He relaxed as the meal went on. He was clearly comfortable with Ice, but jumped into conversations with King and Malakai with no problem either.
It was good. He fit in here. That’s what they deserved.
But occasionally, I would catch him shoot a guilty glance at me and our eyes would meet and my heart would suddenly leap to my throat.
I… loved him.
That’s what this was, I realised. I loved him more than words could describe.
I didn’t remember him, but I loved him.
Yet, looking at him was making something ancient in me ache, and I had to fight the tears burning my eyes and duck my head so no one would see.
I thought maybe Arsenal did, because of the occasional touch on my leg.
“Where should I sleep tonight?” I asked him under my breath when Ice and Viper were in the middle of a conversation about where Ice should give him another piercing.
I needed an escape route.
“It’s up to you, Duchess.”
“You could, with me. If you wanted to?” That was King. I glance to him to see that warm light in his emerald eyes. “I missed you.”
I bit my lip. What had happened between us the last time I’d been in that room… Thinking about that threatened more tears.
But I wanted it. I wanted his warmth and comfort, because I didn’t know if I would be able to stay with this pack after all.
I nodded, making myself smile. “Okay.”
I didn’t leave, but it made me feel better to know where I could go if it became too much.
“Viper, how long you been riding?” Arsenal asked, setting his fork down.
“Riding?” Viper asked, chopsticks full of noodles halfway to his mouth.
“The bike.” Arsenal nodded toward the garage.
“Oh… I don’t… I just—”
“Scouting us,” King cut in.
“Where did you find a broken Hound?” Arsenal looked a little taken aback. “Those are rare. People take care of them.”
I swear Viper’s face paled, and his eyes darted to Malakai briefly. “Yeh…” He cleared his throat. “Just bad luck, I guess.”
Arsenal frowned. “What you planning on doing with it when I get it fixed?”
“Hadn’t really thought about it.”
“I could teach you to ride?” Arsenal asked, his voice uncharacteristically hopeful. I peered up at him. This was the other side to him I didn’t see as often, but I realised it had always been there. The Arsenal that took care of the others. And he didn’t just want to keep them safe, he wanted more.
Viper stared at him for a long moment. Out of the corner of my eye I saw King and Malakai exchange a look. There was a faint smile on Malakai’s face.
“I’d uh… really like that.” Viper’s voice was faint.
Arsenal grinned, leaning back in his chair having missed everything I’d just spotted. “Excellent. These babies won’t get on one.”
There was a bit more chatter, mostly about inconsequential stuff. I ate slowly, and not because it wasn’t good, but because it felt like there was a pit in my stomach.
Sitting here with them all, I realised it was all perfect. A rumble of a purr almost began in my chest.
My mates.
King and Viper getting on, even Mal with a warmth in his eyes as he looked at Ice's smile. And Arsenal was watching the others with relief in his eyes.
It was all perfect but for one thing… Something deep within me, buried and whispering of darkness, trembled.
As the seconds ticked by, dread began to seep up my throat.
Something was wrong.
“Ice said you were doing something important in few days. What’s up with that?” Viper’s question drew me up as, at my side Arsenal shifted uncomfortably.
“Our last check in at the Institute.”
Viper nodded. “Cool.”
“But uh, we’re also doing a job for someone,” King added.
“King.” Arsenal’s voice was warning.
“What?” King asked. “He’s pack. He should know.”
Viper narrowed his eyes, looking around. “What?”
“Yeah. I’m not…” Ice swallowed, but cut off as he caught Arsenal’s tense expression.
“Fuck me,” Arsenal sighed, working his jaw, eyes lingering on Malakai as if debating. Then he sighed. “We’re in the process of registering Ice.”
“Wait. Not registered?” Viper asked, clearly shocked.
“That place you both just got caught up in, the Institute knows about it. They hand omegas over to them. Why do you think he might not want to go through the process?” Malakai asked. “He won’t get past the first step before they come for him.”
“Shit.” Viper considered that. “What if I could get it done, but no red tape, no process. Just… he’s registered and done.”
