Another day of getting off work, another day of misery. While I’d contemplated the offer that Declan had given me, there was no way I could take it. Sure, Alfie was probably never going to wake up, and if he did there was no guarantee that he would be the same. Or if he would even be able to function as a normal human being. But I couldn’t bear to bring myself low enough to murder him—because pulling the plug was indeed murder. And there was no way in the world that I would ever give Willow up as another option. No way. I’m sure there had to be something I could do. Anything else. I’d give my own life first before I could take away another’s who had done nothing to me.

Everything that was going on with Declan had been at the forefront of my day, and what’s worse was that I had no one to vent to. George wasn’t at work this evening, which was a surprise. He worked every day, like I had been. But I guess he needed a day off himself. Gods knew I needed one, too. It had only been necessary to take a week off in advance, and tomorrow was going to be my first day away from work. Without needing to stay on call. While I wanted to take advantage of that and use it to spend more time with my family, I was pretty positive I was going to end up sleeping the entire day away. I was desperate for a good night’s rest.

First, I made sure the present I had been saving up for Forest was safely hidden in the glove compartment. I didn’t want to give it to him just yet. I stepped out of the car after sitting in there for nearly fifteen minutes, just thinking. But the sooner I got in, the sooner I could eat, shower Forest with loving kisses, and go pass out. I locked it behind me and dragged my feet up the front steps. The porch alone felt bigger than my old home, come to think of it. Just walking towards our bedroom was exhausting after staying up all day for work. Maybe I should’ve gone with something a little more practical, a little more small. But what was done was done.

I signed the contract.

The keys in my pocket jingled as I pulled them out, inserting them into the cool handle of the door. Something felt off. Firstly, the door wasn’t locked. Forest always kept the door locked when I wasn’t there. Second was the sound of shifting feet, scurrying before they fell silent, like someone was hiding something. Those thoughts of what had happened to Forest before came to the forefront. But with Thorn dead, would Declan have sent someone else into the house to fulfill his desire? Would he have sent someone to steal our child?

I burst through the door, slamming it open as I rushed inside, nearly tripping on the welcome mat as I did. It was dark in here, too dark. And far too silent, considering I had heard someone moving around.

“Forest? Forest!” I shouted, taking a few careful steps into the main foyer, looking to and fro.

“Surprise!” I heard a cacophony of voices shout as the lights flipped on. I looked around, clutching onto my chest at the heart attack I was sure I was about to succumb to. There in front of me, coming from around the corner was Forest, no Willow in sight, but with a huge smile on his face. Shortly followed by George—that bastard! I was wondering where he had gone off to! And from there, Jude, Lucas, Silver. I jogged up to Forest, wrapping my arms around him, which seemed to be something he didn’t expect.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” he asked gently, giving me a squeeze before pulling away to look at my face.

“I thought something had happened. The door wasn’t locked and the lights weren’t on. I freaked out for a second.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I wanted to throw you a surprise party, to make you feel better.” Forest smiled, stepping away so that George could come forward and give me a heavy hit on the shoulder.

“You looked like a deer in headlights for a moment, there,” he joked. I coughed as he hit me again, this time in the center of my back, before I stepped out of his striking distance.

“Easy, George. You’ll kill me if you slap my back again,” I joked, giving him a friendly jab in his left bicep.

“Oh, but we couldn’t have that now, could we?” a familiar voice piped up. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I spun around to see Declan leaning against a doorway, as calm and collected as ever, with two other wolves standing behind him nonchalantly.

“W-What are you doing here?” I stammered.

“I invited him! He helped us get this place, so I figured it’d be nice to have him enjoy this celebration with us, too,” Forest said as he began to walk towards the kitchen area. Forest, the kindhearted Omega he was, was an absolute idiot for inviting this man into our home. But I had to act natural; everything was going to be okay as long as I didn’t make a scene.

"H-how did you manage that?" I asked, trying not to appear so nervous. Forest blushed a bit, rubbing at the back of his head nervously.

"I snuck into your wallet and got his business card. I thought it'd be okay."

Gods damn it.

“Yes, what a sweet little pet you have there,” Declan announced, leaning off the doorway and walking over towards me, extending his hand out. I watched him hesitantly before accepting his handshake, giving it a firm grip which he returned a bit too roughly. “Good seeing you again, Jason. You’re enjoying the home I’ve procured for you, I see.”

I nodded. “Yes. And we can discuss payment plans later.” I gave him a look to shut up about it for now. Declan nodded, releasing my hand and following the rest of the pack into the kitchen, with me trailing behind. What was his intention for being here? I mean, yeah Forest invited him, but a surprise party or housewarming party—whatever this was—didn’t seem to be up his alley.

The drinks were poured and passed around after Forest reassured me that Willow was asleep in our bedroom, the baby monitor on the center island of the kitchen to warn him should he wake up. The conversation had been lively, but I still found myself floating in and out of it, leaning against a kitchen counter as I sipped my glass of wine. Most of the evening, I’d realized, had been spent watching Forest interact, rather than joining in the conversation on my own. Mostly tired, partly tipsy, but completely skeptical of what was going to happen tonight.

So far, everything had gone without a hitch, and Declan seemed to be legitimately enjoying himself with everyone else. Even Jude hadn’t taken to biting his head off, and he had such a good intuition when it came to people’s true nature. Speaking of which, I noticed the older man approaching me, an empty champagne glass in his hand.

“Say, you’ve been looking rather dour all evening,” he said cooly, swirling his drinking glass around as though there had been any liquid within it. “Something old Declan can do for you?”

I shook my head, taking another long sip from my glass. “No. Well. Yes, actually.” I turned my focus on him completely after making sure the others were completely preoccupied with discussion while George was busy enough with showing pictures of his children to Silver, who oohed and aahed over each one.

“Well?” Declan persisted. I eyed his glass carefully as he continued to twirl it around his fingers deftly. I noticed there weren’t even droplets of liquid within, as though he hadn’t been drinking at all this night.

“It’s about the repayment.”

“There’s no need to bring that up right now. Why don’t you just relax and enjoy yourself tonight, hm?” Declan smiled, turning towards the others, who were in various conversations.

“I’m serious. I don’t think I can... repay you how you want.”

Declan’s head snapped right back towards me, his brows furrowed with a look of displeasure.

“Pardon?”

“I just can’t bring myself to do what you need me to do. B-but I’ll do anything else. I’ll give you every dollar I make out of my pocket for as long as I need to. Or run errands for you. Fuck, I’d even be your valet if you needed.”

Declan raised his hand to shut me up. I bit my lower lip, worried how he would react to the news. But the sour look on his face turned into a much more pleasant one.

“Jason, I have no need of money. I’ve plenty of it. But if you can’t simply bring to the surface those primal instincts of yours to kill and defend, I don’t blame you. There aren’t many real wolves out there anymore. No offense.”

Ouch. My ego.

“I couldn’t kill anyone in cold blood, and I’d never give up my child,” I whispered, leaning in closer so that the others wouldn’t hear.

“If that’s your final answer, I can’t change that,” he continued, staring down at his glass now. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened as though he was still pondering what he was going to say or do next. “Let’s just enjoy your evening, shall we?”

“Okay?” I made a face at him, confused at the constant change on his face of happy and frustrated.

“That a boy.” Declan patted me gently on the side of my arm, walking away from me with a smirk towards Lucas and Jude, who were bickering about something again.

Would he take the house away from me? Would he still leave us alone at least even if he did? Or if he let us keep the house, I had no idea what he would have me do as a form of repayment. Sell drugs? Be in his little gang of wolves?

I glugged down the rest of my wine, moving towards the fridge to pour myself yet another glass before I trudged off towards the bedroom.

“Hey, where are you going?” I heard Forest call out. I waved him off as I walked past.

“I just need a sec to change out of my work uniform,” I told him with a frown, stalking off.

Just as I was changing into my gray V-neck shirt, I heard a knock at the door. Before I could even ask who it was, Jude slipped inside quietly, shutting it behind him with as little noise as he could manage. He sat the whiskey glass off onto the dresser near him as he gave me a weird look.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked him, slightly embarrassed as I finally managed to pull the article of clothing over my head.

“I could ask you the same question.” Oh no, I hated the tone he used when he talked down to the rest of us.

“What are you talking about?” I asked again, walking around the bed quietly as to not disturb Willow out of his slumber. I picked up my wine from the side table and turned around to see Jude up in my face. Damn did he move fast.

“I’m talking about you. Ever since you got here, you’ve been a bit of an ass all night. Forest set this up for you to feel better and you haven’t really shown much appreciation for it.”

“I didn’t ask him to do this, though.”

“That’s what makes him a good pup. He never needs to be asked for him to go out of his way and try to do something nice. You want us out of here or something?” His words were slightly slurring together. My nose wrinkled at the slight scent of booze on his breath, but I shook my head.

“You don’t have to leave, but I don’t feel right with Declan being here. Why would Forest invite him, of all people?”

“What’s wrong with Declan? He got you the fuckin’ house; show some respect.”

“Respect? How can you show respect to someone who thinks the idea of a gift is a fuckin’ head served to you on a platter?”

Instantly, I bit my tongue at having spoken so far out of turn. Instead, I filled my mouth with more alcohol, even though that’s what was probably causing my loosened tongue. I needed to calm down.

“Wait, he did what?”

“Can’t I just get back to the party? I’m the man of honor, right? Pfft.” I snorted, trying to take a step around him, but Jude was on me before I could move, the glass of remaining wine spilling across my shirt and the bedsheets as he tackled me down, pinning my wrists onto the mattress.

“The hell you just say?” he growled.

“Get off of me. You got me all wet, you dog!” I snapped back, baring my teeth at him. He bared his own right back, snapping close to my neck. I could feel the heat from his breath, as well as his nose on my throat.

“I’m your Alpha now. Get it right. When I ask a question, I need an answer.” Again he barked, licking his lips as they furled back to expose his fangs even further.

“It’s Declan. Declan is part of the Grey Brotherhood. He was there when Leon bought drinks for me and Jake, before. He’s been helping me in exchange for...”

“In exchange for what?” I felt Jude retract, and I used the opportunity to push him by the shoulders to get him off. He stumbled back into the wall, bracing himself against it before he slipped down onto his ass.

“In exchange for one of your pack mates’ life. But I told him I wouldn’t do it, I swear!” I stood up from the bed, only to feel a resounding smack that echoed around the master bedroom and fall right back down onto my bed. “Ahhh.” I winced in pain, rubbing the side of my face where Jude had socked me good.

“You fucking idiot. Why would you work with them? They’re our enemies!”

“They’re not bad people; they’re just lawless. He wants things to be at peace as much as you do, but his methods are more extreme.” I didn’t know if I was trying to convince him, or myself.

“What did he want you to do?!”

“He... he wanted me to either give him Willow or give Alfie the pull.” Jude pulled his arm back, ready to strike me again, but I held my arms up in defense. “But I told him I wouldn’t, okay!? Shit!” I yelped, ducking as his hand went over my head. “I swear, I just wanted to give Forest a new home, a new life. I didn’t know this is what he would want from me!”

“What is fucking me up the most is that you agreed to work with him, after everything he’d done to you,” Jude growled, his glare burrowing holes into me.

“He didn’t do anything to me, except help.”

“Even with Jake?”

It was my turn to stand up, trying to toss a punch at him for daring to bring Jake into this mess. “You don’t get to talk about him!” I snarled as Jude ducked out of the way. Instead, he moved to the left with his fist up as though to strike me, making me charge to the right to make sure he missed. But it was a fake out. Instead, he shuffled his weight immediately into my way, his hands out to strike me. I recoiled in anticipation for the blow, but instead, I found myself steady, Jude’s hands clinging onto both of my shoulders with his nails biting through my shirt and into my flesh slightly.

“The last thing that happened when you saw Declan and Leon together was Jake got sick and fucking died!” He gave me a shake.

“If that were the case, why wouldn’t he kill me too?! Why leave someone who could draw suspicion!” I shouted back, grabbing onto his arms, but not really trying to get him off of me. I just needed something to ground me, hold me down before I went overboard with these feelings that I’d suppressed for so long. At the time, those were things I had questioned, but just as quickly as I thought of them, I pushed them to the side. There was no way they could have done that to Jake. Not after how kind they had treated us.

“Because they’re smart, smarter than you and most wolves. And calculating. If you both wound up dead from no apparent cause, how would that make them look? But if only one of them got ill, when you all shared drinks? An accident.”

I felt my grip tighten around Jude’s arms, my knees shaking together, threatening to let me collapse onto the floor, or into Jude’s arms like a weak pup. But... he was right. He had to be. Jude, always so sure of everything. Of course he could figure it out when I would just push anything suspicion away just so I would be okay. To believe he wasn’t murdered, wasn’t poisoned. So I could suffer through it easier than with the further heartbreak of knowing such a thing, and in constant need for revenge.

But Jude... was right. And now Jake’s murderer was out there. With everyone else. With my new lover.

This needed to stop. I was going to rip out Declan’s throat.

At any cost.