Violet Ashes: The Blood Ridge Alpha - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

"You've done a great job, brother," I try to reassure him. Especially with only half of who he is.
"We're losing the war, Violetta. What are you talking about?" he shakes his head.
"This war isn't on us. We've been losing this war since before Mom died. This is on the humans," I sit back. Suddenly, the suggestion to kill the ambassador of human affairs doesn't sound so bad anymore. The bounty pays very well, and it would benefit the Kings—even the human elect.
"You have that look on your face," he smiles.
"What look?"
"The, I'm going to burn everything around me to get what I want, look. The same one you got just before you told Dad to go fuck himself and he cut you out of the pack,"
Perry calls it crazy eyes. She always stands behind me so she doesn't get in the way. She'll also tell me to think very carefully about it before I make up my mind. She always has, and now that she's no longer dying. She's likely going to be in my ear again, especially because she's in therapy at the King's behest.
"You want to come with me this time?" I ask. His eyes light up, and he finally lightens up.
"I don't know what use I can be to you,"
"We have to start communicating better. No more secrets,"
"Are you going to tell me what Thorne did to you to make you want to squish him?"
"Not him. His brother," I say, and I see the way he tenses up. "What?"
"I know Justin," he whispers.
"What? How do you know him?"
"I know-know him," he says. I glare at him. What, Justin fucking Thorne is good enough for him, but not the man that was actually made for us?
"What the fuck did you do?"
"I didn't know who he was and-" he shuts his eyes tightly. "When he told me who he was, I backed off,"
"Did you fuck him?" I ask. He looks up at me with remorse written all over his face. "How long ago?"
"Three years maybe,"
"Around the time the recall happened?" oh, that motherfucker is so dead.
"Yeah, how do you-" he pauses. "You don't-" he stops and thinks about it. "Is that why?" I nod. "I didn't-"
"Lycan Tech has some very advanced fucking copy tech. He could have done it while you were asleep. If you had anything with Wolfe Tech files. He has them. It's probably how the earpiece designs were leaked last year."
"Fuck," he looks over at his tablet.
"Don't worry about it,"
"What the fuck do you mean? I ruined us," he growls.
"We both fucked up, Vince. We can still fix this."
"I'm not-" he falls back when I growl at him.
"We were not born to be apart, Vince. We need to fix this. All of it. No matter what it takes,"
"I'm not like you," he shakes his head. I growl, standing to go around the desk.
"Whatever it takes, Vincent. We fucked up and we have to fix it. For the pack and our family. We have the upper hand here. They have no fucking idea who we are. You said you could take it. You said you wouldn't let him break you."
"It's not that easy," he shakes his head. I press my forehead to his chin. "You weren't here. You have no idea-"
"I know," I wrap my arms around him. "Stay with me, Vincent."
"We're losing," he chokes out. "Everything and it's all my fault."
"Look at me," I say, standing back. His eyes are black. "That's good. We're going to need that rage tonight. Those assholes are going to try and eat us alive. Give me every bill you're missing."
"For what?"
"So I can pay them stupid,"
"You're just going to pay for everything yourself?"
"If I can't bail you out of this, what am I good for?" I point at the computer. "I know you've been staring at that thing for a reason."
He groans and shows me what he needs. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. We trade seats, and I get to work. He slides the phone over to me, and we start making phone calls and closing accounts. This is how we spend the day—fixing minor problems and giving orders. By the time dinner comes around, we're knee-deep in paperwork that needs to be filed.
"Thank you," Vince lets out a sigh of relief.
"You should have told me sooner. We talk all the time,"
"I-" he clears his throat. "Dad cut you off. There isn't any money in the pack funds. Most of it has been going to medical. I figured you made okay money, but not like this."
"I own a huge portion of one of the biggest pharma labs in the nation. Okay, money was when I was interning for the Thornes."
"You have side hustles?"
"Yes,"
"Mind sharing the intel?"
"I do," I nod. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head.
"You're being careful, right?"
"Mostly," I promise.
"Nothing that can hurt us?"
"I used to think so," I admit.
"What does that mean?" he demands.
"It means that I used to think I was invincible until I came face to face with reality, brother. Just like you," just like Mackenzie and Pernicious Phurry. I'm not sure if killing the Falcon was the end of it. It never really is with organizations like that.
"Do you need help? I'm not good at this paperwork shit. You know that,"
"I'll ask for help if I need it," I cup his face. "Now that the load of fuck is settled. Want to talk about the elephant in the room?"
"Not really," he shakes his head. "Arsen and I have been at each other's throats for a long time. Nothing is going to change just because you're here."
"That's the stubborn shit that got us into this mess, Vin,"
"And I can do what about it?"
"Communicate better. Fuck him up, Vince. You're an alpha. You're the fucking alpha," I shove him. He glares at me, but a smile tugs at his lips.
"I'm not like you. I have a more demanding presence. I can't submit like you. It would mean death for one of us,"
"When have you ever seen me submit?"
"You've been in love with your boss for a long fucking time," he rolls his eyes.
"That's not submission, Vince. He's human. Do you know the probability of his kind making it through the transition? I could have killed him. Not to mention that they hate our kind. They kill themselves if infected."
"How have you been able to stay under their radar for so long?" he smirks. "You're the impulsive one between us."
"Skills," I grin. "Look, the man is my mate. He's a huge scary fucking guy," he smiles and looks away. "I can't be the middleman between you two. This alliance has to work. Like you said. I'm more likely to submit to him.
"It's the one thing I got from Mom. You know it killed her to give Dad his way, but she would yield because he meant everything to her. There are three of us. Three of us," I grab his arm and shake him. "We can take Magique back."
"You haven't changed a bit," he smiles and pulls me closer. "I fucking missed your stupid optimism,"
"One of us has to think positively. I admit that lately it's been hard."
"Yeah," he rests his head on my shoulder. "I've wanted to ask you this since you returned,"
"What?" I sit up straight to face him. I know what he's going to ask. I've been wanting him to.
"I need you back," he presses his forehead to mine. "We've been apart for way too long, Vy. It feels like I'm dying."