Violet Ashes: The Blood Ridge Alpha - Chapter 59: Chapter 59

After giving Alpha Barnes their weekly reports on the tasks he has assigned them, they slowly start to leave. All except for his sister. She hasn't taken her eyes off me. An illegitimate daughter is not a title many want to be known for. If that had gotten out when his father was alive, he would have been hanged, and Sam's mother would have gone with him.
Sam herself would have become a servant of the Barnes family, along with anyone who connected to her. Mate, children, grandchildren. All of them would have been born to serve the Barnes by traditional law. Death would be a mercy.
"You're awfully quiet," she says when she stands up to get a beer out from the cooler near a lifted truck. My guess is that it belongs to her. She takes a bottle and hands it to me along with the opener. Her knuckles are busted up. The tiny scars are layered—a fighter.
"Learning," I say, popping the top off. She takes the bottle opener back when I offer it to her. "You stare at all women like that, or am I just your type?"
"You're a bitch on top of being a murderer?" she shoots back.
"Can't have one without the other," I laugh. "You're one to talk about dirty little secrets."
"It's not the same. Your family will forgive you. I am lucky to be here," she looks away, completely bothered by that.
"Are you part of the pack?" I lean in to take in her scent. She smells like them, but there are a few burnt bits around the edges. She shakes her head and stares down at the bottle in her hands. "Has my brother ever seen you working for the big guy?"
"I don't associate with pack stuff," she shakes her head. "I live in the bungalows between the compound and Libertad."
"That is not a very good place for you to be staying."
That's one of the most dangerous parts of the city. Those humanity left behind linger there. Mortals who fancy themselves hunters and shoot anything that startles them. Her demeanor makes a little more sense now. She's always in fight or flight mode. Some of us are just unlucky that way.
"I've been staying there for eighteen years. I'll be fine," she rolls her eyes.
"What do you do for a living?"
"What is this? Twenty-one questions," she glares at me.
"Yeah, and I'm only on four," I smirk. She grins and shakes her head.
"This," she points at the fire.
"Are you educated?"
That one comes out a little unsurely. I might be crossing a boundary there.
"Public school and community college. Nothing too fancy," she smiles, probably hearing it in my tone. "I used to be a detective for Blood Ridge."
"What happened?"
If she went to community college here, she's set. It would be easier to fit her in with my team of wolves in the pack. I can use someone who is smart and field-experienced to work for me. She shouldn't be staying where she is. I know she'd be a good asset. We crossed paths five years ago. We beat the shit out of each other. I cheap-shotted her to get away. I thought I was going to die. The bitch fights like an animal.
"Your sister found out I was related to the Barnes. She asked me to resign, and she kept it to herself." She shrugs.
That sounds like something Verona would do. A relative of the enemy is not a friend. Even if she is a rogue. I glance over at Alpha Barnes to see that he's talking to Ashton. He catches me looking but doesn't acknowledge it.
"Do you miss it?"
"Even if I did, they've busted me a couple of times,"
"And you never gave up your luna, and the undercover job she gave you," I take the first drink from the bottle. I hate beer. I'm not one for bitter things. I have had enough of that. "That's all anyone would have to know. It would be that easy. You've been here long enough to have completed the pack trials, and Luna Barnes will never suspect it. Think about that while you're going back to your bungalow."
"Why would you do that for me?" she asks.
"You're my mate's sister. It would ease his mind that you are being taken care of. It would also ease my mind. You're my family now. Do you have other siblings?"
"No,"
"It's an older sister thing."
"If you're serious about my brother, I don't think you should keep him a secret. He deserves better," she downs the beer and tosses the bottle into the fire pit. Without another word, she gets up and goes over to the guys.
Alpha Barnes pats her head and says his farewells to the last two remaining confidants. They all took their bean bags. Just leaving ours behind. This is his team, and he wanted me to meet them because it's important to him. Meanwhile, I can't even bring myself to admit any of this to mine.
This is one of the little fears I picked up from the old man. What happened to Perry is seared into my brain. She almost died. The craziest and baddest of us all reduced to a drunken idiot for daring to prioritize something other than the mission. All because she wanted more. I know they're not the Wraith and that he's dead, but I can't ignore the nagging feeling I have about this.
I want more, but I'm too much of a coward to simply take it. I watch him approach and sit down beside me. It would kill me if anything happened to him because of me. He's a little shit. His hands are probably stained as deeply as mine. Yet, when it comes to the ones we love, we'd do anything. That much is obvious.
"Was she being rude to you?" he asks.
"No, just bonding," I smile.
"You almost broke my chest," he ruins the moment. I take a drink from my bottle and shrug.
"I got you something," I remove my backpack to retrieve the mouth guard I found in my little brother's things. It's still in the package. He reaches for it, confused.
"What the fuck is this?"
"So, you don't mark me when we fuck," I smirk. He's mid-drink and chokes, spitting beer all over the place. I clear my throat, waiting for him to catch his breath. "Who is taking my bike back to my tower?"
"You can't just say that and change the subject," he growls.
"I can and I did. After the stunt you pulled today, it's going to be a no from me. I came prepared," I reach into my back pocket and toss the pack of condoms on his lap. "I would like to go home, please."
"And if I refuse to take you?" he smirks, shaking the box.
"I'll run. You can be alpha all you want, but you're not going to catch me once I've shifted."
"Is that a challenge, Moonlight? One thing you should know is that I live for the chase. The choice is up to you. Run or stay for a while. I've missed you."