The Syndicater (Dark Verse #6)

18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Alpha, Tenebrae City

Something was up with his wife.

He didn't know what it was, but the fact that she hadn't called him once all day had him slightly worried. They didn't message since she knew he wouldn't be able to read the message with his single eye, and knowing that, she always called him. He'd sat on Dante's jet, which was so much more opulent than his was, expecting to see a missed call from her when he landed. And there had been nothing. He wanted to think maybe she had just gone to bed early, Shadow Port a few hours ahead of them. He would call her once he got to the compound.

The phantom ache in his missing eye, one that flared up occasionally, made him sigh.

His half-brother, Alpha had learned, was a man of expensive, refined tastes, more airy and polished than Alpha's rugged, earthier preferences. His mansion and compound in Tenebrae were a gazillion times older and more opulent than his exotic, more raw one. Dante's property was polished and mowed; Alpha's was wild and natural. They were such drastically different people in terms of taste, and yet, Alpha had to admit they were very similar when it came to two things—their workouts and their women.

One of his favorite things about being in Tenebrae was the early morning fight-offs he and his brother had. It almost felt like playing. Both of them were almost matched in size, but where Alpha had more strength, Dante had more speed. It began at Dante's wedding a year ago, and they continued it whenever they were together.

As for women, that was self-explanatory. They had both found the love of their lives early—though Alpha had forgotten his and Dante hadn't. Where Alpha had spent years alone believing he couldn't have love, Dante had spent his years being in love and fighting for it. Now that Alpha had it too, he understood.

The hills outside the city where the compound was rolled around them as the fleet of vehicles made their way up. He sat in a Range Rover with his brother driving, Morana and Tristan with his sister in the one behind them, and two more security guards behind them. It was a little extra, but Alpha didn't blame him, not after everything Dante had to protect on his territory.

"What do you think about Luna?" Dante asked Alpha, driving over a curve in the empty road that led only to his property.

Alpha turned his neck to look at him. "She's been through stuff." Luna Caine, if she even went by that name, which he highly doubted, was an ethereal kind of beauty with a haunted look in her eyes. Alpha had worked with and seen too many women with that kind of look. He didn't need to talk to her to understand she'd seen and survived horrors most people couldn't imagine. And seeing how tiny she was, it immediately brought forth an innate protectiveness inside him.

"I agree," Dante said. Alpha knew the man recognized that look too, probably having seen it in his wife's eyes in the past.

"I want to ask if you think she could be working for The Syndicate," Dante spelled out, much to Alpha's surprise. "I can't discuss this with Tristan or Morana, not right now. They should focus on her and their relationship."

Alpha mulled it over. "If she's working for The Syndicate, which I do doubt, then she's both highly brainwashed and a good actress because deception isn't what I smelled on her."

Dante let out an exhale, his shoulders relaxing. "I'm relieved to hear that. I want to trust her, but I'm taking her to my home to my family. My only daughter. It's—"

"—understandable," Alpha interrupted. Betrayal made people question everything. "Better safe than sorry."

Dante took another bend, expertly swerving around. The gates to the property opened, and he drove through, on and upward.

"How's Zee doing?" his brother asked, and as much as Alpha had come to like him, he was still an annoying shithead when it came to ribbing him.

"You tell me," Alpha grumbled. "You talk to her more than her own mother these days."

Her mother was a sore topic for his wife, both stubborn women of two generations refusing to budge from their stances.

"She does like me." Dante chuckled, making Alpha want to do some damage to his pretty face. He wondered idly if Dante would look half as good with a scar and eyepatch as he did. The thought gave him some comfort.

"She likes everyone," Alpha corrected, not wanting his brother to believe he was special. If liking people and seeing the good in them was a championship, his wife would be the first in line, a quality that both enticed and exasperated him about her. But a large part of him hoped she didn't lose that, that his world didn't make her jaded enough to forget what made her her.

The mansion finally came into view, a grand monstrosity of construction against the backdrop of the setting sun. Amara stood at the mouth of the driveway with Tempest on her hip, his little niece who was growing up too fast. Dante stopped the vehicle and got out, heading straight for them.

Alpha watched in mild awe as Tempest, who had been looking at the cars curiously, burst out into the biggest smile, a smile bigger than her face, her gums exposed, her little mouth wet, her bright eyes lit up at her father. Something moved inside Alpha's chest at the sight, seeing the way Tempest immediately raised her chubby little arms dimpled at the elbows, a clear indication for her father to pick her up, and as soon as Dante did, she began to babble baby nonsense interspersed with the sounds of dada ,dada, mama, dada .

And looking at them, Alpha realized he wanted that nonsense too. He wanted to come home one day to a little part of him that would light up his life, looking at him like he was the best thing in the whole world, loving him with the wholeness of a tiny heart.

Fuck, he wanted to be a father too.

But for now, he would be the uncle.

He headed toward them as well, greeting Amara with a small smile. "Looking good as always, Amara."

"So good to see you," Amara gave him a side hug.

"Stay away from my wife," Dante said from the side, in a ridiculous sing-song voice as he talked to the babbling baby.

Alpha grunted. "You don't stay away from mine."

"Boys," Amara sighed, rolling her eyes.

Alpha ignored them and went straight to Tempest, who turned that megawatt grin at him and easily came into his arms.

"How's my favorite niece?" he asked her, and she'd seen him enough times to recognize him as a favorite person, too. She immediately lunged for his eyepatch, which she loved to put into her mouth for some insane reason.

"No, baby," Amara chided. "We don't chew on people's clothes."

As if she understood, she went for his nose instead, biting the top of it. Alpha felt the unscarred side of his lips go up. There was something so simple, so pure about being in her company. Were all babies like this? Because if they were, he was going to make a fleet of them with his wife. The idea of knocking her up was immensely appealing to him.

Another car pulling into the driveaway made them all turn. The doors opened, and Morana came out first, followed by Tristan, who extended his hand and brought out his sister.

His wide-eyed sister, who was looking at the mansion with her mouth open, like she had never seen something like it before. Alpha paused with that thought. Was it possible that she hadn't? He observed her closely, seeing her eyes moving around to take the structure, the front lawns that sloped down, the entire vista of hills, before coming back to the people, all of whom she'd met except Amara. Her eyes stayed on Amara for a long second before moving and stopping on Tempest in his arms.

He watched like a hawk as her face froze, her eyes staying on the baby much longer than it had on the house or the strangers. He exchanged a look with Dante, seeing that he'd noticed it too. Of course, he had. It was his little princess. Then, as if catching herself, she immediately looked to Amara.

Interesting.

Amara took that as her cue and moved to her with a soft smile, one he'd seen her give Zephyr when she'd been grieving.

"It is so good to finally meet you," Amara greeted in her raspy voice. Luna's eyes widened slightly at hearing it, her eyes going to the scar Amara had on her neck, completely exposed. She had covered it up until recently, but he'd noticed her leaving it uncovered more often now.

"Welcome to my home." Amara took hold of both her hands, giving it a squeeze even he could see. She looked to Tristan, who stood right next to his sister, not having left her side since he'd found her. He kind of understood. Had he been in Tristan's place, he probably wouldn't have either.

"I'm so happy for you," Amara told Tristan sincerely, and he gave her a nod. Alpha didn't understand their friendship much, but he knew it was a deep one.

"You…" Luna began, her tone soft, but everyone looked at her. "You have a beautiful home."

Amara beamed at her, pulling her in and leading her toward the entrance where they stood, the perfect hostess. "You've already met my husband, Dante, and my brother-in-law, Alpha?"

Luna nodded, glancing at them both before looking at Tempest.

"This is my daughter, Tempest," Amara offered, her eyes also seeing what he was. She was a professional head doctor; she was probably ten steps ahead of all of their observations.

Luna gave Tempest a small smile that trembled on her lips. "Hi, Tempest."

Tempest looked at the newcomer with a wide look, her big eyes on her gold necklace. She lunged for the necklace, almost grabbing it in her grubby hands, and Alpha contained her squirmy, wiggly body.

There was silence for a few minutes, slightly awkward, as they all just stood there, not knowing what to do next. He wished his wife was there. She was an expert at breaking awkward silences and putting people at ease. Fuck he missed her, even though it had just been a day.

"Okay," Morana clapped once, commanding everyone's attention. "This is awkward."

Dante huffed a laugh, Amara grinned, Tristan's lips twitched as he tugged his girl closer to himself.

But Luna looked around them all, biting her lip. "I'm sorry if I'm making things awkward."

Jesus. This girl had some solid damage done to her if her first thought was blaming herself.

Her words made Tristan place a hand on her shoulder, looking her intently in the eyes. "We are family here. There's nothing to be sorry about."

That made Morana emotional for some reason, making her sniffle. Amara looked at Tristan in mild awe. Even Alpha was slightly surprised. He'd not heard the man say an emotional word in all the time he'd known him.

His sister, maybe not knowing how rare it was for her brother to say emotional things, just took a deep breath and nodded.

Dante slapped Tristan on the back, breaking the bubble. "I knew you weren't a lost cause."

"Fuck off," Tristan shot back, and Alpha felt solidarity with him. While he wasn't close to the man, they could agree Dante was a pain in the ass.

Amara sighed, apparently having seen this side of them for too long. "Let's just go in."

***

After a delicious dinner, a cozy affair with just them, Alpha followed Dante into his large study. Alpha had been there a few times before, and it always reminded him of what a legacy looked like. Their father had worked in the space, and his father before him, and so on. Generations of Maronis occupied the same seat, and though Alpha had never wanted any part of Maroni, that legacy was something he felt a little envious of. It wasn't that he wanted any of it, but the idea of growing up knowing the family line and being raised to take it over, it was something he was always reminded of in the study in particular.

Amara joined them with Tempest on her hip, resting her head against her mother's neck in a lazy way.

Dante poured him some scotch and Amara a glass of wine as he sat down. A few minutes later, Morana entered. She looked exhausted, and Alpha felt a sliver of respect for her. The girl had worked herself to the bone for the last two days, tracking and tracing and traveling back and forth. Though she had recovered, it still had to take a toll on her body. So when she slumped next to him on the couch, Alpha put a hand on her right shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

"You did good."

Morana gave him a small smile, her body lax, her eyes heavy behind the glasses. "I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"You deserve it," Amara reassured her. "Tristan is with Luna, I'm assuming?"

Morana nodded. "They're talking a walk outside. I wanted to give them time alone. Let them get to know each other better."

Amara took a sip of her wine. "That's a good idea. The girl Tristan remembers isn't the same one who's come to him. He'll have to adjust to that reality. And we don't even know if she remembers anything about him at all, but I imagine it must be an adjustment for her as well."

"We don't know much about her," Morana agreed, curling her feet under her, giving Alpha a look as she rested against him since his body was taking up the majority of the space. "Do you mind?"

He shook his head, letting her rest, feeling sympathetic. Her body relaxed into the cushions and pressed to his side, and he moved his arm on the back so she could get more space without having to touch him in case she wasn't comfortable.

"We know one thing," Dante spoke for the first time, swirling his drink as he walked to where Amara sat and perched on the arm. "We know she was waiting for us there. The Shadow Man sending you her exact location and her waiting there for us, recognizing all of us means…"

"She knows him," Amara completed the thought.

"Or he knows her," Alpha pointed out, defending a girl he'd just met for some inexplicable reason. "I've talked to the bastard and trust me, he could put you in places and tell you infirmation without revealing a thing about himself. Just because she was there or she knew us doesn't mean anything. He could've given her a file for all we know."

They all went silent, conceding his point.

"Should we ask her?" Morana questioned.

Amara immediately shook her head. "I don't think so. Not yet, at least. She's just come into a strange place, surrounded by strangers. She's trying to reconnect with her long-lost brother. Interrogating her will only add unnecessary tension right now. We have to be patient. This isn't about any of us."

That was true. He didn't think Tristan would be very happy with that either.

Dante downed his drink in one go, and Alpha took a sip of his.

"Let's just take it day by day," Dante finally said. "I just hope she becomes a part of our family."

They all did. Somehow, in the middle of a dark and cruel world, Alpha had found a group of good people he was willing to open his heart to slowly, his own extended family of sorts. Which reminded him, he had to call his wife.

Bidding others good night and taking his leave, he headed for the guest suite he always occupied when he was on the compound, the same suite he and Zephyr had slept in for the first time. Entering the rooms, he locked the door and took his phone out, pressing the call icon on his screen on the first contact. She had added herself to his favorite contact so her name would always be at the top, along with a picture of them that Leah had taken—him behind her, holding her wrapped in his arms, her laughing as the dogs went zooming and blurring around them.

Fuck, he loved that photo.

"H'llo," his wife's mumbled voice came after the first ring, drowsy with sleep.

"You didn't call me today, rainbow," he told her, almost sounding petulant.

"Didn't want to disturb you." She yawned loudly. "How did everything go?"

Alpha relayed the events of the day to her as he prepared to take a shower, telling her about everything from his thoughts to others' reactions to Luna.

"I feel protective of her," he admitted, untying his hair from the bun it had been in all day and taking his eyepatch out, placing both the hairtie and the patch on the sink. Stripping his clothes off, he turned and looked at his reflection—the ugly scars, the missing eye, mottled flesh, and tattooed skin. How his little rainbow found anything beautiful in him was a mystery. She looked at him with such love and adoration he forgot he wasn't a monster on the outside, a beast of patchworked flesh. Flesh that she kissed, skin that she licked, scars that she loved. How, he had no idea, but fuck if he wasn't grateful for it.

"Of course you do," she said softly, her voice breathy. "That's because you're a good man, Alessandro."

His eyes closed briefly. She didn't call him by his given name often, but when she did, it was in the deep moments, so he knew she was saying what she meant, so he would remember that she knew all of him and loved all of him.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly, almost whispering.

"About to take a shower," he told her. "Why?"

"Are you naked yet?"

Blood rushed from his head right to his cock. Alpha watched as it hardened, standing to attention, his heart beating loudly. This was the first time in weeks that she'd initiated something sexual, weeks of celibacy suddenly hitting him.

"Yeah," he said, but it came out low, almost animalistic. Fuck, he wished she was there.

"Are you hard yet?" The breathy sound and rustling of fabric made him even harder.

"Yeah."

Her breath hitched, and his cock twitched in response. He gripped it in a tattooed hand, tugging it, the pleasure not half as intense as it was with her anything—her mouth, her pussy or her tits. Fuck, her luscious tits. Just remembering them was making him feral.

"I wish you were inside me," she breathed, and he groaned.

"Me too."

"Look at yourself in the mirror," she told him, her voice a soft command. "Look at the body I worship. Wrap your hand around your cock."

"It's already there," he informed her, holding the sink with one hand and tugging on his cock with the other, tip to root, spreading the little fluid leaking from it.

"Imagine it's my hand," she whispered into the line. "My hand wrapped around you, getting you hard and ready for me. Where would you come?"

With his eyes closed, he imagined the scene, imagining her hand, her on her knees, asking him where he wanted to spill.

Inside her.

He wanted to put his cum so deep inside her that it made a baby. He'd breed her so hard into the bed if she were there.

"Your pussy," he rasped.

"Then do it," she urged him on. "Spill inside me. Come inside me."

An orgasm wracked his spine, jets of his cum spraying and spilling into his cupped hand. He felt like a teenager and not a grown man as he came within two minutes. Fuck.

His heart raced as he caught his breath, realizing he'd just nutted for the first time in weeks.

"Shit, I needed that," he told her honestly and heard her light chuckle, the sound making him feel warm.

"I wish I could've joined in." Her breathing changed as her voice got lower. "But I'd feel weird accidentally squirting in someone else's home."

"You will when you get here," Alpha promised her. "I'm going lap you up, rainbow."

She giggled. "Alright, Tarzan. Send the jet over. I'll see when Xander and I can come. It depends on his school schedule."

"Fine." He washed his hands in the sink and walked to the shower, finally turning it on. "Now go sleep. It must be late there."

"You have a good night too, hubby," she chirped into the phone.

Fuck, he loved this woman.

Alpha cleaned himself up and headed to bed. The day had been eventful, but at the end of it, partially sated and partially hopeful, he had one realization. He wanted a family with her.