Sold To The Billionaire Alpha
Chapter 52

Orion

Fox and I stared at each other.

“Fox!” I said sternly. “Just get it over with!”

Fox seemed to snap out of his reverie. He was probably daydreaming about being literally anywhere else in just about any other situation. Bisa was playing with her fingers and standing extremely close to Fox in a protective sort of way.

“I’ll start at the beginning,” said Fox hesitantly.

“Please do,” I encouraged.

“Bisa and I first went to an unofficial staffroom where we found Mavis and some other staff members goofing off. Mavis tried to run initially but we stopped her. Her admission of guilt was pretty swift. She confirmed that the Marys were involved and she implicated your mother,” said Fox apologetically.

“I’m so sorry, Alpha Orion,” said Bisa softly.

I sighed. My heart was going a mile a minute.

“Call me Orion,” I insisted with a small smile.

Bisa nodded vigorously.

“The Marys gave her five hundred thousand dollars as an incentive to switch the test samples so that the paternity test would undoubtedly be negative. She used your DNA, Orion,” said Fox.

I growled instinctively. They used my own DNA to deceive my mate and me. I was livid. I took a deep breath.

“They knew mine would be negative as mates can’t be b***d relatives,” I said gruffly.

“Once the job was done, the Marys gave Mavis another five hundred thousand dollars,” said Fox.

“So she made away like a thief in the night with one million dollars,” I mumbled to myself, shaking my head.

“Was that all?” I dared to ask.

My wolf whined within, not ready to learn of his mother’s vindictiveness.

“Um,” began Bisa

Surely, there was more to the story.

“In addition to the million dollars, Mavis was offered an additional million dollars as hush money so she would not implicate the former Luna even if questioned,” explained Fox.

I sneered.

“But she immediately implicated my mother, anyway,” I pointed out.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like she had much loyalty to your mother or anyone else involved really,” said Bisa gently. “The DNA belonging to you was provided by your mother. She brushed your hair one day and gave it to Mavis.”

I sighed. I remembered that day. She had asked to brush my hair the way she used to when I was a child. I had thought it a bit strange but I had obliged her.

“Orion, I am so sorry to have to tell you this,” said Fox, with a nervous glance at Bisa. “But your mother threatened us by holding a silver-tipped talon to Bisa’s throat.”

I breathed in sharply.

“Are you all right?” I asked Bisa.

“I’m fine. Fox was brilliant. It wasn’t actually me. It was a Glamour Spell so she slit the throat of a scarecrow essentially,” explained Bisa.

Slit the throat? I felt a little lightheaded.

“My mother…she…killed you…well, she meant to?” I said, trying to comprehend it all.

Bisa and Fox nodded, their expressions grave.

“She thinks Bisa is dead,” said Fox, taking a deep breath. “She saw her die because of the Glamour and then your mother pulled out a gun with silver bullets and shot Mavis…well the scarecrow I cast a Glamour on so it would look like Mavis. Mavis is safe and sound in custody in the dungeons.”

I shrugged. Truth be told, I did not give a s**t about Mavis. She had plotted against Orchid anyway and even when plotting, she still couldn’t show loyalty. She was two times a snake, flip-flopping. That kind of person was no use to anyone. All that being said, I was still horrified that my mother had shot her so flippantly. Alpha families of the North were known for swift executions but this was different. My mother was trigger-happy, tying up loose ends in the messiest way possible. I g*****d. I wished I had Orchid here. She always managed to make me feel better even if all she had to say was something snarly or sassy. I would give anything to be sassed by her again.

“What about my Orchid?” I asked. “Is my mother part of a kidnapping plot against her?”

“I really can’t say for sure. That information wasn’t divulged yet and when she started killing people, I vanished, teleporting back here. I needed her to think she had won,” explained Fox. “She actually bribed me so I went along with it. She’s supposed to contact me somehow regarding her paying me.”

I nodded. The weight of what Fox had just told me was heavy on my mind. My wolf was pacing restlessly. We had always known Mother was not merciful but we had not thought her this corrupt.

“Do you need to sit down?” Asked Bisa softly.

It took me a while to realise she meant me.

“No, no, not at all,” I said. “There’s no time to waste,” I said decisively. “We know that my mother is part of the plot behind Orchid’s false paternity test but we’re not sure if she’s part of the kidnapping plot?” I said.

It had come out like a question because even though, all signs pointed to yes, the softest place within me wanted to leave a little room for my mother to be innocent.

“It’s minutes before nightfall,” said a deep voice, making me jump.

I looked around and realised Thaddeus had just exited the filing building. I heard the sound of footsteps. The doors swung open to reveal Maze, arm in arm, with Friday. Raelynn and Ezra soon joined us followed by the twins and Fang. Finally, Talus and Timbre walked out, arm in arm. I raised my eyebrows at Talus.

Are you and your big brother on good terms now? I wondered just as Perseus came sauntering out.

My chest constricted a little. How was I going to tell my own little brother about our mother’s potential involvement?

We’re trying to be, responded Talus regarding his own big brother.

I smiled.

“Have you learnt anything?” Asked Perseus.

“The lab tech admitted to tampering with the paternity test results,” said Fox to the group.

Talus’ face broke into a huge smile.

“In the case of Orchid Whimsy, you are the father!” Declared Maze triumphantly.

Timbre snorted with laughter. Raelynn and Friday cheered for Maze’s paternity reveal. Talus stared blankly at Maze.

“Humour is a new thing for Maze,” said Thaddeus to me apologetically. “Our girl and his sis are trying to support it,” added Thaddeus in hushed tones.

“My Luna thinks I’m funny,” retorted Maze.

“My Luna also thinks my brothers are smart so she’s pretty generous with her compliments,” said Thaddeus.

Maze moved forwards, meaning to shove Thaddeus playfully, but one of the twins beat him to it. Friday giggled at their antics.

“Well, we’re still waiting for the repeat tests,” I said. “But…Talus is her father. I should have known that,” I said, feeling despondent.

“Don’t be hard on yourself over this,” said one of the twins.

“No use crying over split milk! Right Dad?” Said the other twin.

“Right you are son,” thundered Timbre.

I sighed. Perhaps, if I had been more wary of the results, Orchid would not have felt the need to go walking alone? I felt a hand on my shoulder. Perseus.

“Whatever you’re thinking about, it’s not your fault?” He said kindly.

“How do you know?” I chuckled sadly.

“You think everything is your fault because you think everything is your responsibility,” said Perseus with a shrug. “But it really isn’t.”

“So now, we kill the lab tech,” said Timbre, clapping his hand together.

Talus nodded in agreement with his elder brother.

“No, no,” said Maze suddenly, holding his palms up.

“Maze is the merciful one?” Asked Talus who was now getting to know Maze and Raelynn after his period of estrangement.

Thaddeus guffawed loudly, almost wheezing with mirth.

“Not quite,” commented Thaddeus after he had settled down.

“The execution should be scheduled after we hear the official testimony on a set court date,” suggested Maze.

“Maze is the organised one,” said Thaddeus to Talus.

We piled into several different cars to head to Orchid’s old apartment. My mind was still racing.

“Your DNA was switched with mine to ensure that the paternity test would be negative,” I said absentmindedly to Talus as we neared the place I had stalked Orchid to on that fateful night.

Perhaps, I should have knocked on her door back then and introduced myself. The worst she could have thought was that I was a deranged stalker. Would she have agreed to go out with me if I had randomly shown up with a bouquet of the flowers she was named after?

“Stop it, Orion!” Growled Perseus impatiently.

He knew me too well.

“Stop what?” I asked, playing dumb.

“Stop ruminating!” Insisted Perseus. “I can feel you going over everything in your head and wishing you’d done it differently. I know! I do that with Rose too! It’s no use. We just have to focus on the present!”

I nodded. Perhaps, Perseus was a lot more mature than I gave him credit for. Maybe I should tell him about our mother sooner rather than later.

Talus of all people was driving. He sped all the way there, only half-listening to my directions. The car screeched to a halt outside of Orchid’s old apartment building. I showed them which apartment was hers. We easily walked along the window edges, peering inside.

“You don’t have a key to her place?” Asked Thaddeus.

“No,” I said simply.

“All of her stuff is still here,” said Friday, confused.

“So?” Said one of the twins.

I needed to learn how to differentiate between the two.

“Well, when I moved in with Maze and Thaddeus, I took most of my stuff out of my cottage,” said Friday as we back-tracked along the window sills to get to the door.

“Orchid told me Orion bought her a whole new wardrobe,” said Talus proudly.

I squirmed a little. The guilt was eating away at me. I realised none of them seemed to know that I had “ordered” Orchid from the Caro family. They were probably aware that bride-napping was practiced in my pack but I doubted they would think it extended to the Luna. Fox had a knowing look on his face. He had put two and two together quite quickly. Maze glanced at me with raised eyebrows. I smiled awkwardly. I had a feeling Maze understood the “filing room” back at the Caro house better than the others but was being tight-lipped about it. Talus broke down the door and we waited for an alarm to sound.

“She has no security system!” Said Raelynn, waltzing right into the place.

“Brave girl,” said Ezra.

Are you end your big brother on good terms now? I wondered just es Perseus ceme seuntering out.

“Breve girl,” seid Ezre.

“Maybe she was saving money! My cottage certainly had no security system,” giggled Friday.

I smiled. Friday seemed the easiest to get along with.

“Ok, what are we looking for?” Announced one of the twins.

“Which twin are you? Sorry,” I said.

“Titus,” laugend Titus.

“Ok, Timothy!” I said, pointing to the other twin.

“In the flesh,” said Timothy.

“We think her disgusting ex was the last to talk to her after Salvia Caro assuming Salvia is telling the truth,” I said.

“So we’re looking for memorabilia regarding the identity and whereabouts of the ex,” surmised Maze.

“Exactly,” I said gratefully.

“And the squads who are out there?” Asked Timbre.

“Probably blind searching,” said Thaddeus. “We did the same when Friday was kidnapped. The squads searched at random, covering as much distance as possible. We and other high-ranking members followed leads.”

“What is it with you Lunas and getting kidnapped?” Growled Titus, annoyed, throwing a pointed glance at Friday.

“It’s a rite of passage,” said Friday dryly.

Raelynn and Ezra burst into laughter.

The apartment was a studio basically. The bathroom was separate so I searched there first. Nothing in particular. I found a pink pillbox of birth control which I knew she stopped taking when she and I bonded during her heat. There were a ton of hair products, most for curly hair and some for straightening curly hair. I wondered if I should pack a bag. I wanted to be optimistic. I would get my Orchid back if it was the last thing I did and I should probably bring her some of her old stuff.

“Wow, she even left her salon-quality blowdryer? She must’ve fell hard for you, Orion!” Commented Raelynn, trying to lighten the mood.

I grinned.

“Aha!” Yelled Timothy triumphantly.

“What?” I asked, running over to him.

He was at her bedside table.

“Her diary!” He said, brandishing the fuzzy white book with bunny ears.

Maze laughed.

“I was expecting a former doctor to have one of those black planners,” he said.

“Bunny ears for the win,” said Titus as he took the diary from his twin and leafed through it.

I scanned the pages with him. There were a lot of lists. She had made a list of everything she hated about her ex in an attempt to build the courage to leave him. My wolf snarled inwardly. We wanted his head on a platter. We had finally found out her ex’s full name: Jaack Howward.

She had also made a list of what she wanted in a man. I couldn’t help myself. I took the page and kept it. I would go through it later.“Yes!” Exclaimed Maze. “The black planner. The one with the dates already on the pages!”

“Maze is so hard right now for that planner,” joked Titus.

We looked through it. Most of her to-do-lists were medical topics she wanted to revise. There was no information on Jaack Howward’s address or number. There was a random number in the planner next to the word: Hydroponics.

“Match it with her diary entry on that date,” instructed Maze.

I found a diary entry from the same date the Hydroponics contact was written on in her planner. This was several months ago

“Jaack wants to grow hydroponic gardens. He claims he’ll use hydroponics to grow fresh produce to sell to green grocers and restaurants but I know he wants to grow cannabis, hemp and even the coca shrub. I thought if I helped him with the start-up, maybe he would keep it legal. Tomatoes, lettuce, arugula. I loaned that fool a thousand dollars and found the cheapest place to get hydroponic equipment. He didn’t even say thank you and he stopped talking about his plans to me when I asked him to promise he wouldn’t grow illicit stuff especially not the coca plant,” I read aloud.

“Wow, he wanted to sell cocaine he had grown and made himself?” Said Maze. “Great guy!” Said Timbre sarcastically. “Son-in-law material,” he said.

Talus huffed.

“So she gave him this number so he could buy the stuff for the indoor gardening,” muttered Maze. “But he stopped talking about it after. There’s no mention of hydroponics in the months after this.”

“He stopped talking about it to her! He might’ve still done it behind her back, especially if it was coca leaves he wanted,” said Fang.

I had almost forgotten he was here! He had been so quiet.

“I have an idea,” said Fang, pulling out his cell and dialling that number.

“Hello,” said a voice.

“Listen, all bullshit aside, I know you know Jaack Howward. I want information on him and his stash, address, his number, where he frequents, all of it!” Hissed Fang.

“Are you a rival seller…” began the voice.

“I’m not finished talking,” barked Fang. “I have eyes everywhere and if you don’t lead me to him, I’ll gladly kill you and burn your business to the ground. If you lead me to him, money’s no object. I can retire you. You get your life and as many millions as you want. What do you say?”

There was a long loaded pause. We listened to the shallow breathing of the person. The voice was disguised somewhat like they were using technology to alter their n natural speaking voice for more anonymity.

“Yes. I’ll talk,” said the voice finally. “For a price.”