Page 129 of Pack Baby for the Silver Foxes

“You own you, Mary. I’m an omega, but is an alpha ever going to own me?”

I shook my head.

“Yes, never,” she said. “Now tell your father.”

“I can make this easy for you. Two million pounds, Mary, in your account today. I’ve found a new alpha for you. He’s Italian, titled, civilized, and willing to overlook your disobedience if the terms are favorable.” My father’s voice came through the speaker again.

I wasn’t shocked.

“Ah,” I said, and my voice sounded different even to me. “There he is.”

Sienna’s mouth curved.

I leaned closer to the speaker button. “There’s the true Callum McCarthy.”

“Mary,” he snapped.

“No.” The word came out clean.

I pressed the button harder. “I don’t know who you are. I don’t have a father. There used to be a man in my life I respected and loved, but there’s a hole where he lived.” My voice broke. “Now fly back to Ireland before I get Artem to destroy you.”

My hands stopped shaking.

“You disappoint me, Mary.” My father’s reply came low and vicious.

I laughed, but it was brittle. “And I regret ever believing you did anything good for your daughters.”

My hand slipped from the button. Silence crashed down between us, and then the helicopter rose.

Sienna spoke into her comms. “Yes, we’re holding our position and awaiting the secondary estate team.”

For a second I stayed upright. Then I folded, and Sienna caught me before my head could hit the window. “Breathe,” she said.

“Not you too. I hate that advice. I’d be dead if I weren’t breathing.”

“The most useful advice is always annoying.”

I made a sound that might have been a laugh if it hadn’t broken halfway.

My phone buzzed in my lap. Hudson first, then Lincoln, then Maeve. All three names lit the screen in a row. I stared at them through tears.

Sienna glanced down. “Who do you want first?”

“My sister.”

Sienna nodded and tapped Maeve’s name. The call connected immediately.

“Mary?” Maeve’s voice was sharp with fear and fury. “Are you okay?”

I looked through the rain-streaked window toward the gates of the house my sister had made safe. “We’re just near the gates,” I said, and my voice shook so badly there was no point pretending otherwise. “I told Da to fuck off.”

For one stunned second, Maeve said nothing. Then she laughed. “Good girl,” Maeve said, her voice breaking. “Stay there. We’re coming.”

Chapter 22

Mary

Maeve reached me before Artem did.