Chapter 336 - 70: Pack Mentality

Dane shut the front door and followed Destiny into the living room. She went straight for the sofa, while Dane crossed to the drinks cabinet, poured himself a measure of whiskey, and leaned against the sideboard with the glass in his hand. Ramon came in behind them, slower now. He removed his riding gloves, placed them on the console by the door, and walked farther into the room.

For a few seconds, nobody said anything. Dane took a drink, the sharp bite of the alcohol settling nothing. "She just wants to be a thorn in my fucking flesh."

Destiny glanced at him from the sofa. "You only just figured that out?"

"No," Dane said, looking at her. "I’m trying to figure out how much more annoying she can get."

Ramon pulled his phone from his coat, his expression grim. "I’ll find out why the property was sold."

When Dane frowned and asked if he really didn’t know, Ramon clarified, "I know what she told us. I want to hear it from Jonathan." He found the number, called, and placed it on speaker as the magistrate answered on the second ring.

"Yes, Ramon?"

"Magistrate Jonathan, what’s the meaning of this?" Ramon demanded. "You sold my property to Vance without telling me."

Dane watched his father’s face while Jonathan paused on the other end. "The property was part of an agreement," the magistrate said smoothly. "With Vance."

Ramon’s jaw tightened. "You might have mentioned that before his daughter arrived at my estate with her belongings."

"I assumed Vance had spoken to you," Jonathan replied with a sigh. "Your son was supposed to attend the meeting the morning the property was sold."

Dane rolled the whiskey around his glass. "Here we go."

Jonathan caught the sound. "Dane. You know what this is about. You were warned."

"I missed one meeting," Dane snapped, staring at the phone. "And this was the punishment?"

"The property was the price," Jonathan said. When Ramon asked what for, the magistrate answered without hesitation. "Vance agreed to open the Red Keep Road without bloodshed. That was the condition. You should be thanking him for his graciousness."

The room went quiet. Dane lowered his glass as Jonathan continued through the speaker. "His men could have been holding that road for months. Vance wanted something substantial in return for opening it peacefully. The property was offered by the district."

"You had no right to dispose of my property without informing me," Ramon said, but Jonathan countered immediately that the deeds were legally transferred. Ramon looked toward Dane, who gave him a small shrug. There wasn’t much either of them could do about it now.

"Your son was absent when the agreement was discussed," Jonathan added. "This was the consequence. A mild one at that. You know it could have been much worse."

"So you sold my father’s property because I didn’t show up?" Dane asked, frowning. "And Vance gets the house for his daughter to stalk me."

"Vance got the property. What he does with it is his business."

Dane looked toward the curtains covering the windows, catching the faint glow through the gap from across the street. "Apparently not."

Jonathan ignored the remark. "Consider the matter settled."

"We’ll discuss this again," Ramon warned, his voice hardening, but Jonathan shut him down flatly. "No, Ramon. We won’t."

The line went dead. Dane stared at the phone while his father lowered it slowly. "That’s one way to avoid an argument."

"He’s lucky he hung up," Dane muttered, taking another drink.

Ramon gave him a sharp look. "You weren’t going to threaten a magistrate."

"I wasn’t."

"You were thinking about it."

Dane said nothing, leaving the silence heavy between them. Destiny watched him quietly from the sofa as Ramon slipped his phone into his pocket and finally took the armchair opposite her. Dane remained standing, his eyes drifting back toward the windows. Aurora had traveled from Silvercrest, arrived in BloodMoon, and somehow ended up owning the one property in the city that would make his life absolute hell.

His father’s phone rang again, shattering the quiet. Ramon checked the screen. "It’s Sonia." He answered with a quick, "Yes, my love?" listening for a moment before glancing at Dane. "She’s downstairs."

A few seconds later, Sonia walked into the living room with Hannah trailing behind her. Sonia took one look at their expressions and paused. "Why does everyone look like someone died?"

"Nothing that dramatic," Dane said, though Ramon’s flat look said otherwise.

"Aurora bought the property across from us," Ramon told her.

Sonia stopped in her tracks. "She did what?"

"Exactly," Dane said, picking up the bottle to top up his glass while Hannah stared in disbelief, asking when it had happened. "Tonight."

"How?" Sonia asked, looking between Dane and Ramon.

"Jonathan transferred it to Vance as part of the Red Keep Road agreement," Ramon explained.

Hannah’s expression shifted as the pieces clicked into place. "So that’s why your father looked like he wanted to kill someone when he came to the stables."

Ramon ignored her comment while Sonia walked farther into the room. "And Aurora just happens to end up there? What are they planning now?"

Dane gave a short, bitter laugh. He had been asking himself the same damn question. "Nothing about Aurora is accidental."

Before Sonia could respond, her own phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket, glanced at the screen, and murmured, "Seth. What do you want?"

Dane stopped with the glass halfway to his mouth. Sonia answered, listening to the caller for a brief moment. "Tonight? All right. I’ll tell him." She ended the call and met Dane’s eyes as he lowered his glass.

"What does he want?" Dane asked.

"He’s coming over."

"Of course he is," Dane muttered, staring at her.

Hannah frowned, looking between them. "What? Seth knows Aurora is here?"

"Not yet," Sonia said, shaking her head.

Dane looked toward the ceiling. "I can’t believe any of this shit is happening."

"It is," Hannah added with a small smile. "Seth is coming. Aurora is already here."

"And then he’ll have some reason he suddenly needs to stay here," Dane said, setting his glass down.

Hannah laughed softly. "Ah, great. We’re going to have lots of drama coming up. It’ll be very entertaining."

Ramon shot her a stern look. "Don’t make jokes about this. It is serious. This isn’t something we can afford to handle carelessly."

Hannah’s smile disappeared immediately. "Sorry."

Ramon leaned forward in his chair. "This is both a personal problem and a political one."

Dane scoffed. "Don’t tell me you’re scared of a little spoiled Princess brat."

"I’m not scared of Aurora. I’m concerned about you," Ramon said, keeping his eyes locked on his son. "You know what she’s capable of when she doesn’t get what she wants."

Dane looked away, unable to refute it. Sonia moved toward the sofa and sat beside Destiny, addressing Dane directly. "Your father is right. We have to play this smart."

"Smart? She followed me across the packs and bought the house opposite mine," Dane said. "How smart do you want me to be?"

"Smart enough not to give her anything she can use. Don’t confront her in public. Don’t threaten her. Don’t let her bait you into doing something that gives Vance a reason to get involved. If she wants to make this ugly, let her be the one who makes it ugly."

Dane considered her words. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but he couldn’t find much wrong with the logic. Beside Sonia, Destiny shifted. She had been quiet for most of the conversation, a silence Sonia quickly noticed. "You’ve got something to say?"

Destiny looked up, appearing unsure for a second before shaking her head. "No."

Sonia studied her face warmly. "It seems the world can’t let you breathe in peace. But don’t worry about that. You’re one of us now, Destiny. We protect our own." She reached over and squeezed Destiny’s hand.

Destiny looked down at their joined hands, then back at Sonia. "Thank you."

"She means it," Dane added, walking over to the sofa and resting a reassuring hand on Destiny’s shoulder. "You don’t have to deal with any of this alone. If Aurora wants a problem with me, she can come to me. But I will keep you safe from her antics."

Ramon nodded once in approval. "That’s exactly how it should be."

Destiny looked up at Ramon and Dane caught the surprised look on her face. "Thank you, sir."

Sonia smiled, breaking the tension slightly. "Don’t thank us yet. You haven’t met the rest of this family when there’s a real crisis."

Destiny laughed softly, and Dane shook his head. "She isn’t wrong."

As the room settled back into silence, Dane glanced out the window again toward the lights still burning in Aurora’s new house across the boulevard. His phone vibrated against the sideboard behind him. He picked it up to find a brief message from Seth: On my way.

Dane stared at the screen, letting out a heavy breath. He hadn’t even made it through one night. He flipped the phone face down on the wood.

"Fuck."