Orion froze. Kami wouldn’t have realized it. She wouldn’t have been inclined to tattle or anything else. It didn’t mean she hadn’t heard something very important. If they could prove motive, then they could prove their mother had violated the prenuptial agreement. That meant the lawyers could start attacking Tisha Olivares-King’s claim to the company and the inheritance from a whole new angle. Just because you couldn’t convict someone of wrongdoing in a criminal court didn’t mean you couldn’t slam them in civil court.
“Orion, are you going to be my prince charming?”
What? Orion stared down at the woman currently draped over his lap and realized that something very bad was happening here. Alaina Ariosa was drunk. Pretty damned drunk if the smell of her ninety proof breath was any indicator. And suddenly Orion was beginning to think that the woman was about to go all melancholy and depressed on him.
Oh. Oh! Shit. She was crying. Damn it all to hell. Orion wasn’t one of those guys who could pretend to care about feelings and shit. He was a guy. Okay, so maybe he might care about some feelings, but right now the only thing he could make out of Alaina’s garbled sobs had something to do with how unfair it was that she was broke and that her daughter’s in-laws had run off to Italy to have a party without even offering to take Alaina along.
“Yeah. That’s really too bad for you,” Orion mumbled as he struggled to disentangle himself from Alaina’s grip. “I’m sorry. I really am. But I think I need to go now.”
“No! You can’t leave me! I’ll kill myself if I have to be alone!” Alaina sobbed.
Orion felt like the best option at this point was to leap up and just leave. The woman could do what she wanted. And yet this was Eleni’s mother. If for some reason the crazy spoiled brat actually went through with her stupid threats, it would be devastating to Eleni. Orion could not allow that. So he was left to dig his phone from his pocket and sent a text begging Eleni to come and help.
Chapter Twelve
Eleni pulled her tiny car into her mother’s driveway right beside Orion’s truck. She could not imagine what sort of disaster awaited her inside that house. But for some reason it didn’t feel nearly as awful to go in there because she wasn’t alone. Orion was in there. Between the two of them, Eleni had faith that they could somehow manage to get this situation sorted.
There was no point in knocking on the front door. Eleni could actually hear her mother’s wailing from out on the front porch. Taking a deep breath, Eleni pushed the front door open and slipped into the foyer.
The house was dim, but the candlelight was responsible for that. There were candles on every flat surface and candle wax puddling everywhere. Cleaning up this mess was going to be a horrendous undertaking, and of course Eleni had no doubt that the task would be left to her. There was no way in hell her mother was going to be able to keep this house if she could not, at this point, manage to even pay the utilities or purchase food for herself.
For some reason, when Eleni entered the house this time she happened to glance over at the little alcove near the double front entry where the architect had left space for coat racks and such. Strangely enough, this space was utterly packed full of boxes. Eleni paused just briefly to peer at the mess. The boxes looked as though they were new and ready to be sent. Most were still awaiting tape and were filled with home goods or clothing. There were even a few shoeboxes.
Was Alaina Ariosa selling her stuff? Was she actually that cognizant of her financial situation that she was finally doing something to help herself? That was good. Right?
Then Eleni heard her mother’s dramatic wailing and whatever moment of admiration she had experienced for her mother was totally gone. Alaina was draped across Orion’s lap. She had her face buried against his chest and she looked as though she was actually in the middle of attempting a seduction that had gone awry when the seductress had somehow started sobbing uncontrollably.
“Hey there.” Eleni had to press her lips together to keep herself from laughing outright when she saw the expression of total desperation on Orion’s face. “I see you’re trying your hand at being a therapist.”
“Yeah. That’s me. Super sensitive and all that shit.” Orion held out his hands. It wasn’t easy considering Alaina was actually half hanging off his arms. “Can you please give me a hand?”
Eleni wrinkled her nose at him. Then she swirled her hand around in a vague gesture that ended in a thumbs up. “I think you’re doing just great.”
“No. I’m not. Can you help get her off my lap, please?”
“Lap. Geez. I don’t know. She’s awfully comfy.”
Orion’s warning grunt was actually kind of cute. Eleni reminded herself that the only reason he had come over here and attempted some kind of contact with her mother was to try and get information about his mother. That was kind of crappy, really.
With a gigantic sigh Eleni grabbed her mother’s arm and started tugging. “Come on, Mom. Let’s get you up. Are you ready to go to bed?”
“No!” Alaina wailed at the top of her lungs. “It’s so lonely up there! Don’t make me go upstairs. You’re such a mean daughter. I’ve always hated you, Eleni. Did you know that? Embry was the good one. Embry was my baby! She was the only one I cared about. And now she’s gooooonnnneee!”
The last word was almost unintelligible with the amount of whining and wailing and the gnashing of teeth. There was something so utterly ridiculous about a grown woman throwing a tantrum not unlike a toddler denied their favorite toy.
“I think she’s been sleeping down here.” Orion jerked his chin toward the second sofa.
Eleni took note of the rumpled pillows and blankets on the sofa. Not only that, but there were also about a dozen or so empty bottles of liquor peeking out from underneath the sofa’s stylish fringe. It appeared the Alaina had been burying her sorrows in the bottom of a bottle she was then stashing on the floor underneath her makeshift sofa bed. Classy. Really classy.
“Here, Mom,” Eleni urged. “Let’s get you onto the couch. All right? We’ll get you nice and comfy and you can have a little nap. That’s all. We won’t leave you.”
“I’m going to marry Orion King,” Alaina announced as she let Eleni tug her up off Orion’s lap. “He’s so cute. Isn’t he cute, Eleni?” Then Alaina snorted and made a horrid noise in the back of her throat. “What would you know about that kind of thing? You’re so repressed and prudish you probably wouldn’t even know how to please a guy like Orion! At least I can please a man.”
“Yeah. Lots of them, Mom.” Eleni was beyond disgusted with her mother. She levered her weight against her mother’s and practically flung the older woman onto the sofa.
Alaina bounced once and flopped onto her back. She gave a whoop and a laugh like a child. Apparently her melancholy mood was gone. “I’m going to kill myself if Orion doesn’t marry me! Kill myself!” Or not. Hmm. She sang the words as though they were a threat mixed with some ridiculous promise or something equally disturbing. What was really going on with the woman? It was bad and she probably needed some sort of professional help. Eleni couldn’t stop herself from muttering that thought as she took in her mother’s ridiculous situation.
Orion heaved himself off the sofa and looked ready to bolt. “Maybe that’s our next move,” he suggested suddenly. “We have her committed.”
“Good idea,” Eleni agreed.
Fortunately for them, Alaina was asleep before they even finished discussing the possibility. With her face pressed into a pillow and one arm hanging over the edge of the sofa, Alaina began to snore loud enough to bring down the house.
“What about the candles?” Orion gestured to all of the light around the room. “Did they actually turn off the electricity on her?”
“Yes. I found that out the other night when I dropped her off here.” Eleni walked toward the fireplace and began the task of blowing out candles. “I don’t know what her financial situation is. I know that her last boyfriend left a few weeks ago. One can assume that he was
the one paying the utility bill while he was here.”
Orion blew out a few candles in the front hallway. “The house is owned, right?”
“Yes.” Eleni put both hands on either side of a countertop and leaned over to softly blow out a huge pillar candle. “Actually. I can’t really answer that. It was owned. When my father passed away there was nothing owed on the house. But since my mother has been going through so much money I don’t know if she mortgaged it or not. I suppose it’s possible.”
Orion bobbed his head. The sight of him in this dim half light offered by the candles was almost more flattering that she would have imagined possible. The shadows painted his body and set off the proud tilt of his head while emphasizing the confident way that he carried himself. He was such a handsome man. Not just good looking but strong. And right now Eleni did not have time to stand around wondering why that was so attractive to her. Strength. Strength of character and strength of purpose.
“Are you really a wolf?” The words slipped out before Eleni could bite them back. “It’s not that I’m trying to call you a liar. I promise. I’m just—I guess it’s just such a fanciful notion.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. Then he gestured to the stairs. “Should we go up to make certain there are no more candles burning up there?”
“Oh? Right. Yes.”
Eleni followed his silent movements up the wide sweeping staircase. Her mind was occupied with thinking about the whole shifter thing. Was he angry that she had brought it up again? Was that wrong? Did he just not want to talk about it? Maybe he regretted telling her anything. She could understand that.
So distracted by her thoughts about Orion King, Eleni did not realize the mess she was traveling through until her toe caught on something and she nearly pitched forward. Orion caught her at the last second to keep her from pitching back down the stairs headfirst.
“Thank you!” Eleni gasped. Then she looked down. “I can’t imagine what’s going on with all this stuff!”
Orion paused on the first landing where the staircase took an abrupt turn to the right as it led to the second floor of the enormous house. “Is your mother a hoarder?”
“You know I wouldn’t have said so. I mean, she likes stuff. Right? But new stuff. She doesn’t collect it.”
A piece of paper caught Eleni’s eye. It seemed to be taped to the top of a stack of what appeared to be fluffy bathroom towels. Eleni picked it up. It was too dark to read, but she pulled out her phone to use the display to fix that. What she saw gave her pause.
“What is it?” Orion leaned over her shoulder. “Wait a second. Isn’t that an Ebay receipt?”
“It looks like it.” Eleni tilted her head to one side and looked at the listing. “But it looks like my mother is the seller.” She thought about the stack of boxes in the alcove downstairs. “Holy cow, that’s what she was doing with all of the stuff she was getting from Orville’s!”
“Selling it?” Orion gave a snort of laughter. “I have to give her credit.” He picked up the towels and looked them over. “This is an expensive brand. What are these bath sheets? A hundred dollars a pop?”
“I think close to one-fifty,” Eleni whispered in awe. “It says here she got a hundred dollars plus shipping for each one. They’re just waiting for shipment.”
“Don’t you have to ship in order to release the funds from the sale?”
“Yes.” Eleni looked around. The stairs were literally peppered with items needing to be shipped. “These all look recent.”
“How can you tell?”
“Only because I’ve been with her in the last month when she acquired this stuff from Orville’s.” Eleni bit her lip. “As much as I hate to say it, this stuff has to be shipped. This is how my mother can at least pay her utility bill. Right?”
“Right.” Orion frowned down at her. “Really?”
“What other choice do I have?” Eleni asked helplessly. “I definitely don’t want my mother moving in with me. If she gets desperate, she will show up on my doorstep.”
“Okay. You realize that it’s just a few days before Christmas, right? Do you have any idea what the post office is going to be like?”
“I’ll go online and ship so that they come to the house and pick it all up at the same time.” That was sounding better and better all the time. “It’s doable. Then she can pay her bills.”
“Are you sure that she will?” Orion sounded skeptical.
“No. I’m not sure of anything anymore.”
Was there any certainty in life? Sometimes Eleni felt like she couldn’t count on anything. And then suddenly she saw Orion take a step back on the landing. He stared at her for a moment. Eleni could not decide what was happening. Suddenly it was almost as if the edges of his outline began to grow fuzzy. It was a bit like looking at a picture or a hologram or something that wasn’t quite tangible.
And then he began to change.
Eleni gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. She dropped her phone. The light it offered was abruptly gone. There was only a little bit of candlelight still coming from downstairs. The shadows were deep, but they did not hide the way that Orion’s body changed. He bent nearly double, his back legs changing shape even as huge claws sprouted from the ends of his feet. His arms lengthened. They grew claws as well. Triangular-shaped ears replaced the well-shaped ears on either side of his head. His whole body sprouted fur. It was hard to tell what color it might be in the dark, but the deep charcoal color seemed to capture and hold all of the light in the room until there was almost an absence of it around Orion’s new body.
“Oh my God,” Eleni breathed.
She could absolutely see where the Bigfoot Wolf rumors had originated if Zane and Gemini were anything close to the size of Orion. This was not a wolf. He was bear-sized, if wolves came in Grizzly Bear sizes. His fur was thick, and the way it grew around his neck made her long to plunge her fingers into the thick softness.
For just a moment Eleni and the wolf named Orion stared at one another. Then he gave a low, soft whine. The sound alleviated the tension. It was so odd to even imagine that what amounted to a wolf’s sound could possibly be humanizing and yet it was.
The giant beast reached out with its cold nose and very lightly nudged Eleni’s hand. She took the hint for what it was. Stretching out her fingers, she carefully stroked the top of the animal’s head. The fur was incredibly soft. Unable to resist, Eleni put both hands on the beast’s neck. She buried her fingers in the thick ruff and petted the animal as though it were her personal pet. Maybe it was. Maybe that was what Orion was trying to show her. Not only had his story just become unbelievably real, he had just made himself far more personable than he ever was in his human form.
Kneeling beside him, Eleni stroked and whispered to the wolf. The creature’s dark eyes were strangely human. She didn’t think it was a trick of the crazy light either. The wolf had human eyes. They were Orion’s eyes.
Eleni did not know what was going to happen. She didn’t know what would become of her mother or even of herself. She knew—just as everyone else did—that Orion’s mother was responsible somehow for the death of his father. The necessity of saving King Security Services, Incorporated was huge. But for now she was satisfied with staying right here in this moment with this unique and enigmatic man who was so much more than a man.
Chapter Thirteen
“She told you what?”
Orion sighed. He didn’t like the note of irritation in Devon’s voice. Sure. The guy was super defensive about his wife, Kami. That much was understandable. But it wasn’t like Orion intended to change into his wolf form and start growling and snarling at the woman.
Fine. Orion would go through it once again. “Last night, Alaina Ariosa told me that there was a huge fight between our mother and Tex Johnson at the office one night. I just wanted to know if Kami had ever heard anything about that or maybe seen the evidence of it. I just want to ask her a few questions. That’s all.” Orion folded his arms over
his chest and rubbed his face. “If it would make you feel better, you ask the questions and I’ll just stand here and listen to the answers.”
They were standing in the kitchen of Devon and Kami’s apartment in downtown Dallas. The building was only a block or two from the King building. In fact, Orion was pretty sure that once upon a time his brother Edward had been living in this building. But that didn’t really matter. The building was nice. There were plenty of windows. And right now the place was decorated for the holidays. There was a tree that looked as though it had actually been decorated by the couple themselves, a novel thing in their mother’s world for sure. But there were other touches that made the place reek of happiness too. Photographs of Kami and Devon. A few fuzzy throws and a book casually set aside. Kami’s laptop sat on the coffee table with a notebook and pen beside it.
Orion’s suite back at their family home was a disaster. He’d had a drunken binge a few weeks ago that had resulted in his destroying most of his furniture. Even though he had cleaned up the mess, he hadn’t replaced anything. He just hadn’t felt the desire or the need. He slept there. That was it. The place reeked of memories and the emotionally diseased presence of their mother. Who cared what kind of furniture he had in his bedroom?
“Kami is taking a nap right now.” Devon folded his arms over his chest. “Are you sure you can trust this woman? It’s Alaina Ariosa, for shit’s sake!”
“Yes. True. But the woman and our mother were still pretty thick when all of that was going on.” That of course referring to the period of time surrounding their father’s murder. “Murder, Devon. I think we need to start calling it what it is.”
“You’ll never get the coroner to change the death certificate,” Devon argued. He sliced his hand through the air. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get something like that through the coroner’s office? A change from accidental death to homicide? Especially since there’s absolutely no proof and even if there were to be an exhumation and another autopsy you know there would be no evidence.”
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