The Gift

The Gift
Cyrus
It took four months, three totaled trucks, one casino riot, and Raven nearly starting a cross-continent pack dispute after she bit off somebody's ear, but we got them.
Fifty-two wolves came through the gates of Thane's estate in chains.
They had started the trip with expensive clothes, expensive watches, expensive shoes, and the kind of confidence males developed after spending most of their lives believing rank would protect them from consequences. Four months had corrected some misconceptions.
Now they shuffled across the courtyard linked wrist to wrist and ankle to ankle. Several were barefoot because their shoes hadn't survived the journey. One limped from an escape attempt in Nebraska. Another had a badly healed nose that whistled every time he breathed. The male four places behind him had one eye swollen shut and had been complaining about it for six days as though either Raven or I cared.
We did not.
Most hadn't slept properly in days. That was difficult when you were chained in the back of a truck beside fifty-one other assholes, and Raven spent part of the night sharpening knives against the tailgate.
She claimed the sound helped her sleep.
It did not help them.
Personally, I thought they looked fantastic.
Raven walked beside the line with one end of the transport chain looped around her hand. A male near the middle stumbled and nearly took two others down with him.
“Keep your feet.”
“My ankle is broken.”
“Then this is excellent physical therapy.”
He found a way to continue.
The guards at the main gate had been watching us approach for long enough that one of them already had his hand on his radio when we reached them.
“What the hell is this?”
“Work.”
He counted for several seconds.
“Cyrus.”
“Very successful work.”
Raven held up the folder Tyler had sent us. “They're expected.”
That got the gates open.
We brought the entire line into the main courtyard.
Whatever had been happening there stopped.
Patrol wolves interrupted conversations. A pair of guards coming off rotation remained beside the training path. Someone farther back swore loudly enough that I appreciated the effort.
Fifty-two chained males had that effect.
Some had been Alphas.
Some Betas.
Most had wives, daughters, sisters, mothers, and enough familiarity with female wolves to understand perfectly well that buying access to a trafficked one was rape.
They had paid anyway.
Repeatedly.
That was why they were here.
One idiot made a run for it before Thane even came outside.
He managed two steps.
Raven planted her boot behind his knee, and gravel met his face.
“Seriously?”
He groaned.
“We have been doing this for four months. You waited until we were standing in the Alpha of Alphas' courtyard?”
“I panicked.”
“I can tell.”
She hauled him upright by the chain.
The front doors opened.
Thane came outside.
I hadn't seen him in person since Raven and I left on this little continental tour, although we'd exchanged enough messages for him to remain painfully aware that I was alive.
He hadn't changed much.
Same enormous bastard.
Same quiet way of arriving somewhere and making everyone else suddenly remember how much noise they were producing.
The estate had changed, though. I couldn't put my finger on one specific thing. Maybe it was the pups' toys I could see near one of the doors. Maybe it was the guards who no longer carried themselves like they expected an attack every time the wind changed.
Whatever it was, the place felt lived in.
Thane came down the steps and took in the prisoners.
Recognition traveled down the line faster than any announcement could have.
A male near the front lost all the color in his face.
Another started crying.
The third dropped directly onto his knees.
“I didn't know who she was.”
Raven opened her folder.
“Oh, you knew plenty.”
The male's crying got worse.
Thane continued taking inventory until he reached me.
“How many?”
“Fifty-two.”
“There were more on Tyler's list.”
“Correct.”
“What happened to them?”
“Travel complications.”
Raven lifted one hand. “Hi. I'm complications.”
One of the younger guards made the mistake of laughing.
Thane ignored him.
“I have not heard from either of you in almost four months.”
“You missed me.”
“No.”
“You know I'm your favorite brother.”
“You are not my brother.”
“You don't know that. We have established that my mother's personal life was complicated.”
He gave me the exact amount of patience I deserved.
“Where were you?”
“Everywhere.”
“Cyrus.”
“Several territories, two independent cities, a casino, a warehouse district that smelled like piss, and one absolutely terrible motel where Raven threatened to kill the manager over the towels.”
“They were damp.”
“They were towels.”
“They were damp before we used them.”
That was fair.
Thane motioned toward the prisoners. “Why are they here?”
I reached inside my jacket and pulled out the copy Tyler had printed for us before we left.
“Remember Tyler getting into the old financial records?”
“Yes.”
“He found more than money.”
That changed the courtyard.
Several wolves close enough to hear us stopped pretending they weren't listening.
I opened the file.
“The ring kept client records. Dates, payments, requests, repeat purchases, preferred omegas. More detail than anyone with a conscience would ever want.”
Thane's attention returned to the chained males.
Raven came beside me and tapped one page.
“We didn't bring everyone who appeared once. Some records weren't complete enough to establish exactly what happened, and some names are still being verified.”
I indicated the line.
“These are the ones we could prove came back.”
The male kneeling in the gravel began shaking.
Thane spoke quietly. “Repeat buyers.”
“Yep.”
“How many times?”
“That varies.”
Raven flipped several pages.
“Some twice. Some considerably more.”
One of the prisoners whispered a prayer.
That seemed late.
I spread my arms toward our months of work.
“Anyway. Congratulations on whatever day it is.”
Thane didn't acknowledge me.
“You brought fifty-two wolves here because they repeatedly paid to rape my mate.”
Nobody in the courtyard made a sound.
There were times when Thane yelling was preferable.
This was one of them.
A prisoner near the back fainted.
Raven checked him with the toe of her boot.
“Still alive.”
“Thank the Fates,” I said. “I'd hate for him to miss orientation.”
The front door opened again.
Ayla came outside.
I hadn't seen her in four months either.
She had been carrying the younger of the twins when we left, and apparently Thane had taken our absence as an opportunity to continue his personal campaign against available bedroom space.
I pointed.
“You're pregnant again.”
Thane exhaled like he'd already regretted me returning.
“Yes.”
“You two are going to need another wing.”
Ayla laughed from the steps. “Hello to you too, Cyrus.”
Two small bodies appeared behind her.
I forgot what I was saying.
Tessa and Tarrick came barreling through the doorway with the unstable determination of pups who had recently discovered that legs could be used for speed. One caught a foot badly, stumbled, and took the other down in the process.
A wrestling match began immediately.
I approved.
“Look at them.”
Raven made a noise beside me that was dangerously close to emotional.
I chose not to mention it because I valued my remaining ear.
The prisoners behind us had become irrelevant for approximately five seconds.
Then Tessa noticed them.
Both pups stopped.
Fifty-two chained strangers were considerably more interesting than wrestling.
Thane intercepted the situation immediately.
“Ayla.”
She was already studying the courtyard.
He climbed two steps toward her and kept his voice low enough that most wolves wouldn't hear.
“Take them inside.”
“What's going on?”
“I'll explain.”
Her attention passed over the line once more before returning to him.
Something changed in her face when she understood enough to stop asking in front of them.
“Okay.”
She collected one pup while a guard scooped up the other, and the doors closed behind them a minute later.
I watched until they disappeared.
Raven bumped my shoulder.
“Remember Freckles?”
I groaned. “Unfortunately.”
Week three.
Tyler had sent us to an illegal casino run by a former Alpha who apparently believed retiring from pack leadership also retired him from accountability.
The place was loud, crowded, and decorated by someone with both too much money and no taste.
Raven and I walked through the front door.
Freckles recognized us.
That part still pleased me.
We had never met.
“Leave,” he said.
Raven put both hands on the poker table between them.
For one beautiful second I thought she might negotiate.
Then she flipped it.
Chips scattered everywhere.
Someone screamed.
Freckles ran.
Raven went after him.
He made it across three blackjack tables before she hit him from behind and sent both of them into the floor. I vaulted the bar because somebody had pulled a gun and apparently believed that improved his chances.
It did not.
By the time I reached Raven, she was sitting on Freckles' back while he tried to breathe through a mouthful of carpet.
“You paid for the White Wolf,” she told him.
His eyes went wide.
“That was business.”
Raven punched him.
I crouched nearby. “You should've spent longer considering that answer.”
We eventually chained him to a slot machine.
There were subsequent digestive complications.
Back in Thane's courtyard, Raven sighed happily.
“Great trip.”
“You started a riot.”
“He deserved it.”
“Fair.”
Thane had resumed walking the line.
I stayed where I was.
The first male tried the same defense we'd heard in five states and multiple territories.
“You don't understand.”
Thane stopped in front of him.
“I understand that you knowingly paid for access to a trafficked omega.”
The male's mouth opened.
Thane continued.
“You paid more than once.”
“I didn't know she was—”
“You knew she was trafficked.”
The excuse died there.
Another male started begging before Thane even reached him.
Money.
Property.
Pack information.
Names.
Whatever Thane wanted.
Apparently he had forgotten we already had his name.
Thane faced the entire line.
“You knew enough to understand she could not consent. You knew enough to understand she was being sold. You returned anyway.”
Somewhere beside me, the chain rattled against stone because one male had started shaking too hard to control his hands.
Thane regarded him without sympathy.
“You spent years believing there would never be a cost.”
Raven murmured, “Surprise.”
I covered my mouth.
Thane heard her.
“What exactly did you intend for me to do with them?” Thane asked.
Raven and I exchanged a look. He wants to scare them.
This was a dangerous opportunity.

“I have notes. Several pages.”
Raven brightened. “I have knives.”
Thane closed his eyes briefly.
I took that as permission to continue.
“Isolation has potential. Sleep deprivation is efficient. There was an extensive debate about fingers.”
“Teeth,” Raven added.
“Yes. Raven remains unusually committed to expanding on her dental work skills.”
“I like options.”
"You're terrible at pulling teeth."
One of the prisoners began sobbing loudly.

Thane's attention returned to the line, and whatever humor had existed disappeared from him.
“You will not touch them without my authorization.”
Raven appeared personally wounded.
“What?”
“I need every name, every record, every pack connection, every payment path, and every wolf they can identify before either of you starts entertaining yourselves.”
That was annoyingly sensible.
I sighed. “Fine.”
“After?”
Raven asked the important question.
Thane took his time answering.
“They will answer for what they did and I'm going to enjoy it.
Not enough detail for either of us.
I respected the commitment to suspense.

He addressed the guards.
“Dungeon. Separate them. No communication between cells. Medical assessment before interrogation. Tyler gets copies of every device, document, and identification they carried.”
The guards came forward.
That was when the prisoners truly lost control.
Begging erupted all along the line. One tried throwing himself backward. Another dropped his full weight onto the ground and forced three others to stumble around him. A former Alpha started shouting that Thane had no authority over crimes committed outside his territory.
That one was almost funny.
Thane stopped beside him.
“I am the Alpha of Alphas.”
The male shut up.
The guards began taking them below in groups.
Raven watched our four months of work disappear through the lower entrance.
“I'm going to miss them.”
“No, you're not. Neither am I.”
Once the last chain disappeared, the courtyard recovered its ability to function. Guards returned to their posts. Conversations restarted slowly. Somebody came out with a bucket and began dealing with a suspicious wet spot one of our prisoners had left behind.
I stretched until my shoulders cracked.
Thane remained on the steps.
“Midnight hasn't burned down,” I told him.
“I am aware.”
“Damon's doing well.”
“I am also aware.”
“Amani's pregnant.”
He studied me.
I waited. Then understanding arrived.
“Oh, fuck.”
I grinned.
“There it is.”

Ayla and Thane had relied on Damon and Amani more than once when they needed someone they trusted completely with the twins. A new Bennett pup complicated the arrangement.
Thane's eyes narrowed.
“No.”
“You haven't even heard my proposal.”
“I know your proposal.”
“You need a babysitter.”
“No.”
Raven started laughing.
I put a hand over my heart. “I'm their uncle.”
“You are not.”
“Emotionally.”
“No.”
“Legally adjacent?”
“Still no.”
I pointed toward the house.
“Those pups adore me.”
“They barely know you.”
“That explains why they haven't had time to form incorrect opinions.”
Raven wiped beneath one eye.
“This is going to happen.”
Thane faced her.
“You are supposed to be the responsible one.”
“I am.”
“Then explain to him why he is not babysitting my children.”
Raven considered it.
“I think we should babysit.”
I slapped her hand.
“Fireball!”
Thane stared at both of us like the pit might suddenly seem useful again.
I was enjoying myself enormously.
“We can do this,” I assured him. “I've kept Raven alive for years.”
Raven's amusement disappeared.
“You've kept me alive?”
“Partnership.”
“I have saved your ass at least—”
“Details.”
Thane rubbed his forehead.
I knew that gesture.
Progress.
“You will not take them anywhere.”
“Obviously.”
“No vehicles.”
That one hurt.
“Define vehicle.”
“Cyrus.”
“Fine.”
“No weapons within their reach.”
Raven scoffed. “They're toddlers. Everything is within their reach if they're determined enough.”
Thane's stare found her.
She reconsidered.
“Secure weapons. Got it.”
“No Meatball unsupervised.”
“That feels discriminatory.”
“He hisses at them.”
“He hisses at everyone. That's his love language.”
“No.”
I was beginning to suspect Thane had not fully embraced the fun-uncle concept.
Ayla reappeared in the doorway without the pups.
“What are you three arguing about?”
“Childcare,” Raven said.
Ayla's eyebrows climbed.
Thane immediately pointed at us. “No.”
I pointed back. “You lack faith.”
“I possess evidence.”
Ayla came down the steps, trying very hard not to laugh.
“Actually…”
Thane faced his mate.
That was the moment I knew we had won.
“Ayla.”
“They're good with the twins.”
“They brought fifty-two chained rapists into our courtyard less than twenty minutes ago.”
“And didn't let the twins near them.”
“That is an extremely low standard.”
I nodded. “One we exceeded beautifully.”
Ayla covered her mouth.
Thane knew she was laughing.
His eyes closed for a second.
Raven murmured, “He's breaking.”
“I can see it.”
“I can hear you.”
Ayla reached him and touched his arm.
“We don't need to decide today.”
He immediately relaxed by approximately nothing.
“I have decided.”
“Of course you have.”
She kissed his cheek and went back inside.
I watched her leave, then returned my attention to Thane.
“So what time should we arrive?”
He walked away.
I grinned at Raven.
“That wasn't a no.”
“It was absolutely a no.”
“Temporary no.”
“You're delusional.”
“Fun Uncle Cyrus does not recognize negativity.”
Raven hooked an arm through mine and started toward the house.
“You realize if he actually lets us keep them, you're doing diapers.”
I stopped.
She kept walking.
“Fireball.”
“No.”
“I handled transportation.”
“Diapers.”
“I found twenty-nine of the fifty-two.”
“Diapers.”
“I got stabbed twice.”
She opened the door.
“Diapers.”
I followed her inside, reconsidering several aspects of my future.
The pups would be fine.
Raven knew what she was doing.
Probably.
I knew enough to call Raven if anything smelled strange.
This was going to go exceptionally well.