Chapter 92

Sarah POV

GinnyWolf: OMG, a lawsuit? Is this 4 real?

JohnPPPPP: What the hell is Family Justice United Another slavery ring in disguise?

Jane Dayviellers: They’ve done some good work in the past, but they’ve totally lost their minds. How is taking little girls away from their loving family supposed to be a good thing?

KiKiKee: Alpha’s should be raised by alpha’s. You notice the group is all beta’s and gamma’s?

Meee2: ZaneC is too hot for this world. Their just jealous.

SpellingNazi: I notice a lot of wayward apostrophes, KiKiKee.

Rosemary&Sage: Someone srsly needs to talk to the girlz. What do they want?

Jane Dayviellers: They’re five. They want their family.

KiKiKee: Bite me, SN.

RabelRouse: Anyone else want to go on a hunt? I gotta NPO to kill.

“I can’t believe I’m actually getting used to online comments,” I told everyone over breakfast while putting my phone down in disgust. I didn’t usually scroll social media at the table, but circumstances were forcing my rudeness.

Chloe made a face. “They’re lame. Everyone just says the same stupid stuff over and over.”

Grace nodded.

“Did you see the posts about Luna Amelie?” Zane asked. “Someone papped her leaving the property yesterday.”

I picked the phone back up with a frown. A quick search on Instagram brought me to a photo of her driving away at the wheel of a black Mustang convertible, a long red scarf wrapped around her hair and fluttering in the breeze. The caption simply read: Luna Amelie visits Cavendish compound. #SarahAstor #ZaneCavendish # FamilyJusticeUnited

“We’re a compound now?” I murmured, scanning the hundreds of comments that followed, most of which were outraged on Zane’s behalf and reverent toward Luna Amelie.

I checked the time. “All right, girls. Dr. Hayes will be here in a few. Get washed up and ready, and remember that the CPS agent will want to talk to you today.”

“We know,” Chloe said. “We’re to tell them the truth and not worry.”

“And be nice because they’re just doing their job,” Grace said.

“How did we raise such smart daughters?” I asked Zane in astonishment.

He put his hands to his heart. “I don’t know.” He sniffed. “I suppose they take after me.”

“No,” I said. “That’s not it.”

The girls laughed, and Zane and I nodded to each other. We’d get through this. We had to.

The CPS worker was punctual, showing up at the door at 10 a.m. Zane and I met her at the door, which seemed to surprise her. She was an older gamma, perhaps in her late fifties, with gray-black hair she didn’t dye twirled up into a bun and sharp green eyes.

Her smile was kind enough, however, and she offered her hand to both of us for a shake. “Hello, I’m Karen Alderbraugh.”

“It’s nice to meet you. Please come in. Coffee?” I asked as she walked over the threshold.

Hans helped her remove her camel-hair coat, revealing an extremely dull gray suit with a knee-length skirt that showed off sensible shoes and somewhat thick ankles. I had the distinct impression I was looking at someone in a carefully cultivated costume.

But then, Zane and I both had worn formal suits ourselves, mine brown and his dark blue. Perhaps we were all just characters today.

Hans took her coat to the foyer closet while she looked around the entrance. I saw her smile in appreciation of the black-and-white Harlequin tile of the floor and long, slow curve of the staircase to the second floor.

“Yes, that would be great. You have a lovely house, Alpha Zane.”

“Thank you, Miss Alderbraugh.”

“Karen, please.”

“Karen,” I said, “and I’m Sarah. I led us all into the front room, where Hans had already set out the coffee things. I made a little business of pouring the coffee and getting the sugar and milk right before sitting on the settee next to Zane and across the low coffee table from Karen.

“Now,” she began. “You understand this is an informal visit, just a basic assessment of the children’s situation. There has been no court order made or requested. Your attorney, Mr. Landowski said you were more than willing to have CPS visit.”

“That’s correct,” Zane said. “We want to keep this matter from disrupting the girls’ lives, but we’ve no qualms about having their living arrangements inspected.”

“Well, I know that as pack alpha, you have many concerns that—”

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m not sitting here as the pack alpha. I am Grace and Chloe’s father, and Sarah is their goddess-mother. Nothing is more important to me as a father than my children.”

“I see.” She sat there, sipped her coffee, and then shook her head slightly. “But I have to address your status even as their father because there’s a strong possibility this lawsuit for the removal of your children is politically motivated.”

“That has been our assumption,” he said.

“But you made no objection to the involvement of CPS.”

“Correct. The well-being of the pack’s children is paramount. CPS must be given leeway, within reason, to investigate complaints regarding the possibility of an abusive or otherwise inappropriate living environment for any child.”

“So, you’re leading by example?” she asked.

“If you like.”

She finished her coffee. “If I could get a tour of where the girls spend their time?”

I took her to the girls’ bedroom. “They’re sleeping together in here when they don’t want to sleep in my bed.”

“Is that often?” Karen asked.

“More like occasionally. I read to them at night, and sometimes we all just sort of sleep in a pile.”

Karen nodded and looked around the room. “Very nice, and this is their bathroom?”

“Yes.”

“You have servants to clean?”

“Yes, but we ask the girls to pick up after themselves, put their dishes in the sink and their toys back in the box, that sort of thing.”

Karen hummed.

“Grace and Chloe are in the playroom with their summer tutor, Dr. Hayes. Would you like to go there next?”

“I would.”

Zane and I took her to the playroom, which she examined without comment and without interrupting the lesson. Dr. Hayes was doing some sort of experiment with water displacement, and the girls just smiled sweetly at Karen, who smiled back.

After that, we showed her the kitchen, the dining rooms, and the grounds. She asked about the rogue werewolf when we reached the hedge maze, and Zane summarized the incident.

“And the Luna Temple’s acolyte was able to draw on the life strength of all of you?” Karen asked, not hiding that she was impressed.

“Yes. Grace healed herself admirably,” Zane said, not hiding his pride.

On the way back to the villa, she asked about the other places the girls spent their time. I told her about their riding lessons and their love of shopping. Karen waited until we were back in the front room and sitting again before clearing her throat.

“I have to ask about the night of the charity auction,” she said. “The report reads that you had sent the children home before you made the discovery of the captive humans. Is that right?”

Zane and I looked at each other. It was his call.

“No,” he said. “They were there when the discovery was made. When they realized something bad was happening, they screamed for attention. It allowed us to stall their operations and cause a little chaos to keep them from escaping before the authorities arrived.

“So they saw what was going on?” Karen pressed.

“Yes, though they didn’t really understand much of what they witnessed, only that it was ‘adult stuff’ and bad.”

“Because it was sexual?”

“No,” I said. “Because the humans all looked so sad.”

Karen nodded to herself, then looked at us intently. “I thought before coming here this lawsuit might be a political move. Now, I’m sure of it. Whatever happens, Alpha Zane, Sarah, you cannot let this go to trial.”

She stood. “Now, I need to speak to the children.”