The Mating Heat(33)

Their inheritance had never been theirs after all. Everything belonged to Ryder. She felt cheated for herself, but panicked for her brother.
Kara’s heart thudded harder. “Then there is nothing here to sell. You own nothing.”
“Not a damned acre.” He looked at her solemnly. “I’m all right, though. I’ll survive.”
Her mate came into the room, holding a sweetener packet she’d seen in her father’s office. “Damn that stuff is strong. Just a taste and my mouth went numb.”
“What stuff?” she asked.
“I went to move the bowl of sweetener on Alastair’s desk and noticed something odd. The packets had been opened and resealed. No one ever bothered looking because he was the alpha and that was his desk.”
Stunned, she stared as her mate ripped open a small blue envelope and spilled out the white substance onto the cocktail table.
“Put a little on your tongue,” he told Aiden. “But not much.”
Her brother did so and blinked hard. “Shit. That’s not sweetener.”
“Illegal drugs. He was hiding it in the packets. Always wondered why Alastair kept all that sweetener on his desk. Used it right before he beat the shit out of me. I left everything in his office alone for you to go through. And now that you’re here, Aiden, I needed to find out what it was.”
Ryder licked his lips. “No wonder the old man went batshit. He was on some lab-created crap that made his system go haywire.”
Aiden swore. “A local Lupine physician gave him pills after my mom died, to help him get through the pain of losing her. He must have gotten addicted, and moved on to something else.”
The granite cocktail table cracked beneath her brother’s smashing fist. “Son of a bitch! Dad knew Lupines can’t handle drugs, especially the shit that gets Skins high. Why did he do it?”
“Maybe he was desperate. Losing control. Every day he struggled to function after losing Mom because he missed her terribly. He probably took the drugs to dull his grief. And then it got too late.” Kara struggled with grief. “That’s why he’d have those horrible mood swings. He’d be calm and peaceful and happy, and perfectly reasonable, and then turn into…”
“A monster.” Ryder tensed, every muscle clenching as if he tried holding back his rage. “It’s why he was so easy for me to take down. He was stoned.”
“No. There’s another reason, Ryder.” She gestured for him to join her on the sofa. Kara squeezed her mate’s hand. “Tell him, Aiden.”
Her brother took a deep breath and revealed what he'd found. Her mate’s eyes widened.
Grief tightened her throat as she remembered all Ryder had suffered at her father’s hands. “You are a true alpha, Ryder, not an omega like Dad said. It’s in your nature to rule. That’s why you always rebelled against my father and why he always punished you. He was desperate to remain in power. But no matter how much he put you down, you came back up fighting.”
She struggled to keep her voice even. “The ranch is yours. When the pack discovers the property legally belonged to your family all along, you’ll have no problem gaining their loyalty. You don’t need me for that.”
“Huh.” He kissed her cheek. “I need you, sweeting, more than ever. I told you, titles are no good in this pack anymore. Other than the only one I’ll allow. Yours. You’re queen of the pack. Ruler of my heart. My mate.”
Aiden grinned. “Spare me the sappiness.” Then his smile dropped. “Legally, the ranch belongs to you. The trust is in your name.”
Her mate’s expression tightened. “Won’t do me any good without an official death certificate. We never told authorities about Alastair’s death. That leaves everything in limbo.”
Aiden frowned. “At least you’ll have the gold to restore the ranch to full working order.”
Kara sighed. “There is no gold. I looked in the trunk Dad kept hidden. All that’s there are photos.”
“If it ever was here.” Aiden ran a hand through his dark hair. “Always thought Dad bragged about a myth. He said he had stored gold for us if we ever needed it, but we had to be damn desperate to sell it.”
Her heart sank to her stomach. “Aiden, you’re going to lose everything you’ve worked so hard to build. All the Lupines you took into your pack will be homeless.”
“Hey.” Aiden framed her face with his large hands. “Listen to me, sis. I love you. Don’t you dare worry about me. You love him, with all your heart, enough to stay here and make this place your home again?”