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We’d known, thanks to Jude, that there was a male omega inside the compound, but we didn’t have much info on him since Jude’s duty was to protect the female omega.
Even still, seeing a male omega in person was a little jarring. There were hardly any left, and this one looked… Fuck, he looked like shit. Bruises and cuts covered his pale skin. His shoulders were hunched forward, the bones jutting out at sharp angles beneath a yellow shirt that had holes burned into it. Holes the size of a cigarette. His gaze was haunted and resigned, even as his perfume soured with terror.
A low growl rumbled from my chest as rage turned my blood molten.
Logan dropped to the ground in a flash, his forehead to the dirty floor and arms stretched above his head as his ass lifted in the air. An omega presenting out of absolute fear. Like he’d given up and was just going to accept whatever we did next.
My stomach twisted.
Bowen made a distressed sound and knelt beside Logan. Oak looked ready to punch his way out of the damn building.
“Omega whore,” the old crone hissed.
With a snarl, Oakley spun and stalked to her. His body vibrated with rage, enough that it finally seemed to penetrate her thick head and she paled a bit in fear.
“Shut your filthy mouth, or I will,” he warned, glaring down at her hard enough that she snapped her mouth shut and stared at the ground.
Without a word, Oakley spun on his heel and came back. When he was within a few feet of Logan, the omega started crying. Big, fat tears that dropped onto the floor.
Oak shot me a look of pure ache before stepping back and softly adding, “No one’s going to hurt you, Logan.”
But Logan still didn’t look up. Couldn’t look up.
Bowen shot us both a look. “Back up, guys. Let him breathe.” He gently laid a hand on Logan’s back, speaking in low, soothing tones.
I edged away, my spine stiff as my shoulder bumped Oakley’s. His dark, furious eyes met mine. “Why the fuck didn’t we come here sooner?”
All I could do was shrug, the same helpless feeling welling in my gut. The soul deep knowledge that I’d failed an omega I might’ve been able to protect sooner was going to eat at me for a long time to come.
“We need to brief the local hospital. Let them know we have…” I looked around the room again. At the skeletal frames and huddled, sobbing people. “Let them know they need all hands on deck. Trauma, psych, emergency… These people have been neglected for a long damn time.”
Oak gave a terse nod and stalked away to talk to another one of his guys as Silas crashed into the room from the back door. His eyes found me, and my stomach sank.
At the start of the mission, I’d turned off the part of me that let me feel the bonds of my pack. It was critical as their leader to only react on facts and what I could see versus being slammed by their emotions and worrying about the calls I had to make.
I flipped the switch back and the onslaught almost dragged me to my knees.
Rhett was close to losing his shit. He was frantic and almost frenzied, which only meant one thing.
I tapped into my bond with Jude and hissed at the weak tug I felt back. The sharp edge of pain sliding along the link that tethered us together. He’d been hurt.
Kellan was last, but he seemed… not calm, but not as volatile as usual. I yanked at the bond between us, not sure what to think when he gave me the pack bond equivalent of a casual, fuck off, I’m good.
“Jude was shot,” Silas informed me.
My head snapped up, finding Oakley as he listened in. He gave a jerk of his head. “Go. I’ll handle all this and the director. We’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“How bad?” I demanded, rushing from the building. I paused at the top of the stairs to see a line of flashing lights coming over the far ridge as the rest of the cavalry rode in. Blinking lights from above indicated more incoming helicopters. Probably news crews, too.
Fuck.
“Shoulder, but it looks like it may have clipped an artery. Lost a lot of blood,” Silas answered, keeping pace as I broke into a sprint for the front gate we’d blown wide the fuck open. Several buildings were on fire around us, but there were no people. It was an eerie juxtaposition.
“Ellis?” I snapped, biting back a snarl when I realized all the helicopters were gone. There’d been two. Who the fuck had taken the second?
“Gone,” Silas bit out, looking pissed. “Things got complicated after the armory exploded and Jude was shot. Ellis and most of his Shepherds slipped out in the chaos. Just fucking disappeared. But we shot one—DOA—and wounded Ellis.”
“Good,” I snarled, turning for the nearest SUV. Fuck waiting. The hospital was almost an hour away, but I could make it in under forty if I wanted.
