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I shook my head. The pain was bad now, worse than it had been in days. Sweat poured from my brow, and I wiped it away with my shoulder. My hands were behind my back, making balancing that much more difficult.
“Beckett, take my pack,” he said, and he handed off his pack to the other alpha. He picked up a medium-size stick and handed it to me. “Can you use this as a crutch if I take the cuffs off?”
“You’re giving him a weapon?” Beckett asked.
Beckett. That name sounded vaguely familiar. Had Pol mentioned him? No. Because if my mate knew him, wouldn’t the opposite be true?
“He is injured, and it’s three against one. He isn’t going to use it on me, are you?”
I shook my head. Like I would be able to even if I wanted to.
“Innocent until proven guilty, Beckett. Remember that.”
With that, the alpha removed the cuffs and handed me the crutch, then he put my arm around his shoulder and helped me walk through the forest.
Chapter 14
Pol
I expected that Morgan had pulled a lot of strings to get me in to see Silas. I owed him for that. For so many things, really. This would just go on the ever-growing list.
Once we learned that Silas had been arrested, Morgan called Armand right away. We were lucky that we got a hold of Steelwick right away when they’d found Silas. Had I gone back to the cave to find him missing, I wasn’t sure what I’d have done. Probably track and attack. Then my mate and I would’ve been sharing a cell, but unlike him, I’d be guilty.
I had to return to my job, so I wasn’t able to listen to the conversation that Morgan had. If there had been a way to skip out, I would have. But I’d been scheduled to meet with an abused omega teen for the first time. They had been let down in their short life too many times already. I would never forgive myself if I contributed to that.
Morgan came and found me as soon as my session was over. He had worked some magic, and now Thomas and I were driving to Steelwick to see Silas. I hated that I wasn’t there for him already, while at the same time it hadn’t been his former pride’s Alpha who found him. If it had, I would be visiting him in a grave.
Morgan couldn’t go with me because he needed to be home with his mate and children and to oversee the rest of the pride. There had been a few new omegas scheduled to arrive, and we couldn’t let my situation make theirs any worse. I got that. It was a choice I’d have made, as well.
That he was able to get this visitation was a miracle. Despite me not deserving it, Morgan had forgiven me completely for my deception when I first found my mate. Lying to my Forerunner was never something I thought I’d do, and if I had a chance to do it over, I may have made different choices. But there was no going back. What was done was done.
My pride had managed to cover my duties and arranged for me to have an additional day off. Thomas was with me too and that meant we were leaving our pride shorthanded and overworked. It was less than ideal, but I didn’t see a way around it.
It didn’t sit right with me that they were sacrificing so much for me, and I decided I would make it up to them by giving them each one of my days off. It wasn’t the same, but it was a gesture, and that was all I had to offer them at the moment.
I had to get my mate home safe, and the rest would need to wait. I knew that he was innocent, and I needed to be at his side. It was what mates did.
“So you found your mate, huh?” Thomas asked as he was driving, since I didn’t trust myself behind the wheel at that moment.
“Yeah. I did. And even though it doesn’t look like it from where most people are sitting, he’s amazing. Fate shined favorably upon me in the mate department. That’s for sure,” I said.
“That makes me the last one standing.” He turned on the blinker and pulled into the passing lane. “And he’s your mate. Of course he is amazing.”
I appreciated that he trusted me and believed fully that my alpha had nothing to do with Nathan’s injuries. It would be easy to see the omega’s broken body and assume the worst. I couldn’t say in a different position that I wouldn’t.
“Thanks. Those words mean more than you can know,” I said. “And I’m sorry you got sucked into all of this. And when it’s time, your mate will come. I thought I’d be the last one standing and look how that turned out.” Criminal charges aside, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. And even with them, it was still as messed up as that sounded.
“Don’t be sorry about anything,” he replied. He gave me a small smile. “It’s important for us to meet our mates if that is what we want. That was something you wanted, right?”
I shrugged. “I definitely didn’t hate the idea. Silas… he just feels right.” It was hard to explain. I wasn’t sure anyone would’ve been able to help me understand before I experienced it myself. “You’ll find your mate someday, Thomas. Assuming you want that also.” He was the one omega in Asilo who always seemed ambivalent to finding a mate.
“Perhaps.” He made a weird face I didn’t understand. “I rarely leave the territory, and how many alphas can we possibly have stumble on the place?”
“When you meet my mate, you can ask him the odds. I’m fairly sure Asilo odds are greater than most.” They had been in recent years. “Fate will bring you to your mate,” I said, this time with more confidence.
“I know,” he agreed. “I just wish that fate would hurry a little bit.”
So… not ambivalent. Interesting.
