It smells like home.
Moving extra slow, I turn and push the door shut behind me, careful not to let it click. Then I release the doorknob and step off the porch.
The mountains in the distance cut across the night sky. Stars twinkle above them, and the moon shines. I picture my mother looking up at the same moon right now. Has her blackeye faded? Is her lip busted? Burke always smacks her in the mouth when she says anything to defend us.
After a beating, my mother and I would sit in the bathroom together, cleaning each others’ cuts. It sounds so deranged, but I miss those quiet moments. They brought me so much peace after such violent chaos. But now my mother has no one to care for her. No one to clean her cuts or kiss her bruises.
She needs me.
I make up my mind and take a step.
What’s one more impulsive decision?
In Bed
Killian
The thumpof heavy footsteps wakes me. It sounds like Tristan. The alpha doesn't normally wander around at night, but he’s been restless. We all are.
I honestly didn’t expect that having an omega would be this hard.But I’m sure it’s even harder on her.
Needing to feel Beth’s soft skin against me, I roll and reach out, but all I find is the omega’s pillow. It’s cool to the touch. Worried, I sit and turn on the lamp right as my bedroom door opens.
“Beth?” I hold my breath, praying it’s her.
“It’s just me.” Tristan pops his head in. “I was coming to check on her.”
A cautious tension builds in my gut and I slip out of bed. “She’s not in bed.” I make my way to the bathroom, trying not to panic. But it’s dark and empty.
“I caught her downstairs,” Tristan says as he marches to the omega’s nest. “I sent her back to bed.” He presses the panel on the wall and it swings open, but the second I see his face, I know she’s not there. “What the hell?” He spins, checking every corner of the room.
“Wake up everyone,” I order the alpha as I grab my jeans off the floor. “Have Jeremy search the house, while you and Basil check the perimeter.”
“She has that tracker on.” Tristan reminds me before rushing out of the room.
“Thank god.” I grab my cell phone off the bedside table, thrilled that Jeremy forced me to download the app.
My hands shake, squeezing my phone hard, as I barrel down the stairs and out the front door. The wooden porch is rough against my bare feet, then shifting to soft grass as I make a beeline into the nearby trees. It takes the app way too fucking long to load, but when it does, I find that I’m going in the wrong direction.
Fuck!
Running through the trees, I drill down all my senses, trying to pick up Beth’s sugary sweet aroma, but instead of vanilla, I catch the faint musk of an unknown alpha.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
The word repeats in my head as I run. A silent promise to do whatever I have to do to protect my omega.
Glancing down at my phone, I watch the little blue dot flash, then move. She’s moving fast. Much faster than an omega should.
“Where is she?” Basil appears at my side, pumping his arms and legs at a blinding speed. The alpha is in a pair of briefs and nothing else, and he smells like Jeremy’s sweet cum.
“This way.” I angle my body, sprinting past a downed tree, then over a sizable creek.
The softest sound of an omega’s whimper hits my ears and rage bursts in my chest. Basil picks up his speed, zeroing in on movement in the distance. I see a flash of dark eyes and two massive bodies. Both alphas.
Thankfully, Basil has one hell of a lead on me. I see him catch up with the pair, then slam shoulder first into the nearest alpha. The unknown fucker falls, but Basil doesn’t stop. He’s back on his feet and running head first after the next asshole.
The downed alpha groans, then begins to move. I should probably stop him, but I can’t abandon Beth. She’s the only thing that matters.
