Graham literally shook his head at that unlikely answer. He didn’t say anything, though, as he and everyone else followed Elijah out of the room.
Elijah raced through the longhouse to the front door, his long, alpha legs chewing up more ground than any of his council members. Graham hurried to keep abreast of him. As they walked out, an unfamiliar truck, old and looking as if it were being kept going with bailing wire and chewing gum, pulled into the parking lot. Any sigmas working outside the building had fled the area, understanding that unless the alpha gave the all-clear, they had to assume that danger had arrived at their doorstep. It was hard to get a good look at who was inside the vehicle. All he could tell was that there were two and their size alone told him they were, indeed, servients.
A sigma climbed out of the driver’s side of the truck, confirming half of what Draco had said. This guy was a young shifter, his clothing not much more than tatters, his longish blond hair tucked behind his ears in messy tangles. He approached Elijah with trepidation, gaze down, steps slow, yet he didn’t falter. A few feet away from the alpha, he dropped to his knees and tilted his head to expose his neck. A tremor ran through him, a clear sign of his fear that Elijah would accept the invitation and rip out his throat.
“Who are you and why have you come to my packlands?” Elijah’s tone was stern but not menacing.
The sigma swallowed hard before lowering his chin and answering. “My name is Blake, sir. I’m from a…a pack south of here. I seek sanctuary for my brother. And myself,” he added in a lower voice. “If you please.”
Elijah stared at the sigma for a few seconds before flicking his gaze at the truck. “Your brother is an omega.” It was more a confirmation than a question. Draco wouldn’t have made a mistake about what he’d seen.
“Yes, sir.”
“And breeding.”
“Yes, sir.” The sigma’s voice trembled.
“Where is his mate?”
Yeah, that was the million-dollar question, as the humans might say. Graham was keen to know the answer himself. Even as he waited for it, he couldn’t help staring at the truck, trying to get a clear look at the omega.
“Dead, sir. Long dead.”
The dominants around them, who had remained silent so far, went even quieter than they had been. A widowed omega running around with a sigma made no sense. Whatever had happened to the omega’s mate, his alpha would have picked out a new one for him quickly. Any alpha would to hold onto the omega and the pup. As modern as their own pack was, no one would have ever dreamed of a situation like this. It was insane on the face of it.
Elijha took a step forward. “Stand up.”
The sigma—Blake—did as commanded. His fear was a palpable thing.
“Look at me.”
Slowly, the sigma complied again, but he blinked hard at the effort to stare Elijah in the eye.
“What the fuck is a sigma doing running around with a breeding and mateless omega?” The alpha’s voice was calm because the guy never used his status to frighten servients. But he couldn’t keep his shock and incredulity from his tone.
To his credit, Blake didn’t step away or drop to his knees again. Instead, he straightened and did his best to look directly at Elijah. “He’s my brother, sir. I killed his mate because he was brutalizing him. I knew my life was forfeited because of it, but if we’d stayed, our alpha would have given my brother to someone equally cruel. I couldn’t allow that.” He took a deep breath. “I understand if you won’t give me sanctuary, but please take my brother in. It’s nearly time for him to whelp.”
Elijah muttered some very creative curses before turning to Graham. “Go get the boy.”
Graham didn’t hesitate to comply. He’d run into a circle of fire if his alpha told him to. Fetching the omega from the truck was easy. He slowed his pace as he approached the truck so he wouldn’t frighten the poor boy. When he opened the door, he caught a glimpse of pale beauty, then nearly doubled over and clutched the truck’s frame. There was suddenly no more air in his lungs and it felt as if he’d been kicked in both his head and his balls at the same time.
Graham straightened on a wheeze and held out his hand. “Come,” was all he managed to say.
There was a brief hesitation before a small hand clasped his.Warm. Smooth. Soft. There was nothing more coherent going through his head until his brain kicked into gear, reminding him the boy needed help getting down from the high cab. He wrapped his free hand around the omega’s waist as much as the swollen belly would permit and set the omega on the ground. It was only then that he allowed himself to take a better look. The omega was just as breathtaking as he’d been with the first glance, small, slender and dressed with nicer clothes than his brother. The omega’s hair was also long and blond, but it was braided back in a neat tail. The boy stared at the ground. His trembling reverberated through the hand Graham still held.
“You are safe,” he said softly, desperate to ease the omega’s fear.
Graham’s wolf, meanwhile, was going batshit crazy beneath his skin. All kinds of possessive feelings coursed through him. He wanted to shift into his muzzle to better inhale the boy’s scent and confirm what his human nose already knew—this omega had no living mate. Which meant he was available for him to…No. Not going there.It was hard to ignore those base wolf’s urges and reengage his beta brain into what had to be done.
“Come on. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He tugged gently on the boy’s hand and walked him over to where Elijah and the others remained.
Every pair of eyes was on them. Graham kept his concentration on the boy, keeping his strides short and slow to match the omega’s steps. Not only was the kid short, as his kind tended to be, but the enormous belly containing the pup obviously made walking harder. This omega was ready to pop.
“That’s it. Almost there. What’s your name?” Graham nearly smacked his forehead. It really wasn’t his place to ask any questions.
“Tripp, sir.”
Graham couldn’t keep the smile back. “That’s a nice name for an omega.”
