"Yeah but I don't have all the feral energy you alphas do. That's all. And I can't access the bonds as deeply as you guys can." He shakes his head as my eyes narrow. "Doesn't matter right now."
"You always matter," Jarek growls, grabbing his jaw and standing over him too. Our scents mingle and mix, a perfect combination to ensure our beta feels thoroughly owned by his alphas.
"When we get home, nobody is leaving the nest for a fucking month. I need—I fucking needallof you," I choke out, struggling past the emotion building in my throat.
"Yes, Alpha," Silas whispers, still bent back and looking up at me with so much love. A breeze of sorrow flits through the bond between the three of us, his words reminding us of our omega.
With our mate on his knees between us, Jarek and I lock eyes. The love I have for this man. "Jarek..." I swallow. "I don't know how to express how much I appreciate you working so tirelessly to get through to Vivie. Fuck I don't?—"
Jay's free hand wraps around the back of my neck and pulls me forward until our foreheads are pressed together. "I'll do anything for this pack, Alpha. Thank you for pushing me to figure out how strong I can be for us."
Guilt has been festering in my gut since Vivian went missing and it's only grown. Watching Jarek turn himself inside out to reach our mate has been horrific. I don't want to even imagine what he's experienced. He's thrown up, had multiple panicattacks, zoned out for minutes at a time. I don't want to know and that makes me selfish.Ishould be the one suffering. Not Jarek, not Vivian. "If I could have?—"
"You would have," Jarek and Silas say at the same time.
We glance down at Silas and I swear we both soften. Unable to hold myself up anymore, I kneel behind Silas and wrap my arms around him. Jarek follows suit and wraps both of us in a hug. Silas buries his face in Jay's throat, taking big inhales just like I'm doing with him.
"Thank you for being our rock, my love," I murmur into Silas' neck and press a lingering kiss there. "I love you both so fucking much."
Oh fuck. I can't cry right now. We have a battle ahead of us to rescue our omega. We might not be qualified to do any damage, but nothing will stand in the way of us and Vivie. I'll rip my own arm off and throw it at a threat if I must.
"I can't lose you," Jarek croaks, strong arms tightening around us.
Silas nods in understanding. "We stick together. Vivian will need all three of us. No running off and doing reckless shit."
That promise will be the hardest for me to uphold but I must. I have to stick to it. Nothing is worse than losing a bonded mate. It has taken everything for the three of us not to shatter, and that's only because we know she's alive. If one of us were to die tonight, the rest are at risk of serious repercussions. The death of a bond is a pain nobody has been able to describe due to its immense ability to tear the living to shreds and tarnish their will to live.
"Together," I agree, kissing Silas' temple then pressing my lips to Jarek's.
"Together," my alpha agrees with our beta too.
This is it. We're doing this together.
Thirty-Seven
Vivian
This is it. I can feel my pack. They're so close.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
Once again, Riot's annoying as hell. I'm about to put my ass on the line for us, and he has the audacity to glare at me with his arms crossed and hips cocked.
Doing a double take, I swallow the urge to snort at him. He looks like me when I'm exceptionally sassy and needy. If I laugh, he'll demand to know why, and I just don't think he would want to hear that he looks like an exact replica of a pouty omega with an attitude problem.
He's been sour since I told him to shut the fuck up a little while ago. I surprised myself with that one too, but I think he's more upset about the fact that he didn't have a comeback.
Am I resorting to sassy Vivie mode to avoid what's coming for me? Yes. Do I care? No. Because I'm hoping I get my ass kicked so hard I can distract the guard from locking the door.
If he locks it, I have a backup plan anyway. At least I think I do. It's just a bunch of theories that I'm hoping pan out. If they don't, I fear my pack is going to storm in here and get themselves hurt.
If I can rescue myself and Riot, then all my men need to do is drive us the hell out of here. My thought process is simple which isn't a good thing. Mainly because I don't have any other information to fill it with.
I could get Riot in on my plan, but I'm too anxious to talk. It could be because I'm afraid if I say something to him he'll get upset again. Every time we talk, something upsets one of us. I'd rather not be butthurt before actually getting my ass hurt.
"Vivian," he hisses. "For real, you're stressing me out."
Rolling my eyes discreetly, I continue bouncing on the balls of my feet. I'm amped up and ready to fucking go. My omega is a flurry of wild energy in my chest, but I've worked out how to twist it into something a bit more feral. Gonna piss off some big dumb alphas and get the fuck out of here.
