“But he had their location encrypted on his comm,” I say, mixing my confusion with Sutton’s panic, making our poor omega press herself deep into the cushion between us. “It is okay, Layla. No one will harm you here.” I calm myself and send that calm to her.
“They said that alpha, and others like him, is why they came here. We believe that is why that alpha attacked you,” Kydax tells Sutton and Layla. “The omegas they saw as easy targets were gone, so they started looking elsewhere.”
“What is Strykr doing about all of this?” I ask.
“Regular hunting parties are being sent out. We have already brought in three. We are not sure how many more there are,” Kydax says.
“And what of the other pack? The one I brought back.”
“Strykr did not know what to do with them. He did not know if he could trust them. But he did know that he could not kill them and risk hurting the omegas if they had bonded willingly with them. It would have gone against everything we hold sacred. But those alphas still broke the Accord, claiming them outside of the matching system. So…” Kydax takes a deep breath. “He exiled them.”
A strange relief comes from Layla. “You’re on an escort mission.”
Kydax dips his chin, confirming Layla’s assumption to be true.
I understand Layla’s relief now. Kydax and Ellie-Mae brought humans with them. Human women she can talk to and with whom she can become friends.
“Why escort them? Why not just send them off the way you did with us?” Sutton asks, annoyed and a little offended.
“Strykr wanted another omega to accompany them. There is still a chance that those omegas are not acting of their own free will. We don’t know the kind of things their mates are telling them through the bond. Threatening them? We just don’t know.”
“No one talked?” Layla asks.
Ellie-Mae shakes her head. “That’s the other reason we’re here. Strykr wants you to pick up where I left off.”
“What?! No!” Sutton is on his feet in an instant.
“You will join their pack. Report to the Center if the omegas ever change their story or they show signs of being mistreated,” Kydax continues, ignoring Sutton’s outburst.
“We are our own pack now,” I say in support of Sutton’s concern. I like the life we have built here. I do not wish to risk it, getting involved with the wrong pack of alphas.
“Exactly,” Sutton says, firming his stance. “You kicked us off our home planet, kicked Zayd out of his pack, and we like it here now. What incentive do we have to put ourselves, and especially our omega, at risk of losing the home we’ve found here?”
“If the three of you integrate with their pack, it will provide us with the assurance we need to welcome you back,“ Kydax says.
“But we like it here. We have no interest in moving back to Earth,” Layla says.
“Then, you will have the freedom to visit. You will no longer be exiles,” Kydax offers.
Feeling both Sutton’s and my reluctance to accept, Layla speaks through the bond, “It would be nice to know that we could go back, if we wanted to.”
“I don’t like it. We’ve gotten into a good routine here. Joining a pack to spy? This plan has trouble written all over it,” Sutton says.
“It is our duty to protect omegas,” Kydax chimes in as though he had a tap on our bond. Though his response feels like an intrusion, I am thrilled to see him aim his assertion at Sutton as well as me. Showing that he has, at least in some way, accepted Sutton. “You would only need to monitor them long enough to know that the omegas are as content with their mates as they claim to be.”
When I sense Sutton’s urge to fight, I stroke the bond with a calming purr and tell Kydax, “The best we can do is take some time to consider it.”
Sutton settles beside Layla again, and we spend the remaining daylight hours catching up before Kydax and Ellie-Mae have to say goodbye.
“I hope we get to see you again,” Ellie-Mae says, jutting out her bottom lip.
“You are always welcome to visit us here,” Layla tells her, pulling her in for one last hug.
“It was good to see you, brother,” Kydax grips my hand and pulls my chest to his, slapping his other hand on my back. Pulling away, he shifts his focus to Sutton and says, “Both of you,” as he grips Sutton’s hand and offers him the same brotherly embrace.
“Thanks, man,” Sutton says, choking up a little.
If we never get the approval of our pack back on Earth, I can die happy knowing we earned the approval and have been accepted by my best friend.
