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As the bus pulled away from the depot, a guard finally emerged. Our eyes met, and I recognized him as one of my own. He nodded ever so slightly before yelling something out and turning around. Relief flooded me so intensely my head spun. A small chuckle in front of me had me glancing over at Niko, who looked just as pleased.
“Guess they overestimated their men,” he said in a barely there whisper. We all nodded as we watched the treeline until it disappeared from sight. With any luck, by the time they figured out how we’d traveled, we’d be long gone. In the days to come, whatever we could manage with cash, be it trains, buses, or cabs, would be our plan.
We were the only ones on the bus as it crawled through the dark countryside. Avi and Levi fell asleep somewhere around the second hour of our trip. They needed the rest, and Niko and I could survive on switching off. I knew I wouldn't be able to settle until we were far from home and somewhere safe.
"We should arrive early tomorrow," Niko said softly as he read his ticket, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.
"Perfect. Hopefully, we can rest before moving on."
"We will," he said confidently. I was glad he had so much faith in his contact because I was far less inclined to trust.
"What do you think is going on with Levi?" Niko asked as he glanced down at the sleeping omega. He looked peaceful now, and his magic had calmed significantly. Niko’s hands lightly ran through his copper hair, worry and love on his face. They were a great pair, having already been mates when they met us. Somehow, all four of us fell into a friendship, and years of working so closely had only solidified that bond. But neither Avi nor I had the same connection with Levi that Niko did. We looked at the omega as a brother, one of our closest friends, but there was no romantic or sexual spark there, and that meant something was missing. For us to truly be a coven, bound in all the ways that mattered most, we needed a shared center. We’d mentioned wanting an omega for our group before, but it was nothing more than a pipe dream. Something that I wouldn't let myself consider while our focus had to remain on the university and the Arch Mage. Now even more so. How could we keep an omega safe if we were on the run, never settling in one place? Levi was different in that regard, he’d trained alongside us and had more experience than most omegas, even males, had.
"I don't know," I said gently, knowing how much the omega meant to him. "But he's powerful and has always had a bit of a knack for predicting when we're making the right kind of moves. I think this was him reassuring us this was what needed to happen."
Niko frowned, turning to the window for a moment. I thought that was the end of our conversation, but when he turned back, he gave a heavy sigh.
"I don't think the Arch Mage is dead."
I laughed, the sound hollow and dark. "I don't either. And one day when he catches up to us, I intend to let him know how I feel about this bullshit. There will bepain."
“You think it was only him? Or did you notice how unaffected the board was as well?”
“There are too many pawns to be certain.” I sighed, glancing out at the night as I gathered my thoughts. “But they were certainly eager to throw us to our fate. If they weren’t directly involved, then they were offered something worthwhile enough to convince them to let it happen.”
“We’ll have to keep an eye on news out of the university. But any previous emails, contacts, all of it needs to be wiped. We get phones before we move on again. I don’t want to risk it.”
“Agreed,” I said. “It’s not like anyone else matters anymore.”
He glazed at the sleeping beta and omega and nodded in agreement. “We’re on our own, but we’re a strong coven. We knew we’d stick together when that part of our lives was over. Our timeline just got forcefully adjusted.”
“Maybe I should be thankful. Life was getting boring anyway,” I joked.
“I could have done with a bit less deceit, but that’s just me,” he teased back. But even as he joked, I could tell the betrayal had hit him deeply as well. The Arch Mage especially. We'd had talks about him in the past. The Arch Mage was a powerful witch, but he had too many secrets. No Arch Mage made his bedroom off-limits or kept obvious secrets. They were an open book, at least to their personal guard and advisors—that should have been our first clue that something was wrong. The spell closing it off was stronger than he should be capable of. We'd entered his main quarters, but never his room. Between that, his public executions, and the way others blindly followed him, we chose to keep a wary eye on our boss. We'd have left on our own before too long if this had not happened.
"It's going to work out," Niko said. "Maybe we'll find her."
The elusive 'her' that he always talked about. Some magical omega who would turn our lives upside down and fill the empty hole between us. Despite us being as close as brothers, this one the one thing I could never buy into. Niko and Levi's mystery girl bullshit was a nice dream, sure, but this girl... if she existed... didn't belong to us. We were bodyguards, and our life was not one for an omega woman to live. She deserved to be a queen, and omega females were far too soft and submissive for this life. I couldn’t do that to someone; it wouldn't be right.
"Things are changing," Levi mumbled like he could read my thoughts even in his half-asleep state. I couldn’t argue with his sentiment, but while they dreamed of impossible dreams, I'd remain vigilant, ready to keep us safe when our past came back for us... because italwaysdid.
4
Farren
"Welcome to the Mountainview Hotel. Do you have a reservation?" I asked cheerfully, my cheeks nearly aching from all the damn smiling I’d done today. This was the fifth check-in I'd done in the last thirty minutes. We were busier than I'd ever seen, likely because of the nice weather we’d had the last few weeks. West had even gotten up to help because there were too many guests for me to handle alone.
"Of course I do," the guy answered, a judgmental look on his face as he scanned the room, sparing me none of his attention.Strike one, dude. Don’t be a dick if you want me to go the extra mile.
‘I can just burn him,’Zehra offered.
‘That’s frowned upon. Sadly,’I shot back, not letting my fake smile falter. At this point in my life, I was an expert at keeping my conversations from affecting my facial expressions. Good thing, too, because Zehra wasn’t a quiet companion.
"Okay, great," I said with a bit less enthusiasm. "I'm going to need the reservation number and your ID." His eyes finally met mine, and I could already feel this going south. Of course, West had just gone upstairs to collect the luggage carts and bring them back down, so I was on my own. The human man gave off a dangerous vibe, the air soured by his raging anger. I’d say it was an off day for him if his companion didn’t look like she wished she could be anywhere else.
"I don't see why you need my ID," he huffed, slamming it down on the counter like I’d personally affronted him.Strike two for the inability to follow simple directions.This man was a walking red flag.
‘Burning him is still on the table,’Zehra reminded me, but this time I ignored her.
