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Damien wraps his arms around Valley, and she goes with him willingly, body relaxing in his hold. He leads her downstairs, the both of them whispering back and forth as they disappear. Syn, River, and I are quiet as they descend the stairs, lost in our own thoughts.
The longer I think about Ripley being trapped in Victor’s clutches, the angrier I become until it’s festering inside of me. My mind whirls with all the horrible things he could be doing to her. Not being able to feel her to even get an idea is driving me to the verge of madness. A low growl vibrates in my chest, fighting to come out as my primal instincts urge me to destroy everything in my path in my search to find her.
I want to rip Victor Travis’ head from his body, to twist and twist until it pops off and I can throw it as far as the eye can see. Rage is boiling, nearly overflowing out of me and pouring from me in waves.
River sucks in a breath, head bowing down as he whimpers as my alpha rage washes over him. His knees buckle and Syn wraps an arm around his waist to hold him up, turning to glare at me when she has him steady.
“Tone it the fuck down, Nic,” she growls at me.
“I can’t!” I growl back.
“You can and you will. We need you to have a clear head, which means taking that anger inside of you and turning it into something useful so we can get our omega,” she bites out, nostrils flaring.
I have to swallow the next growl down and close my eyes, breathing in deeply to calm myself. She’s right, and I know it, but as an alpha, to know my omega is this close to danger is sending all of my primal instincts into overdrive. To not know where she is so I can protect her. It’s terrifying.
“How the fuck did he get into that ceremony to begin with?” I grunt out.
“I have an answer for that. I spoke with Khan a few months back because I was obviously concerned about him being let in. He told me multiple times that under no circumstances was Victor Travis on those grounds, to which I assured him that he was there, and I saw him with my own eyes. He told me it was impossible, but that he would investigate it. Several weeks later, he called me back, apologizing profusely. Apparently, a couple of the security guards there that night knew Victor and let him in under another alpha’s name that hadn’t been able to attend. His reach is getting farther. I just don’t know why he’s so hell bent on getting Ripley.”
I curse, pacing as I wrap my hands behind my head.
“Do we know where he could have her?” River asks Syn.
There’s a tremble in his voice that sets me on edge and my teeth grinding together as I try to rein in my temper. I don’t want my omega to be afraid of me going off the rails, but fuck, is it hard to get my anger in check while Ripley is out there going through Gods knows what.
Deep breaths in, cleansing breaths out, I chant to myself over and over until I feel okay enough to listen.
“I’ve checked off all most every place I know about. The police checked every address I gave them and said there were no signs of him or her. Except one. I just got a call from my assistant that found one I must have missed, and I’d bet everything in my bank account that’s where he has her,” Syn says, gray eyes blazing.
River is quiet for a moment, and I don’t trust myself enough to speak right now. I don’t want to upset any of my pack mates or my omega with the vitriol I can feel wanting to spew from my mouth. None of it aimed at any of them, but because they’re the closest to me, they’d be the ones to get it. I won’t do that to them.
Finally, River nods almost resolutely to himself, straightening his spine. There’s a newfound self-assuredness shining in those chocolate depths of his which fills me with a bit of pride and love.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get our shit together and go get my woman. I want our omega home as soon as possible.”
River stalks out of the nest, not even looking back to make sure we’re following. In his mind, his word is law, and right now, I’m inclined to agree.
Time to hit the ground running and bring our girl home. She’s already been missing for too long. It’s time to bring her back and should anyone get in the way of that, I hope they enjoy their blood on the outside because I’m going to eviscerate anyone that stands in the way of me and my omega.
Thirty-Six
Ripley
A dainty hand shakes me, and I groan. My eyes burn and it feels like I’d only just fallen asleep five minutes ago. I’m exhausted, and the thought of opening my eyes right now and giving up on the sleep I’m getting sounds like absolute torture.
“Nooo... Leave me alone!” I moan, eyes still closed tightly.
“Ripley, you need to get up,” a soft voice hisses.
My forehead creases as I try to decipher who that voice belongs to through the brain fog. Sleep is clinging to every cell inside of me, not wanting to let go. I’m also clinging to it, so it’s not like it’s completely one-sided.
The shaking keeps on until I finally slit my eyes open just enough to see the one waking me up. Cozy is the first thing I see as she sits on her knees at my side, hands outstretched, to continue shaking me awake. She frowns down at me, nibbling on her bottom lip anxiously, eyes flickering back and forth between the door and me.
“You need to get up. He’s back earlier than I expected,” she whispers urgently.
“Huh?” I mumble as I blink up at her blearily, trying to make sense of her words in my head.
Just as I’m sitting up, the doorknob rattles as it turns and the door swings open. I swallow tightly, a lump stuck in my throat as Victor stands there with a smug smile on his lips as he steps into the room, not even bothering to close the door behind him. As he walks toward us, I take stock of my injuries. My arm is sore, and a large bruise has already fully formed on my right bicep. My throat feels raw and bruised as well, so it hurts to swallow. The split on my lip stings when my lips twitch and the area he slapped me feels tender, slightly swollen. The rest of me just feels sore and cramped from sleeping on the floor of a cage, snuggled to another omega. I’m alive, though, and I can still move, so I can be grateful for that at least.
