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I fled the scene, racing to Storm’s house, where I called the cops and they finally arrested him for his crimes against us. I had foolishly thought that would be the end of him. Never in a million years did I think he would get released from jail. Or that he would come here.
My actions had put Riley right into his crosshairs. I had done this.
Guilt swamped me. This was all my fault. Everything. If only I hadn’t tried to stand up to him, just gotten my mother out of the room instead of trying to defend us, she would still be alive and my father would be in our old home. He never would have met Riley, stalked her, and taken her.
I had done this.
My breaths sawed in and out of my chest. Sweat beaded on my palms, making them clammy, and my heart was racing. My ears were ringing, and it felt like my brain filled with static. What had I done?
Through blurry eyes, I looked around the house, the one that smelled so strongly of my pack. I heard a sob and it took me several seconds to realize it was coming from me. Tears poured from my eyes and dripped down onto my legs. I peered down at myself, shocked to find I was in only my underwear. Where were my clothes?
“Shit.”
I heard someone speak, but I didn’t know who it was. Suddenly, someone hoisted me up and deposited me onto a hard lap. Muscular arms banded around my middle, securing me to the body behind me. I tried to crane my neck to see who it was, but the person dipped their head into my neck, rubbing along my glands.
“Ryan, look at me.”
My unfocused gaze looked forward to where my alpha, Victor, was crouched down in front of me. I knew the only reason I could listen to his command was because he had threaded a bit of his bark into it. From the corner of my eye, I saw Storm’s terror-stricken face, and it was like a sucker punch to my chest. I tried to suck in air, but my throat felt too small.
I caused my best friend, my Storm, my firefly, to lose her mate. Me.
“Ryan!” Victor tried once again, this time using his full alpha bark.
My eyes snapped to him.
“Ryan Jerome Birmingham, listen up and listen well. You arenotresponsible for what just happened. Your father’s actions are not yours. You have done nothing wrong. Do you understand me?”
I understood what he was saying, but it wasn’t true. I shook my head. Of course, it was my fault. It all went back to me and my attempt at standing up to my father. If I had just taken the abuse, if I had just let him go, Riley would never have been on his radar because he would never have moved here after getting out of jail.
“Ryan, I can hear your brain whirring, trying to make you the responsible party for your father. You are not and never will be that. Your father made his own choices. Poor choices, I might add. You did notmakehim do anything. Especially not what happened today. Okay?”
My voice cracked and, barely above a whisper, I murmured, “If I hadn’t sent him to jail, he would never have moved here. He never would have met Riley.”
“You don’t know that!” Storm rushed to my side and turned my head to face hers. “If you hadn’t called the police, I would have. I almost did so many times, but I knew if your mother didn’t press charges, there was no way they would arrest him. If he hadn’t killed her that night, he would have done it the next night, or the next week. He was getting worse and worse every day. It was only a matter of time until he would have killed you, too.”
“Ryan, she’s telling you the truth. We have seen our share of violent alphas and he was following their footsteps like a blueprint. Calling the police on him and getting him arrested was the right thing to do.”
“But he got out. He came here. He took our Riley.”
“Something in him isn’t right. If it hadn’t been Riley, it would have just been another omega. At least we can track her. We have a hope of finding her. But we need you to let go of this idea that you are responsible for his actions in any way. You are not your father. You are a much better man. I promise you that.”
I sniffled and looked into the gaze of my alpha. Nothing but truth shone from his eyes. He meant every word he was saying to me. I turned my neck to see Storm’s face, and she still looked scared, but I realized it was forme. She was worried about me. Declan, I couldn’t see, but I felt his arms tighten around me and the way he continued to cover my neck in his scent. He wanted me to know he was there for me, too. That he didn’t think this was my doing either.
Taking in my pack around me, the care they had for me, their words, my panic finally subsided. My breathing slowed down, my heart stopped pounding, and my pulse calmed. I took several stuttering breaths and closed my eyes to focus. When I opened them, I met Victor’s intense stare.
“Let’s go get our girl,” I said.
Chapter44
Victor
Ihad never felt terror like I was feeling right now. I kept it tamped down while talking Ryan out of his spiraling panic attack. Now that we were getting ready to go find Riley, though, it was building back up. However, the strongest emotion I was feeling was rage.
Knowing Alpha Brown had crashed into our vehicle and could have severely injured or killed either of our omegas, I wanted to destroy him. I wanted to strangle the life right out of him for daring to touch my girls. My omegas.
Declan and I borrowed some of Dell’s clothing and soon all four of us were running out to the damaged Hummer. Seeing that damage, my heart stuttered in my chest. We could have lost them today. I jumped in the driver’s seat, trying to ignore the blood I saw smeared around. It was just another reminder of how bad this could have been.
Ryan and Storm climbed into the back, and Declan hopped into the passenger seat beside me. Before the doors had even shut, I was tearing out of the driveway and down the road.
