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The bedroom and bathroom were both empty. She had clearly been in the kitchen because one of the jars that Kane put the oats in was empty and sitting by the sink. I checked the sunroom and the den, but still no luck—my nose wasn’t leading me to her, either.
Frowning, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. If I couldn’t find her, I could just track her movements on the cameras. After spending hours updating and ensuring they were top of the line, I could track every little thing in our house.
I could see her in the kitchen about an hour ago, leaning against the counter while she ate her overnight oats straight from the jar, at one point pausing to add some chocolate chips from the cupboard. No matter how many fruits and toppings Theo added, she always added some chocolate. It made me smile as I watched her disappear back into her room, and come out dressed, with a jacket on. Had she gone to see the ducks? I switched over to the outside security cameras. Sure enough there she was, crouched by the water, playing with those ducklings Kane had acquired for her.
Watching with a smile I started walking back to my room to grab a shirt and some shoes to join her, watching my phone screen the entire time. I had just made it to the top floor landing when I noticed a second figure entering the screen. Rouche. I would recognise that bastard anywhere. The terror that gripped me when I saw them exchange words, Lavender doing her best to back away, and Rouche pulling out a tranquilliser gun and shooting Lavender in the leg, gently bundling her up into his arms as she clearly swayed and stumbled under the effects of the drugs.
Despite the time stamp on the footage indicating this happened over an hour ago, I ran out to the grounds, shirt be damned. The pond was desolate, even the ducks had gone into hiding. Lavender’s scent was still clinging to the plants. The scent of her terror and panic, that dark, burnt floral sweetness that burnt the back of my throat as I drank it in. Frantically dialling Kane I put my phone to my ear, shaking violently with both panic and rage.
The second the dial tone indicated that Kane had picked up, I didn’t even wait for him to say hello.
“Lavender’s been taken,” I panted.
“What?!” He snapped.
“Rouche, that asshole came and drugged her while I was asleep, I was fucking asleep Kane!”
“We will be back in ten, no five minutes. Where’s Theo? He should be there! Check the cameras.” I did just that, following Theo from the moment he left his bedroom. He went to the kitchen and added fresh berries to the oats he had let soak overnight, ensuring they were ready for Lavender when she woke up. He even prepared a baggy of oats and peas for Lavender to take to the pond later. He knew her routine so well. We all got a great sense of pleasure at looking after Lavender, predicting her needs and meeting them pre-emptively. Her joy and happiness were like a drug.
I watched in horror on the camera as Theo looked up from what he was doing, as if he heard something. He moved through the house, searching for the source of the sound. When he came through the hallways and poked his head outside the front door he was met by Rouche, holding a weapon, possibly another tranq gun? I fucking prayed it was a tranquilliser. Theo didn’t stand a chance.
Rouche dragged him into a bush off screen, so Ifollowed the path, finding Theo passed out. I knelt, checking his pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when I found it to be weak but steady. I gently shook him, trying to wake him up. He was breathing, which was good. After a few moments of shaking he started to stir, groaning.
“Lavender?” he asked in a deep, lethargic voice. He dragged open eyes that were hazed with the effects of the drug. “Lav?” he asked again.
“Theo? Wake up.”
As I shook my friend awake an SUV came barreling up the path to the front of the house. Kane was out of the passenger side before the car came to a full stop, seeing his packmates and rushing towards us.
“Is he okay?” Kane asked, kneeling by us, his eyes raking over Theo’s groggy form.
“I think so, just a little out of it,” I confirmed. “Did you see the footage?”
“We watched it in the car,” Gage confirmed, jogging over.
“It’s that fucker Rouche, isn’t it?” I could have sworn it was him.
“That was definitely Rouche,” Gage growled, looking thunderous. “I knew something was off when he turned up here with no warning the other day. He seemed too keen on the scent he picked up.”
“How did a beta manage to get onto our lands and kidnap our omega?” Kane asked with a growl.
“Ouromega?” I asked, grinning despite the situation. Kane seemed fully accepting of Lavender’s place with us.
“Yes, our omega. Rouche needs to die for this,” he snarled.
“He still lives in the same house he grew up in,” Gage confirmed.
“Let’s go get our girl,” Kane growled.
ChapterForty-Three
Lavender
Why does it feel like I’ve been hit by a truck?
My head throbbed while my body felt heavy and sore. A sharp piercing pain radiated behind my eyeballs when I tried to open them, even the dim light was too bright. This wasn’t the first time I had found myself in such a situation, but my recollection was hazy and I didn’t recall being this uncomfortable last time.
I turned over, my bare arms scraping across a scratchy fabric I lay on. Where was my jacket? I could have sworn I was wearing one.
