AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She grins triumphantly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “I always do.”
“Fair enough,” I admit, a genuine smile spreading across my face. “But don’t think I’ll go down without a fight next time.”
Aisling raises an eyebrow playfully. “Oh, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Oberon.”
Chapter three
Gunnar
Idon’t know how to protect my pack…and it’s driving me slowly insane.
In the past few weeks, things have gotten worse than ever. The Eclipse is up to something, barely talking to the Angels, making plans that are far from ordinary. This new drug is proliferating all over Pacific City, from Echo Beach to Celestial Hills. It’s turned the surrounding desert into a dangerous wasteland, where even the most seasoned criminals are threatened.
And Vance isn’t in touch.
I keep having this dream that he tells me I’m betraying him. It’s just a dream; in reality, he’s the one who’s left me behind. I thought things were bad when he wouldn’t let me into the operation, giving me the shittiest jobs when my dad was his right hand man. Now he wants nothing to do with me.
All because I didn’t want him watching me fuck my mate, because I knew his generosity was all a sick game.
I’m fucking done with it.
I pace the empty living room in our basement apartment, the sound of my boots against the concrete floor a steady beat in the silence. The clock on the wall ticks away seconds that stretch into minutes, each one heavy with anticipation. They should be back any moment now.
Aisling. Oberon. My pack. My responsibility.
“Damn it,” I mutter under my breath, my hand running through my brown hair as I stop by the cold window, gazing out at the lifeless streets below. This city, a chessboard of power and peril, demands more than just strength to survive; it requires cunning and foresight. I’m always looking for ways to keep us out of the action, even while Ais seems to stumble into it headfirst. Every lead is a dead end when it comes to the missing Dreamland omegas, but I did hear one thing that sparked my interest today.
That we might be safer if we get marked—permanently. Not just a bite, but ink.
When I spoke with Luka this afternoon, he mentioned that some packs are getting tatted with specialized ink to protect themselves. It can make the alphas more of a target, but it makes it all the more clear to outsiders that an omega is already claimed. It would mean that maybe, a feral alpha—people we’ve started calling ‘berserkers’ on the street—would be less likely to go after Aisling.
I can’t deny how attractive that is. To have other people know that she’s ours when they first see her…it makes my mouth water.
It’s an easy enough idea – get inked, show strength, ward off predators. But nothing’s ever that simple in Pacific City. A tattoo isn’t just ink here; it’s a statement, a line drawn in the sand, a challenge for some. It would mean forsaking the Angels for good, an organization that raised me, my legacy. Because when you get inked with your mate’s mark, you’re sending a very clear statement: my loyalty is to my own pack, not to my gang.
And yet, it might be the shield we need.
Especially when it seems my gang isn’t interested in doing a goddamn thing for me.
The door creaks open, and they step inside: Aisling with her pale skin and grey eyes, a quiet storm waiting to erupt; Oberon, dark hair, and determined gaze, a man who has seen too much yet stands unbroken. She peels off her hoodie to reveal a black tanktop underneath, and I can picture our pack tat on her pale skin, spreading from her pulse point down to her shoulder.
Why does it make me so apprehensive? Anxious?
I need to get out of my head.
Ais frowns and steps closer to reach out and touch my face. I lean into her embrace, closing my eyes.
Even when she’s gone for a matter of hours, I miss her.
I’m such a lovesick fool.
“Hey,” she says. “You look worried. Everything okay?”
I nod. “Yeah…just got a lot on my mind.”
Oberon glances over his shoulder as he takes off his jacket and hangs it from a hook by the door. “Like what?”
“Heard a rumor some tattoo parlors are trying out more potent pack inks to keep berserk alphas at bay.”
