If only they knew the truth.
Chapter 23
AGELIUS
“Seems like ya lost some of ya pretty looks,” observed Sharkey from where he was seated on a bale of hay, idling chewing on a loose straw as I staggered to my feet, brushing myself off. The shed door had slid shut and I’d heard the rattle of the lock.
“Shut the fuck up,” I snarled. “When are you gonna learn some fucking respect?”
“Well, I ain’t gonna learn it from you, that’s for sure,” he retorted. An ugly expression slid over his face, his lips contorting in a contemptuous smile. “Maybe I’ll learn it from that omega of yours. See how many times he can take me.”
I had my hands around his throat in an instant. “Don’t even think about it, you sadistic prick! He’s off limits.”
He shrugged, “Don’t reckon he’s your omega anymore. Reckon about now the boys might have finished with him. Hard to say though. Benji’s got a lot of stamina.”
“What the fuck?” My hand was still around his neck but I drew back in shock. “No-one’s to touch him. Zarbius gave me exclusive use.”
He grinned at me, broken tooth glinting in the dim light. “Mighta told ‘em Zarbius said the one with the collar was the one to take. Yep, reckon they mighta finished, might be still going. Hope there’ll be some left for me when we get back.”
Blind rage overcame me. My hands tightened until his eyeballs looked like they might pop from their sockets. A sharp pain lanced through my groin and I staggered back as Sharkey brought his leg back down.
He dragged in a choking breath, doubling over with the hacking coughs that shook his body. Then, still bent over, he suddenly barrelled into me, knocking me to the floor and laying into me with his feet and hands. I grunted with each thud of his boney heels in my side and the sharp crack of fist on bone had me crying out in pain. This might have been his plan all along. He resented my presence in the pack, particularly my elevation to second-in-command. Maybe he was even hoping for that position himself, if he managed to kill me while we were off on this jaunt. Perhaps he’d planned to go back to Zarbius with Isca and the money but without me. Or maybe just take the money and disappear.
A young shifter of my age wouldn’t normally present much of a challenge to a hardened creep like this, even if he was a beta, but what he didn’t know was that I wasn’t your average guy. I hadn’t lived a protected life. I might look soft, but that was a combination of genetics and living in a healthy pack environment, with good food and exercise. I sure as hell hadn’t looked this way when I first arrived here. And I hadn’t survived by being meek and mild.
I yanked his leg out from under him and he tumbled down on top of me, punching the air from my lungs as he landed. I flipped him over, trying to get my fist to connect. We rolled around,viciously gouging and landing punches where we could. Fury literally burned in my veins. All I wanted was to get my hands around his throat again, and this time I was going to kill him.
We were evenly matched at first, but as time wore on, his age and my youth began to change the balance. I was supremely fit, with the good food and manual labor I’d been doing for months, and my age… I had stamina and endurance for spades. Sharkey was a lazy-assed bastard, smoked like a chimney and was considerably older. He’d over-estimated himself.
As he began to weaken, I took advantage and flipped us around until I was on top and laying punches into him non-stop. Adrenaline flowed through my veins like red hot lava and my field of vision had narrowed as I laid into this fucking creep who had set my omega up for something unspeakable. The hard crack of knuckles on bone was an outlet for my anguish, again and again and again.
I’d lost all rational thought. The image of my omega being abused like that had completely robbed me of any sensibility, and if the betas hadn’t rushed in from outside right then, I wouldn’t have stopped. Damn it, I didn’twantto stop!
As it was, I didn’t come to my senses until I found myself with my arms pinned behind my back, being dragged off the other man. He was unconscious, moaning softly.
The beta held me while I dragged desperately needed air into my lungs and the other guard checked Sharkey.
“He’ll live,” he said, giving Sharkey a kick in the side.
I tried to shrug off the beta, but he wasn’t having it. “He offered up my omega to his mates,” I snarled, though the adrenaline was wearing off now, and I was starting to feel shaky.
“How do you think Talius feels?” hissed the beta as he gave Sharkey another kick. “Try not to kill each other, okay? I don’t know what story you’ve told Talius, but you better make sure Irian comes back safely or we’re all gonna come for you.” He spat on my feet. “Fucking traitor.”
I flinched. I flicked a glance at Sharkey. He looked unconscious, but he was a snake of a man. He could be faking it, so I said nothing. I hoped we’d be able to clear things up in time. But if we couldn’t get Irian back safely… I shook my head. I didn’t want to think what that would mean. Although Talius believed me innocent, this pack would never be the same without the feisty little omega. And if we couldn’t save Irian, how could we hope to save my Tosca?
The door slid shut and I was left alone with Sharkey again. I shifted, keeping a wary eye on him, and after a time, he also shifted. As wolves, our bodies healed fast.
We spent the night at opposite ends of the shed, sleeping fitfully, neither trusting the other. The slightest sound, even just Sharkey changing position in his sleep, had my eyes slamming open, alert to possible danger.
When Talius came back to the shed the next morning, we were both in our human forms, bleary-eyed and watching each other warily. There was little evidence of our previous day’s fight, though both of us were moving slowly and carefully.
Talius had clearly been informed of what had transpired. Brows drawn and eyes narrowed, he looked me up and down, but there was no obvious injury, and he made no mention of the fight.
He held open a small bag for me to look inside. “Here’s a down payment. The bank won’t allow me to withdraw or transfer the whole lot in one day, so this will have to be a gesture of goodfaith. Take it to Zarbius and tell him I’ll make arrangements with the bank for the rest, which I’ll send when Irian arrives home, and not before. Someone can escort him here and I’ll hand over the rest of the money then.”
“What about Isca?” I demanded.
“Not happening. Tell him he can have the money but Isca is out of the question.”
