It made me sick watching him reach out with his free hand to touch Isca’s cheek, the omega flinching and closing his eyes. I could see the trembling of his body. After all the abuse he had suffered at the hands of this alpha, I could only guess at what this was costing him… and how much he loved Irian.
“Isca!” Talius half-hissed, half-groaned. “What are you doing?”
Without turning away from Zarbius, Isca murmured, “I had to come, Talius. I couldn’t leave him with this… this monster.”
Smack!The vicious sound of Zarbius’ hand contacting Isca’s face made me jump. I could have wept. Isca’s head barely moved. As much as we might have been shocked, the gesture hadn’t takenhimby surprise. I wondered, not for the first time, how much he had suffered in this pack.
Zarbius ran a finger down Isca’s neck and across his throat. “It’s good to see you too,mate.”
Isca’s trembling grew greater. “J-j-just let him go,” he stammered. “You-You’ve got what you asked for. Now just let him go.”
“Isca, no!” begged Irian, eyes brimming with tears. They spilled over, the late afternoon sun reflecting in the moisture rolling down his cheeks.
The metal of the blade glinted as the beta gave it a little twist. “Careful,” he breathed.
Talius remained still. He couldn’t risk moving while the beta had the knife against Irian’s neck. He was in an impossible situation here – he couldn’t protect one omega without the other getting hurt.
A commotion broke out down at the omega accommodation; raised voices, angry and harsh, followed by shouts, and in the distance the very faint sound of a siren. Suddenly the truck’s engine roared to life again, punctuated by all the shouting.
The beta’s head swung around to see what was going on, minutely reducing the pressure on the blade, the angle of his moment lifting it off Irian’s neck. There was never going to be a better time. I lunged forward, my hand sliding between the sharp edge and Irian’s neck and pushing Irian away at the same time.
The beta jerked back instantly and the knife sliced into my hand. My brain registered shock, but no pain, as I closed my fingers around the blade. A steady stream of red began to drip, making my fingers slippery and my grip on the knife precarious as we struggled for possession. I was vaguely aware that Talius had taken advantage of the distraction, and both he and Zarbius had shifted and were engaged in a vicious duel, the long summer grass crushing under them as they rolled and fought, teethsnapping and claws scrabbling. Chunks of fur flew through the air.
I shifted too, lunging at the beta, my powerful jaws clamping around his wrist. He screamed as the bones snapped,pop!pop!pop!The knife tumbled into the grass, staining the golden stalks a ghastly red. By now the man was shifting too, but it was too late. I was already on him, teeth gripping his neck, my injured paw held aloft, the blood was slowing already, but it dripped on his face, stinging his eyes. He howled, and I bit down hard. As I withdrew my canines, two jets of brilliantly red blood fountained into the air.
By the time he stopped thrashing, my paw was already well on its way to healing. Shifter biology and youth made a wonderful combination.
“Irian, Isca, hurry!” I staggered to my feet. Irian turned towards me, confusion clouding his normally sunny face. The puckered brow and set mouth were an unusual look for him. At least he wasn’t looking at me as if I was a traitor anymore. He shook his hands out. Isca kicked the discarded twine away.
I spoke quickly. “It’s a long story, but I’m not with them. You need to get out of sight, because - that truck that just came in? - it's to truck the omegas out of here. Follow me!”
Isca and Irian clung to each other’s hand as we ran towards the buildings.
“Where-where are we going?” puffed Irian, hurrying to keep up with my longer stride.
“Back to the shed,” I told him, “Not inside, but behind it. Once Talius wins the fight, he’ll come for you.”
Talius was a formidable fighter, with the added incentive that he was fighting for his mates, so he was unlikely to lose. But if for some reason he didn’t win, I knew his mates would know. They’d always seemed to have a special sense about each other. I wasn’t sure how they did it, but they seemed to be in contact even when theyweren’tin contact.
“If something goes wrong… there’s a cave halfway down the next mountain along, on the western side, where you can hide out. Shift and go there, but be careful, some of Zarbius’ men are still out in the bush. I’ll join you when I can.”
“But…”
I cut off Irian’s protest. “There’s an omega I have to stop from getting on that truck. You’ll be safe here, I promise.”
I saw them safely to the back of the shed, first checking that no stray beta had their eyes in this direction, but everyone was busy with the commotion going on down at the omega sheds.
The last I saw of the two omegas they were in each other’s arms, head resting on the other’s shoulder. Despite my anxiety over Tosca, I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I turned away. They were sweet together. I could see why Talius had been so happy to share his old mate with his new one.
Now I had to find mine.
Chapter 26
TOSCA
As the day went on, I caught myself humming and smiling away to myself as I went about my chores. Agelius would turn up soon,surelyit would be soon… Owen kept giving me funny glances. Surprisingly, no-one had wanted him last night, and when the betas left us all alone, I’d told him how things had gone down with George.
“That was clever,” he’d said, and the relief he’d felt was written all over his face. He worried a lot about me, I knew that, but I was proud I’d handled the situation on my own.
