I push one of his hands down so he only has five fingers spread. “Zack, we think you were with the fighting kennels for this many years, although we don’t know what came before that.” I lift his other arm back and press my hands against his. “But we think Red was in the trafficking ring for twice as many years; all ten of your fingers.”
“All?” he murmurs. The sheen in his blue eyes ripples and tears form on his lashes. Zack drops my hand and goes to Red, kneeling at her feet. “Ohm-ee-ga. Zack sorry he didn’t find you.”
She strokes his head, too choked up to speak.
Zack looks up and growls faintly. “I punished him. Broke throat.” He pats his Adam’s apple. “Ray won’t speak words again—like Death Alpha. He won’t eat again from mouth or walk on legs.” Our alpha lifts his hand to stroke her tan cheek, and his words tumble out clumsily as the sadness fills him. “And Ray has no cock to stick where ohm-ee-ga says no.”
Red whimpers, hands tightening around Zack. Through the bond, we taste her burning rage, as well as her gratitude. “Thank you,” she mutters through clenched teeth.
I squeeze in beside her on the couch.
Zack tugs her sweater collar down and strokes her collarbone. “Now Zack understand these scars. You once promised me no more, so now I promise you. No more hurts.”
Red nods and swipes roughly at her face. “I like the sound of that.”
To move the subject away from Red’s sore spots, I ask Zack about his time as a fighting alpha. Now he has enough words to tell us about the cells and the brutal training, the constant cold and the way fights operated. I’d heard from Callisto about why the flashing lights set him off but hearing it from Zack makes his former life feel more real. How could he not be always cold when his life was a continual struggle between life and death?
“What did you mean by the Death Alpha?” Red asks, hugging her arms around her body.
Zack brightens. “He was a fighting alpha in the same cells. He and Superior Alpha maybe stronger than Zack. Never find out without challenge. They belong to ohm-ee-ga who came. Smelled like flowers.”
Red straightens. “Rose? That means I met the Superior alpha and the Death alpha. Do you know their names?”
Zack shakes his head and jabs his chest with his thumb. “Not know even my name back then. Only sounds of Zaaaaazuuuuuu.” He calls it loudly like an announcer with the syllables all stretched out.
We chuckle. “Well, wait just a minute,” Red says, pushing Zack away so she can run for her phone. She taps a message out to her omega friend and gets a reply within a minute. “Look,” she crows. “Is this them?”
She turns her phone to show us a photo of an omega with a heart-shaped face, blonde wavy hair, and plump red lips beaming next to a dark-haired alpha with a dreamy look and lovely olive skin.
“Superior alpha!” Zack declares, eyes wide. “He live with ohm-ee-ga Rose?”
“Yes. And this one.”
The second photo shows a smaller alpha with bleached hair, a scar around his throat and dark, slanted eyes. In a single word, I’d describe him as brooding. Zack inhales sharply. “Death Alpha! He very dangerous. Kill quickly.” He leans in closer and presses one finger cautiously to the photo. “He look very relaxed. Must be ohm-ee-ga magic.” He glances up at Red with a cheeky grin. “Mine calm Zack too.”
Red laughs. She swipes on her screen. “Well, they have new names too. The first alpha is Zane, and the one you called the Death Alpha is Uno. I remember meeting them on my way to get you out of prison the first time.” She pinches her nose and makes a face. “Rather stinky individuals.”
I choke on a laugh. Others would say the same about Zack.
Zack studies Red, lips moving a few times before he speaks. “Zack want meet them. Someday, when we not challenge each other.”
I reach out and clasp his hand. Those alphas are part of Zack’s past in the same way Rose is part of Red’s. “We’ll make that happen, Zack. I promise.”
He nods. Rocking back, he sits cross-legged on the floor, facing the couch. “I want to help other ferals learn, like Zack. Same you taught me.”
“Okay.” Red nods. “I guess we’ve been too busy to think about it properly. Rose’s pack set up a fund, and we already donated a lot of money so none of them get euthanized, but we can look into some other way to help.”
He shakes his head emphatically. “No. Cal-ee do it. Zack help Cal-ee. Be Zack’s job, like ohm-ee-ga acting.”
Zack and Callisto working together? I cock my head. “Did Callisto say he was going to help the feral alphas?”
“Yes.”
My heart skips a beat. Really? Honestly, after the wringer we’ve been through, Callisto’s the ideal person with all the inside knowledge, but he’s so busy, and he’s only one or two cases away from breaking the nation’s record of case win streaks. Even though he’s changed, how’s he going to help the ferals and manage his busy career?
Red reaches out one leg to rest her toes on Zack’s knee. “If that’s what you want, Zack, we’ll make it happen.”
Our pack alpha grins, and satisfaction blooms through our collective awareness.
