“Are you heading back to the office, then?”
I glance at the signage over the exit ramp as I slow. “No. I’m heading to Laversham’s Alpha Lodgings.”
To find Red’s missing alpha.
I step on the gas, and the engine hums in response. If I’m to catch up with Zack’s ride, I need serious speed.
Chapter four
Zack
The further we drive, the more the simmering awareness of my pack fades. Not completely, but enough to leave me feeling thin and breathless. I snarl as rage seeps into the vacant space left in my chest.
“Shut up,” snaps the alpha sitting in front of me.
I eye the back of his neck. If only I could fit my hand through the mesh between us. Without that barrier, I’d simply close my fist around his hairy neck and twist until it gave a satisfying snap. His eyes would widen in shock, his annoying mouth would gurgle, and then those breaths would stop moving through his lips and nose altogether.
Kill.
No killing.
My stomach drops, and I turn to look out the window. Usually I love this part of getting in a car. White Mine points out interesting things on the blurry side, like dogs and statues. Stoplights, trucks, food stalls. Things that have namesnow. Mine—Red—would link our fingers and snuggle into my shoulder while listening to a device that told her what to say for the day. Acting.
A difference exists between the lines she says and the bitterness poisoning my chest. That only occurs when she’s scared or angry. Like now.
She wasn’t acting on the steps.
I tap my fingers on the cold glass and stare at the smear left behind. How can a challenge be transferable? Does Cal-ee know about this? If it weren’t for that biting stick, I could’ve broken down the door to reach him.
“Fuck,” I mutter, wondering if White Mine would scold me in this situation. I miss his sweet cake scent and my ohm’s presence. Always moving, always smiling. She is life.
“Ha!” the familiar alpha scoffs. “To think a bastard like you knows how to swear now.”
I ignore his word babble. “Where’s my ohm?”
“Ohm?” he asks, glancing in the mirror.
I frown. How stupid is he to not understand me? Even if this is a hard word for my mouth, White Mine always understands. “Ohm-ee-ga.”
He likes that even less. “Must’ve been a fun little outing for you, Zazu. Your omega is wherever she is, and you won’t see her for a long time. Probably never.”
The darkness inside me bubbles up, and I punch the car door. It bends satisfyingly under my fist.
“Fucking lunatic!” the alpha roars. “Do that again and I’ll get my Taser out.” To show me what he means, he waves the biting, clicking stick.
I snarl, showing as many teeth as possible. “Zack,” I mutter in defiance, staring at the small mirror in the front reflecting the man’s face. I will see my ohm again, and I will use the name she gave me.
He clicks his tongue harshly. “They let lunatics like you free to walk the streets, and meanwhile my brother gets stuck in the ward . . .” The alpha driving the metal trap wrinkles his nose.
Only word I know isstreet. The rest is word salad. Like White Mine’s tomatoes, beans, carrots, and the green stuff jumbled together in no order. I lean my hand on the door, and a trail of blood trickles down the black material.
Since I shouldn’t kill him, I need to tell Cal-ee about this stupid man. He’s too dumb to be driving and taking alphas.
“Name?” I ask.
The trap—car—slows and for a moment I think he’s going to stop and get his crackling stick. Instead, he glares at me again in the mirror, and the car whines louder.
“Not that it matters to you, but McKenna.”
