For hermouth.
All of us stare at it. Finally, I shake my head. “Not… I can’t do that.”
I can’t gag her.
“We have to get her down,” Max insists. “We carry her, we’re getting bitten.”
He’s shifted. From panic, and agony, into something more focused.
As if he can possibly fix this.
“There’s no cure, Max,” I say quietly. “You know that. Not for this.”
“I’ll find one,” Oscar says tightly. When we all glance at him, even Max, with varying shades of disbelief, he gets to his feet, glancing down at the bucking omega tied on the floor. “I will. I just need time.”
“Fine,” Jake breathes. He’s put more distance between them, his eyes flicking between us and Kennedy’s face. “Give it to me. I’ll do it.”
Max grips her hair again to help him, holding her steady. Kennedy spits, hissing like a fucking mountain wildcat as Jake slips the leather around her face. His eyes darken as he buckles it into place, her growls growing muffled. “There.”
“We can carry her now.” Max reaches for her without hesitation, hoisting her up. “Although she’s probably not going to like it.”
Understatement.
Kenny rears back, as if she’s going to throw her head forward into Max’s face. A soft growl ripples from his own throat. But he starts walking, ignoring her struggling as he shoulders past. “Someone grab my bag.”
Jake, Oscar and I stand there for a moment. Shell-shocked, maybe.
Oscar scrubs his hands down his face, beneath his glasses. “She’s alive. That’s the most important thing right now.”
“She would hate this,” I breathe. “Being like this. Do you think she’s in there?”
But Jake shakes his head. His shoulders tighten. “Apparently not. Once they’re gone—,”
“Enough,” Oscar says tightly. “We need to stay close to Max. This won’t help her.”
And then he’s gone, following them.
Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Slowly, we fall into step behind them. And with every step we take back down the mountain, I pray with everything I have that Jake is wrong.
When we catch up, Oscar places his finger against his mouth. “She’s asleep.”
Passed out. But she looks so normal, her face turned against Max’s chest. My lips press together. “What now?”
He inhales. “We’ll secure the nest for her. She’ll have to – to stay there, while we work on this.”
“It’s illegal to not report a feral omega.” I come to a stop in the middle of the trail. They all stop too. Even Max.
“Could you do it?” Jake asks quietly. “Call a Center? Have them bag her and tag her like an animal?”
“That’s not what I meant. They already know.” I shake my head. “It was in the paperwork, remember? Theyknowwhat’s happening to her.”
That they even let her out of the hospital is a miracle. “They’re going to look for her when she doesn’t check in.”
Oscar looks grim. “Then we need a better plan.”
Except… it doesn’t matter.
