Chapter Five
Colt
I laid in the darkness, forcing my breaths to remain even and measured as Sky's fingers rubbed my back in tiny little back and forth motions. He was fast asleep, a boon of our biology that allowed him to draw on my strength to fight the pain and speed his healing, but the little moaning sounds he was making as he breathed in my pheromone-laced scent were making it damned hard for me to fall asleep. And, if I was honest – which I had absolutely no fucking intention of being – that wasn't theonlything that his moans were making hard.
Add the unanticipated reaction I was having to the Omega's presence to the fact that I wasn't a night sleeper, and what you ended up with was a frustrated, horny Alpha werewolf with way too much time on his hands.
It was a relief when my phone vibrated on the bedside table.
Flicking my thumb over the screen, I unlocked it and read through Clint's message.
Met with Drey. Have some options.
Ugg. Truth be told, I hadn't given Chloe a single thought since the crisis with Sky had presented itself earlier. And, if I was honest, which we've already established I wouldn't be, thinking of my estranged mate while I was lying nearly naked in bed with another Omega – regardless of intentions and greater good crap – did nothing to relax me.
In fact, it swung the pendulum the opposite direction fromrelaxed.
Still, it wasn't like I could ignore Clint. Inch by inch I slid out from under Sky's palm, careful not to disturb him. Still, from the almost-immediate subtle change in his scent, I knew that he had noticed my absence on some level.
Hurrying to the bathroom, I closed the door, hoping that it would muffle the sound of my voice and hit the speed dial button on my phone.
"I've only got a minute," I said abruptly, talking over his greeting. "Do whatever you need to do about Chloe. I'm good with cutting her loose as long as we get Juno back." Clint made a surprised sound that I took for agreement, so I continued. "I can't go into details right now, but there's some seriously fucked up crap going on. Tell Rafe to get the cavalry out here yesterday."
"I showed him the pictures this afternoon," Clint assured me. "Colby is too close to delivering for Rafe to leave, but he was putting together a response team when I left." There was a pause. "You want me to reach out to the Brigade?"
"No." I sighed. "This is going to need a lighter hand, I think." I heard a whimper from the other room. "Clint, I've got to go."
"Hold up." My brother was starting to sound suspicious. "It's barely fucking two and you've already finished your recon. What's the damned rush?"
Shit. I'd completely forgotten that he didn't know about Sky. Speaking as quickly as I could, I filled him.
"You're fucking serious?" Clint whistled into the phone, making me wince. "They tried to kill an Omega? And ahumanOmega at that?"
"Yeah. That's sure what it looks like. He's terrified of going to the hospital, so I reached out to Seb and Alrick. As luck would have it, they were only about an hour away."
"That's some coincidence," Clint said softly.
"Yeah. Anyway, Seb couldn't load him down with painkillers earlier, so I'm supposed to be grounding him."
"And you had to leave him to talk to me," Clint guessed.
"And I had to leave him to talk to you," I confirmed with a laugh. "I can hear him moving around in the other room, so I need to get back."
"Alrick has your location?"
"He does. I also attached it to one of the pictures I texted you."
"I'll reach out to Rafe and get an update on the situation. Watch your phone."
"Will do," I agreed, fighting the internal itch to get back to Sky. "Try to light a fire under him, brother. This place is a damned nightmare."
The scent of Sky's distress stoked the that tightening feeling under my skin as I walked back to the bed and set my phone back on the bedside table. Sky's face was twisted in a pained grimace and when I pulled the covers back, I could see his body twitching in the dark.
"Sky? Are you awake?" I kept my voice low, not wanting to wake him if he wasn't already. I slid my hand under his palm. "Tap my finger if you are."
Nothing.
I slid back into the bed and placed one of his hands on my belly, reaching over to hold the other with my spare hand in the hopes that doubling the contact would increase his comfort level faster. As I'd hoped, his scent stabilized and his breathing evened out. Relieved, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on flooding him with the strength and healing energy that came with an Alpha's presence.
Somewhere in the process, I dozed off.
