Chapter One
Colt
Once the moon was high in the sky, I parked the truck in a small wooded area near the Omega house and carefully made my way through the darkness to the building.
The windows were low enough that I could see in easily and whoever ran the place was conveniently unconcerned with keeping the shades closed, so the interior lights lit the entire place up. Room by room, I was able to sneak my phone up and snap pictures without giving myself away. Once I was certain I had all the evidence that Rafe would need, I turned back toward the truck.
I was nearly there, still picking my way carefully through the shadows when an SUV pulled off the main road and stopped on the shoulder just past where I melded into the darkness. Climbing from the cab, a large being walked to the rear and popped the hatch, pulled a bundle from the cargo area, and heaved it off the side of the road to the ravine below.
To my shock, I heard a grunt of pain from the bundle and it took all of my self-control to wait until the SUV left again to scramble down the embankment.
Tapping the flashlight app on my phone, I scanned the area and barely held back a gasp when the light reflected off a large pile of humanoid bones interspersed with shreds of cheap blankets like the one I'd just seen tossed over the edge.
The blanket-wrapped bundle had come to rest against the trunk of a small tree halfway down, so I reached it in short order. Peeling the blanket back from one end, my stomach lurched when I found a small pair of bloody feet. Reaching for the other end of the blanket, my stomach roiled when I found Sky's face, marred with abrasions and caked with blood.
"Holy shit." I felt Sky tremble. "It's okay. I'm Colt, remember? I'm going to help you."
Trying not to jostle the broken body in my arms, I held Sky tight to my chest as I made my way out of the ravine. I stopped at the edge long enough to take a one-handed photo of the bone pit, hoping that my flash could light it well enough for the picture to come out and headed for the truck at a lope, Sky clutched in my arms.
Back at the motel, I silently cheered the luck that had blessed my accommodations with a private exterior entrance that allowed me to carry Sky inside without being seen by prying eyes.
I laid him gently on the bed, hesitating with my hand on the rope tying the blanket closed. "I'm not sure how badly hurt you are, so I'm going to grab my first aid kit before I unwrap you. I'll be right back."
Thankfully, my years in the Böxenwolf Brigade had taught me the importance of preparedness, so the kit I carried in my truck was extensive, to put it mildly.
I unlatched the sides and spread the kit out next to Sky on the double bed before washing my hands and shoving them into a pair of latex gloves. My ever-present buck knife made short work of the rope that had been looped and knotted repeatedly around the blanket hiding Sky's frail body. Steeling myself, I reached for the edges of the blanket and bared the abused Omega to my eyes.
"Motherfucker," I hissed, staring down at the bloody mess in front of me, shocked to find a length of barbed-wire coiled tightly around the body. "What the fuck did they do to you?"
Pain-filled eyes stared up at me, reminding me that Sky was apparently mute.
"Whatever you do, don't try to move." I let my Alpha voice slip out as I sliced through the ropes that bound Sky's wrists and ankles, counting on it to bolster the injured Omega's obedience. "I'll be right back."
I was back from the truck in a heartbeat with a pair of wire cutters. Then, in the bathroom, I soaked towels in warm water and wrung them out, knowing I couldn't do anything until all of the blood had been removed.
Starting at Sky's feet, I cut through the first section of wire and, as gently as possible, peeled it from the flesh, sponged it clean, and then wrapped the injuries in bandages and moved on to the next section of wire.
When I got to Sky's groin, I sliced through the tunic and peeled it aside, realizing for the first time that Sky was male. By that time, Sky had passed out from the pain which, considering he needed a few stitches, was a blessing, because the one thing I didn't have in my field kit was any type of anesthesia.
Once I'd finished, I pulled back the blankets on the bed and eased Sky under them as gently as possible. The blood loss hadn't been as severe as I'd feared, but Sky was deathly thin to begin with. That, combined with the extensive injuries meant that there was a very real threat of the Omega succumbing to shock if I couldn't stabilize him. Then, I stripped the gloves off and tossed them in the trash, pulled my phone out, and started texting the recon pictures to my brother.
