Scout
"Nice to see you, King Whitewood," Warren said, with a wicked sparkle in his eyes. His gaze raked over to Killian and Scout. "And the Prince as well."
Scout flinched as Warren's eyes bored into his, but he forced himself not to look away. He would not show weakness in front of this wretched man.
"You rotten bastard," the king spat. His voice cracked in anger for Stark's sorry state. "Look at what you've done to him!"
"Oh, I'm the rotten bastard?" Warren barked a laugh. "I'm not the one who hired an assassin from an enemy pack to deal with an omega he didn't like!"
The king balked, ashamed. He couldn't deny the truth.
To everyone's surprise, Scout was the one who spoke up. "What's done is done. We've put that behind us, and grown even stronger as a family for it," he said. He nodded firmly at the king, who once again didn’t seem to feel worthy of Scout's forgiveness. But he accepted the omega's kindness and deflected Warren's words.
"That has nothing to do with Stark," Killian growled. "Return him to us."
"Certainly," Warren said. He dropped his half of Stark's weight, and the unconscious man slipped towards the ground, now only held up by one arm like a rag doll. The royal guards bristled with anger at watching their captain be so ill-treated.
But as Amy rushed forward to pull Stark out of their clutches, Warren sidestepped in front of her. He towered, huge and intimidating, and Amy barely held her nerve to stay in place and not back away from him. "But it's not fair for us to just hand him away for free, is it?" He turned to Thistle. "I mean, we should get something in return for such a high-ranking royal guard member, don't you think?"
"Absolutely," Thistle said. He eyed the center of the Whitewood group and picked out Scout with his intense glare. Scout shuddered.
"We are not trading for hostages," Killian snarled. "And besides, you’re outnumbered. You’re in no position to bargain."
Warren chuckled. "You've raised a naive son, Whitewood."
Like insects crawling out from under a rotten log, Silvercreek shifters stalked out from behind their pack leader. Scout's heart rate skyrocketed. The situation was going south quickly, and his protective instincts towards his unborn child were kicking in. A low growl built in his chest. He couldn't count them all, but judging from the size of the group, it matched the amount of guards Whitewood had brought. Warren had planned for this.
"He's a monster," Kyle whispered.
"So, you're threatening us now?" the king spat. "You're a dirty rat, Warren. Where's your sense of honor?"
Warren's expression of wicked glee fell, replaced now with a serious scowl. "I don't need honor," he growled. "I need omegas."
The sudden shift in his tone made Scout's skin crawl.
"Maybe your captives noticed while they were here, but Silvercreek is a strong, alpha-oriented pack. Maybe a bit too strong. We rarely have omegas, and because of that, reproduction rates are low." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure you catch my meaning."
"So that's why you've been stealing omegas from Whitewood?" the king yelled. "You're pathetic!"
Warren let out a humorless laugh. "A pack alpha who stuffs breeding omegas like livestock into one building is pathetic too, wouldn't you say?"
Once again, the king was shamed into holding his tongue.
Scout knew that Whitewood’s treatment of its omegas was a serious issue, but not the most important one they needed to deal with right now. He nudged Killian with his elbow. "We have to help Stark," he whispered.
Killian didn't look down, but he nodded. "I know, but if we just rush at him, they'll attack us," he said. "And I'm not risking your safety — especially with their numbers."
"What if we divert their attention?" Scout asked in a hushed whisper. "If some of us can distract them, we can grab Stark and run."
"That's too risky," Killian said. "They'll chase us right over the border. They're lawless."
"Well, what else can we do?" Scout was getting increasingly agitated. "We can't just let him die here!"
"You!"
Killian and Scout stopped as Warren bellowed. The alpha was pointing directly at Scout with his thick gnarled finger.
"Me?" Scout said.
