Orion takes another step closer, and I scramble further back, causing me to cry out. He brings his palms up, then kneels on the ground so we're eye level. A pained sound leaves his throat. His chocolate hazelnut scent wafts toward me, comforting me, making my belly relaxed and warm.
"Are you okay, omega?"
I snort, but my naturally effortless sarcasm doesn't land, and he presses his lips together. He looks worried. I've no idea why.
With one palm up, he reaches the other into his pocket and pulls out a phone.
"Come to the holding cell. No, Eli followed the scent out to West Creek, but Andrea and Stance caught her on the grounds. She's… fuck. Just, come here."
There's pleading in his voice. The man on the other end of the line pauses. Then he asks a question, but I can't make outthe words. I think my eardrum is busted. Orion lets out a fretful sound in response. The man swears, then they hang up.
Orion makes a second call. His voice feels like a warm down blanket on a cold day. I could listen to him read a takeout menu right now and it would be the best thing I'd ever heard. It warms me to my bones.
I should be trying to get away, not nuzzling closer. But I'm drowning in him. I need his arms locked around me, his eyes burning into mine, tearing down every last scrap of defense I have until he sees the truth I've been running from for months—hell,years—that I can't keep fighting. I need him to hold me, to look me in the eye and tell me I don't have to struggle anymore. That he's here, and he's got me.
This urgency scares me because I don't know this man.Beep,I think.What is this?
Mate,is all she says.
"Doc. Holding cell, bring your truck. Female wolf, broken bones, abrasions, contusions, collapsed lung. I can't tell what else. Hurry." He hangs up the phone and tries to ask me more questions. It hurts to talk, so I don't.
Beep paces within me. I want to ask her what's wrong, but she doesn't seem upset.
Mate. Mate!she keeps chanting, and my omega preens. I feel the word settle inside me, but I don't know what it means.
A few minutes pass, and then heavy footfalls and a growl emanate from the hallway, revealing a mountain of a man who carries himself unlike any other I've met. The sheer force of his presence has everyone in the room wavering, though the other three self-correct faster than I do. I'm still cowering over in my little corner, hoping, praying I'll get out of this alive.
I know so little about wolf pack hierarchy; all I know is that everyone plays dominance games. But these wolves are the strongest I have ever encountered. I check in with Beep. Sheshould be freaking out with this newcomer, but like she was with Orion, she's completely at ease.
The scent of freshly baked cinnamon and a hint of smoky wood fire draws closer as he steps inside the room.
He's the wolf I smelled in the office. I can barely see him through my broken eye socket and swelling cheek, but I can smell him.
My heart hammers against my broken ribs. The scent of the two of them, together… It's like coming home.
I want to crawl inside this feeling and never leave—this wild, nonsensical devotion that makes my breath catch and my insides tremble. My body recognizes what my mind can't comprehend as these two wolves shift their attention to me, and something primal awakens—I'm consumed by the absolute, impossiblerightnessof it. Of them.
Beep's pacing grows more agitated.
Mine!
Yes, Beep.Mine.
My omega curls up inside me, so happy, so elated, I want to laugh and cry.
But then the imposing man comes into view.
And I recognize that face.
His green eyes practically glow in the dark room. Memories flash, slowly at first, but precisely, over and over. They won't stop.
Teeth tearing into my flesh. Ripping off my pants, biting down my legs. Blood dripping out of his mouth. A look of regret.
It's all wrong. Terror washes over me, but before I can move away from him, he roars. I scramble so fast I fall back and hit my already busted head, and then everything goes black.
Chapter 12: Grayson
The sense of urgency that's been buzzing beneath my skin intensifies when Orion calls. They found the rogue shifter that's been roaming our territory. They've got her at our in-house jail, a small outpost where we detain rogue or feral shifters while I determine punishment.
