“After we check the problem in the basement,” I said, my voice dropping.
“Let’s get to it, then,” Kade hummed, a twisted smile touching his lips. “I want our Omega home.”
Problems
Kade
“Please!” he sobbed, seconds before my knuckles collided with his nose. The satisfying crunch of bone and the squelch of blood echoed in the damp room. His head fell forward, the rope tied around his wrists at his back holding him up. We’d been at this for days. Since the party, Dane had spent most of his time with our mate. I’d spent my nights with our guest—the drunk from the party.
He’d lost his mind a little. Every time I flicked on the hanging light, he looked at his dead roommate in the corner like he expected him to sit up and start talking.
I was careful not to split my knuckles. I couldn’t chance scaring my mate off before it was too late. But now that she was gone, on the run, I had to finish this quickly. I was done playing nice. I’d told her the truth, just not all of it. I was a tattoo artist by day. When the sun went down, I knew where the bodies were buried. Dane lived by the rules, keeping our world in order. I lived to remove the people who disrupted it.
I called them “problems”. And it was time to solve this one.
I kicked him in the chest and held him by the hair before kneeing him in the face. I wanted to draw this out, but we didn’t have time. I bent down beside the idiot who couldn’t understand the “don’t touch what’s not yours” rule. I pulled the razor from my leg pocket, watching the gleam from the swaying bulb.
“Playtime’s over,” Dane growled as he waited by the door. He wouldn’t come in, not until it was time. He walked a thin line of control near this fucker.
I froze, my gaze on the razor so close to the shit face’s trembling wrist. I wasn’t going to kill him… not yet. I needed him to stay a “problem” until Vera was back where she belonged.
I freed our captive and pulled his arm, pinning it to the table. I placed the sharp edge at his wrist. He shrieked, a high-pitch bitch cry that cut through the basement.
“Up the river, not across,” I sang as flesh parted. Years of tattooing taught me exactly how deep to go. I dragged the blade along the vein, nicking the surface until it gushed, but I missed the deep line on purpose. He’d bleed, but he’d live to regret it. He tried to put pressure on it as I stood.
“We’re wasting time with this piece of shit,” Dane hissed.
“Antsy,” I teased as I wiped my razor off before putting it back.
“You’re too relaxed for an Alpha whose mate left while he slept,” he spat as we climbed the stairs.
“I know where she is.” I pulled out my phone and he snatched it, his eyes boring into her location.
“How?” he asked as I took it back.
“The same way I followed her to the party. Yourspyware.”
“Fuck, I forgot.” He was angry, but pleased, as we got into his Audi. I pulled out his shades and slid them on.
“You’ve had your hands full,” I said as a new ping alerted me. Our Omega was on the move. He put the car in drive and peeled away from the house at top speed. I rolled the window down and leaned my head out. The wind played with my hair. Wherever she went, we’d find her.
The Heat
Vera
When I arrived home, I cleaned the house on all fours, my hands scrubbing until they were raw. I wanted to rearrange everything, drag all of my blankets, pillows, and laundry into the center of the room—to build the nest I was never allowed growing up. The same rule Amos enforced. But I didn’t. I kept scrubbing, trying to wash away the need. I focused on the manual labor.
My body was sore. I scrubbed until my mind went numb. When Dane’s text came in, I wanted to call him and apologize for leaving. But the broken part of me whispered I’d fucked up, promised the Alpha was mad enough to hate me. My phone dinged on the kitchen counter. My knees and back protested as I stood. The screen lit up.
Uriel: Are you free, Omega?
My heart hurt. He’d been so good to me, and the look on his face when I saw him last cut deep. Uriel made me feel good. I shouldn’t go to him when I’ve got two other Alphas on my mind.
Me: Yes. Your place?
Uriel: No, I have family in town. Meet me at The Heat. I’ll send you the room number when I have it. Is that okay?
Me: Yes, that works.
