Bat’s next shout was garbled and it tugged on every single one of my instincts. Omegas were supposed to soothe upset or angry alphas, the desire was biological, underpinned by the memory of his expression as he told me about his fear of the dark.
I didn’t want to hurt them, but I felt my palms heating anyway as I tried to figure out how to get to the alpha who was screaming behind the door.
There was a crash downstairs followed by the tinkling sound of glass hitting the floor.
“Shit,” Rex groaned as he turned to face the staircase, “I bet that was one of the kitchen windows. I knew I should have trimmed that fucking tree before this storm.”
The rest of the pack turned to face him, and I saw it: my opening. I slipped in between the space that Doc and Storm had created in their distraction and ignored their shouts as I pushed the door open and stepped into the dark room.
“Juneau, no!” I heard Doc growl as he grabbed for me, but I danced out of his reach and moved further into the room.
“She’s got a fucking death wish,” Rex groaned as they hovered just outside of the door.
Bat was a heap of shaking limbs on top of the bare mattress in the center of the room. All of his bedding had fallen to the floor along with a shattered lamp and glass of what smelled like some kind of liquor.
I watched his shoulders heave and shudder as his fists gripped his hair. Bat let out a pained moan that made my heart twist with sympathy.
Trepidation filled me as I stepped around the glass and came closer to the bed. The Bat on the bed looked nothing like the alpha who I’d spoken with earlier today. A sheen of sweat covered his tattooed back as he tensed and another rattling shout filled the room, making me jump.
Soothe. Soothe. Soothe.
My omega instincts were riding me hard to comfort him, but I didn’t want to touch him and accidentally scare him.
“Bat?” I whispered quietly, watching his body still at the sound of my voice.
Emboldened, I reached out to put my hand on him. “Bat, it’s June—”
My words were quickly cut off as he yanked me off of my feet and onto the mattress. The breath whooshed out of my lungs as I stared up into Bat’s dark, crazed eyes. His hands gripped my shoulders, shaking me like a rag doll as he growled down at me.
He reminded me of one of the feral cats that I used to see on my morning explorations, angry and scared of any kind of human presence.
“Shit, Doc, you grab his left arm I’ll get his right,” I heard Rex say followed by the thud of footsteps as they entered the room.
Bat’s expression pinched as he turned to glare at the intruders, his body tensing like he was getting ready to launch himself at them.
“Wait!” I managed to gasp, poking a hand out to show them that I was all right. “Just give me a moment.”
Bat’s eyes met mine again and I realized what I was looking at. My mother had given me an extensive education about the designations and where they had come from. Alphas were amongst some of the first human beings to walk the Earth, and like omegas, they had a piece of their mind that would always be somewhat animalistic.
Pain, fear, anger, or other strong emotions could push them deep into that part of themselves.
“I know you don’t like the dark,” I whispered to him, seeing just a glimmer of recognition in the depths of his wild eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
At first I was worried that my mind was too panicked to conjure up the magic, but after a few deep breaths I felt the familiar tingle of fire. I brought my hand up in between us so that he could see it.
I didn’t want to accidentally burn him, so I kept the heat inside of the skin of my palm, letting it light my hand from the inside rather than create a flame. It was much harder to control than typical fire, but it did illuminate our faces, casting a glow on Bat’s stark features.
Bat’s trembling stopped as he stared at the glow. Soon, I could feel each one of his muscles start to unlock and relax as he came back to himself until finally he sank down on top of me.
His scent, which had been tinged with fear when I walked into the room, shifted back to normal as he let out a long, heaving sigh.
After a few moments of silence, he pressed his face to my neck. “I’m sorry,” he murmured hoarsely against my skin.
“It’s all right,” I whispered, my arms coming up around his shoulders so I could stroke his back in a hopefully soothing manner. I didn’t have much experience calming an angry alpha, but my inner omega purred with pride over my success with Bat. “You just needed some light, that’s all.”
Something clicked and I glanced over to see Doc placing a hand-held circular light on the bedside table. It glowed softly, filling the room with a cool, white light.
“I’m sorry Bat, I was replacing the batteries to prepare for the storm and I left it in the kitchen,” he apologized, his lips pulling down into a frown as he fully took in the scene before him.
