ChapterOne
Ben
Ipaced back and forth in the small meeting room like a caged animal, clutching my hand to my throat to try and force air into my lungs. My vision was going spotty, and even the tall ceilings and wall-to-wall windows couldn’t stop the sensation that the room was closing in on me.
My watch told me I’d only been in here for three minutes, but it felt like an eternity. My brothers’ panic and rage radiated through the bond, amplifying my emotions until I practically drowned in them. We needed to keep it together long enough to avoid getting arrested, but I couldn’t find it in myself to send them reassurance or comfort down the bond. My fear for Josie was all-consuming, clawing at my chest. The guards posted outside the room were the only reason I wasn’t tearing the building apart to find her.
I stopped pacing, bending over to rest my hands on my knees and suck in a few stuttering breaths.
I hated being alone.
I was just a few doors down from the interview room where I’d met Josie, and I wished more than anything that she would walk through the door now. I’d known from the first second I laid eyes on her that I belonged completely to her. Her absence in our bond had never felt as agonizing as it did now. It had always been a void, but now it hurt like a wound. Like an idiot, I tried extending the bond towards her, as if I could somehow will it into existence telepathically. But, of course, there was nothing. Just cold, empty silence where my beautiful omega should be.
We shouldn’t have let them take her away. We should have fought harder, demanded they keep us together. The logical part of me knew that resisting wouldn’t have helped—they would have separated us, anyway. Maybe permanently. But I wasn’t sure I would ever get over the heartbreak of her resigned expression as they took her away. As if she had expected this would happen all along.
The click of the door opening interrupted my pacing, and I whirled to face the two alphas who entered. They wore gray uniforms with badges that identified them as Patrick and Tom, members of the Pack Cohesion Coalition.
“Where did you take Josie?” I asked as I gripped the corner of the heavy wood table, fighting the temptation to flip it over and crush them.
“She’s perfectly safe. This is all standard protocol,” Patrick said with a condescending sneer as he placed his tablet on the table with a soft click. If Josie were here, we would mock his overly large mustache. Pretty sure it would have been visible from space.
“We’ve found it’s hard for alphas to be honest in front of an omega. You know how manipulative they can be,” Patrick said with a chuckle as if we were in on some joke together. When I didn’t crack a smile, his expression faltered before he continued.
“We need to ensure that all pack alphas are fully satisfied by their omega before we can sign off on the pack. But not to worry, we won’t keep you long.”
The second alpha, Tom, was young and jittery as he peered at me with his overly long flamingo neck and ridiculous mullet. He gestured at me to take a seat. I remained unmoving, staring him down until he looked away, fidgeting with his collar. My alpha wanted to roar with satisfaction at our display of dominance, but I quickly crashed back to reality when Patrick cleared his throat and shifted his hand towards the radio at his hip. I needed to think of Josie. I couldn’t have them taking my lack of cooperation out on her.
I shook myself and sat down, pasting on a bland smile as I imagined destroying these two alphas.
Tom let out a sigh of relief before he slumped down in the chair across from me.
“Excellent,” Patrick said, sitting down and clicking through documents on his tablet. “We have a series of questions to ensure the omega is to your satisfaction.”
I held on to the chair to stop myself from leaping at him. They were talking about Josie like she was some sort of object with a buy-back guarantee.
“On a scale of one to ten, how satisfied would you say you are with the omega?” Tom asked, reading the question off his screen.
“Ten,” I responded.
A look of disbelief flashed over both alphas’ faces.
“Ten is completely satisfied,” Tom clarified.
“Yes,” I said.
Tom made a skeptical sound in the back of his throat and started typing.
“Using the same scale, how well has the omega satisfied you sexually?” Patrick asked.
What. The. Fuck.
I wondered if they were asking Josie how wellwesatisfiedher. I doubted it.
“Not sure how that’s any of your business,” I snapped.
“Pack cohesion is absolutely our business,” Patrick said smugly. “Just remember, it’s just us alphas here. You can be completely honest.”
My leg shook, and I took a deep breath. “Ten.”
