I jumped as a pop song blared through the van. My heart pounded, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
“What’s going on?” I shouted.
Theo couldn’t hear me over the noise. His brow was furrowed as he tried to figure out what the fuck was going on, his eyes darting around the van’s interior. Cam still lay motionless, and I found I was a little jealous he was knocked out for this part of our torture. As the music continued to inexplicably increase in volume, I realized there must be speakers in the back of the van.Who the fuck plays music so loudly?Maybe it’s their way of preventing us from communicating with each other?
My nails scraped against the van floor, trying to find some way to anchor myself as we took another sharp turn. I realized the same song had started over while Theo and I held on for dear life. I caught his mouth moving in a few curse words as he barely braced himself in time to keep from being thrust backward and slamming into the back door of the van… And then it repeatedagain.
I raised my eyebrows in confusion. This must be some sort of torture technique. The song was fuckingterrible. I hadn’t heard it before, but it was a female singer. I caught the line, “That alpha useless ‘till he make me cum/ But he cries when I leave him with the sun.”
“What the fuck?” I heard Theo mutter in the brief silence before the song started playing for the fifth time.
I army-crawled over to Cam, trying to use my body to anchor him in place. I wished we had more light so I could see him. Theo crawled to Cam’s other side, and together we buffered him from being thrown around.
I lost all sense of time, but a couple of hours must have gone by. Every once in a while, I caught a hint of vanilla through the air vents. I didn’t know if I should rage and scream at this cruel illusion that made me believe my mate was nearby or shove my face into the vents so I could breathe it in deeper. I must be closer to losing my mind than I thought. Josie’s scent haunted me in my dreams. Every time I woke up, I had to face reality: we had lost our omega and would never get her back.
The light shining through the cracks in the doors grew dimmer, and all the while, the same song repeated through the speakers until I was softly singing along, “Alphas useless ‘cept their dicks/Ride it like a pogo stick.”
The van lurched with a sickening noise, the metal floor vibrating and shaking beneath us.
“Are we fucking off-roading?” Theo roared.
My teeth clacked together as I braced myself and Cam the best I could.
And then, finally, we came to a stop.
The van turned off, and the song with it, the silence ringing loudly in my ears.
I groaned as my muscles protested my movements, but I forced myself into a crouched standing position. My head swam. I’d had time to think during the drive and had decided I would try to distract the guards when they opened the door. Maybe it would allow my brothers to get away. The chance was minuscule, but they had defended me my entire life. Now it was my turn to fight for them. For the first time, I was glad I hadn’t bonded Josie, thankful she wouldn’t have to feel our bond snap if I died.
“I’m going to distract them. If you can get away, you have to run, Theo,” I whispered, my jaw set, my stance wide.
“Ben, no,” Theo hissed back.
Before he could do or say anything else, the van doors flew open and I lunged at the guard.
The scent hit me mid-air.
Not an illusion or dream or trap.
Vanilla cupcakes.
My omega.
Josie Josie Josie.
Our bodies collided and I managed to get my cuffed hands over her head, pulling her into my body as I shifted to take the brunt of the fall. Airwhooshedout of my lungs, but a surprisingly springy surface softened my fall.
I wouldn’t have cared if I landed on a bed of nails. Because my mate was in my arms. Her bright green eyes met my gaze, and her startled expression transformed into the most radiant smile I’d ever seen.
“Not quite the greeting I expected,” she said as we lay in a heap on a springy forest floor. “But I’ll take it.” And then she burst into tears.
ChapterForty-Five
Josie
The two-hour drive out of the city had been torture. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, leaving my arms and legs trembling. I kept looking in the side mirrors, convinced someone was following us. But there was no one. Our plan had worked.
Lilah, Sam, Gerald, Donovan, Terrance, and I stayed up until the early morning hours to finalize the plan. It all hinged on the alpha tabs. Luckily, Lilah brought a large supply of them with her.
