“Hey,” I said as gently as I could. “My name’s Josie. I’m part of a team that just broke into the facility. Your sister and all the other omegas are waiting outside. We’re going to drive you to a safe house.” I kept talking, keeping my tone gentle as I inspected the straps, breathing a sigh of relief that the buckles were accessible under the table and I didn’t need a key.
Jen said nothing.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but I’m going to release these straps. I know you don’t have a reason to trust me, but please don’t attack me, okay?”
Here goes nothing.
I released the straps, taking a few steps away from the table as a dazed Jen sat up, running her hands down her bare arms.
“What did you say your name was?” she whispered, her voice painfully hoarse.
“Josie,” I responded, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall. I wanted to pull her into my arms and hug her but was terrified of scaring her. Is this how my alphas had felt when they first met me?
“Let’s get out of here, okay? Can you stand?”
She stiffly moved off the table, holding onto the edge until she was steady.
“Good job,” I said, offering her a soft smile. She returned it hesitantly, as if she had forgotten how to make the expression.
I held out my hand and she stumbled forward to grasp it. Her hands were freezing. I pulled open the door and led her down the hallway.
“We have warm clothes and food waiting for you outside. And your sister is going to be so relieved to see you.”
Again, she said nothing, but the tiniest notes of sweetness in her scent gave me some hope.
We rounded the corner leading to the front entrance when I stopped. Standing down the hallway to the left was Jericho.
ChapterFifty-Six
Theo
“Cam, Theo. Where. Is. Josie?”
A dangerous, icy calm came over me.
My vision narrowed, and the world grew quiet for a terrifying moment. It lasted just a second, then adrenaline coursed through my body—a bolt of electricity shooting my legs into motion. Cam was a blur of motion beside me.
A wordless agreement rose between us with each pounding step: nothing mattered but finding Josie and destroying anyone who dared harm her.
“She’s walking through the back of the warehouse,” Ben called breathlessly through the earpiece, disbelief and desperation coloring his tone. His heavy breaths followed, telling me he was sprinting towards us.
I cursed myself. Why the fuck had she gone off alone, and why hadn’t we given her an earpiece? We only had four available and assumed she’d be with one of us at all times, so we gave the fourth to Grant. In the rush to get the terrified omegas into the vans, I had lost sight of her.
The wind whipped around me, and a multitude of scents laced the air as we neared the warehouse. I was about to round the corner to the side entrance when Cam grabbed my vest and pulled me back.
I turned on him, on the verge of snarling, when I heard familiar voices. He raised his eyebrows and held his gun low as we pressed our bodies to the side of the building to listen in on Pack Madden.
“We should just take one of the omegas here to bond with and be done with this,” one of the alphas said.
“We’re not bonding anyone here. Take whoever you want as a toy, but that Porter cunt is ours. And I, for one, am looking forward to teaching her a lesson for running away.”
A red haze fell over my eyes at their threat to my mate, and I rounded the corner without thinking. Reason and strategy left my mind as I embraced the bloodthirsty feral alpha I’d avoided at all costs, ruled by the need to crush, destroy, maim, and kill the ones who sought to harm what was mine.
My Josie.
I lunged at the first person I saw. We crashed to the ground, his head hitting the pavement with a satisfyingcrunch. I recognized the alpha as Pierce, Jericho’s fucking protégé. He tried to push me off him, but my rage fueled the punches I rained down on his face. No time for precision, no analysis of my enemy’s shortcomings for an efficient, strategic fight. No. This was raw, dirty aggression, and I reveled in the sickeningsnapof Pierce’s nose as it started gushing blood.
Cam barked at the alphas to get down on the ground, but murderous rage still hummed through my blood. I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t back down.
