My alphas were just a few miles away and I couldn’t get to them. An agonized scream built in my chest, but I held it in, not making a sound. The fact that they were alive was my life raft. I held on to it tightly, the only thing tethering me to life in the midst of the storm.
Breathe in.
They’re alive.
Breathe out.
They’re coming back to me.
Breathe in.
I’ll take down everyone who harmed us.
I was starting to understand why Angie had talked to me about omegas becoming feral. A single-minded viciousness was building in me. It felt unfamiliar and yet so right at the same time.
“Can I sit next to you?” Lilah’s soft voice startled me out of my thoughts. She looked pale and was wrapped in a massive sweatshirt that smelled like her alphas. I brought my hand up to my chest to try to soothe the ache of jealousy there. I wished I had something that smelled like my alphas, but it wasn’t safe to return to our house.
“Of course,” I responded, scooting over to make more room.
She sat down, leaning her head on my shoulder.
“This is going to be the fucking worst,” she said.
I snorted at her blunt honesty, so similar to Ben’s. She leaned into me, taking my hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. Her touch loosened something in my chest and I could breathe a little easier.
Noah walked over to us, carrying a plate of food that he set down on the coffee table in front of Lilah.
“You sure you want to watch this?” he asked his omega softly.
“I have to,” Lilah responded. Noah nodded, as if expecting that answer before squeezing in next to her.
“I really believe this isn’t the end of the story,” she said, turning towards me. “They’re coming back to you, tous.”
I took a shuddering breath, willing her words to be true.
Gerald sat down on my other side, handing me a plate of food that I took without interest. “Sam’s working with Amirah’s pack on the omega rescue mission, but he’ll be in soon.”
“We need to come up with a good name for the mission,” Lilah said. “We can’t just keep calling it the omega facility rescue extravaganza.”
“Don’t think anyone’s called it that, darling,” Orion said with a smile as he sat beside us. The rest of Lilah’s pack was trickling in and getting food from the buffet.
“But still,” she insisted. “Operationsomething.”
“Operation Omega Rescue,” Grayson said gruffly, sitting in a chair that didn’t look nearly large enough to hold his massive frame.
Lilah rolled her eyes. “That’s so obvious,” she huffed.
Grayson’s lips twitched. “Let’s hear your ideas then, kitten.”
“How about Operation FTA: Fuck These Assholes,” she said, a gleam in her eyes.
Noah snorted, pulling his omega in close and nuzzling the side of her face.
“It has a ring to it,” Gerald said dryly.
The tiniest smile tugged at my lips as I recalled mine and Genevieve’s code. I relaxed into the couch cushions, balancing my plate in my lap.
“Yo, Matteo,” Orion called to his packmate, who had just entered the room. “If I told you this mission was called Operation FTA, what would you think that means?”
