Then something happens I never thought to worry about—I'm noticed. I don't just mean someone checks me out as they walk by or just mumblesexcuse me.
No, I'mnoticed.I try to make myself as nonchalant as possible when following my targets. I've never had any issues.
Until her.
Pint-sized, ridiculously long red hair, big blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a pointy nose that twitches...The woman stares at me. She shouldn't steal my attention as much as she is, but I'm slowly freaking the fuck out.
Her sweet, salty rain scent mixed with her characteristics scream omega which means this is the last place she should be. The little redhead needs to fucking leave.
Her head cocks to the side and her nose twitches again. Then she has the audacity to frown at me likeI'mthe one being a fucking creep.
A slight thud in the alley forces me into action. This girl needs to leave.Now, before her distraction puts another omega in danger. Hell, just her being near me right now puts her at risk too.
Loosening my fists, I step forward quickly and shoo her away with as little threat in my movement as possible.Big mistake. The girl sucks in a strangled breath and jumps away from me...right into the fucking mouth of the alley.
With her hands up in surrender, she backs away with a shake of her head. Cursing quietly, I reach for her. Right as I'm about to grab her wrist and haul her back to safety, the omega is snatched off her feet.
With a meaty arm around her waist, the ringleader of the group I've been following drags her into the shadows of the alley. Not once does the poor girl scream or cry which only serves to scare me further.
"Let her go!" I snarl as three assholes surround me. They chuckle and lunge at me, spurring me into defensive mode. Right as I'm about to block a punch to my jaw, my alpha instincts are triggered by bright red hair swinging back and forth.
She's too far. I need to get to her.
Thrown over the man’s shoulder, she must be unconscious. Her limp form flips a switch in me, and I go from defense to offense. Except I should have blocked the fists first before throwing my own. All I do is step right into his meaty fist.
Blood pools in my mouth before I register the sparks of pain encompassing my jaw and cheek. "FUCK!" I grunt, careening to the side. A kick to my thigh and back send me crashing into a fucking puddle.
"Weak alpha," someone taunts, and another dead man snorts.
Dirty boots stop in front of me, splashing more water and muck in my eyes. Spitting, I avoid eye contact for a momentlonger. I don't look up; I only breathe and listen. Let them think I'm weak. I've killed bigger, meaner parasites than these three. The only difference is this time I'm failing at my one fucking purpose in life.
The omega in the flower shop is safe for now, but because of my stupidity, I put an innocent bystander in danger. No matter that it's her fault for stopping and staring, I should have told her to go away sooner. All I did was stare and allow the risk to grow. It would have taken one breeze for her scent to reach the group of traffickers.
Flashes of her fear-filled eyes as she was dragged away from me make me blink. Her small form being manhandled moments ago has my chest inflating with rage. But it's the loud thud and slam of a car door that spur me into action.
There's no way in hell I'm letting that omega out of my sight.
Springing from the ground, I dive between two sets of legs, my sole focus on reaching her. The coiled fear in my gut drives me forward but tunnels my vision too. I'm so focused on getting to the rain scented omega that the burnt rubber of the alpha looming above me doesn’t register until his boot pounds my skull into the ground.
I can't even fucking curse at the pain because I'm rapidly losing consciousness. The last thing I hear before everything goes black brings me relief.
"Bring him with us. Boss will have fun breaking him too."
At least I'll see the girl again.
Seventeen
Silas
"It's no wonder we forgot it. Who the hell puts it there?" Kade grumbles, tossing the packet of seasoning into the cart. I don't blame him. It took us a bit to find it, only serving to agitate him the longer we're away from Vivie.
I don't love the feeling of her being far, but she's been calm the past five minutes we've been hunting. My princess knows to sound the alarm if something is wrong, so I'm not too worried.
Though leaving her alone in public makes me a little itchy. Mostly because I know she struggles, and a lot of people don't know how to interact with someone different from them. I've witnessed the issues Vivie's had with strangers once they realize she won't respond. The moment they register that shecan'trespond, things get even weirder.
We've talked about it many times. Each time I agree with her, it's annoying and frustrating. I don't ever want to speak for my girl. She's a person and will communicate with gestures if she wants to. If not, just sayhave a good dayand move on if you can't handle the silence.
When she urged us away from the young group of skittish omegas, I felt so damn proud of her. I knew Vivie would preferwe stick with her, but she showed empathy and concern for others.
