Page 158 of His Stolen Omega

His brother had never been the type to pull back punches. Was even known to both literally and figuratively kick a man when he was down. Elm was stupid for thinking he’d be treated any differently just because they were family.

Hell, it was because they were family that he should have seen the underhanded blow coming in the first place.

“Who do I trust?” he mumbled to himself. If he had to pick a side, absolutely had to, whose would it be?

His brother?

Or his alpha?

If—and that was only if—he chose Levi, then…There had to be a reason he’d never brought Shiloh up to Elm. A reason that had nothing to do with their relationship. Or, perhaps did?

If he thought Elm would misunderstand, that could be a reason not to tell him, couldn’t it? That, plus knowing how sensitive Elm was when it came to comparing himself to the other people in Kian’s life, would be considered more than good enough causes to remain silent in Levi’s mind.

The Leviathan wasn’t chatty. Didn’t waste energy on words he didn’t feel held purpose.

On the flipside to that, Kian tended to be brash. He’d cut someone down with his tongue. Twist things to suit his purpose.

What did Elm know about Shiloh?

Not much.

He’d certainly never heard anything about the other omega having relations with the Leviathan. Surely that was the type of thing everyone would gossip about, even Sky—

Sky.

Sky tried reassuring Elm the reason he was spending so much time with Shiloh was because the guy was going through something. Something horrible involving a kidnapping and a drugging.

When he’d first heard about it, Elm had obviously felt terrible for Shiloh, but now he could relate, even though their circumstances were also vastly different.

They’d both been taken against their will, but while Elm had been drugged with Rebirth, Shiloh had apparently been given a heat inducer and forced into his mating period.

Before being thrown into a locked room with a random alpha.

An alpha who’d also been taken from the streets and had his rut triggered.

Sky had mentioned the alpha Shiloh slept with was someone powerful. Powerful enough to put Kian on edge.

There was only one person Elm knew of that could stand toe to toe against his brother.

Leviathan Morningstar.

“Good Light.” He pushed off the wall and turned, intent on making his way back to the restaurant. He needed to confirm if his theory was accurate.

Then he’d punch both alphas for their deception.

Elm had only just taken a step out of the alley when someone grabbed him. The attack was so sudden, his mind blanked, not even considering fighting back until he found himself tossed into a van.

His head whacked against the opposite sliding door and he cursed, curling in on himself protectively when the two burly men who’d just shoved him into the vehicle climbed in after him.

The door wasn’t even fully shut before the driver sped off.

“Please tell me I’m not seriously being kidnapped again?” Elm groaned and rubbed at the back of his skull, feeling a knot forming.

It was obvious these guys—four in total, including the driver—weren’t White Frost. If they had been, they would have handled Elm more delicately. They weren’t Eumia either, because they would have taken the time to name drop Kian instead of manhandling Elm like a sack of moldy potatoes.

There were two back rows in the van. One of the men joined a guy who’d already been way back there, while the other took the seat next to Elm.

“Quiet,” the man next to him snapped, then added, “Tell us what happened to our guys at the restaurant?”