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“My name is Uriel,” he said wearily. “I’m an omega.”

They looked at him again, understanding dawning in their eyes.

“You got out?” the first omega said. He had scars on half his face, and one eye shut tight. “I’m Orrin.”

“Not too long ago,” Uriel admitted. “It was hard. I still—I still have trust issues.”

“No kidding,” said a second omega. This one looked unharmed, except he was shaking all over. “I’m Yves.”

One by one, they made their way out of the truck. Some of them had babies, some of them didn’t. They desperately needed food. Uriel didn’t want to leave them alone here, but they were in no state to move right now.

“I have to get you some food and water,” he said, digging in his pouch for a small stack of spell sheets. “Be back in twenty. These are some paper spells for self-defense, in case any other trucks come up the road. Activated by blood. There’s descriptions on the back that will tell you what they do.”

“Where’s the other guy?” Orrin asked. “The one who spoke to us first.”

Uriel winced, then realized he shouldn’t be wincing because he didn’t want these omegas to think Bruiser was a threat. “He should be around. He’s an actual alpha. Firefighter. You—You can trust him.”

“You don’t seem so sure,” Yves said doubtfully.

Uriel sighed, his shoulders sagging. He rubbed his face. “Bruiser and I, we’re—complicated. It’s not a safety thing. Just a past history thing. You can singe off his eyebrows, but don’t hurt him too badly. He’s not the one at fault.”

The omegas looked unconvinced. Gods, this was awkward. Uriel hoped Bruiser wasn’t nearby and listening.

“I’ll get you water and snacks,” he said. “Be back soon.”

He fled into the sky, itching to leave completely, but knowing he couldn’t until the omegas were safe. Damn it.

He felt better the further he got from the facility, landing at the nearest general store with a sigh. The place was running low on supplies because Uriel had damn near cleaned them out yesterday, so this time he bought different things—larger bottles of water, plastic cups so the omegas could share the bottles, and various cookies, along with butter and raisin bread. He got several packs of wet wipes and diapers too, and paid with Bruiser’s credit card.

He was feeling slightly calmer by the time he returned to the facility. The omegas were impressed by Uriel’s traveling case; they passed around the snacks, wipes, and diapers, and shared the bottles of water.

Uriel had just gotten all of their food preferences jotted down on his phone, when someone approached from behind.

“Uriel.”

His heart slammed against his ribs. He whirled around and backed away, eyes darting to his broom—too far away.

“We need to talk,” Bruiser said.

13

BRUISER IS TRYING VERY HARD

“No, we don’t,” Uriel said, trying not to panic. There was nothing he wanted to discuss with Bruiser. Not now, and not ever.

Nearby, the omegas watched them, their gazes bouncing back and forth.

Bruiser pulled out his wallet and offered Uriel two more credit cards. “Here.”

Uriel stared. “What?”

“I’m giving them to you in good faith,” Bruiser said slowly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“And... you think I’m going to stick around because you’re giving me credit cards?”

Bruiser winced. “I don’t have much else on me to use as collateral. Do you want my driver’s license? My phone?”

Why was he trying to get Uriel to stay? How much had he figured out? What did he want? Uriel didn’t reach for the cards. His mind was blanking out; all he knew was that he needed to flee. He took another step back, feeling less steady than before.