Saving His Omega (The Green Mountain Pack #1)

Chapter Ten

Graham worked hard to keep himself under control as he helped his mate calm down. Tripp’s confession had hit him hard, and yet, in hindsight, it shouldn’t have. As protective of each other as the two brothers had been, the truth should have been something he’d at least considered. He’d always sensed there was more to their story than they’d revealed. He’d allowed his prejudice about what an omega and a sigma were capable of to overrule his instincts. When he mulled it over now, it was obvious that if Blake been the killer, he could have simply taken off on his own, knowing that he’d at least liberated Tripp from Victor’s abuse. Only the most extreme situation could have led him to take the most dangerous step of fleeing with a breeding omega.

He pressed a cup against Tripp’s lips as the boy’s crying subsided. “Drink some water.”

Of course, Tripp obeyed. With the scent of the mounting permeating the air, the omega’s deeply ingrained nature was obvious. He was submitting to Graham’s authority and knowing that he had his mate under control once more gave him some relief. He’d feared that anger had put up a wall between them that he’d have to again gently knock down. Now, his only concern was to hear the full truth of what had happened so that his beta brain could start figuring out a solution.

Once Tripp had sipped down some water, Graham put the cup aside and settled against the headboard with his mate cradled in his arms. “Tell me what happened.” Then he braced himself for what he was about to hear.

Tripp didn’t answer right away, but he did relax into Graham’s hold. Finally, his story came out in a halting fashion.

“Victor was beating me. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but that wasn’t unusual. He kept changing his rules without warning. I think…I think he wanted an excuse to punish me. He always mounted me afterward and he was so rough…”

Graham forced himself to keep his grip relaxed. Fury threatened to overwhelm him. It was a struggle for both him and his wolf

to remain calm.

Tripp sniffed and cuddled closer. “He used a belt, mostly. Sometimes I couldn’t sit without pain for days and it was hard to hide it, especially from Blake. I didn’t want him to worry. Of course he did. There was nothing for him to do about it and I didn’t want him to get into any more trouble with the alpha.”

When Tripp paused again, Graham ran a soothing hand over his belly. The pup was quiet, as if sensing the need for her parents to focus on each other.

“I cried and begged him to forgive me because he seemed to like that and would end it early. Usually. Not this time, though. He laughed, like my misery was funny, and hit me even harder. And when he finally mounted me, it was unbearable. He’d been particularly hard on me the night before and I was so sore…

“I struggled to be free of his hold and managed to slip out of his grip. I’d never done that before. Of course, I hadn’t. I knew my duty was to obey and give myself to my mate whenever he wanted me, but it hurt so badly.” Tripp bit back a cry.

Needing to do more to calm his mate and himself, Graham peppered the boy’s head with kisses. “No dominant could have a better mate than you. How you reacted is understandable, given what you were going through.”

“Victor didn’t think so. He and his wolf both howled and when he lunged to grab me again, I…lashed out. I kicked him. Hard. I didn’t mean to. It just happened. Victor fell back and hit his head on the corner of a table. He just lay there on the floor, not moving, his eyes staring up at the ceiling.

“I froze on the bed, watching, waiting. I was sure he’d leap up and hurt me more than he ever had before. But he didn’t.” Tripp shook his head. “I don’t know how long I stayed like that. Eventually, I found the courage to scurry around him and run to find Blake. He was the only one I trusted.”

“Of course,” Graham murmured, tamping down sudden impatience for the story to end now that he had the essence of it.

“At first, Blake was simply going to take responsibility for killing Victor, accept whatever punishment our sire meted out. I couldn’t let him sacrifice himself like that.” He turned his face toward Graham’s. “Leaving was my idea. Taking our chances as feral shifters or hiding in the human world seemed worth it. I was sure Blake could take care of me, and he did.”

Graham ran his hand through the loose strands of his mate’s beautiful hair. “And you decided to stick with the story that he killed Victor even if you managed to join another pack.”

Tripp nodded. “Blake said that I was too valuable for a pack to give up, that we’d be followed no matter where we went.” He closed his eyes. “I didn’t think we’d be found, so I agreed to the lie. I wish I hadn’t.”

As a fresh bout of tears overwhelmed his mate, Graham cradled and rocked him. Calming the omega was his first duty. But he was undeniably relieved when the crying stopped. Now was the time for action.

Graham helped Tripp to sit up, then stand. “Let’s get you dressed.”

The boy remained passive as Graham tugged a shirt, pants and shoes on him. He seemed steady enough to let go of him as Graham yanked his own clothing on.

“Come on, sweetheart.”

He led his mate out of the room and through the longhouse, keeping a firm grip on the omega’s shoulders so that he stayed safely upright. The building was quiet as most everyone had retired, if not fallen asleep already. He made for the backdoor and escorted his mate to his parents’ house. The skeleton of the one he was having built for his mate and pup caught his eye and tugged at his heart. He wished it were finished to give Tripp a private place to stay on his own. His old family home was the next best thing, however. He knew his mate would be well cared for there.

His father opened the door with an expression of surprise, but his mother quickly followed and sized up the situation quickly. She gently tugged Tripp out of Graham’s arms and led the boy over to the couch.

Graham waged an internal struggle between wanting to race over to his mate and reclaim him in his arms, and moving on with what was necessary.

He dropped his chin for a moment. “Dad, I need you to take care of Tripp for a while. Probably a few days.”

His father held up his hand. “Don’t bother to say more, son. You just do whatever it is you need to. We’ll be fine.”

Graham managed a quick smile. “Thanks.”

With a last glance at his mate, he turned and hurried back to the longhouse. Loathed as he was to disturb the alpha family at night, he had no choice. The problem couldn’t wait until morning. He stopped at the door of Elijah’s suite and knocked softly. It was hard not to do it again, and louder, but he knew better than to let his own jangled nerves get the better of him.

Eventually, the door opened and the alpha didn’t look pleased. “What’s the emergency?” The man’s tone was his usual even one with a slight edge to it.

“I’m sorry, Alpha. Here’s our problem.”

With the kind of brevity and directness that came with a beta mind, he recounted the basic facts of Tripp’s story.

Elijah sighed and shook his head. “I can’t say I’m surprised by this news.”

“Neither am I. Gods damn, I wish I’d pushed both of them more on this.”

“Knowing the truth certainly would have made things easier.” Elijah shrugged. “Now, we fix it. I’ll text Draco to see where they are and I’ll make sure he keeps them there until you arrive. I assume you’re going wolf?”

Graham nodded. “Yes, sir. I can cut through the woods faster than I can drive the roads. I don’t want Draco left with those fuckers on his own more than necessary.”

“Agreed. Take Leo and Chuck with you.”

Graham couldn’t keep the wry grimace off his face. “You don’t trust that I can handle myself with only Draco as back-up?”

“I trust that you can go head-to-head with one or two gammas, but four?” The alpha shook his head. “If there’s to be a fight, we must win it.”

“You’ll need to tighten security here, sir, and I don’t want to leave you short-handed.” Guilt flared. He ignored it. While he didn’t want to bring trouble to the pack, he couldn’t allow Blake to be punished for something he hadn’t done. The least he could do was to place as much risk on himself as possible.

“Don’t go doing my job for me, Beta. Go get the gammas and wait for me in the council room.”

Properly chastised, Graham forced himself to get in line and do as told.

Leo and Chuck were as excited as pups at the prospect of mixing it up with other shifters. They were contemporaries of Draco and Graham, so no surprise there. And they were well-trained. He had no doubt they could defeat the Low Country shifters in a fight. Graham just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Fighting of any kind, no matter the outcome, wasn’t good for the pack, which now included his mate and their pup, too. He wanted peace for their sakes as much as anyone else’s.

Elijah strode into the room and shoved his phone in Graham’s face. “Here’s their location. We lucked out. They stopped at a remote campsite. You’ll have no trouble reaching it from the woods, and Draco will make sure that the brand new SUV has trouble starting in the morning.”

Graham shook his head as he studied the location. “Humans don’t make things to last these days. A vehicle breakdown is always a risk.” He stepped away from the alpha. “We’ll leave as soon as I speak with my mate. I want to let him know what’s going on… with your permission, of course, Alpha.”

“Do as you think best. Wren wanted to know if Tripp is staying with your parents.”

“Yes, he is. I don’t want him left alone to stew. He’s very upset about everything, blaming himself.”

Elijah’s gaze narrowed. “There’s only one person to blame and that fucker’s already dead.” With that, he left, followed by the frisky gammas.

Certain of his duty, Graham hurried back to his parents’ house. He needed to reassure his mate as best he could that he’d return with his brother.

****

“Drink some more tea, dear.”

Tripp did as Carol directed. She and her mate were being so kind to him, a reassuring presence without pushing him too hard to go to bed. The least he could do was hydrate himself and the pup. The crying had left him hollowed out, feeling dry as dust. There was plenty of room for guilt and worry, however. Although he didn’t know what Graham was up to, he couldn’t help but fear that his mate was heading into trouble.

This is all my fault. He should have come clean from the start, except Blake had been adamant about not doing so. He’d always obeyed his brother, who seemed to know that Tripp was about to spill the truth before Blake was taken away. The look the sigma had given him, the tone of his voice, had cowed Tripp into silence. He hated himself for backing down. And he was so very sorry to have flung that sentiment onto his mate. Graham hadn’t deserved his fury. Lashing out at the man had been unforgivable. Yet, his mate hadn’t shown any anger. He’d simply treated Tripp as he’d always done as a caring and protective mate. It was that reaction as much as the renewed bond through mounting that had allowed him to cleanse himself of the lies he’d told.

Tripp’s wolf alerted him to Graham’s approach even before the door opened. He started to rise from the couch. His mate gestured for him to remain seated, and he didn’t hesitate to obey. From this point on, he didn’t want to be anything other than a dutiful omega.

Graham came over and went down on one knee. He plucked the cup of tea from Tripp’s grip and handed it over to his mother. The woman and her mate faded into the background.

“I’ve come to tell you that I’m leaving. A couple of gammas and I are going to get Blake and bring him back here.”

Relief vied with sudden worry to claim his attention. “You’ll be safe?”

“With Draco and the others beside me, yes.” He flashed a grin. “No offense, sweetheart, but those dominants from your old pack are a pretty mangy bunch. We’ll hold our own, don’t you worry about that. And we’re going to continue the diplomatic approach first. No one wants trouble.”

“Garth isn’t that smart,” Tripp dared to say.

Graham chuckled. “Yeah, we know. That’s why we’re going to give him a carrot and a stick to make the decision not to fight easier for him.”

“The alpha’s already given him so much. What more is there?”

“You let us worry about that.”

Tripp nodded. Naturally, the alpha and Graham had a plan and it wasn’t his place to question them. He had to have faith that things would work out.

“I’m worried about you!” Tripp couldn’t help voice his fears. “And I’m sorry for the horrible things I said and the way I acted.” He blinked back tears, which he still apparently had the capacity to shed. “I don’t hate you. I love you.”

His mate smiled. “I know you do and you know that I love you, too. Right?”

Tripp nodded, happy and miserable at the same time. “Please come back to me. To us.” As if she needed to join in the family’s declaration, the pup squirmed.

Graham placed his hand over her. “I’ll return soon. And I’ll have her uncle with me.” He rose and kissed Tripp.

It was done with such sweetness, it made his heart ache. He reached for Graham before he backed away. “Please, tell me what to do while you’re gone.”

“Stay here, listen to my mother, and take care of yourself and the pup. Rest . It’s been a hard day and it can’t be good for either of you.”

Tripp pulled his hand back. “Yes, Graham.”

Tripp watched his mate leave with only one backwards glance before opening the door and walking out. And when the first contraction ripped through him, Tripp kept his lips and his wolf clamped down tight and prepared to ride out the pain until his mate and brother returned. Apparently his vow to be obedient was going to be tested immediately. He felt no guilt, however. In this one way, he would defy his mate in order to protect him. The last thing Graham needed was to be distracted by the coming whelping.