Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Silas
I've never been someone who feels like being a beta makes me lesser.
To put it simply, betas of the pack have an important job—keeping everyone grounded.
It's a different kind of care than the alphas provide their omegas, but not being weighed down by strong instinctual drives allows me to have a clear head when they can't.
When my skills as pack beta are needed the most, I'm useless. Completely fucking useless. Without Vivian here to help me with the alphas, I'm unable to be what they need.
It's like we're on a pitch black rollercoaster. The ups and downs making me nauseous and being unable to see when we'll drop has my muscles tenser than ever before.
I can see it in their postures too. Feeling their heightened emotions in the pack bond as a beta means I'm not being battered and swallowed by them.
Sometimes I wish I had the ability to feel as much as they do, but I'm grateful for my designation right now.
I just really fucking wish I could do something to help.
Kade won't give up driving, and Jarek is losing his mind by the mile. We're near the Canadian border now without any clue where to go next. Kade explained that the pull to keep driving has stopped, but he can't pin down a direction to go now.
The OPS—Omega Protection Services—is doing its own investigation. We need as many people searching as possible, but we're not going to sit at home and wait. They'll use their skills and we'll use our connection to find her.
We're close. So fucking close. Now we're waiting on Jarek to break through Vivian's walls. I don't think he's fucking eaten in the past forty-eight hours and he's definitely not looking good.
"Kade, maybe you should try to reach her too," I suggest, sliding my phone into my back pocket. Leaning against the side of the truck, I cross my arms without realizing I've triggered my pack lead.
He turns around so fucking fast and stands toe to toe with me. The two inches he has over me suddenly feels like a whole fucking foot.
"You don't think I've been trying this whole time?" His voice is low and deadly, sending chills down my spine.
I know enough not to raise my chin higher or push back into his space, so I stay very still and look him in the eye. "I didn't know."
Behind him, the gas pump thunks to an end, but Kade makes no move to pull the nozzle from the truck.
"Every time I push and demand she let me in, she only builds the wall stronger and I lose a bit of her at the same time.
We can't afford for me to push the pull I feel away.
I don't know what the hell is happening, but she's not. Letting. Me. In!"
"Okay," I breathe, uncrossing my arms. "I'm sorry—"
He snarls and slams his hand against the truck beside me. "I lose my focus and my mind every time I try. I have to focus! It's the only way!"
"Don't you fucking shout at him!"
Shit. Glancing over Kade's shoulder, I see Jarek sprinting toward us with way too much protection and challenge in his eyes.
Before I can stop either of them, Kade turns on his heel and meets the other alpha head on with a warning growl. "Shout at him? I wasn't shouting at him."
Normally those words are totally acceptable and true.
I know he was just expressing his panic about the situation, and was no longer angry with me.
Jarek could have heard his words for what they were, except that's not what happens because the dominance and defensiveness pouring off of Kade triggers his instincts to protect me and fight for me.
"Fuck," I groan and try to move around Kade. The asshole doesn't budge though. If anything, he steps back and presses me against the truck. "Kade, stop. It's Jay."
"Let him go," Jarek snarls, and I catch a small glimpse of him that makes my stomach bottom out. They're about to brawl and there's nothing I can do.
"I'm not hurting him. And there's no way I'm letting him go to you when your fists are clenched and inching back like you're about to throw hands. Back down," Kade warns. The vibrations of his deep warning run through my chest and soothe some of my jagged edges.
Their fierce protectiveness is amped up way too fucking far only because our omega is missing. Missing and hurting. They won't let anything happen to me, the next in line of vulnerability. Protecting me from each other is a recipe for disaster though.
"I wouldn't ever hurt my mate," Jarek denies vehemently.
Kade is as stiff as a statue, not budging or even thinking about it I bet. "Not on purpose. And he's our mate. Silas get in the truck," Kade demands, shifting enough for me to shimmy out of the small space.
To be fair, I could have forced my way free but that would have caused another issue.
I'm the beta...I'm meant to be the calming, helpful presence.
Except I'm not without Vivie. Hundreds of miles away from home with no destination and a horrific amount of fear has the three of us all kinds of fucked up.
Without her, our home, and our lives, we're fumbling and chaotic.
"I'll get in the car when you do," I decline, looking between both of them. Fucking hell, I swear the air around the three of us is vibrating. The tension and coiled aggression make my breath stutter.
"Silas. Get in the damn car."
Jarek takes a step forward. "Don't swear at him."
At this point, Jarek will find any reason to throw down with Kade. His long hair is wild around his shoulders and the white button-up shirt he's been wearing for far too long is rumpled and partially unbuttoned.
"Jay, stop," I plead, stepping toward my alpha. "This isn't like you. Come back to us, okay? You can tell Kade to apologize for raising his voice but you can't try to kill him." Smirking, I try to lift the vibes a bit to no avail.
"Apologize," Jarek demands, voice tight. I fear I haven't helped at all when his bright green eyes darken with even more fucking challenge. Kade must see it too because his only response is a rumbled warning.
I'm moved out of the way in the next second as Jarek rushes our pack alpha. "Stop!" I shout, catching my balance only to immediately cringe back when Kade swings his fist first. "Son of a bitch."
I'm not the one who stops them though. They each get one punch in the jaw before they're startled apart by a screaming omega at the gas pump beside us.
Her face is white as a sheet. Her hands are held up in surrender as she scrambles to get away from the fucking idiots.
When she trips over her feet and crashes to the ground, Jarek and Kade immediately move to help her.
Except, while I know they feel horrible, they're still giving off some feral energy that shouldn't be anywhere near the poor girl.
An earsplitting scream rips from her again at the same time she flinches in terror. Jarek and Kade immediately stop and backpedal with apologies and quiet curses spilling from their swollen faces.
Running a shaking hand over my face, I take a settling breath. What the actual fuck just happened? I can't believe Jarek and Kade just fought outside of a gas station. They scared an omega, something they never want to do.
We watch with our hearts in our throats as she climbs to her feet and jumps into her car. The peeling of her tires on the way out of the parking lot makes my stomach churn.
The alphas just stand there staring after the stranger’s car. I guess it's up to me to put my foot down for once. If the past five minutes taught me anything is that they won't hurt me or let the other one even look like they might.
I keep my eyeroll small and clear my throat. "I'm going to drive. No," I cut Kade off before he can argue, "You need to close your eyes for a while. Jarek will continue trying to get through to her. I have a few suggestions from our contacts about places to check. I'm driving."
They glance at each other; the guilt and sorrow in their gazes cause my eyes to burn. All of this is so fucked up. We're literally tearing ourselves apart without Vivian and the deep bond we share.
"But first," I add, pinning them with a glare. "Apologize to each other."
How the roles have reversed.
To my delight, Kade takes his control back.
Turning on Jarek, he wraps his hand around our mate's throat and backs him into the truck.
I have no idea what he whispers in Jay's ear, but relief floods my system when he nods and sags against Kade.
My dick twitches when Kade claims his mouth in a punishing kiss.
From fighting to tongue fucking...
Vivie...Where are you, Princess?