Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Saint Hall, Haven
I scream.
Adrenaline surges through me. My pulse roars in my ears. I’m breathing so hard that I can hardly catch a breath.
Is my heart going to explode in my chest?
Stop, stop, just…
I’m struggling, and my arm hurts where Richard’s twisted it behind me. My wrist feels like it may break.
My eyes blur with involuntary tears.
I glance behind me.
“Ghost…? I’m here. It’ll be okay.” I catch a glimpse of Ghost’s face.
Ghost looks even more wrecked in the light of the manicured garden, which we’re being marched across by Richard and his gang of Betas, than he did in the basement.
There’s a purple bruise along Ghost’s cheek, where Richard struck him, after the Betas finally wrenched him away and managed to hold him still.
Obviously, that knothead doesn’t believe in a fair fight between an Omega and an Alpha.
Did it make Richard feel like a big Alpha to beat up an Omega? An Omega who fucking kicked his ass one on one.
Richard wrapped Thomas’ tie around Ghost’s head, using it as a gag to muffle his savage growling.
I can still hear it though.
Ghost meets my eye.
He can’t mask his pain, although he tries. He’s battling to reach me. It’s taking three Betas to hold him in place with his arms wrenched behind him.
Three Betas who tower above him.
Three Betas who haven’t been starved in a basement for months.
Three Betas with bulging muscles and guns.
I’m sure that they feel really brave right now.
I try to smile at Ghost reassuringly, but it’s not convincing.
Thomas knew that this time would come, and I know that he’s been working on a plan.
So have I.
I didn’t expect it to happen so soon, however, or for it to be so violent.
I also didn’t expect the fear and rage that seared through the bond from Thomas and Lincoln only minutes after Richard phoned to tell Raylan that he’d discovered me.
What the hell did Raylan do to them?
I told Ghost that things would be okay.
They won’t.
They fucking won’t.
Unless I can think up a plan fast.
When Richard shoves open the huge oak entrance door, which stands between decorative columns in the Colonial Revival mansion, Saint Hall, I panic.
I kick out at Richard, who’s breathing as hard as I am. He dodges, however, and I meet only air.
He tightens his hold on my arm.
“Let me go,” I howl.
I squirm in an effort to escape his grasp.
“Shut up,” Richard snarls, “or I’ll use an Alpha command to make you obey.”
I stop struggling in horror.
He wouldn’t.
Except, then I smell the burned coffee of his furious scent and I know that he’s been pushed far enough to do it.
Richard’s lip is busted, and his nose is bleeding. His golden hair is a mess. His preppy white shirt is ripped and stained with his own blood.
He looks like a posh frat boy who wandered into a biker bar.
And lost the fight.
I can’t help smirking because he lost the fight to my Omega .
And that’s satisfying on so many levels.
“What are you smiling about?” Richard asks, sullenly. He pulls me down the elegant corridor toward a door at the bottom. Our footsteps clatter loudly on the marble floors. “Do you have any idea what Raylan is going to do to you and your psycho friend? I once thought that you were smart, but you’ve played into Raylan’s hands, or do you truly have no notion what’s going on in this pack? This town? You know what? Fuck you.” He rubs at the scratches on his neck, wincing. “You deserve what’s coming to you.”
My insides turn to ice.
I’m about to meet the Mayor of Haven.
My family’s enemy.
My enemy.
The asshole who has hurt the men I love.
I’m trembling but I force myself to tilt up my chin, as Richard pushes open the high, carved oak door at the bottom of the corridor. Then he drags me inside, while three of the Beta enforcers yank Ghost into the room as well.
They’re holding Ghost too tightly. I can see purple bruises blossoming on his bare arms, where they’re holding him above the elbow.
I squint against the sudden bright light in the room.
It’s Raylan’s study.
The morning sunshine streams through the long, multi-pane windows that take up most of the study’s back wall. It gleams like dancing fire over the gold gilt, which covers the furniture, antiques, and heavy picture frames.
There’s a marble fireplace with wide lintel. Two golden, velvet armchairs are placed either side of it, which are gaudy with tassels.
The room is extravagant and ostentatious but also cold.
It screams status and power.
There are no photographs on the wall. No pictures of Thomas or Mercy.
It’s a room decorated to intimidate and boast of the Mayor’s power.
If I didn’t already know that the man’s political ambitions mattered to him above everything else, including pack and family, I know it now.
For the first time, my anger begins to extinguish my fear, giving me strength.
On the opposite wall to the window is a huge oak desk that’s covered in piles of files, diaries, state of the art technology, three phones, and two computers.
It’s neat and regimented like a war room.
In the shadows, an Alpha sits in a chocolate, leather chair behind the desk.
He’s a strong man with muscular shoulders and a powerful chest. Like Thomas, he has copper hair. He also has a neat, matching mustache and sideburns.
He has the same aquamarine eyes as Thomas too. He must once have been the beau of the town like Thomas and his sister are now.
He’s dressed in an elegant, designer black suit.
Raylan St Clair, Head Alpha of the Saints pack and Mayor of Haven.
My heartbeat becomes impossibly faster. I struggle to draw in deep, gulping breaths.
I don’t look at Raylan for long, however, because my gaze snaps to the other men in the study.
Thomas is sprawled in one of the golden armchairs that flanks the fireplace, nursing a whiskey. He pointedly doesn’t look up at either Ghost or me.
At first, I feel outrage swirl through me. But then, I catch Thomas’ wince, along with the way that his jaw clenches and his hand tightens around his glass.
A tsunami of anger surges through the bond from Thomas.
He’s definitely not okay with what’s happening. But he’s wearing a mask.
He’s acting.
He’s been bluffing his dad for most of his life in order to survive. He knows how to play this.
So, I’ll trust him.
Then I glance at Lincoln, and my breath stutters.
He’s standing behind Thomas, gripping the back of the chair hard enough to break it.
Lincoln’s left eye is swollen. A dribble of blood is running down from his temple. He’s also holding himself stiffly like maybe his ribs are cracked.
A Beta enforcer who’s almost as large as Lincoln is standing behind Lincoln with a pistol aimed at the back of his head.
No wonder Thomas is trying to act like he’s unaffected by his pack being torn apart in front of him.
It’s the only card that he has left.
We could die today.
Richard yanks me impatiently further into the study like a rabbit that he’s hunted and now wants to show off bloody in his jaws to the leader of the wolf pack.
“Look, Raylan, what I caught.” Richard is the type of asshole who is too used to his parents making a shelf in the lounge for his Participation Medals. “This one has the bonding bite, but they both fought as hard as if they were bonded. The male one is feral. You should be able to put ones like that fucking down, if you ask me.”
“No one did, Dick,” Thomas drawls.
“Fuck you, Tommy. You can’t talk yourself out of this for once.”
He doesn’t get the reaction he’s hoping from Raylan, however, who looks impassive. Instead, his contemptuous gaze sweeps over Richard, taking in his torn shirt and bloodied nose.
Richard’s triumphant grin dies. He shoves me to the ground.
Ghost growls, struggling futilely again.
“I’ll fucking kill you.” Lincoln’s eyes flash.
He takes a step out from behind the chair.
“Shoot the bodyguard, if he moves again,” Raylan says, sharply.
“Stop,” Thomas orders with such a snap of dominance that everybody stills, including the Betas. “Mr. West, return to your position.”
It’s me, however, that Lincoln looks to.
I move my hand with the snake tattoo subtly in a slinking side to side gesture that only Vito, he, and I know means the same as nodding.
Lincoln obeys me as much as Thomas, when he steps back behind the chair.
“I’m impressed.” Raylan steeples his hands on the desk. “Your bodyguard overpowered six of my best men before he could be subdued. He’s a killer. But he looks like a kitten when responding to your orders.”
Thomas swirls the whiskey in his glass, and the ice clinks. “A kitten with claws.”
“You’re impressed with your son ?” Richard splutters, looking lost. “He’s the one who… Isn’t he in trouble? I just risked injury to…”
Richard breaks off, huffing in frustration. He attempts to fix his hair.
Then his gaze becomes half-hooded, before he slinks across the study. He hops onto the desk next to Raylan, playing with the mayor’s tie.
“Look at my poor busted lip.” Richard bats his eyelashes, leaning in like he hopes that Raylan will kiss it better.
I jump, when instead, Raylan slaps Richard’s hand away from his tie, before pushing him off his desk and sprawling onto the hard marble floor.
Richard lets out a wounded sound of both shock and pain.
I flinch.
“Don’t embarrass yourself.” Raylan fixes his tie. “Do you think that I want a pathetic, weak Second Alpha? At least the man who my son chose as his bonded Beta can fight better than any Beta I’ve seen. I admire that type of thing. But you…?”
Richard’s lip trembles. “You know that I’m not a trained fighter. Hell, I should be running a business. I’m fucking smart. But you don’t respect me. Why can’t you…just once…value me as more than a pretty face?”
Raylan leans down, curling a strand of Richard’s golden hair between his fingers. “Pretty boy, I value your tight ass too.”
Richard’s eyes flash with rage and then hurt. He pulls away from Raylan’s touch, before standing and backing up a step.
I stare at Raylan.
This is the man who Thomas was raised by…?
A man who truly does value only one type of strength.
A monster.
Except, I’ve been around men like him all my life. And that means, if I understand him, then he can be tricked.
Raylan turns away from Richard like he can be dismissed as easily as that, before his dangerous gaze sweeps over Ghost and then me.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Raylan demands. “You bond with a psycho Beta, a rebellious Omega, and fail to break our enemy Omega. If you’d tamed the feral one, then I’d at least think that you had a chance of controlling this situation. But look at him. Even with a gag in his mouth, he’s growling. Does he have rabies?”
I want to rage, stand up, leap across the desk, and turn Raylan into a truly knotless Alpha.
Ghost is rubbing off on me.
Actually, all my men are.
Except, I’d die before I took one step or Lincoln would.
So, I need to prove to this asshole that Thomas is in control.
And I know just how to do that.
I take a deep breath, in and out. My heartbeat slows.
I can do this.
I drop to my knees, ignoring Lincoln’s gasp and Ghost’s distressed whine.
“You don’t have to do this,” Lincoln snarls.
I ignore him.
I crawl across the floor, as my hair falls across my face. When I reach Thomas’ smart black shoes, I don’t raise my head. Thomas is holding himself as still as a statue.
I have to put on the best act of my life. Then I remember what Ghost did for me.
I lower my head and kiss the top of Thomas’ shoe.
To my surprise, I feel a burst of arousal through the bond.
Something to remember when I’m not saving our lives.
“See,” Thomas sounds as coldly cocky, as he did in high school, “she is trainable. Doesn’t she look tame to you?”
“She wasn’t like this with me,” Richard argues in confusion.
“Of course she wasn’t like this with you .” Thomas gives a cruel laugh. “She’s my Omega, and you’re a dick. Ghost, stop that insufferable growling, or I’ll make you regret it.”
Please, listen to him.
Has Ghost worked out that Thomas is acting yet?
All of a sudden, Ghost’s growling breaks off.
I let out a breath of relief.
I straighten but remain on my knees.
“Anyway, Dicky, you found her in the basement, where I’ve been training her. I hoped to have them both tamed, before I presented them to you, Dad.” Thomas finishes his whiskey, placing down the empty glass on the floor. “I bonded my bodyguard because I knew that he would fight to the death for me. What better person to have under your control? He’s been trained at that academy to sacrifice his life for me.”
Raylan gives a slow laugh. “Hell, you’re even more coldblooded than I’d guessed. I loved your mom, but your bonded pack are just useful tools to you. Don’t you have a heart?”
Thomas’ jaw clenches. “I did. It was filled with love for my sister. But you ripped it out. If my chest is empty, whose fault is that? My bonded are simply my property. I’ll use them as I see fit. Mr. West is my weapon. My Omega is my tamed breeder.”
I flinch.
Thomas is voicing my deepest fears.
He doesn’t mean any of this, right? He’s acting as much as I was, when I kneeled and crawled to his feet, playing at being submissive.
Right?
“You’re ruthless.” To my surprise, sadness sweeps across Raylan’s expression. “I killed the kind little boy who would do anything to protect his sister, when I sent you to that Alpha Center, didn’t I?”
“Twice,” Thomas grits out. “You sent me… twice .”
“Hmm.” Raylan nods. “Precisely.”
“And isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Seeing you like this…?” Raylan shakes his head. “I don’t think that it is.”
“Tough.”
“Still, we are where we are. Your punishment is over. No more endless paperwork. Perhaps now, you’ll stop acting like an ally to the fucking liberals, and I can start trusting you.”
Thomas nods.
Richard darts forward toward Ghost, wrenching him away from the Betas into the middle of the room. “What about this one? You’re not bonded to him. You can’t claim that he’s tamed.”
Richard moves his hand to the scruff of Ghost’s neck, squeezing hard enough to make Ghost whimper.
“That’s it.” Lincoln marches forward, throwing over his shoulder at the Beta with the gun, “If you’re going to shoot, then you’d better not miss because I’ll fucking ram that gun up your ass.”
The Beta hesitates, appearing more scared of Lincoln than of disobeying his Head Alpha.
“Link,” I hiss, terrified.
Thomas leans forward in his seat, hurriedly placing his hand on my shoulder, which is both anchoring but also a subtle way of keeping me on my knees and out of danger.
Richard’s eyes widen in fear, as Lincoln bears down on him.
For the first time, however, Ghost doesn’t seem wary of Lincoln but is staring at him like he’s his savior.
“Let go of him, or lose your fingers and then your balls,” Lincoln snarls.
Richard lets go of Ghost like he’s on fire, scrambling away from him. He falls back onto his ass.
Lincoln gently pulls the tie out of Ghost’s mouth, soothing the redness at the edges of his mouth, before pulling him into his arms. Ghost nuzzles against his neck like Lincoln no longer means danger but protection.
He takes desperate, deep breaths of Lincoln’s scent gland, before allowing Lincoln to hold him tightly to his chest.
Ghost glares at Raylan, however, with challenging defiance.
Raylan merely looks amused. “What are your feelings for this feral Omega who your bodyguard appears fond of, son?”
“Feelings? I thought that we’d established I don’t have a heart.” Thomas’ voice is icy.
“Then why did he have your tie?” Richard demands.
“What’s that? I didn’t think that you’d be able to speak after the embarrassment of being bested by both an Omega and a Beta on the same day.” Thomas’ lip curls. “I use that tie, in the same way that you did, as a gag or leash. It helps to remind the creature of who owns him.”
“Creature?” Raylan arches his brow.
“He’s Fletcher’s brother. I hate him.” Thomas pushes himself to his feet. I flinch at the same time that Ghost whines, high and distressed. Lincoln tightens his arm around Ghost. Shit, does Thomas mean any of this? His voice is harsh and so unlike how he normally sounds, when we’re alone. I think that it’s a lie for the sake of keeping us safe, but there’s something underlying it that holds the ring of truth as well. “Fletcher only truly loves one person: Ghost. It’d devastate him to know that he was being imprisoned and hurt by our pack. And that makes me really fucking happy.”
Raylan raps on his desk in delight. “Now you’re getting it. The hunt to bring down your enemy is a blood sport. There’s nothing like it.”
Thomas holds his hands behind him. “I’m beginning to understand that. Ghost’s brother is both the reason that my sister could have died and the reason that I was sent to the Alpha Center. I like the fight that Ghost still has in him. It amuses me to break him slowly.”
Raylan assesses Thomas. “You truly aren’t the same man that you were.”
Thomas’ expression becomes haunted. “Didn’t you want to change me? I’m not a good man. But you taught me the power of revenge, Dad. Revenge that a hunter takes with his own bloodied hands.”