Chapter Five #3
Loan sharks never dealt with guns. They preferred their messages to be more personal—fists, perhaps even a knife.
These were hired thugs, paid to do the dirty work for someone else, I presumed.
But why take a child? This omega’s child in particular.
Even with his defiant mouth, what could he possibly have done to warrant this?
Unless they somehow figured out she was mine.
There was no evidence of a pregnancy, or a baby, in any of the photos or CCTV I’d studied, mine or otherwise.
I had watched him. He could have hidden it well, but that was unlikely.
Not with his slight frame. Everything I’d seen was monotonous and not worth the storage on my hard drive.
Was it intentional? I wanted to believe he was lying, that this was a desperate attempt to trick me into providing for him.
Since the alternative was acknowledging someone else was playing me for a fool.
And I had no idea who.
“And she might be yours by blood, but she’s not fucking yours,” he tacked on, his temper escalating. “You made that perfectly clear when you shunned me after I tried to contact you.”
“You could have tried harder. How na?ve do you have to be to—” I gritted my teeth, willing my tone back to its usual controlled rumble. “This is why I don’t fuck with omegas. No initiative. You strut around, believing the world is a fucking playground, relying on an Alpha to handle everything.”
Of course he was like every other omega. He had bite, attitude, qualities I’d never seen in the omegas I’d dealt with, and it had stirred me. But it didn’t matter. Fundamentally, he was identical. Needy. Desperate to be fucked and bred so he could reap the benefits.
I would give him none.
“Fuck you,” he snapped. “I did fine without you for over two years. Can you even imagine what it’s like to be rejected? Cast aside, pregnant, with no clue where to go or what to do, and the Alpha responsible gives zero shits?”
My jaw tightened. I had another headache brewing. “I told you to take the pill.”
He scoffed. “You expected a destitute omega to run down to the chemist and buy a pill? I had nothing, not even the fucking bus fare home. You wanted out of this room as quickly as you got your trousers on, don’t pretend otherwise.
You knotted me knowing what could happen, and you left me to deal with it myself.
If I could have done more, so could you.
Don’t you dare blame me for it all.” Tears welled in his eyes again; his bottom lip wobbled.
“I didn’t ask for any of this. I tried my best, I did everything, and they still took my baby! ”
A plot was unfolding under my nose, in which the omega was a pawn, an unlucky participant, and I’d find out what it entailed. Who had answered the calls? Who had tampered with my surveillance without my knowledge? Who had followed Dylan’s every move and learned all of his habits and weaknesses?
My blood boiled.
It was no secret the Veenstra family wanted the top spot, but they’d never tried taking it directly.
They were just below us on the hierarchy and would think nothing of overthrowing other packs, building their strength and reputation that way, but perhaps they were getting bored of always being second best.
I regarded the omega, his body angled away as he wiped at his eyes, shoulders trembling with the attempt to smother his sobs.
I hadn’t planned on meeting him again. He’d wormed his way into my mind, forcing me to consider if he’d nicked my mating gland and bound us together without my awareness.
I hated it; it proved correct every thought I had about omegas and their biology.
They latched on to whoever served them best, never letting go, until there was no other choice left but to let instinct dictate.
I’d kept my distance for a reason. I had no desire for an omega.
I abhorred the idea of a conventional mating—like my father had dictated to me—and in that moment, I loathed this little creature for backing me into a corner.
It was what they did, and I knew better than to fall for it.
I shouldn’t have stepped foot in that room two years ago, should have fought harder against impulse and stopped myself from being swayed by his fucking attitude. Now I was paying the price.
Father would be ecstatic.
“Fine,” I agreed. I needed a diversion from work, and the thought of someone taking what was mine set my teeth on edge. “I’ll find her.”
He nodded in appreciation, clearly loath to say the words out loud. “What do we do now?”
“You? Nothing,” I stated, reaching up to rub my temple. The pain behind my left eye was flaring, but I decided against it, and dropped my hand. “Sit tight and let me handle it.”
“What?” He sent me a look, implying I was stupid. “You think I’ll sit around while my baby is out there? I want to tear apart the bastards who took her, I just need you to point me in their direction.”
“This isn’t a movie,” I reminded him. “You have no idea what you’re up against, no idea what type of life you’ve attached yourself to. You can’t just stroll in and play the hero. If you go off without tact, you will make it worse.”
“No, I—”
“Use a brain cell. If they have the will to take a child, they have the will to hurt her.” He hesitated. “If they get even a whiff of retaliation, they could kill her. You came to me for help, so let me do it my way.”
His teeth grated in his mouth, the sound echoing. He relented, glancing away. “Fine. Just bring Minnie back to me.”
“Minnie . . .” I drawled. “Like the fucking mouse?”
Dylan returned his glare. “It’s a nickname. For Minseo.”
I stared blankly, his glower intensified.
“It’s an honour to my grandma, you intolerant fuck.”
Ah, he was referring to Seo Moon-su, the omega who raised him after his parents died in a car accident when he was eight. She died of a heart attack when he was eighteen. “Very well,” I concluded, having no further opinion on the matter. “You’ll stay under my roof until this is resolved.”
Dylan scoffed. “Oh, now you want to play happy families? Well, too fucking late. I just need you to get my baby back, then you’ll never see either of us again.”
Unlikely.
“Don’t misunderstand,” I said, my tone indifferent. “I’m keeping you close so you don’t run into more trouble. You’re clearly quite helpless when left to your own devices.”
“And what if I don’t want to be anywhere near you?”
I leaned forward, bringing us eye to eye. “You should have thought about that before wandering in here two years ago and only spreading your legs for me.”
I caught his hand before it connected with my face. The rage pouring from him was arousing, but now wasn’t the time. “I hate you,” he spat.
A faint smirk lifted the corner of my lips. “Good.”
It would make this a whole lot easier.