Chapter 38
She should’ve texted by now.
My leg bounces up and down as we sit in mid-afternoon traffic a dozen blocks away from our destination, staring at my phone and willing a message from Camille to appear.
A warm, heavy hand grips my thigh and squeezes, ceasing my nervous movement. “We’ll make sure she’s okay.” Ambrose’s attempt to reassure me is undercut by the roiling stress on his end of the bond that betrays his calm exterior.
“It’s been too long. Why hasn’t she messaged us?” I don’t recognize the way my voice trembles as I speak.
There’s a spike of terror from River’s end of the bond, and in a flash, he’s bursting out of the backseat. “We have to go. Now!” he shouts before taking off down the sidewalk in a run.
“Shit! Pull over.”
“Fuck, there’s nowhere to go.” Ambrose’s calm evaporates in an instant, his hands flying back to the wheel and honking at the cars in front of us.
“Over there!” I point to what is definitely a loading area and tow zone.
He nods and, in a move I never thought I’d witness, the law-abiding, mild-mannered alpha honks again as he weaves up onto the empty stretch of sidewalk to maneuver the car into the space.
Bystanders shout and cars honk back, but neither of us cares as he cuts the engine and we hop out of the car, slamming the doors and taking off after River toward the hotel.
“Fuck. Fuck.” Ambrose’s eyes seek mine as we wait at a crosswalk for the light to turn, and the abject terror in them is another first for him.
“She has to be okay. She has to. I can’t—” He sucks in a choked breath and starts to shake.
Alpha pheromones radiate off of him in a rotten citrusy cloud, and I grip his shoulders, realizing it’s time for me to be his support for a change.
“I know. Whatever is going on, we’ll help her, and she’ll be okay.”
“But River… he can feel her. He knows that she’s—”
“No.” It’s as close as I can get to an alpha bark, firm and commanding. “She needs us. Focus on getting to her and helping, not on what could be wrong.”
Ambrose nods, and that’s all the time we have before the light turns and we’re racing off toward the hotel again. We manage to catch up with River by the time we’re at the hotel entrance, passersby giving the alpha a wide berth as he growls when the rotating doors slow him down.
“River, wait, what’s wrong?” I call out between panting breaths as we chase him into the lobby. Shit, I need to do more cardio. I’m not built for running like this.
“Excuse me, are you guests here?” the receptionist calls out after us, but none of us bother to respond.
River shakes, his body coiled tight as his alpha prepares to destroy any threats. “She’s scared and in pain. I have to get to her. I have to get to our omega.” He’s panting, pupils blown wide, and there’s nothing behind his eyes except his alpha’s instincts.
When I glance over at Ambrose as we wait for the elevator to arrive and the receptionist heads our way with more questions about our right to be here, he has a matching look in his eyes.
We step onto the elevator, and the doors slide closed as River smashes the button to the 4th floor. A dull growl fills the elevator, drowning out the soft music playing, and both alphas stare at the level indicator like they can will it to go faster.
Fuck. I’m scared of what their alphas are going to do if we find Camille and she’s hurt. They’ll kill whoever did it. These two kind, gentle alphas are thrumming with protective rage for our omega, but someone needs to protect them, too.
I push in front of the elevator doors before it comes to a stop. “I’m going in first. Stay in the hall.”
“Fuck that, she needs us,” River growls. He tries to push past me as the elevator doors slide open, but I shove him back. He may be an alpha, but I’m a hell of a lot stronger than him.
Ambrose growls at me, ready to use his bigger size to get me out of the way, but I grip the front of his shirt and lock eyes with him.
“She needs her alphas not to be in jail for murder. She needs them to be safe and ready for her heat. Stop growling and listen to your beta, or I’ll make you listen. ”
Against all odds, against everything I was told growing up about alpha dominance, and despite my lifelong inferiority complex, they stop growling. Their eyes clear, and both alphas nod, their aggressive postures easing.
Holy shit, I can’t believe that worked.
There’s no time to marvel at what should not have been possible. I sprint down the hallway and spot red hair at the far end of the hall exiting a room.
“Camille?” My chest expands with hope, but then the woman turns and it’s not Camille. It’s her sister.
Megan’s eyes widen, clearly recognizing me from when we met at Nesting, and she stumbles backward, her back pressed against the hotel room door as I approach.
“Where’s Camille?” I ask, already knowing the answer. She’s inside the room her sister is trying to block me from entering.
“I-I’m s-s-sorry,” Megan whimpers, recoiling like she’s prepared for me to hit her or shove her out of the way.
“Give us the room key,” River barks, which only makes Megan tremble harder.
I glare at him, and he backs off immediately.
Ambrose steps forward, and if I couldn’t feel his alpha roaring through the bond, I’d have no clue he was seconds away from snapping as he gives Megan a gentle, sympathetic look.
“You don’t know me, but I’m Camille’s scent match.
I love your sister, and I’m sure you love her too, so please let us into the room. ”
She considers it, but shakes her head. “I c-can’t…he’ll get mad…he’ll h-hurt me a-again.”
“He’s hurting your sister now.” River’s desperate words make her wince.
I step right up into her face and grip her shoulders, even though she flinches again.
“Megan, it’s time to be brave. Your sister came here to help you.
To protect you. Now it’s your turn.” I give her the chance, as much as I want to take the key from her so I can get to Camille faster, because that’s what Camille would want.
Because I know from my work that abuse can break a person, and she’ll never forgive herself for not helping and choosing her abuser over her sister to the bitter end.
Megan’s shoulders shake as she sobs and reaches into her pocket and passes me the keycard. I move her out of the way and hold it against the reader, the beep and green light a signal to my system to flood with adrenaline as I face whatever is inside this room.
I rush inside, vision tunnelling as I see the alpha looming over my omega, who is seated on the edge of the bed weeping and clutching her cheek. I vaguely register he’s saying something to her, but I don’t give him time to react, barrelling into him and tackling him to the ground.
“Jackson!” Camille gasps, my name coming out like she’d had her head held under water until I arrived.
“Get off me!” Bryce shouts, attempting to buck me off of him, but he’s no match for me. All those hours in the gym turned out to be worth it to see this large alpha struggle beneath me, red-faced and furious.
“If I get off of you, the rest of my pack will kill you,” I spit down at him, having a hard time remembering why I don’t want that to happen. “Keep yelling and I’ll let them.”
Bryce’s eyes go wide as Ambrose and River rush into the room, growling.
But they don’t go for him; they go to our omega, Ambrose scooping Camille up into his arms and River pressing his chest against her back as she lets out a high-pitched whine.
Purrs replace their growls as they attempt to soothe her.
“I-I’m sorry…I-I tried to be b-brave because I knew y-you’d come.” Camille’s shaky words are a knife to my gut.
“You’re so brave, omega,” River purrs, stroking his hands down her arms.
Ambrose shakes and continues to clutch her against his chest, pressing kisses to her hair. “You’re okay. You’re okay,” he murmurs, and I know it’s to reassure himself as much as her.
“I didn’t do anything,” Bryce snarls. “You can’t prove I did anything. It’s a lying omega bitch’s word against an alpha’s, you can’t—”
My fist connects with his nose with a sickening crunch, and he wails in pain. My impulsive punch sends a spike of pain through my hand, but it feels good to shut the asshole up.
“Do you know the percentage of court cases in the last five years where a pack gets charged for defending their omega from assault during their heat? Less than 20%.” I grin down at him darkly.
“I’m okay with those odds, so shut the fuck up and stay there until the cops come, or I’ll break more than your nose. ”
I’m not a violent person, and it’s a total bluff, but he goes still. I shove away from him, and he cowers, clutching his bloody nose as I stand.
“I h-have evidence,” Camille says, looking up from Ambrose’s shoulder to glare at the whimpering alpha. “I recorded the whole thing because I knew you’d try to get Megan back and make it seem like I took her against her will.”
“You fucking omega cunt,” Bryce mutters, and a chorus of growls fills the room.
“What’s the number of manslaughter cases in defense of an omega where the pack got charged?” River asks, bristling with violent intent.
Camille grabs his arm and shakes her head. “I don’t care what the odds are. He’s not worth it. Neither is Holden.”
River’s brow furrows. “Holden?”
“He was here. He’s the one who hit me. He’s the one w-who got me fired and w-was stalking me.” Camille begins to tremble again.
“I’ll kill him,” Ambrose growls.
“No, you won’t,” I say firmly, and his growl sputters back into a purr as he examines the bruise welling on Camille’s jaw.
My chest aches with the need to touch and soothe Camille, too, but I need to stay vigilant in case Bryce decides to try some shit. My pack needs me to protect them, and I’ve never been more proud to be a beta, because it means my head is clear enough to let me do that.
What happens next goes by in a blur. The cops show up, and as much as I don’t like them, they’re necessary in this situation.
I have to command our alphas to back off more than once as the police take Camille’s statement, all of us horrified and furious as we hear the details of what happened.
The cops look at me like I’m an alien for being able to get agitated alphas to listen even though I’m a beta.
By the time they’re done questioning us, Ambrose has examined Camille’s jaw and my knuckles, both bruised but otherwise okay. Which is good because I think River would seriously have hunted Holden down if Camille’s injury had been any worse.
Astrid got our car for us while we’ve been stuck at the station, eager to do something to help.
She cries at the sight of her best friend and apologizes over and over for not going with her, and for not stopping her from going in the first place.
Camille reassures her that it wasn’t her fault.
That she had to do it. That she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she’d refused to help Megan.
Her sister is still in questioning for her role in the attempted abduction and assault of our omega when we leave, and Camille doesn’t say anything to her before we go.
Exhausted and shaken, we pile into the car with Camille cradled between me and Ambrose in the backseat.
“Are we going home? Or home?”
Fuck, I’d forgotten. Camille needs her nest right now. Her skin is hot and clammy, and it seems like a matter of hours, not days, before her heat starts.
“The second one,” I decide. “Astrid said she’ll go get Dolly and watch her for us until the heat is over.”
None of us wants to make Camille’s day any more stressful, but there’s no helping it. What felt like a grand romantic gesture is a lot less special, but it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is showing Camille she’s safe.