3. Caleb
3
Caleb
I wake up with a start. “Vera? Jorge?” I reach for them, but the bed is cold and empty.
Fuck.
I sit up, looking around and straining my ears to hopefully hear them. The light in the bathroom and the nest are off, so they’re probably not in there.
Just to be sure, I climb out of bed and open the door to the nest. It’s dark and silent inside. Nobody here.
Where are they?
I reach for one of the drawers where Mathew stores his weapons and grab a knife. A second glance inside lets me know that Vera’s favourite knife is missing, though everything else is where it’s supposed to be.
Oh, fuck.
She might have taken it with her to the restaurant last night and forgotten to put it back, but the pit in my stomach tells me that’s idle hope. She took it when she left the bedroom, which means she’s feeling unsafe.
This is bad. This is really bad.
I slowly open the bedroom door. The dark hallway is silent, the only source of light comes from the staircase, from the downstairs hallway. Mathew turns that off once he comes to bed, so I expect that to still be on.
Where the fuck are the others?
I glance at the camera on the ceiling further down the hall. The red light is on, so it should still be working. Good. That’s at least something.
It also means that whatever Vera is scared of probably didn’t come from the outside. There are only a few things that would freak Vera out like this, and they go from bad to much worse.
I make my way down the hall, to the stairs, hoping to find someone there who can make more sense of the situation.
There are so many people in this building, especially tonight, and somehow, I don’t see or hear anyone. Is that because I’m overreacting or because they’re all busy with something?
“Caleb?” Mathew’s voice reaches me as I get to the top of the stairs, then Riley’s pheromones hit me, filled with desire and worry. Well, I don’t have to guess what those two were getting up to until moments ago. It’s good to know that they trust each other enough to make out, at least.
“I’m here.” I walk down the stairs and find Mathew and Riley waiting for me, looking around them in worry. “Have you seen Jorge or Vera?”
They shake their heads, their worry increasing. Well, fuck.
The door to the kitchen slams open and Derrick storms out, his hair a mess, and he looks like he’s seen a ghost. When he spots us, he stops in his tracks. “Good. Good. You’re here.”
“What is it?” Mathew’s voice is tight as he walks over to the Alpha, instantly turning from my Omega, my pack mate, into the head of the organisation, taking control of the situation.
“Vera and Jorge are at the shooting range. Something’s wrong with Vera. Jorge is trying to get her out of there, but she’s not listening to him.”
Fuck. Oh, fuck, no . My heart races as realisation sets in.
I should have expected this. I should have stayed awake to make sure she actually went to sleep and then watched over her all night. I shouldn’t have felt relaxed enough to fall asleep. I should have noticed she wasn’t doing well.
Fuck.
I sprint out the back door, to the training complex, where the shooting range is located.
Fuck.
This is worse than I feared. If she’s got a knife with her, things could get dicey very quickly, because I don’t know if she’s aware enough of her situation that she knows what she’s doing.
I spot some people from the security team outside the building, but no lights on inside.
“Where are they?” I call out as I race to the entrance of the building. I need to get to Vera. I need to get to her as quickly as possible.
“Shooting range, at the far back.” One of them says as they open the door for me.
Okay. At least Vera and Jorge don’t seem to be on the move.
I hold up my hand as Mathew and Riley follow me inside. “Let me try something first. I might be able to get her out of there. Don’t let the security team near her until I’ve got her in my arms.”
“They won’t. They’ll stay away until I give the sign. What’s going on? What’s happening to Vera?” Mathew grabs my arm, stopping me.
“She couldn’t settle down to sleep and now her brain is messing with her. It’s a mixture of anxiety and a nightmare. Her brain is struggling to process what happened this evening and this is the result. A waking nightmare.”
“You mean, she’s sleepwalking?” Riley glances behind her, to the door, where the security team is waiting for further instructions.
“No. She’s aware of what’s going on around her, but she doesn’t realise she’s not asleep. So, she thinks and feels this is a nightmare, while she’s actually awake.”
“Can she snap out of it?” Mathew slowly lets me go, meeting my eyes, like he’s trying to get the answers straight from my brain.
“I’m going to try, but it’s probably better for her to sleep it off. If she goes back to sleep, feeling as safe as possible, she’ll wake up normally in a couple of hours.” I take a deep breath and start walking down the hall to the shooting range.
The building is quiet, apart from our footsteps.
The darkness increases the feeling of dread, but I don’t want to turn on any lights, in case it scares Vera. She’s got a weapon and I have no idea what her state of mind is right now, so I have no idea if she’s a threat to anyone or herself.
Vera’s pheromones linger in the hallway, a mixture of anxiety and determination, while Jorge’s pheromones are full of fear. It’s a bad combination that I’m struggling to fight against, struggling to avoid influencing my mind. For this to work, I need to stay as calm as possible.
There’s light under the door to the shooting range, though I can’t hear anything yet as the place is sound-proofed. Normally, a good thing; right now, very frustrating.
I quietly open the door, hoping to not startle them. Their pheromones spill into the hallway, making a slow rumble start up in my chest. Their pheromones are thick with fear and anxiety and it’s making me want to kill anyone who’s threatening them.
“We’re all okay.” Jorge’s voice is quiet, trying to sound soothing, but failing. “I promise you. We’re all safe. Everyone is inside, waiting for you to come to bed.”
“I can’t let this happen again. It’s too dangerous.” Vera’s voice is calm, at odds with her pheromones.
There’s movement at the end of the hall, and then Jorge steps backwards from behind one of the partitions that split the range up into more personal areas. His face is pale and he’s holding up his hands, like he’s trying to protect himself.
I motion for Mathew and Riley to stay in the hallway, before I slip through the door.
The movement catches Jorge’s attention and he quickly shakes his head, mouthing “no” in my direction.
I close my eyes, trying to flood the range with protective pheromones, but theirs are too strong, I won’t be able to reach Vera like this. I’ll have to get a lot closer first.
Luckily, there are some boxes at their end, so I motion for Jorge to get behind them. If Vera doesn’t see him, she might forget he’s there, that should keep him safe.
Once Jorge has hidden himself, I call out, trying to keep my voice as conversational as possible, trying to make her feel safe. “Vera? Are you in here?” I know she is, but hopefully this makes it seem like I’m simply trying to find her, that I’m not a threat.
“Caleb! Good morning!” Her voice is clear, upbeat. “You can go back to sleep. I’m just here to practice.” Does she not realise that she’s saying something else now than what she told Jorge just moments ago, or is she aware enough that she’s trying to get me out of here?
Let’s see what happens if I play along.
“Did you have breakfast yet? You should at least have a good meal before you start working out. I thought Derrick made that clear?” I walk closer to the section she’s in, keeping my pheromones strong.
“I’ll have breakfast later. It’s still early.”
I expect to hear shots at any moment, but it stays quiet. Her pheromones also haven’t calmed down, so I don’t think she’s aware of what’s going on, she thinks she’s still in the middle of a nightmare.
“Did you remember to put on all the protective gear?” I try to keep my voice calm, like this is a very normal conversation to have.
She’s quiet for a few moments. “Some.”
Which is totally what I’d expect of her. Especially if she’d slipped out for a couple of rounds before breakfast and didn’t want to let anyone else on about what she’s doing. It means she has at least some awareness of her surroundings.
“Derrick’s not going to be happy when he hears that, you know? He’ll have you recite all the safety rules over and over until he’s sure you’ll always follow them in the future.” By now, I’ve gotten much closer to her and can look behind the partition.
She’s still wearing the same night dress that she went to bed in, but is wearing protective goggles and next to her are a gun and headphones. Yeah, that’s definitely not according to the safety rules.
Then I spot the knife in her hand, which she’s gripping tightly, her knuckles white and her hand shaking. She’s so tense, so scared. Fuck.
She notices me and turns in my direction. Her eyes are dark and unfocused as she meets mine.
A chill goes down my spine. If she thinks I’m a threat for even a moment, she will use that knife on me.
“Aren’t you cold?” I step closer to her, slowly reaching out my hand but not touching her, just watching how she’ll respond.
“I’m not cold. It’s warm enough.” Her voice sounds normal, but her face and eyes don’t show emotion and her pheromones are still full of fear.
“Are you sure? You’re shaking.” I pointedly look at the hand she’s holding the knife in and the moment she pays attention to it, the shaking stops and her hand seems to relax.
“I promise, I’m not cold.” She puts the knife next to the gun and shows me her steady hand. “See? I’m fine.”
Relieved, I pull her against me and step away from the weapons, wrapping my arms around her as much as I can, trying to get through to her with my words. “You scared me. I woke up and you were gone. If you go out in the middle of the night, you have to wake me up, you know that. You promised me.”
This isn’t the first time this has happened, but it’s been years. These waking nightmares happened a lot more often when we were first on the run, but once she started to feel more confident in her abilities, they stopped. That they’ve come back is a very bad sign.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Her pheromones are still strange, and she doesn’t ease against me, no matter how much I flood her with protective and reassuring pheromones.
“Let’s go inside. If you want to go to the shooting range, you have to get dressed first, and you can’t skip breakfast.” I start walking to the door, where Mathew and Riley are waiting and I hear Jorge follow us.
“You don’t always have breakfast before you start working. I know you and Mathew have been working in the middle of the night without having breakfast first.” Okay, she’s not entirely wrong, and us working all night is clearly bothering her. That’s something we’re going to have to talk about once she’s properly woken up.
But at least she doesn’t seem to be locked inside the ‘danger from all directions’ part of her nightmare anymore.
“Well, I’m not the one who might be pregnant. Skipping breakfast is much worse for you than it is for me.” I keep up the conversation as I follow Mathew, Jorge and Riley down the hallways.
The three shoot me questioning looks, but I give them a slight shake of my head in return. Vera is focused on me right now, I don’t want to overwhelm her and scare her. I need to get her to somewhere that she feels safe as quickly as possible.
Vera lets out a frustrated grunt, the most emotion I’ve seen her express yet. “Mathew might be, though. And you don’t fuss over him like this. You don’t constantly tell him that he has to eat healthier or make him eat before he starts work.”
Mathew glances at us in surprise. Yep, even in her nightmares, she’s more worried about him than she is about herself.
“You’re right. I should do that with him too. You’re totally right.”
She moves slightly, not like she’s relaxing, but like she’s changing her attention. Then her pheromones fill with deadly intent, her voice dropping. “I have to protect him. I have to become strong enough that I can kill anyone who threatens him. Even if that’s you.”
Ice runs through my veins as I realise what triggered this episode.
When Jorge became frenzied at the restaurant and Mathew couldn’t snap him out of it with his pheromones, Vera had to step in, again. Just like she had to do the first time it happened with Mathew and me.
The bond between two Omegas is different than the one between an Omega and their Alpha, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not just as strong, it might be even stronger. Mathew is very protective of Vera, but Vera is just as protective of him.
We’re going to have to deal with a lot of things in the coming days, but figuring out how to prevent any of us from becoming frenzied and possible ways for Mathew to snap us out of it —that don’t require his pheromones— are at the top of the list.
But first, Vera needs to sleep this off. We’ll deal with the rest once she wakes up again.