Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Heir’s Suite, Battle House, The Alpha Underworld
“ W hy isn’t he waking up? What’s wrong with Chase?” Harbinger’s real name slips from my lips.
After what Harbinger suffered in the Nine Pits of Hell…after he was prepared to sacrifice his life for our pack…he’s earned being seen as his true identity.
He should be seen as a man and not as his villain persona, which was created by the Hades for the ring.
There is no one apart from our Feral pack in the heir’s suite to hear me calling Harbinger his real name.
It fills me with fear that Harbinger can’t hear me either.
I lie on my bed as close to Harbinger as I can. I make sure that as much of my bare skin is touching his as possible.
Will it help?
But it’s difficult because I’m still wearing the ripped, gray silk dress with cloth roses climbing over the shoulders.
Will my pheromones and scent, however, pull the Alpha back to consciousness?
I stroke the hair out of Harbinger’s face.
Harbinger is swathed in bandages, as well as smothered in River’s special bruise cream.
River may have gone overboard with the bandages and ointment.
Harbinger’s eyes are closed.
He’s not moving.
He’s too still. Too cold.
I drag the blankets more firmly around Harbinger’s bruised shoulders. It makes me feel better to have something to do.
It’s the early hours of Sunday morning. Every member of the pack are exhausted after the adrenaline and fear of the Championship Special.
I’ve won my pack. But what if the cost was Harbinger?
Laurent paces back and forth at the end of the bed, stinking of distressed Omega: burned chocolate.
Laurent’s hair is sticking out at all angles from where he’s run his hand through it.
He hasn’t sat down from the moment that he helped to carry Harbinger back to our bedroom.
Feral sprawls on the other side of the bed to me, next to Harbinger. He rests his strong fingers over the fresh bond bite on Harbinger’s neck. He teases across it possessively like he’s unable to stop touching the other Alpha.
Feral’s anxiety for Harbinger is as obvious in his gaze as it meets mine, as it is throbbing through the bond.
We both need Harbinger alive and playful with banter, right fucking now.
I whine, nuzzling Harbinger’s neck, taking a deep sniff of his smooth vanilla bourbon scent.
I can still sense Harbinger through the bond, but the connection feels dulled, as if Harbinger is lost at the bottom of a deep pond.
How can I pull him free?
Save him?
I raise my agonized gaze to River.
River is fixing a bandage over Feral’s shoulder, which was slashed by the Knot King with a bottle. “What isn’t wrong with him, bella? Without scans or the right medical equipment, I can only give you my best guesses. But as a medic, I can say that he likely has three broken ribs, a fractured wrist, sprained shoulder, and more bruises than I’ve seen on a patient. And that’s saying something.”
“But why isn’t he waking up?” I demand.
“My f-f-ault.” Guiltily, Feral lowers his head to lick over the bond bite. “I hit his head too hard.”
Feral doesn’t know his own strength, when he’s fighting.
But this wasn’t his fault.
I saw how hard he worked to defeat Harbinger, while injuring him as little as he could get away with.
Yet head injuries are always a risk.
“It isn’t,” I reply. “You fought like you agreed to.”
“Also, mio re, I think that he’s only unconscious now because of the feral bond bite on top of the concussion.” River finishes taping the bandage on Feral’s shoulder. “There, done. Don’t feel bad. You saved his life by claiming him. You saved all of us. And the worst of Harbinger’s injuries were done to him before the fight even started. I don’t know how he was standing, let alone went on to beat Hit Man.”
I stiffen. “Vinnie…?”
Feral growls. “V-vinnie is dead. I’ll kill him.”
“Can we kill him together?” Laurent crosses his arms.
River smooths his thumb under Harbinger’s swollen eye, massaging in the excess bruise ointment. “Our Alpha has to be okay. He’s a brilliant pack member. The best Second Alpha. Our killer .” His voice drops to a whisper, and although his eyes are wet with tears, his expression is steely. “He took revenge for me on the man who slaughtered my family. I’ve waited so many years to be able to watch that.”
I knew it.
“Riv,” I murmur, “that’s…”
I don’t know what to say.
When our eyes meet, however, River understands how happy I am for him.
River smiles.
He bends to kiss Harbinger, as if this is a fairy tale and true love’s kiss can wake up Harbinger.
I watch Harbinger, holding my breath.
I whine, however, when his eyes remain closed.
Laurent snorts. “Is that what medical professionals are trying nowadays? Medicine via fairy tales?”
“It was worth a try.” River gives Laurent a strained smile. “And kisses are never a waste.”
True.
I sit up, reaching over Harbinger to grab River by the neck and pull him into a deep kiss. He lets out a happy, surprised sound against my lips.
He has been cleaning both Alphas up and tending to their wounds for the last couple of hours without a break.
He deserves at least a kiss as well.
When I draw back, River rests his forehead against mine. “I will never stop loving your kisses, bella. But what are we going to do next? We’re still in a dangerous position. Your dad will be furious about Fer claiming Harbinger. It was obvious that your dad was trying to put you in your place, during the NPH. How can we make our move, when we’re in a such a bad situation?”
“Are we?” Laurent arches his brow. “Or are we precisely where I wanted us to be?”
I stiffen, pulling back from River.
I stare at Laurent in shock.
Laurent is now standing casually at the end of the bed. He boldly meets my gaze.
“What do you mean?” I demand.
Laurent strolls to the nightstand. He plays with the chessboard, picking up the rook and rolling it between his fingers.
Something shifts in his movements.
He’s beautiful.
Powerful.
As Feral, River, and I watch him from the bed, Laurent holds the command over the room.
How did I ever doubt that this male Omega was the one in control?
He’s not only smart.
He’s a leader.
“You’re now in the perfect position to take down this entire cage fighting and kidnapping operation.” Laurent’s voice is precise and sharp.
He’s been planning this from the start, as much as I’ve dreamed about it.
“How?” I ask.
Laurent holds up the wooden king chess piece. “Your Dad always has to be seen as the king in any situation. It’s his weakness. He manipulates each situation, to make sure that he looks like the most dominant, powerful person in the Underworld, even in a world of deadly fighters. It’s why he tears your brother down and has that collar around Feral’s neck. It’s why he sets you siblings against each other in contests for his love or the succession. It’s also why he set up the celebration of the new heir to actually be death matches, which would weaken the main packs who could challenge him.”
River furrows his brow. “How does this help us?”
“The point is that it doesn’t help Don Battle. How many people are grieving for their dead or injured fighters? How many more have grudges against him? Don thinks that he just made himself look strong. In fact, he has only made himself appear a bloodthirsty tyrant. On the other hand, you…?” Laurent points at me with a smirk. “You’re now the respected first ever Omega heir with a stunning elite Omega at your side, a much loved Beta, and two Alpha Champions. You’ve the first viable opposition to Don that there’s been. A fresh new power in the Underworld. People would truly follow the Ferals because we have proved real strength.”
“People?” My heart is beating fast.
Laurent is painting a picture that I hope is true.
I’ve been dreaming that the packs would follow me against Dad for years.
We’ve been building, move by move, toward this point.
Are we truly there?
I bite my lip, trembling with excitement.
Laurent picks up the opposing rook to the king in his hand from the chess set. “One of my strengths is reading people. I’ve needed to in order to survive both the academy that I grew up in and at the events with elite Alphas, which Mom dragged me to. If I couldn’t read people, then I couldn’t know how to flirt without being violated, while I was being passed around like a pretty treat. I learned how to manipulate Alphas. The small set of wealthy and corrupt Alphas, who are using the Alpha fighters for their entertainment and bets, are like those revolting men and women from those events. But they don’t hold the power. There are more Betas in the Underworld than any other dynamic. Don’t you see? They hold the real power. And River is such a brave and kind man that most of them would follow him to war.”
River blushes. “I would follow every one of you, the Ferals.”
Laurent raises the rook. “This is the endgame, where I’m devastating. We have the king surrounded. River with his Betas. Romilly with the Alpha fighters. And most of the Omegas, as well as the majority of the packs, who would choose you over your tyrannical dad. Now, we are going to be the spark that gets them to rise up.”
“You’re talking about a full revolution.” Excitement rushes through me.
“I am.” Laurent gives a dangerous smile, dropping the king and kicking it as hard as he can to smash it against the far wall. “And we are going to win.”
Unexpectedly, Harbinger’s hoarse voice says, “Well, then it’s lucky that I’m also a member of the Omega resistance.”