Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Heir’s Suite, Battle House, The Alpha Underworld
“ W olf,” I say beneath my breath in wonder.
I stare down into Harbinger’s green eyes. They’ve never looked more beautiful to me.
I throw myself into Harbinger’s arms, hugging him.
“Careful, Kitten, still tender,” Harbinger grumbles. I can feel that he’s smiling, however, as he kisses my head. Feral possessively licks harder across his bond bite on Harbinger’s neck. Harbinger shivers. “And now I’m hard.”
Joy burns through the bond from River. “Amore mio, thank you .”
The two men’s gazes meet, at the same time that River clasps onto Harbinger’s hand.
He doesn’t need to say what he’s thanking Harbinger for. We all know.
River is shaking.
Harbinger is still weak but he tightens his hold on River’s hand. “I’ve got you, Sunshine. I always will. With a Devil Alpha and a badass one like me around, no one is going to hurt you again. If they try, I’ll cut off their balls and hang them over your bed as a decoration for you.”
Feral nods. “Use th-their cock as a candle.”
Harbinger’s eyes glint like he’s impressed with Feral’s graphic detail and is adding it to his Dark Romance Ways to Impress my Pack.
I grimace. Harbinger is rubbing off on Feral.
River looks delighted, leaning over to kiss Harbinger. “I love you.”
Feral snarls his agreement.
Laurent stands in shock, crushing the chess piece in his hand. “ Resistance , huh?”
“Surprised?” Harbinger smirks but then, his smile wavers. “Why aren’t you joining the kissing and hugging and…?”
Laurent cocks his head, before he says like it’s a secret code phrase: “ You are still heard. ”
What does he mean?
Harbinger’s eyes widen, however, and he struggles out of our holds to sit up.
He winces, clasping his side.
He studies Laurent, before he replies back ritualistically, “You are still heard.”
Laurent lets out a breath, before hurling down the rook and taking the final step to the bed.
He kneels on the edge of the bed and wraps his arms around Harbinger’s neck. Then he kisses Harbinger, deeply and passionately.
He kisses the Alpha like he thought that he truly would lose him.
With all the desperation that he hadn’t allowed himself to show us when trying to remain strong, while Harbinger had been unconscious.
Then Laurent draws back, panting.
He rests his forehead against Harbinger’s. “So, it looks like we’re both resistance.”
“We’re the good guys. Isn’t that funny?” Harbinger replies.
“Or as the President would say, we’re terrorists who deserve to be hunted and executed,” Laurent says, dryly.
“You say tomato , I say tomato .” Harbinger shrugs.
Laurent kisses Harbinger again. “Don’t leave me again. Don’t die . You’re my Alpha, and I need you. I love you.”
Harbinger looks bewildered like he hadn’t expected to hear such a fervent confession from Laurent.
The tips of Harbinger’s ears redden. “I’ll try, Rook.”
Both River and Feral appear confused.
Feral sits up, defensively pulling River onto his knee, despite his bandaged shoulder. “T-terrorists? Hunted and executed?”
I carefully sit up as well.
The Above doesn’t sound as different to the Underworld as I’d once thought.
Laurent exchanges a glance with Harbinger, before giving him a nod.
Harbinger draws back from Laurent but reaches to clasp his hand. “The Above isn’t this land of candy, puppies, and shit. It has its problems too. Omegas don’t have equal rights. All the dynamics have to act their roles, and if they don’t, they can be sent to the Institute or Alpha Center to be conditioned to be more dynamic appropriate . Some of us are part of an illegal resistance.”
Executed…
Suddenly, a terrible realization hits me.
“Were your parents part of the resistance?” I ask Harbinger. “Did you find out that was the reason they’d been killed? And that’s why you joined?”
Laurent’s expression softens with compassion. He floods the room with soothing pheromones.
I settle against Harbinger’s side, nuzzling his neck.
“The resistance hadn’t been formed back then, Kitty.” Harbinger plays with my hair. His eyes are glassy like he’s lost in the past. “I’m older than you are. I told you that one of my main missions was working out why they were executed. My coach had contacts in government, and he helped me find out the truth. It turned out that my dads were the leaders of the original rebels: A movement to investigate all dynamics who were forced into bonds. It’s why they had debts. They spent every dime helping others to escape from abusive packs. I guess some people have a savior complex.”
I look up at him, significantly. “I guess they do.”
“And when you found out what happened, you continued their good work.” Laurent raised their clasped hands to stop Harbinger from denying it. “The cage fighting was a cover.”
“It’s also fucking good pay. I need it, remember? The debts are real.” Harbinger huffs.
Laurent’s eyes become half-hooded. “Lucky that you’re now bonded to a billionaire. Once we’re out of here, I’ll make sure that my brother pays off any of your outstanding debts and sets us up in luxury. How does it feel to be an Omega’s sugar baby?”
Feral laughs.
Go Laurent.
Harbinger opens and shuts his mouth, before he admits, “Actually, pretty fucking good that you think I’m young enough for the baby part of that. What about sugar silver fox? Plus, it makes me feel hot enough to wish that I could pull you onto my lap and let you ride my cock to start paying my way as your sugar Alpha. ”
Laurent’s eyes darken with desire.
“Hey, sexy role play,” River chides, “but not with his broken ribs.”
Laurent leans to push a strand of hair behind Harbinger’s ear. “We have a lifetime. There’s no rush.”
My chest tightens at the certainty in his tone.
But we’re not safe, are we?
Yet Harbinger and Laurent are members of a dangerous resistance.
River is a mafia heir.
Feral has been raised to become the deadliest fighter in the Underworld.
I have the most powerful pack in the Underworld behind me.
And I’m the first Omega heir and cage fighter to lead them.
Yet people treated us like misfits and outcasts.
We’re going to show them.
“Are your brother and sister part of the resistance as well?” I ask.
Harbinger nods. “In fact you can blame my Omega brother and sister for my good guy status. They’re both amazing Omegas, independent and brave. Piper runs a coffee shop as the cover for our Bonds Protective Unit. Bliss uses her job as a journalist to uncover the cases that most need our help. She’s recently been looking into the pop idol industry. You know, how Beta rock stars are abused. But if an emergency comes in, then she focuses on that.”
Laurent’s expression sharpens. “Was Bliss’ last case me ?”
“Bingo.”
My eyes widen in shock.
Laurent pulls away from Harbinger.
Agitatedly, he paces from one side of the room to the other.
Concerned, I watch him.
“You mean to say that from the very beginning you allowed yourself to be stalked and kidnapped by Vinnie,” Laurent waves his hands around in outrage, “in order to rescue me? Are you crazy?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
I stare at Harbinger. “Self-destructive.”
“Worse still.”
“Reckless.” Feral pushes River off his lap, before pouncing on Harbinger, who sucks in a pained breath. Feral pins him down by the throat. His eyes blaze. “Stupid.”
“Worse,” Harbinger gasps.
I gently encircle Harbinger’s wrapped wrist, which is fractured. “Look what Vinnie did to you. He had you chained . You could have died many times over on this mission.”
“ Could .” Harbinger winks. “But didn’t.”
Feral is careful not to put his weight on Harbinger but he straddles him, holding him firmly in place like he no longer trusts that Harbinger won’t leap up and do something impulsive at any moment.
It’s not unlikely.
I know how much of a thrill seeker Harbinger is. I’ve raced him.
Laurent growls loudly enough to make the rest of us still.
Harbinger looks at me like I’ll help him.
He’s on his own.
Being a member of the resistance is one thing. Harbinger deliberately came to the Underworld on a mission to save Laurent without any backup, however, relying purely on his skill, wits, and charm.
It’s worked… but look at the cost .
I’m used to being around fighters, but Harbinger is beaten worse than Feral ever has been.
I can’t understand the trauma that Harbinger has been through.
Yet he’s been courting death. And I’m going to protect him from that now, however I can.
“You. Matter. Too,” Feral says struggling to say each word clearly.
This matters to him.
By the way that Harbinger turns away his head, he doesn’t accept it.
Laurent wraps his hand in Harbinger’s hair, forcing him to look into his blazing eyes. “You do matter. Did you expect me to be happy that the man I’ve fallen in love with would take such risks for me? I already knew that you’d been secretly protecting me and the rest of the pack from the moment that you met us. I’ve witnessed your kindness to other Betas. You’re a good man. But you’re careless with yourself every time. You have a brother and sister waiting for you to return home. You have three people in this room who you’ve promised to never leave. From now on, if you can’t remember that your pain matters for yourself, remember that it hurts us .”
Harbinger looks devastated.
Then he nods. “I promise, Rook.”
River meets Harbinger’s gaze.
“My parents were murdered in front of me,” River says, quietly. I know how hard it is for him to talk about this. I admire that he is in order to help Harbinger. “For years, I felt like every strike of the whip from Allegra could somehow drive that memory from my head.” Harbinger jolts, as if in recognition. “If others tell you that your life isn’t worth anything, it’s easy to accept that. But it takes courage to stand up and act like your life is worth as much as anyone else’s. And yours is, amore mio. I don’t mean for our sakes, but simply for who you are and that’s an incredible Alpha. Our hero .”
Harbinger tries to laugh, but it sounds wet like he’s holding back tears. “Stop it, or I’m going to blush.”
“You’re cute when you blush, Wolf.”
Now, Harbinger truly does blush.
He shakes his hair free of Laurent’s hold, coughing awkwardly. “Bliss found out about your case, Rook, because your brother and his Romeo pack was making such a noise about finding you. They posted rewards and public appeals, as well as hired PIs. They reached out to everyone that they could.”
“ Amby .” Laurent collapses on the side of the bed, burying his head in his hands. “If I know my grumpy, dominant brother, he’ll have been tearing the world apart to find me. I miss him.”
“By the sounds of it, the whole pack were missing you. This is why I do this job. It means a lot to get people back to their real packs ” Harbinger squirms. “Any chance of letting me up?”
Feral shakes his head.
I grin, leaning over to push the hair out of Feral’s face and steal a kiss from his plush lips.
Feral’s eyes twinkle, and he steals a second kiss back from me.
“Do you have any contacts in the resistance that can take any of the info off the thumb drive and use it to help us?” I ask. “It’s not enough for us to escape the Underworld. This has always been the problem. We need to ensure that Dad, Vinnie, the enforcers, and those who’d otherwise hunt us are arrested. There’s enough evidence on the thumb drive to have the most dangerous pack members locked up, right? Otherwise, we’ll spend our lives being hunted down.”
“There’s good evidence on the Hades pack and some of the lesser packs on the thumb drives but not as much on your dad as I’d like,” Laurent replies.
“I have contacts with various resistance and outlaw packs like the Devils and Marshals, who can help with the arrests afterward, as well as offering safehouses,” Harbinger adds.
Excitement winds through me.
This is a concrete plan, not only for the uprising or the escape, but for our life afterward.
In silence, we all look at each other.
My heart speeds up. I wring the blanket between my hands.
I edge closer to Feral, studying his beautiful eyes.
Hell, how long have I wanted to be able to provide a true pack and home for him?
Slowly, he smiles.
It’s soft and genuine.
Heartfelt.
I feel its warmth through the bond.
Feral, my best friend and first lover.
The man who I’ve upturned my world to save, and would do so again an infinity of times.
I’m about to give up my succession, power, and status for an unknown future with the pack I love.
I’m going to rise up out of the shadows and burst into the light…or die trying.
And I’d take the risk again in a heartbeat.
“When are we doing this?” I whisper.
River is wide eyed, as hyped up as I am. “Everything is ready, when you say the word.”
Laurent glances around at me, before he straightens his shoulders.
He stands up, smoothing down his suit. Then he holds out his hand to me. I scramble over Harbinger.
Feral points at me. “Heir.” Then he points at himself. “Chief Alpha.”
“Okay then, Chief Alpha,” I say. “We can lead this revolution together.”
Feral sits up, puffing out his chest.
“Vive la revolution and all that.” Harbinger groans as he sits up. River hurriedly scrambles to sit on the other side of Harbinger and slip his arm around his shoulder, when he loses his balance. “But won’t we need to fight our way out? Maybe we could put off the great escape until tomorrow, when the room isn’t spinning?”
“So, your plan all along has been an escape…? Were you planning to leave me behind?” Lionzio’s hurt voice comes from the doorway. Horrified, I turn around to face my brother. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Rebelling against Dad is a death sentence.”