Chapter 24
“Fiora isn’t here.” Oberon tightened his hold on Fenrir’s hand when they stepped out of the car and the omega hesitated.
“Did I say anything?” His pride wouldn’t allow him to cower, but the uncertainty had been clear in his gaze when he’d looked up at the mansion.
Claudio had arrived in less than an hour to pick them up from the pub, and they’d bid Steve farewell rather quickly, Fen too eager to get Oberon into dry clothes and checked by a doctor.
So long as the doctor wasn’t dressed in a lab coat.
Or the Butcher.
Per Steve’s instructions, Claudio had stopped on his way and picked up a different medic the White Frost sometimes used. Since it was only a sprained ankle—which wasn’t nearly as bad as Oberon had made it seem—it was fine having someone less talented than Fiora check over him.
If Fenrir had noticed, he hadn’t reacted at all when the young male doctor had tested his foot in the back seat.
A part of O wondered if he’d actually gotten away with the same trick twice, or if he’d managed to sneak it by his omega simply because Fenrir had been so distracted about confessing.
Less than an hour after speaking with Levi at the cottage, Oberon had received a text of the ice cube emoji. Their symbol for compromised. He’d switched to his laptop in his study and spoken with the Dominus there and had easily pieced together what must have transpired.
He’d been livid when he’d realized that had been Michelle’s end goal all along.
To use the omega to do her dirty work, no matter how dangerous the task.
He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said Fenrir was lucky.
Levi had even mentioned putting a bullet in his skull before shutting up when Oberon growled.
The doctor had wrapped his ankle while they’d driven in and out of the city, and now they were in front of Levi’s mansion, a gated monstrosity nestled within the Glacial Forest. It was heavily guarded, though only around the perimeter and within the trees themselves.
The Leviathan didn’t trust anyone enough to allow them to be too close and dismissed his staff promptly at six every night. He’d always appreciated his solitude, so before, his need for space had stemmed from that, but ever since his kidnapping, he’d been…off.
Which was why Oberon was a bit concerned when they entered the foyer to find the underboss waiting to greet them instead.
“Where’s Levi?” O glanced around, already aware that he wouldn’t be seeing their Dominus today.
“Something came up,” Baal stated cryptically. Though there was a good chance he didn’t know what Levi was doing either. As the underboss of the White Frost, he was second in charge, but that didn’t mean he was privy to every little detail about Levi.
The sound of Claudio driving away to bring the doctor home had Fenrir turning his head, just as the doors shut.
“Relax,” Oberon reassured. “You’re safe here.”
“What’s wrong with your omega?” Baal gave Fenrir a lengthy once-over. “He seems jumpy.”
“The last time I was brought to a place like this,” Fenrir surprised them both by responding in a clipped tone, “I wasn’t allowed to leave.”
“That’s between you and your alpha,” Baal said. “I’m not getting in the middle.”
Fenrir grew quiet again, tipping his head as he stared back at the underboss.
Baal Fae was of a similar stature to O, but his hair was dark black, and his eyes were an icy blue.
He didn’t like how long his omega stared into them.
“Enough,” Oberon warned.
“He smells nice,” Fenrir said.
“Excuse you?” O would kill him. Didn’t matter that they were friends. Baal would have to die. He’d—
“Not him,” Fenrir corrected, sparing them all a bloody and unnecessary brawl in the process. “He is entirely unappealing. But there’s something else…an omega?”
“You can smell my omega?” Baal asked.
At the same time, Oberon snapped, “You like the smell of his omega?”
Other people shouldn’t smell alluring to him after receiving the bite.
“You can’t be attracted to him,” Oberon growled.
“I didn’t say—”
“I don’t like it.”
Fenrir sighed and finally tore his attention off Baal. “King, don’t be childish. I’m obviously not interested in his omega.”
“Obviously,” Baal drawled, but his spine had stiffened and he was looking at Fenrir in an entirely new light.
O didn’t like that either.
“You’re finally here.” Koah appeared beneath the archway that led into the sitting room, expression stiff. “Hurry the hell up. We’ve been waiting for the two of you for over a week now.”
“Sorry we can’t control the weather,” Oberon stated, only for Baal to snort.
“One of you can.” Baal tipped is head at Fenrir. “How does it work?”
“Energy,” Fenrir replied. “You know that random rage you’d get when you first presented as an alpha and your body was adjusting? How it made your chest feel tight and like you were about to vibrate out of your own skin? It feels a lot like that when I tap into the energy inside of me.”
He’d never said that to Oberon.
“Interesting parallel.” Baal nodded in understanding. “How different does being an omega feel from being an alpha?”
“No more talking.” O moved his arm behind Fenrir and slid his hand into his left pocket, cupping his ass possessively in the process.
“You had him alone for weeks,” the underboss reminded. “He’s tailored to you by now.”
At his side, Fenrir stiffened.
“I’m not clothing.” The omega’s irritation instantly had Oberon unabashedly beaming.
“My apologies.” Baal ended the conversation there and finally wandered after Koah, but O stopped Fenrir before he could do the same.
“Stop flirting with everyone,” he ordered.
The omega’s brow winged up. “They’re your friends. I’m being nice.”
“Yeah, well, stop it.”
“They’re also White Frost and I just came from the Wardrobe.”
Right.
Fenrir’s concerns were logical, but Oberon wasn’t feeling very logical at the moment.
“Jealousy is a relatively new concept for me,” he admitted. “How do I explain it? You know that random rage you got when you met Steve—”
The omega slapped a hand over his mouth. “I get it, alpha.”
O kissed his palm and Fenrir scowled and pulled away. “What? Too cutesy for you?”
“And you call yourself a mafia member?” He shook his head and made his way for the sitting room.
Oberon allowed him to go since he was certain his friends were sick of waiting, grinning ear to ear when he entered after Fenrir to find Baal and Koah both glaring.
The underboss was seated on the white leather armchair, ankles crossed, while Koah stood by the window, pacing. No one else was present, which meant they were keeping this meeting hush-hush.
“Let’s dive right in,” he suggested once Fenrir had taken a seat on the couch.
He settled next to him, arm draped over the back behind him.
O turned to keep the room in view, giving his back to the entrance.
Not something he would usually do, but he wanted to keep an eye on everyone present to ensure Fenrir was comfortable.
Oberon trusted his friends. If he didn’t, he never would have brought his omega here.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t sometimes surprise him.
Perhaps Baal would better understand where he was coming from, since he was mated as well, but Koah…
The General was a wild card when it came to matters of the heart.
“First things first,” Koah said. “You’re sure we can trust him?”
“You were nicer at the party,” Fenrir responded without skipping a beat. “How’d it go with the brunette?”
“Wouldn’t you know it? I ended up with the redhead in the end.”
Fenrir chuckled. “Catching the wrong bait seemed to be the theme of this year's Heated Hearts Day.”
“Say Note’s name,” O’s hand captured Fenrir’s nape and held, “I dare you.”
“You just did it for me.”
“He’s got the most visible claiming mark I’ve ever seen,” Baal chimed in, sending his comment Koah’s way. “Whether we can trust him or not isn’t important. If he betrays us, Oberon is the one who has to pay the price.”
A low warning growl erupted from Fenrir.
“Relax, precious,” Oberon reassured. “He’s joking.”
“I’m not,” Baal corrected, holding Fenrir’s gaze pointedly. “So tread wisely, Snow.”
“No.” This time, it was O’s turn to glare at the underboss. “No nicknames.”
“It’s hardly a nickname,” Koah smirked, clearly knowing he was poking the bear. “It’s his surname.”
“We’re changing it.” He only just barely got the sentence out before the omega was protesting.
“We are not.” Fenrir elbowed him lightly in the stomach, causing O to let go of his neck. “Since I doubt we’ve gathered here to talk about this, how about we focus?”
“Pretty sure that’s what I’ve been saying,” Koah grumbled.
“Michelle kept as many vials of Rebirth as she could,” Fenrir turned to the underboss. “I don’t know exactly where she’s hidden them, but I know they’re somewhere on the fourth level of the estate.”
“How many is many?” Baal asked.
“I don’t know. I only saw them once when Trick was transporting them.”
“And you’re positive it’s Rebirth?”
“Yes. They were still labeled at the time. When word got out that Imperial Prince Altair was making moves on presentation-altering drug trials, the Wardrobe panicked. A good lawyer could argue that more than eighty percent of their business is legally run. Rebirth fell into the twenty percent category. The board didn’t want to risk it all on the chance of a partnership with the Imperial Prince. ”
“Altair and the Eumia mafia already have a team,” Koah filled in.
“Since they’d formed their own with professionals they trust, there was no way they’d allow a company like the Wardrobe to keep their research.
” He clicked his tongue. “I told Levi to play nice with the prince. If he’d taken my advice, it would be us working alongside him and reaping the rewards. ”
“Levi doesn’t care about that sort of thing,” Baal drawled.
“What? Money and power?”
“Seems like he cares now,” Fenrir interjected, shrugging when they looked at him. “He wants to use me to find the remaining vials, doesn’t he?”