Chapter 7 #2
The supervisor, Barnes, according to his nameplate, snorts. “Convenient excuse.”
“It’s not an excuse.” I plant my hands on his desk, leaning forward. “Jared has a documented medical condition. His cousin, Kyle, can confirm it.”
At Kyle’s name, his expression shifts. The water taxi captain is well-known and respected in Pinecrest Harbor.
“Kyle Masterson vouched for him when he started working the water taxi,” I continue, seizing the advantage. “And I can vouch for his character as site superintendent at Misty Pines Resort.”
Barnes uncrosses his arms, his fingers drumming on the edge of his desk. “The woman’s boyfriend is filing charges. Says your boy engineered the whole situation.”
“And what about the two Alphas who were harassing her? The ones who fled the scene?” I counter. “Have you taken their statements? Or are you only interested in the easy target?”
The female officer’s pen stops scratching.
Barnes stares at me with suspicion. “How do you know about them?”
“Jared told me. If someone had bothered to take his statement, you’d have the same information.”
The supervisor shifts his weight, uncertainty creeping into his scent.
I push harder. “You want to destroy a young man’s life on an accusation, without bothering to verify his medical condition or investigate the other Alphas involved?
” My pheromones fill the room, clover turning sharp with challenge.
“How do you think that’s going to play out once lawyers get involved? ”
The threat of legal action hangs in the air. Barnes exchanges a look with the female officer, who gives him a shrug.
“We need to complete our investigation,” he says, but his resolve wavers.
“Complete it without keeping him in custody.” I straighten, softening my tone. “He’s not a flight risk. He lives and works here. I’ll take personal responsibility for him.”
Barnes considers this, fingers drumming faster. “You understand the implications if we release him into your custody? You’ll be responsible if he disappears or causes any more trouble.”
“I understand.”
“Wait here.” Barnes disappears through a side door.
Five minutes stretch into ten as I stand in the lobby, ignoring the curious stares of the other officers.
When the door opens again, Jared emerges with Barnes behind him.
The cuffs are gone, but Jared’s wrist bears an angry red mark. Someone has given him a damp paper towel to clean most of the blood from his face, but his nose remains swollen, a dark bruise spreading beneath both eyes. He carries a small bag in one hand. His personal effects, I assume.
He searches me out in the room, and when he finds me still there waiting, his posture straightens, a flicker of dignity returning.
“Sign here.” Barnes pushes a clipboard toward me. “And here. You’re responsible for making sure he appears for questioning tomorrow morning at nine.”
I sign without bothering to read the fine print. “And I’ll need a copy of your incident log before I leave.”
Then I lift my phone and take two fast photos, one of Jared’s wrist and another of his face, so they can’t claim later that he wasn’t injured.
Barnes pretends not to notice as he gestures to the woman behind him. “Make a copy.”
Jared stands unmoving, as if he hadn’t expected to walk out of here.
I take the paperwork the female security guard passes over, tuck it into my pocket, and gesture to Jared. “Let’s go.”
He hurries to my side without question.
We’re only a few steps from the door when a chair shrieks across the floor.
“You can’t just let him walk out!”
The angry Alpha from earlier shoves another chair aside as he storms toward us, his face flushed and jaw locked with rage. Pheromones roll off him, acrid with fury.
Barnes’s hand twitches toward his belt, where a taser sits. “Derek—”
“No.” Derek slices a hand toward Jared. “That bastard went after her, and you’re letting him walk? What happens next time?”
Jared flinches. “I didn’t—”
“Enough,” I snap.
The command stills half the people present, but Derek’s rage is a living thing, coiling tighter. He continues forward, his teeth bared. “If you won’t protect Omegas, I will.”
I stiffen as the enraged Alpha nears, and none of the officers move to stop him. All at once, my control snaps, and my pheromones pour out in a sudden, invisible wave. They crash through the room, oppressive and undeniable, every molecule carrying a single command: submit.
The other Alphas react first. One staggers back into his chair, another goes to one knee with a strangled sound, sweat beading on his brow. Even Barnes, a Beta, stiffens like prey that’s realized the predator is watching.
Derek freezes mid-step, his pupils dilating. His scent twists from acrid rage to startled fear before it collapses under the weight of mine. He lowers his head, shoulders curling, breath hitching shallow and fast like he’s been winded.
Only Jared stands untouched, eyes darting in confusion at the sudden stillness that’s fallen over the room. “What— What just happened?”
I keep my attention on Derek. “You’re lucky I don’t file assault charges for what you did to Jared.”
Color floods Derek’s face, shame warring with the instinct to bare his throat. He forces himself to nod once, jerky with reluctance.
I shift my focus, pinning it on Barnes. “See how easy it is to prove scent-blindness?” I tilt my head toward Jared, steady on his feet and unaffected. “Any Alpha on your roster could have done the same, unless you think they’re all too weak?”
Barnes’s throat bobs, but he says nothing.
“Go cool your head,” I tell Derek, letting the steel bleed through. “And if you care about your Omega as much as you claim, start by not bringing her around other Alphas when she’s going into Heat. Scent blockers and suppressants exist for a reason.”
Derek’s mouth opens and closes as he backs down a step, then another, the fight draining from him.
I ease off the pressure, reeling my pheromones back in. The officers sag in relief, exchanging wary looks, and Barnes pretends to be busy with his clipboard.
“Let’s go,” I repeat.
This time, no one stops us.
Jared trails at my side. “Why did they all… drop like that?”
Angry at the situation, I pull the door open into the salt-stung air. “Because they were reflecting on their actions.”
The late afternoon sun hits us as we step outside. The crowd has thinned but not disappeared, and every head turns as the door swings shut behind us. Jared ducks his head, shoulders hunching as if to make himself smaller.
A man spits on the ground as we pass. “Predator.”
Jared flinches but keeps walking, eyes fixed on the pavement.
Another voice rises from the edge of the parking lot. “They’re letting him go? What about the poor girl?”
I move in front of Jared, blocking him from their view. “Keep walking. Don’t engage.”
His breathing comes quick and shallow beside me, the scent of humiliation sharp in the air. When an Alpha steps into our path, mouth opening to deliver what can only be another insult, I’ve had enough.
I fix the man with a cold stare, my pheromones spiking again with warning. “Move.”
He blinks, startled, and steps aside. The others watch in silence as we pass.
My hand finds its way to Jared’s back, a steadying pressure between his shoulder blades. “Almost there.”
My truck sits alone at the far end of the lot, the afternoon sun turning its windshield into a shimmering wall of heat.
Jared walks beside me, his steps growing more unsteady the farther we get from the building, adrenaline ebbing to leave exhaustion in its wake. “What about the water taxi? It’s scraped to shit, and I need to get it back to the island.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. I can call Kyle once we get you to a doctor,” I tell him. “He can come pick it up and get it to the repair shop once all the guests are off the island.”
Jared moans and leans toward me for comfort. “He’s going to be so mad.”
“Yeah, he will.” Without conscious thought, I pull him closer. “But not at you. He’s going to be furious at the ones who caused this mess.”
We reach the truck, and I unlock the passenger door. For a long second, I stare at the cat carrier before I grab it and toss it into the back. Jared hesitates before he places his bag on the floor and climbs in.
I circle around to the driver’s side, giving him a moment alone while I compose myself.
What am I doing? This was supposed to be a simple rescue mission to get him out of custody, hand him off to Kyle, and return to my quiet Saturday.
But one look at his battered face and the defeat in his posture made it impossible for me to walk away.
The sun beats down on my neck as I open my door and slide behind the wheel.
Jared sits with his hands clasped between his knees, head bowed. The silence stretches between us, heavy with unasked questions.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” he says.
“You don’t need to.” I turn the key, and the engine rumbles to life. “Anyone would have done the same.”
“No.” He lifts his head, meeting my gaze for the first time since we left the building. “They wouldn’t.”
His sincerity catches me off guard. There’s no manipulation in his expression, no calculation, only raw gratitude and something deeper that makes my chest tighten uncomfortably.
“I knew you’d come,” he whispers.
His simple faith wraps around me, warm and dangerous. Trust, freely given from someone who has every reason to be wary. It’s been so long since anyone looked at me that way.
I grip the steering wheel, knuckles whitening. This wasn’t supposed to happen. After Auren, I promised myself I’d never let anyone depend on me like this again. Wouldn’t take responsibility for another person’s well-being.
Wouldn’t risk my heart on someone who might use it against me.
Yet here I am, with a young Alpha looking at me like I’m his salvation, and the worst part is how much I want to be worthy of that look.
I clear my throat. “Don’t make a habit of relying on me.”
“Not planning to,” he whispers, but the way he stares at me gives away the lie, and I don’t have it in me to correct him again.