Chapter 52
Hestia
Ihold Charm’s hand while we eat breakfast. I always love cuddling with my alphas, and I’m more than happy to give him extra attention after our heart-to-heart yesterday. I want Charm to feel safe and happy, just how he makes me feel.
It’s an early morning now that we’re on call again, but I don’t mind the long work weeks. They combine my two favorite things: being a rescuer and spending time with my pack.
I’m the luckiest omega in the world. My life is like that fairytale where the main character finds her mates right after getting her dream job and they live happily ever after.
Although now that I think about it, most people probably don’t consider The Very Bookish Scholar to be a fairytale.
I think fairytales are supposed to actually have fairies or some kind of magic, not just a librarian finding love.
But whatever, I read that book every night as a kid, and it always seemed magical to me.
I squeeze Charm’s hand, and he smiles and squeezes back.
We don’t linger once we’re done eating. I’m packed up and ready, listening as Orion goes over our plan for the day. “…we’ll split up briefly, so your group can check—”
The siren cuts him off, and in a blink he has his phone in his hand, answering dispatch.
“We have a call about a trapped and injured omega,” the operator says. “One alpha with them, distressed but uninjured. They were climbing, and the omega fell and got wedged between the rocks. Let us know if you need further assistance once you arrive on scene. I sent the location to your devices.”
“Got it, we’re on our way,” Orion says, and we’re out the door.
Orion and Charm cautiously approach the man pacing in the snow. The rest of us hang back to let them figure out what’s going on and avoid overwhelming the on-edge alpha.
Behind him is a mass of boulders and rubble at the base of a cliff. Somewhere in there is our patient.
Magnus and Cato pull out the med kits while Henri and I prepare our climbing equipment.
I keep an eye on the others while we ready ourselves. I can tell the alpha is agitated even from here. Despite the soothing things I’m sure Charm is saying, he doesn’t seem to be getting any calmer. Though anyone would be hard-pressed to pacify an alpha when their omega is in danger.
Orion gestures us over after a few minutes.
As we get closer, I hear the alpha say, “It was supposed to be a quick outing. We weren’t going to do a major climb without the rest of our pack. This was supposed to be easy, safe. But one of the cams came loose, and he slipped before I could catch him.”
It’s like he’s talking to himself rather than to us, trying to figure out where things went so wrong.
“It’s going to be okay. We’ll get Cassius out,” Charm says.
“You’re the backup for me. I’m the one going in after my omega, you’re my spotters,” the alpha growls.
“Titus, relax and let the nice people do their job. They’ll get me out in no time, so just stand back and wait,” Cassius calls out, voice echoing from somewhere in the pile of rock.
Despite the upbeat words, his voice is strained. Whether that’s from trying to talk down his alpha for the past hour or from his injuries, I’m not sure.
“No. Once they get me up there, I’ll push the boulders off you,” Titus says.
I think I hear a sigh echo out.
“Why don’t you wait down here with the first aid kit so you’re ready to clean him up once he’s out,” Charm says.
The alpha growls at him.
“We’ll get our climbing gear set up and figure out the best way to help Cassius,” Orion cuts in.
Titus doesn’t argue, likely assuming he’ll be going too. He resumes pacing while we prepare.
Henri flies a drone over the talus, taking images to plan our rescue. Magnus spots Cato while he climbs up to secure new cams.
We map out the safest route to where the omega fell in and get Orion’s approval.
Titus notices as we prepare to go up without him.
“I’m going in first,” he says, eyes dark and unfocused.
Cato places himself between me and the alpha.
“We have specialized training for these situations. We’ll get Cassius and bring him down to you,” Orion says firmly.
“He’s MY omega! I’m responsible for him. I have to save him!”
Titus tries to push past them, but Charm and Orion hook their shoulders under his and hold him back.
I know he doesn’t mean to hurt them, but it still pains me to see Titus shoving and tearing at them to get loose, even if it’s obvious the alpha is panicking.
Titus is yelling, Cassius is yelling at him to calm down, Charm and Orion are trying to get him to listen, it’s a jumble of noise punctuated by the scent of the alpha’s fear.
Heat builds in my chest, wanting his pain to stop, wanting to save everyone.
Magnus hides his movements from Titus as he prepares a sedative. It will be over soon, I just have to wait.
He has the calming spray hidden in his palm. Magnus steps toward them.
Titus lifts Orion and Charm off the ground, trying to toss them aside. They don’t let go of him, which throws Titus off balance, and all three fall into a tangle of limbs.
“Stop!” I hiss.
The heat leaves my chest as the command burns into the alpha.
He stops.
Charm and Orion untangle themselves and get Titus up in a sitting position. He’s breathing hard, but his eyes are clearer than they were.
“Are you listening?” Orion asks him.
Titus nods.
“Are you going to let us save your omega?” he says, gentler.
“Yes, I’m sorry, yes. Please help him. I’m sorry, please help,” Titus says, eyes watering.
“It will be alright. We’ll get him back to you,” Orion says.
He nods and presses his hands against his eyes.
They cautiously let go of him. Titus remains where he is, and Magnus tucks the sedative back in his pocket.
Orion nods at me and the last of the tension drains from my chest. I’m still not totally comfortable using my hiss to control someone, but having Orion’s approval helps, especially since he knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of it.
Now that everything’s settled, Magnus and Charm set up as our belayers. Cato, Henri, and I climb to the top of the rocks.
The boulders themselves seem to be stable enough, but they’re slippery with ice. We carefully walk to where the snow has been disturbed and shine our flashlights into the crevice, looking for any sign of Cassius.
There’s nothing but more gray rock. He must be wedged farther down.
“Can you see our lights?” Henri calls out to him.
“No, I don’t—wait. Wait, I think I saw it, go back,” he says.
We play light tag until we figure out at what point he can see it.
The gap is narrow and wouldn’t be easy to navigate, but the jumble of boulders formed a cave system, so there might be another route.
Cato and Henri check the larger crevices nearby while I stay above Cassius and coordinate between them.
“I can try to get myself upright again,” Cassius says as they search.
“No! Don’t do that. Just stay put for now. We’ll tell you if we need you to do anything,” Henri says.
We already determined Cassius is stuck on his back with his arms and legs wedged above him. He isn’t able to get leverage to readjust, which might be for the best since we don’t want him slipping further down.
Cassius agrees, and it’s several more minutes of Cato and Henri climbing up and down to see if there’s a way to get to him from the side.
I remain above the spot where he fell in—a gap just wide enough to fit an omega.
“There’s a hole further down, I’m going to check it to see if I can come up under him,” Henri says.
I frown.
“I saw another opening this way,” Cato says, and they start to move off.
“Wait. We’re wasting time. I’ll go down from here and see what I can do,” I say.
“It’s too narrow, I’m worried you’ll get wedged in there with him,” Henri says.
“I’m connected to our ropes. If I think I’m about to get stuck, I’ll have you pull me back up,” I reason.
“I trust your skills, I’m just concerned about the logistics.
Titus said Cassius is about five and a half feet tall and slim, so similar to your size,” Henri says quietly so the other omega can’t hear.
“He’s barely small enough to fit down there.
I’m worried about what kind of shape he’s really in. ”
“Let me go down and look at least, give us an idea of what we’re working with.
I might be able to find a connecting cavity you can go through.
Cassius is in the dark and doesn’t know what’s nearby.
There could be a hole right next to him.
Let me try. If it’s too risky, you can pull me back up,” I say just as quietly.
Henri still looks worried, but finally says, “Let me check with Orion.”
I nod.
He doesn’t use the radio, I assume because he doesn’t want Titus to hear either, and instead goes through their bond.
I try to figure out what Orion’s thinking based on his expression. It’s hard to tell from this far away, but his face is impassive except for a crease between his brows. He’s watching me though.
After a silent minute, Henri says, “You can go down, but tell us immediately if it gets too narrow.”
I readily agree, and Cato and Henri set up to lower me in.
We relay our plan to Cassius and tell him to watch for me.
I kneel on the hard, cold rock and plunge into the dark.
For the first few feet, it’s easy to weave between the boulders. After that, there are more twists and turns, and it’s pitch black except for the short beam of my flashlight.
My heart is pounding, adrenaline making my senses sharper, but there’s not much to see and all I hear is my own breathing and the slide of fabric against rock. Cassius’s burned caramel wine scent is everywhere and nowhere. I can’t even tell if I’m getting closer to him, though I must be.
I have to slow down in some spots to angle my way through. Hopefully they’ll be able to pull us back up as smoothly, but there’s no point in thinking about that now.
Finally, Cassius says, “I think I see your light.”
His voice sounds close, as if he’s just on the other side of a wall.
“Where is it? Is it near your head? Your legs?” I ask as I wiggle my way down.
“My chest,” he says.
That’s good, I should be well-positioned once I reach him. I feel the urge to speed up, but I ignore it. Another few minutes shouldn’t make a difference except for ensuring I don’t get stuck in my haste to get there.
I edge around a large rock and come face to face with Cassius.
“Stop,” I say through the radio.
Henri and Cato halt, keeping me suspended above him.
The blue-eyed omega blinks up at me.
I run my light over his body, checking for injuries while trying to figure out how he’s wedged in.
“How do you feel? Do you have pain anywhere specific?” I ask.
“I think I just have some bruising. Nothing too bad except for where I’m pressed against the rock,” Cassius says.
I connect our rope to his harness while he talks, making sure he’s securely hooked in before I do anything else. He looks well stuck, but I don’t want to risk him falling deeper once I start moving him.
“That’s good. I don’t see any injuries besides some scratches. Can you feel this?” I say, squeezing his fingers.
“Yes,” he says.
I go through a few more checks and reach around him to get a cervical collar on his neck. As I do, I feel only empty air, which makes my stomach flip. I can’t see past him to tell what’s below, but I’m glad I have him safely secured.
“Thank you for making my alpha calm down. I’ve been so worried about him, but he just wouldn’t listen no matter how much I yelled or pushed at him in our bond.
I wish I could have done what you did. That was so impressive, I’ve never met an omega who could bark like an alpha,” Cassius says while I work on figuring out how to move him.
“You’re welcome, I’m glad I could help. I hate to see anyone that upset, and it wasn’t doing either of you any good,” I say.
Later, I’m sure I’ll think about what he said. Further confirmation I’m in the right career, that my designation is an asset, not a hindrance.
But for now, I remain focused on saving him.
“Alright, we’re ready to pull you out. Let me know if anything hurts as we go,” I say.
He agrees, and I radio my teammates that it’s time to get us out.
They pull slowly, and Cassius tucks his limbs in as much as possible, but he winces as they lift us.
“Are you doing okay?” I ask.
“Fine, fine,” he says, breathing fast.
There’s nothing I can do about the strain of dislodging him. Lifting him directly up is our best option to avoid further injury.
Still, it feels like it takes forever to get him unstuck since all I can do is watch as we drag him out.
He pops free all at once, and I hold on to steady him. Cassius clutches my arms and closes his eyes.
Now that I can see past him, I’m glad he got trapped where he did.
The gap widens beyond this point, and it looks like a straight drop. My light doesn’t even reach the bottom, so who knows how much deeper the hole goes.
“Are you alright? Okay to keep going?” I ask.
“Yes, let’s get out of here.”
“Good idea. How are your arms and legs? Are you able to move them?”
“They’re a little numb, but I can feel them. Based on the pins and needles, I think they’ll be fine in a few minutes,” he says.
With Cassius’s help, we wind our way back up, getting through the narrow spots with little trouble.
Henri and Cato hoist us out, and we check Cassius over in the light. He stares at his alpha the whole time, who watches him back.
There isn’t anything that needs immediate treatment, so we readjust our lines and climb down.
As soon as Cassius lands, Titus is there looking over his omega before carefully hugging him. Cassius hugs him back fiercely, and we give them a few minutes to themselves, trying not to listen in on their private words.
Orion helps Cassius to the car to bring him to the hospital.
Titus thanks us as we get them in the truck, “I’m sorry about before, I wasn’t thinking clearly. If I didn’t have the bond to know he was okay, I’m sure I would have been even worse. Thank you for saving my omega when I couldn’t.”
Charm reassures him we didn’t take anything personally.
I undo my harness and watch as they drive off.
Another successful rescue—only minor injuries and two mates were happily reunited.
So why do I feel so hollow?