36. Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
Raece
T his was yet another one of those moments when I hated being a pack lead. It was my job to keep my pack steady, to keep them from going off the rails, from beating the piss out of anyone who looked in our omega’s direction.
It was fucked up being here, knowing there were people in this building who’d mistreated Wren and I couldn’t slaughter anyone. Especially when that was literally all I wanted to do.
Not true. My biggest desire was to get my omega as far from this building and these people as possible. I never wanted her to have to see the inside of this facility or a single face of these employees again.
But in the end, I left the decision up to Wren. It might have been stupid, but I had started to think the idea of running with her was the best option. Even if there was a risk of us getting caught. I would gladly risk my freedom if it meant preventing her from a single moment of fear or discomfort.
As if my stubborn as a fucking mule omega would allow that.
All the words the headmistress had used to describe Wren were correct, but they were exactly why we had all fallen so fucking hard for her. She’d been an ends to a mean, then we’d found ourselves wrapped around her dainty little finger.
How the fuck had so many packs looked past her? How had they not seen what we saw?
Their fucking loss. And I was grateful for that. Because she was now mine, ours. She was Omega Stryder.
Fuck that. She was Wren Elizabeth Stryder. Her designation didn’t change a damn thing about how we felt for her.
In the end, we’d decided against edging her for hours or days in hopes of sending her into an early heat.
Nah. That was her decision. Because, as she’d not so sweetly put it, there wasn’t a damn thing that would change whether she was knocked up or not. The government would still require her to report in for whatever bullshit testing they had in mind.
I couldn’t help but feel nothing short of resentment over this shit. Not every pack had the desire to breed. Not every pack cared whether or not they added any children to their family.
Hell, the only reason we’d finally relented and paid to add an omega to our pack was for legal reasons. And I knew damn well we weren’t the only ones out there doing so for the same fucking reason. Though most packs more than likely weren’t breaking laws or stealing omegas away from their abusive packs.
Oh, I wasn’t na?ve enough to believe there wasn’t a shitload of underhanded fuckers out there. We’d encountered more than our share during our side quests. And what were the chances of a single one of those cocksuckers actually following the new order and bringing their omegas in for testing. Surely, they wouldn’t want anyone to witness the bruises or other injuries they inflicted on the one person they were tasked to protect.
Wren sat on an expensive looking winged back chair, Doran standing on one side of her, Dean on the other, while Mateo, Winter, and I stood in front of her to block the view of the alphas who wandered the halls or waited with their omega. Didn’t matter one bit they had someone in their life – I didn’t want any of these assholes leering at my girl.
“How long have you guys been waiting?” a beta in a sweater and wearing thick black rimmed glasses asked me.
I fought the urge to snarl; he was simply trying to be friendly. And maybe he was simply curious as to how long they would have to wait.
“An hour,” I said.
The three of us alphas stood sentry over our omega for a fucking hour and had yet to receive a single update as to how much longer we would be standing here.
Sure, we could take a seat. But I would rather feel as though I was doing something to protect Wren and lounging in one of these ridiculous chairs in a waiting room with a filtration system steadily pumping scent neutralizers into the air felt far too casual and vulnerable.
A door opened and a squat beta woman peeked her head in. “Omega Stryder?” she called out.
Wren stood from her chair behind us and slid her hand into mine and Mateo’s, her thin fingers gripping mine tightly.
I felt her fear and anxiety through our bond and detected it in her scent.
We hadn’t taken three steps before the beta held up a hand. “Just the omega.”
The omega . Not Wren. Not Wren Stryder. Not even Omega Stryder. The omega.
“Why the fuck can’t her pack accompany her?”
“Alpha Stryder, we’re in a secured facility. She is not the only omega who’s going through a medical exam. We take the privacy of our residents and patients very seriously.”
Wren snorted a derisive sound that sent my protective instincts into overdrive. That small sound told me all I needed to know about exactly how much privacy the omegas who came through this place were given.
“Are you planning to examine her in the middle of an open room?” Mateo said, his arms crossed over his massive chest.
The beta looked flustered for a beat but regained her composure. I didn’t miss the way she kept her hand near a button on the wall beside the door. A panic button, no doubt.
“Of course not. But like I said, she’s not the only omega who will be back there. The others might not feel comfortable with strange alphas nearby while they’re in a vulnerable situation.”
“It’s fine,” Wren said, releasing her hold on my hand.
Turning her by her shoulders, Mateo bent at the knees so they were a little closer to eye to eye. Closer, but not quite with his giant ass.
“We’ll be right here. Anyone fucks with you, if you even feel uncomfortable with the line of questioning, if anyone touches you in any way you don’t want, call for us. Not a fucking thing will keep me from getting to you.”
A sad smile quirked up the corners of her mouth a second before she tilted her head back to accept the kiss he dropped on her mouth.
When she looked to me next, I dipped my head once, letting her know I agreed with Mateo. All five of us would break through the walls to get to our omega if need be.
Her eyes landed on each of us in turn, and I swear it felt as though she was drinking us in, memorizing our faces…as though this would be the last time she might ever see them.
Not a fucking chance this would be the last time I would lay eyes on my girl. Not the last day I would touch her, hold her.
Like Mateo had promised her – there wasn’t anything or anyone who could stop us from getting to her if shit went sideways.
She stepped through the door ahead of the beta, and it looked as though she knew exactly where to go. Of course, she did. She’d lived here for years before we’d come across her file.
It felt as though a full decade had passed since the day the headmistress tried to talk us out of the stubborn, high spirited, and insubordinate omega who was passed over by pack after pack.
It was her spirit and fight that convinced me she was right for our lifestyle. One would need strength to live with the risk of one or all of her mates not returning one night.
The rest of the world might not be privy to how we made our money, but her presence in our pack awarded us the legality of registering, hence being able to open a legitimate business that would explain the constant influx of income.
Or at least that’d been our hope. As risky as our lives might be, none of us would ever willingly step away from freeing captive omegas. And I knew my girl would continue to support our efforts, even if she hated the time we spent apart as well as the fear one of us could get hurt, killed, or even locked up.
The betas who were waiting their turn must have felt the tension in the room, because their original clean, crisp scents had turned slightly burnt, a little acrid and bitter.
I lowered onto a chair beside Dean, frowning at him when he patted my shoulder as though to comfort me. Don’t know who he was trying to fool – I could feel his own anxiety over the situation through our bonds.
Mateo continued to stand, periodically pacing to the door, over to the windows that overlooked the parking lot, then back to the center of the room again.
I could use my position as pack lead, use my bark to make him sit, but the big fucker was physically mirroring how we all felt.
Until Wren walked back through that door, until the six of us were sitting in the SUV and on our way back home, none of us would be able to relax.