38. Chapter 36
CHAPTER 36
Doran
“W hy is this taking so long?” I mumbled as I paced from one end of the room to the other.
It felt as though we were each taking turns pacing since the moment that beta called Wren from the room.
“It’s only been thirty minutes,” Dean said. Dude could act calm and collected all he wanted, but I could feel him through the bond as clearly as I could feel Winter.
Who I couldn’t feel clearly enough was Wren. She was doing her best to block us, to close the connection between us. A long talk about that shit was definitely coming the moment we got home.
I knew why she was doing it; she was trying to keep the five of us calm. She was trying to keep our own emotions from pouring down the invisible threads tying us all together. I was sure the combination of all six of us would make shit harder on her.
But I hated not feeling her, not knowing whether she was scared, whether she needed us.
“How long does this kind of shit take?”
“How the hell would any of us know? You ever have a well woman’s exam?” Dean bit back.
Yep. He was just as nervous as I was, no matter how hard he was trying to pretend otherwise.
“Doran. Sit down and relax. It’ll be fine,” Winter said, even though his eyes were glued to the door where our omega disappeared.
Barely biting back a frustrated growl, I sulked toward where my alpha sat, his knees spread, his arms crossed over his chest. Like Dean, he was doing his best to play off as though he wasn’t ready to come out of his skin.
But I knew my alpha. I knew him better than he knew himself sometimes.
He was just as out of sorts as I was feeling.
“It’s taking too long,” I grumbled.
The betas who’d attempted to have a conversation with us were giving us a wide berth. They seemed nice enough, mild mannered and a little quiet. But there were five of us, three being alphas – and all three alphas were practically blasting their hormones into the air as each minute stretched into the next.
Why hadn’t their omega been called back yet? Surely, they had enough doctors and nurses on hand being as this was a government deal, being as any pack who’d received their omega from the Center were forced to bring them in for testing.
A sour taste entered my mouth as my stomach rolled. I’d been so against adding an omega. And yeah, I’d totally come to terms with the fact it had been fear of losing Winter. I’d been so afraid my alpha would decide he’d much rather have someone who could actually take his knot, someone who could actually carry his child, that he’d decide I was no longer what he wanted.
Stupid. I’d been so stupid. Not only had Winter not treated me as though he no longer wanted me, sometimes it felt as though his feelings for me had only grown since Wren had joined out pack.
And then I’d managed to fall in love with her, as deeply and madly as I was in love with Winter. I had never once in my life been interested in a single female. I’d simply thought I wasn’t attracted to women.
Apparently, I just hadn’t met the right woman.
Something trickled down the bond, something sour and tight and uncomfortable. It was there and gone so quickly I wondered if I’d imagined it.
Until I noticed the other four were tense, leaning forward a little and staring at the door even harder as though listening.
When the faintest sound met my ears, I shot to my feet.
“Was that Wren?” I asked.
One by one, my packmates unfolded from the chairs.
As I took the first step toward the door, the sound became clearer.
It was a woman’s scream.
I heard Wren scream for Dean. For Winter.
For me.
I don’t know how, but Mateo managed to make it to the door before I could, practically ripping it from its hinges as he shoved through, his big feet thundering against the linoleum floor toward the sound of struggles, toward the sounds of our omega screaming for us, calling for us.
Begging us for help.
No. She’d never said those words, but it was in her tone. It was in the way she’d screamed our names, my fucking name.
I wasn’t an alpha. But that meant fuck all to me, especially when guards began to flood the halls as though to stop us from reaching our omega.
Fuck. There were far more of them than us. And a few of them carried metal batons, wielding them as though they were more than prepared to bash our skulls or break bones if we continued forward.
The threat didn’t stop any of us.
Even when Dean was tackled to the ground, when I was slammed against the concrete block wall, our alphas continued fighting to get through, they continued fighting to get to our girl.
My face throbbed from the force of hitting the wall and I was pretty sure my nose was broken, but I continued to struggle against the two guards attempting to restrain me.
This was exactly why we were ordered to leave any firearms or weapons behind, exactly why we’d had to pass through a metal detector – they didn’t want us or any other packs to have the upper hand.
While I would never speak for my pack, pretty sure they felt the same way I did – nothing short of death would keep us from getting to her.
With my face smashed against the concrete, blood smearing the white painted concrete and draining down the back of my throat, I still had a pretty clear view of the long as fuck hallway…
And caught a glimpse of bright red curls a split second before someone tackled her to the ground.
“ Wren! ” I bellowed, struggling harder against the hold.
How many of these fuckers were holding me? I have never been small, have always been closer to an alpha in size and strength. But holy shit. It felt as though there were a few linebackers keeping me pressed to the wall, wrenching my arms behind my back so they could slide plastic cuffs over my wrists.
“Fuck!”
With my wrists restrained, there wasn’t jack shit I could do to fight through the throng of guards. And from the sounds behind me, the cursing, the thuds, the grunts, it didn’t sound like my packmates were faring all that much better.
We’re coming for you, beautiful. We will not let them keep you from us .
I mentally whispered the vow into the air like a prayer.
Now, I had to pray I could keep that fucking promise.