Chapter 4 Lock
LOCK
Kellan went limp in my arms.
One moment he was sitting stiff beside me, breathing too fast, eyes glassy and too bright. The next, his whole body sagged sideways like someone unplugged him.
“Kellan. Shit.”
I caught him before he could slump down between the seats, the shift so sudden it punched adrenaline straight through me.
His shoulder hit my arm first, then the full weight of him followed like someone cut his strings.
I slid an arm around his back, pulling him upright and tighter into my chest than I meant to.
His head landed on my shoulder, warm and too damn soft.
“Hey,” I said, voice low and tight as his breath fanned my neck. “Look at me.”
Nothing.
His breaths were coming quick and shallow, his lashes resting against his cheeks. His scent hit me full force, t was sweet, warm, unmistakably omega. In the cramped van, it was overwhelming, wrapping around every inch of me.
And triggering instincts I didn’t fucking want…and certainly didn’t need right now.
Grim twisted in the front passenger seat, his eyes sharp. “He out?”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice sounding rough even to my own ears. Too rough. Too affected.
Slate’s voice crackled through the comm from outside, his bike taking point ahead of us.
“Half a mile to the compound. Cameras are down. Path clear.”
“Copy,” Grim said.
The van hit a bump. I tightened my grip on Kellan’s waist to keep him from jolting. His fingers twitched once against my shirt, then went still.
Wraith leaned forward from the back row, bracing an elbow on his knee. His tone was maddeningly calm. “He dead?”
“No.” I adjusted his head so it didn’t snap sideways with the turns. “Just overheated… and I guess shit caught up with him. Omegas hide stress until they can’t. He was too calm before anyway.”
Wraith made a thoughtful sound. “Cute problem to have.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
He did… but he didn’t look away.
The van slowed, crunching gravel under the tires, and before it fully stopped, I was already pulling Kellan tighter.
I steadied his head so it wouldn’t knock against anything.
The door slid open, letting cold air in.
Wraith didn’t move and neither Fuse nor Grim offered to take him from me; they both shifted automatically, giving me space without needing a word.
Home.
The second it stopped, I was lifting him.
“I’ve got him,” I said before anyone else could reach out to help me.
No one argued.
I slid my arms under him and picked him up. He was light… too light. His head rested against my shoulder again, his breath warm on my skin. My pulse kicked hard… I wasn’t sure if it was instinct… or something else.
Outside, the night air was cold.
“Holy shit,” someone whispered near the garage.
“Is that—”
I shot them a look, and the rest died in their throats.
Good.
I didn’t want eyes on him…or their scents anywhere near his.
I used the side entrance, the quiet one, avoiding the main common room. The hallway lights were bright after the dark van. But Kellan didn’t stir. He stayed limp against me, one hand curled loosely near my collar.
The sight of it twisted something sharp under my ribs.
Ember stepped out of the kitchen as I passed. Wraith’s old lady could read a battlefield in a heartbeat, and her gaze went straight to the omega in my arms.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Is that…?”
“Kellan,” I said.
She blinked. “He looks—”
“Don’t say small,” I warned.
“I was going to say fragile,” she corrected mildly. “But sure.”
I pushed past the spike of protectiveness and kept walking. “Infirmary.”
“Already told Tori,” Ember said, slipping ahead of me to open the door.
The medic room smelled like antiseptic and coffee; it was possibly my least favorite room in the compound… it was always way too bright, too sterile, and way too awake for the middle of the damn night.
And Tori was already inside. One of the guys must’ve called her.
She was a former army combat medic and current EMT on our payroll.
She wasn’t patched in—she didn’t need to be—but her brother Tank was, and she’d served with half the men here overseas.
Patched them up, dragged their asses out of firefights, stitched them together on bad nights.
She lived on the compound like extended family.
And everyone knew better than to get in her way.
Her red braid hung over one shoulder, dark tank top under her open vest, and she was snapping on gloves as I stepped in with Kellan in my arms.
She didn’t look surprised.
She did, however, look annoyed.
Which was normal. Tori was always annoyed when dealing with us.
“What’d you break?” she asked flatly.
“Nothing,” I bit out.
She shot me the unimpressed combat-medic stare. “Then why is he unconscious?”
“Heat spike,” Wraith said from behind me. “Or panic. Or both.”
Tori clicked her tongue like we were all idiots. “Put him on the bed. And back up, Lock. Your alpha pheromones are choking the whole room.”
I wanted to argue.
But she was right.
“Here.” She tapped the exam bed.
I laid Kellan down gently and stepped back. His face tipped toward me like his body hadn’t realized we weren’t touching anymore.
My chest tightened.
Dangerously.
Tori didn’t react, except for the raised brow. But then she focused on her patient. She checked his pulse with quick, practiced movements.
“Good rate,” she muttered. “He’s overwhelmed. And maybe overstimulated.” Her eyes flicked to me.
I clenched my jaw but didn’t speak.
She checked him over and Kellan slept straight through it. His lips parted slightly, breath soft and steady.
“Vitals are normal,” she said finally. “Not dehydrated. Not in shock. Just overloaded. Too much adrenaline… and excitement.” Her tone was dry. And pointed.
The guilt hit hard and fast.
“He’ll sleep it off,” she went on. “Keep him warm. And stop hovering.”
“I’m not hovering,” I snapped.
Ember snorted from where she’d appeared in the doorway. “You’re hovering.”
I ignored her.
Tori peeled off her gloves. “Where do you want him?”
Silence.
I went through my options.
Guest rooms? Too many people.
Bunkhouse? Absolutely not.
Office? He’d be freezing on that damn couch within an hour.
My room—
A terrible idea. Dangerous. Stupid.
But when I looked down at him…
Kellan was still curled slightly on his side, his breath soft. His hand was still half-curled like it had been gripping my shirt before he’d passed out.
His scent lingered in the air…warm, clean, sweet in a way that hit straight beneath my ribs. Omegas weren’t supposed to smell like that unless they trusted you.
My throat tightened.
“Put him in my room,” I said.
Ember’s brows shot up. Wraith didn’t even bother hiding the smirk pulling at his mouth.
Tori just nodded once. “Fine. But let me be on record saying—”
I raised a brow and she glanced at Wraith, then Ember before shrugging. “Don’t drop him.”
I knew that wasn’t what she wanted to say but I ignored her and slid my arms under Kellan again.
He was warm against me… warmer than he’d felt in the van. His cheek brushed my shoulder as I lifted him. And his scent hit me harder this time, curling low and sharp in my chest.
His fingers caught lightly in my shirt again.
And I almost stopped breathing.
“Let’s go,” I said, my voice low and rough.
Wraith held the door open. He didn’t offer help. But I could feel those assessing eyes on me…
Ember followed behind us, quiet but observant, like she was already cataloging every detail of the situation for later teasing ammunition.
I moved through the back hallway, avoiding the common room entirely. Kellan’s weight shifted slightly in my arms. His breath brushed my neck in slow, steady waves.
Every instinct I had sharpened.
Mine.
The word wasn’t conscious. It wasn’t welcome. But it curled through my chest with claws.
I shoved the thought away. Too dangerous. Too wrong. Too soon?
We reached my door. Ember slipped ahead of me and turned the handle.
“Go,” she murmured.
I stepped inside.
My room was darker than the hallway, cool, quiet, the low lamp by the dresser casting soft light over the bed. The gray sheets and heavy blankets felt familiar.
Except now there was an omega in my arms.
An omega I had no business carrying. An omega I couldn’t seem to put down.
I crossed to the bed and lowered him carefully, easing him onto the pillow. His face relaxed immediately.
My chest tightened in a way I didn’t want to examine.
I pulled the blanket up over him, tucking it lightly at his sides so he wouldn’t get cold.
His hair fell across his forehead. I shouldn’t have touched it, but I touched it anyway, just brushed it back once, slowly, carefully, for barely a second.
But it was enough.
I jerked my hand away and stood up too fast.
Behind me, Ember leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, her arms folded, one brow raised.
“Well,” she said, her voice dripping with amusement. “This is either the smartest or the dumbest thing you’ve done all year.”
Wraith stepped in behind her, his eyes flicking from the bed to my face. “So… you planning to call Rowan before he burns the state down, or are you too… preoccupied?”
My jaw clenched. “I’m calling him now.”
Ember tilted her head, studying me with that knowing look I hated. “Lock…”
“What.”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “You’re in trouble.”
I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t.
Because when I turned toward the door, I made the mistake of looking back one more time.
Seeing Kellan lying in my bed…small, soft, completely unaware that the night outside was ready to tear itself apart for him. I watched his chest rise and fall. His lips parted slightly. His scent lingered in the air like he belonged here.
Like he’d always belonged here.
My chest tightened again… this time fucking harder.
Leverage, I reminded myself.
Just leverage.
But every deep primal instinct in me called that a lie.
Every single one.
I left the room because I had to, and because Wraith was looking at me his eyes seeing things I didn’t want to deal with.