Chapter 60 Callisto
Chapter sixty
Callisto
Red’s report about Giles Jones and the re-emerging trafficking ring sparks a nationwide manhunt. All roads close, the news outlets post the wanted photos, and the tech team take possession of the laptop to chase every lead.
Within six hours, both people fall into the OCB nets.
We aren’t there to witness of course, but I wish I could, just to punch them both in the face. I’ll be sure to put them behind bars for life.
The night’s a blur of hospital emergency rooms and statements as Red and Rickon get checked out. Red’s strained a ligament in her shoulder, but the doctors are certain it’ll be fine in a week. Rickon’s first-degree burns get burn cream and patches to prevent infection.
I breathe a sigh of relief as I pay the bills and get my pack bundled into a car. Home’s never felt so attractive.
Red dozes in the car, exhausted from her ordeal, but even though her light snoring fills the car, I can’t stop myself checking the mirror at every intersection to make sure she’s there. She rests on Zack’s lap, the alpha refusing to release her. Can’t blame him at all.
Ricky stares out the window at the night lights, and I ache to know what he’s thinking. His mother died right in front of his eyes, and his dad’s facing life in prison, but since Ricky cried himself out earlier, he seems at peace.
When we get into the apartment, I set my keys on the bench and turn to Red. “You want to shower and go to bed?”
“I think not,” Red says haughtily. She lifts her shirt and points to her belly. “I’m so fucking hungry my stomach’s about to eat through my skin.”
I snort. “That would be a disaster for sure. Let’s find something to eat then.”
“Find everything then,” she says.
Rickon digs the yoghurt tub out of the fridge and taste tests to make sure it’s still good before he passes her a spoon. Red hops up on the kitchen table, and Zack joins her, refusing to be out of reach.
Our omega groans as she ladles strawberry yoghurt into her mouth. Suddenly she spasms and looks up, eyes wide. “Fuck, Calli. I forgot ’cause of the drama. How did your court case go?”
“No idea,” I reply. My heart sinks a little, but honestly I’d forgotten all about it in the face of losing Red.
She shakes her head. “What? I thought this was the big one.”
I shrug. “Yeah, it was, but I ran out as soon as I heard you got kidnapped.”
She freezes, spoon and yoghurt spilling from her hands in opposite directions. “You fucking did what?”
Her shock makes me laugh, and I circle the counter and lean over her to clasp her cheeks. “Red, I’m never making that mistake again. Nothing’s more important than my omega.”
“How could you just walk out of court? You’re a bloody idiot!” she splutters, but as she does, her bottom lip quivers and her eyes fill with moisture. My gorgeous, feisty omega who hates crying sheds a tear for her prodigal alpha, and that’s all the record-breaking I need.
Yeah, most likely we lost the case; the client might even choose to sue me and I might get charged with contempt of court for wasting the judge’s time, but even so I’d make the same choice every time.
Red shoots out her arm, catching me around the neck, and I tumble off balance. When I brace my hands either side of her, they skid in strawberry yoghurt and I pitch forward into her chest. I laugh, smothered by her blood and smoke-scented shirt.
“Hey,” Rickon says, voice full of mischief. “If I’m the crybaby and Calli’s the idiot, what’s Zack?”
I pull back so I can hear our omega’s answer.
She rolls her eyes. “Zack’s my tiger, of course.”
“Is tiger a dog?” Zack asks, narrowing his eyes.
“No,” Red says with a smirk
“Okay then,” he answers.
I force down a laugh, wondering how he’ll react when he learns about tigers.
“Maybe we should go to the zoo,” Ricky says slyly.
My heart skips a beat. “Do you mean that?”
He shrugs one shoulder and throws me a lopsided smile. “Yeah, I think so.” He stands there, pale but brave, and a partial groan slips through my throat.
Ricky hears it. “I don’t want things to hold me back anymore. Someone’s heroics just inspired me.” He glances up through his long lashes. “That was real big of you, Calli, to give up your win streak.”
I reach out and grab him, pulling him into our messy cuddle as my heart damn near bursts with pride.
Rickon falls in with a laugh, and I seal my mouth to his.
The warmth of his tongue drives away the ice that formed in my chest when Red’s message first popped up.
This miracle of a pack fits together so well, each of us bravely finding healing together on this crazy journey.
“Now that’s a thing of beauty,” Red sighs dramatically.
I smile into the kiss.
“But food first,” she declares. My picks up her spoon and the yoghurt tub, adopting a cute pout.
“I’m so damn torn about what to eat. I didn’t want to die out there with sultanas being the last thing I ate.
” She eyes us up and down and smirks. “Now that I’m watching you kiss, I might change my mind about the food coming first.”
Ricky and I chuckle as we part. As much as we want to dive into each other’s bodies, Red’s needs come first.
“Hang in there, gorgeous,” I tell Red, pressing a careful kiss to her cheek. “The doctor said no sex today.”
“Who gives a fuck what the doctor says?” she whines.
I touch my finger to her nose, leaving a spot of yoghurt on the top. “I care enough for the both of us, so eat and rest.” As I pull away, I meet Zack’s gaze over her head, and he grins.
“Cal-ee right,” he tells Red, squeezing her gently from behind. “Need strength to fuck.”
Red brightens and tips what’s left in the yoghurt container to her mouth for more efficient delivery.
I chuckle and dig out the sandwich press, remembering she loves cheese toasties.
While I prepare the gluten-free bread from the freezer, Rickon gets on the phone and orders takeaway from every major joint in town.
My stomach growls as fried chicken, sushi, Chinese, noodles, and burritos pile up on the table, reminding me Red’s not the only one who’s starving. We alphas like to eat.
I get emotional as I wind satay noodles onto a fork a bit later.
“Something on your mind?” Ricky asks.
“Just . . . it’s my first time eating takeaway at home with my pack.”
Red, who climbed off the table once it got too full of food, drops her hand on my knee. “Lots of firsts this week for us then. First pack holiday, first kidnapping rescue.” She can’t keep a straight face and snorts noisily.
I reach out and tug her burned hair. “First full-pack haircuts,” I tease.
Red groans and holds out her mangled hair. “Right. I think I’ll cut it all off and make things lighter for my neck. Will that be okay for my image, Rickon?”
“Whatever you want, we’ll make it work, Biscuit. If you wear a cap in the meantime, we can unveil your new look at the film wrap-up gala.”
“I can work with that.” She cocks her head, studying us. “How did you guys find me out there?”
We all instantly know she’s referring to the kidnapping. “Rickon remembered going camping once with his parents in that forest,” I volunteer.
“Because Calli reminded me,” he says, sharing credit like the sweetheart he is.
“Bond,” Zack says, pressing his hand to his chest.
“Yes, and the bond told us the rest,” Rickon agrees. “Like, we both felt strongly about which way to go once we got close.”
I feel a little left out as they share, but I can’t help recalling how Zack’s emotions overwhelmed Rickon in the car.
We fought about it once, but it’s true that the former feral has a dominating effect on his pack members.
Will I be any different if I bond Red? Can I have what I desire most with Red and still protect my pack?
Later, as I towel-dry Red’s hair after a shower, she studies me in the mirror. “You’re thinking about bonds, aren’t you?”
I grin at her. “What gave me away?”
“Your lawyer face.”
My brows pop. “My lawyer face?”
“Yeah.” She frames her eyes with her fingers. “You get all serious and a bit squinty when you’re weighing your options.”
I snort but can’t refute her claim.
Red pulls away and leans on the bathroom vanity. “Let me guess. You’re trying to decide if you can get away with breaking the Omega Center rules?”
I hang the towel on the railing. “Actually, I completely forgot about the Omega Center. I was thinking about the influence Zack has on you and Ricky in the bond.”
“Ah.” She goes to nod but winces as her neck reminds her she’s been through hell and back. Instead, she reaches out and grabs my nightshirt, tugging me closer. “You know, Calli, you always impress me in an emergency, staying calm and collected.”
“Yes.” I grin down at her. “I save my meltdowns for camping in tents.”
She chuckles. “Good one. I have a question. When you and Zack fought out at the cabin, he was letting out a pretty ferocious challenge, right?”
I nod, trying to work out where her logic’s headed.
“So, I mean, I’m an omega so I could be wrong, but it’s enough alpha aggression to shut some alphas right down, yeah?”
“Well, yeah,” I answer slowly. She’s right. Back on the courthouse steps that day some alphas didn’t get hit by the alpha bomb but still froze. Those who don’t measure up to Zack generally get out of his way instinctively.
Red walks her fingers up my chest. “But you stepped forward, even with all that pressure.”
My heart jolts as I stare at her. She’s saying she believes in me, that I’m strong enough to handle it. But she doesn’t know the half of it. My voice breaks as I tell her, “That’s because I love you, Red Jones. I couldn’t bear to be apart from you any longer.”
My omega smiles at me, her expression a little sly and full of loaded meanings. Silently, she tugs me closer and drops the sweetest, most sensitive kiss on my mouth. So pure and loving, my knees go weak.
My breath rasps when she pulls back, and I stare at her, awed to know this woman accepts me.
“How about this?” she murmurs. “Let your omega tell you when the time’s right for our bond.”
I gaze into her blue-gray eyes and nod, pulled by the invisible force in my soul that declares this omega my scent-match.
She relaxes and pulls me in for another kiss. I gently fold her into my arms, her scent circling me along with her arms.
Some things in life don’t need reasoning out. I just need to have a little faith.
Like the faith my omega has in me.