Chapter 51
My foot tapped the floor the whole way home. I never stopped trying Eva’s phone. Every unanswered ring feeling more deafening than the last.
After what felt like an eternity, we made it home. Everyone leaped from the car. I started up the drive first, but Marcus and Indi both made a point of stepping in front of me, acting as a barrier between me and whatever was going on.
Marcus creaked the door open slowly. Looking at it, it was obvious someone had been trying to pick the lock, and they managed it sort of. But did a lot of damage to the door, like they weren’t very skilled.
The house was quiet, extremely quiet, Cameo sat on the sofa in the sitting room with splinters of wood decorating his clothes. His head turned as we came in, eyes distant and angry, rimmed with red like he’d been crying.
“She’s gone,” the alpha said by way of greeting.
I could see him fraying at the edges. For a man who was always the picture of control, it was… unbearable. But somehow, it wasn’t as dire as the words that followed, cutting over Marcus and Indigo’s half baked questions.
“And I don’t know who took her.”
An eerie silence fell over the room, everyone trying to figure out what to do now.
My eyes flicked to Indigo as they took my hip, instinctually pulling me closer.
“Do we have any leads on who broke into the apartment?” Marcus asked. “It has to be the same person, right?”
Cameo shook his head. “I’ve been trying to figure it out… I needed more time. All I got is this.” He pulled a small plastic baggie from his pocket with a piece of frayed fabric inside. “I found it by her windowsill when I went back last night.”
“Wow, detective Cameo is on the case,” Indigo said with a nervous laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
“Where was she?” Marcus asked, shooting Indigo a scowl.
“Your room, I think,” Cam said, gesturing upstairs.
We were all up the stairs and in Marcus’ room quickly. The obvious crime scene made my stomach roll. The bed was a mess in a way Marcus never left it, and even slightly ajar, as if the attacker had moved it in the struggle. Blood splattered along the sheets that I hoped wasn’t Eva’s.
I could feel the pressure of tears behind my eyes. Crying wasn’t something I did often, but seeing what felt like the ghost of her here, and not knowing when I’d see her again, was a blow I couldn’t handle.
My alphas moved around me, inspecting the room while I stood still. It felt like time stood still in this room.
“It’s the same scent as in the car,” Marcus pointed out. “That horrible menthol.”
“You’re right,” Cameo agreed. “I should’ve known it wasn’t just a random break-in.”
“You couldn’t have,” Indi said, checking under the bed for any clues.
By the time they were done, it seemed like the only piece of evidence we had was that blurry photo.
“Should we call the police?” Marcus asked. “With nothing to go on, I don’t know what else to do.”
I rolled on my feet. God, I really didn’t want to but… “I know someone better to call.”
Everyone’s eyes landed on me. “Who?”
“My brother.”
“Your brother?” Indi asked, confused.
“It’s a long story,” I said, not wanting to get into it all right then. “But trust me.”
I grabbed my phone, fished for his contact, and dialed.
I was worried he wouldn’t answer. When he first rescued me, he would answer long enough to make sure I was alive, then hang up. He thought it was too dangerous. After a year or so, he would hold smaller conversations with me, but I haven’t seen him since.
“Hello?” he said, voice hard as always on the other end.
“Mas?” I asked.
He sighed, hating it when I called him that. “What’s up?”
“Uh, I’m in a bit of a situation, and I need your help.”
There was some shuffling on the other side of the phone. “What kind of help?”
“An omega in my pack, Eva, she was taken, and I need you to find her.”
“Wait, slow down. You have a pack? And another omega?”
I huffed loudly. He always brought out the side of me that made me feel like a kid again. “Yeah, I do. And I’d tell you about it if you ever called.”
All my alphas stood around, each with a different version of confusion on their faces, listening to my end of the conversation.
“You know why I don’t call,” he said. “When did you get a pack?”
“I’ll tell you later,” I insisted. “Eva is gone, and I need her back. Will you help me or not?”
There was a long silence on the other end I almost worried it was going to be a no.
“What information do you have?”
“I’m putting you on speaker,” I told him before clicking the button. “Everyone’s here. Mas wants to know what we know.”
We all took turns explaining what happened with the car break-in, her apartment, today. Each of us trying to recall any small details.
“And I have a photo of him,” Marcus said. “But it’s blurry.”
Mason sat quietly listening, something I was well accustomed to. While I tended to be loud and outspoken, Mason hardly breathed a word unless he had to.
“I see,” he said finally.
He was quiet for longer than I cared for. “So are you going to help or not?” I snapped.
“Send me the photo, and I’ll see what tech can do,” he said, his tone even, uncaring about my attitude. “And I’ll be there soon. It seems we have a lot to catch up on.”
Every muscle of my body tensed at him saying that. “Okay, I’ll send you the address.”
He hung up, the line cutting before I could say bye.
Everyone stood around. “Can we trust your brother?” Cameo asked.
“Of course you can,” I snapped.
He raised his hands. “Don’t get offended. You’ve never even mentioned him before.”
“It’s because we… don’t talk much. His job makes it hard.”
Indi giggled. “What, is he mafia or something?”
I averted my gaze, not wanting to lie, but not wanting to answer either.
Their eyes got wide. “Wait, seriously?” they asked.
“All you need to know is he will help,” I said.
“And when do you think he’ll get here?”
I thought about it. “A couple of hours if he leaves soon.” I didn’t go far when I left, just far enough to get out of my parents’ bubble.
“I guess now all we can do is wait,” Cameo said.
And that felt like the most excruciating part of it all.
A knock on the door came a couple of hours later, just as I’d predicted. Cameo insisted on answering it, not letting me leave downstairs. Those two meeting made me a little nervous, I could easily see how they would clash.
But it wasn’t too long before there were heavy footsteps on the stairs, and Cameo came down, followed by Mason.
I hadn’t seen him for so long, but it looked like nothing had changed.
He was still wearing a crisp black suit, as always.
He was a touch taller than Cameo, with his black hair kept shorter than mine and styled backwards.
Even though he was adopted, people always said we looked alike, but I didn’t see it.
Where I was chaotic and messy, Mason was the perfect picture of calm and well-adjusted.
“Mas,” I said, hopping up and running to give him a hug.
It took him a moment to actually put his arms around me too, and the way he did it was stiff. Though I didn’t take offense to it. Mason had always hated touch, but tolerated it for me.
“Hello,” he said, giving me another second or two before he pulled away. He glanced around. “I think you have some explaining to do.”
“Don’t start,” I said, my cheeks getting red. “Did you find anything?”
I could tell he wanted to push, but he relented, pulling his phone from his jacket. “The guy was one Jason Pewter. Looks like he’s an… online content creator of some kind?”
“Fucking Jason,” Indi murmured to themself.
“You know him?” Mason asked.
“Yeah, he’s a fuckwad streamer we pity allowed in our friend group,” they said. “He and Jesse were friends, I thought, but I never liked him.”
“So what do we do now?” I asked.
“You do nothing,” Mason said, putting his phone back.
“Jason has got himself mixed up with the Bison’s Motorcycle Club.
They’re a nasty group that’s been trying to do business up in my territory for a long time.
It’ll be nice to squash them once and for all.
So I will retrieve her and bring her back when the job is done. ”
“No,” Cameo said. “They took our omega, we’re coming. Protecting her is my job, and I need to see this to the end.”
Marcus and Indigo nodded their agreement. I felt torn. I agreed with my pack, wanting to save Eva for ourselves, but I knew Mason was the best at this, and when he said he’d do something, he normally did.
He looked between my pack, the assessing look on his eyes obvious.
“You understand this isn’t one guy who committed a little kidnapping.
This is a large organization that I’ve been working to shut down for months.
I’m not sure how it so serendipitously landed on my brother's lap, but I’m not wasting the opportunity.
So I can’t have a bunch I need to look out for. ”
“We can hold our own,” Cameo assured. “And we’ll stay out of your way. I just want to take care of Jason.”
Mason sighed. “Fucking packs,” he murmured to himself. “Fine. But you’re also there to keep my brother safe, understand.”
“We do,” Indi said, squeezing my shoulder.
“Good.” Mason tracked the care in Indi’s movement. “I can’t believe after I got you out of that bond the first time, you decided to tie yourself to an entire pack.”
The entire room froze, save for Mason, who was the least bit aware of the giant secret he just spilled.
“What is he talking about?” Indi asked in that same hushed tone they used when we fought the other day.
“N-nothing,” I stuttered, wishing Mason weren’t a foot taller than me so I could kick his ass right now. “We don’t need to talk about it right now.”
“Yes, the fuck we do,” Cameo said. “You were bonded before?”
I swallowed. This wasn’t really how I wanted to tell them all, but I guess I didn’t have a choice now. “I-I was bonded once,” I said. “To some alpha my parents wanted me to marry. But I didn’t want to, he forced it on me. So Mason stepped in, got it broken, and… well, now I’m here.”
Indi’s face was angry, but sad for me, Marcus’ tight with that same rage as before. But Cameo looked… deadly. The same way I’d seen Mason look sometimes.
Tears welled in my eyes for the second time. I couldn’t help but peek at Cameo, who had appeared right next to Indi. “Whoever it is, just know he’s a dead man,” Cameo promised. “You’re ours now, we’ll protect you.”
I wasn’t sure how he planned to make good on that, but the sentiment warmed me anyway, even though it was a bit morbid. “Thanks.”
Mason cleared his throat, all of us obviously forgetting for a moment he was there. “Well, glad I could sort this out for you. Should we get going? I don’t mean to alarm you, but the Bisons trade in… flesh. Getting her back soon would be wise.”
My stomach hit the ground. “Yes, let's go.”
We all made our way out the door, determination settled between us.
We were getting our omega back.