Chapter 6 #2
Canaan leans in and murmurs something I can’t make out. Whatever it is has Rennick exhaling and the rumble silencing, giving space for oxygen to once again fill the room. While the rest of the group breathes easier, Rennick is still struggling, his body a coiled ball of nerves.
It appears Seren isn’t standing down, though.
My best friend scoots to the edge of her seat so she can get an unobstructed view of the Craddock Pack she-wolf. She doesn’t raise her voice or look angry, but the sharpness in her tone makes it clear she’s not going to entertain any bullshit.
“With Thalassa gone, Noa’s the face of this program now,” she starts.
“She’s the leader of what a lot of people consider a ‘revolution’ for our designation.
They’re the same people who view omegas as property, the ones who think we should spread our legs and take a knot without complaint.
They see her as a threat.” Her chin lifts, daring anyone to argue.
“Whether Noa can shift or not means fuck all. The moment Noa took over the Nightingale program, she became their problem. Not to mention, this program has been around for nearly eight years. Countless omegas have come through these walls, have been harbored and protected here. Myself included. And that means there’s an equal number of alphas out there who aren’t exactly thrilled their omega slipped away.
Any one of them could’ve held a grudge. Could’ve paid the right people to come collect Noa as some kind of vendetta.
” Her voice tightens. “And these witches, whoever they’re working for, made it clear they’re involved in the sex trade.
They mentioned auctions. Clubs.” On my other side, Siggy flinches.
My arm around her tightens. “Thalassa had allies working to tear those places down. Which means those allies are technically Noa’s now.
That alone makes her a threat to their entire operation.
” She pauses to glance sideways at me. “I actually need to talk to you about that,” she adds under her breath.
Before I can ask Seren what she’s talking about, Siggy says, “When I was under the compulsion spell, everything was fuzzy, but I remember one of the witches saying Noa wasn’t going to be put in the auction. Someone had already paid for her.”
The bottom of my stomach drops, the reminder crashing over me like ice water. Someone out there purchased me. Like I’m nothing more than fucking cattle, my name had a price tag. I swallow the mixture of fear and anger clogging my throat.
Across from me, Rennick snaps. He’s on his feet before I even register the movement.
“What?” he barks. “Someone bought my m—Noa?” His eyes lock on to mine. There’s no mistaking the fury there, but buried beneath it, I see it. Fear. Sharp and tangible. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
My irritation is instant. Dropping my hold on Siggy, my arms fold tightly over my chest as I lean back into the familiar velvet of the couch.
“I’ve been a little preoccupied,” I snap. “But the next time I wake up after going into shock, I’ll make giving you a play-by-play of the horror show I lived through my first priority, Rennick.”
His eyes widen as he realizes his mistake.
He doesn’t argue further. Instead, all his rage collapses inward.
His breath still comes fast, the wide expanse of his bare chest rising and falling in quick succession as he begins to pace where he’s moved behind the couch like he needs the movement to keep from unraveling.
Half a minute later, he turns back toward me. His voice is softer now, regret weighing every word.
“I’m sorry, sweet one.”
I give him a stiff nod. My jaw still feels too tight, but within my chest cavity, flutters erupt at hearing that damn endearment.
“They didn’t say who it was,” I tell him, and the rest of the room, now that he’s relatively calm. “Just that someone had paid them to retrieve me. But like Seren said, the Nightingale program has made enemies. A lot of them. And now I’m the one in charge, so…”
I let the sentence trail off, not needing to elaborate.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to add there’s a chance this might run deeper than the sanctuary. Malvina all but confirmed she knew my mother. At the very least, they’d crossed paths with each other at some point.
I don’t say it.
The one person who might have answers isn’t speaking. Amara hasn’t said a word since I came downstairs. She hasn’t even looked at me, and I’m not sure she’s hearing any of this. Grief clings to her like a second skin.
When that veil finally lifts, when she can breathe again without wanting to die herself, I’ll talk to her. About all of it. About what Malvina said. About the threads. About whatever the fuck is happening to me and my magic.
Stopping his pacing, Rennick plants both hands on the back of the couch he abandoned. His palms curl into the frame, veins bulging down his forearms.
“I shouldn’t have made her death so easy,” he mutters, scrubbing an agitated hand over his face. His short, trimmed beard scratches against his palm. “That witch in the woods deserved more than choking on her own blood.”
My head snaps toward him.
“You killed Malvina?”
His eyes soften when they land on me. There’s something tender there hidden beneath the murderous rage still fueling him. Something that slips past all the damage between us and brushes right against my rib cage.
“Of course I did,” he says. “She hurt people you care about. Hurt you. That’s a death sentence.”
I don’t know what to say to that.
But my wolf does.
She practically hums, absolutely tickled pink by his vicious display of devotion. It’s like she’s going, ‘He murdered someone for us? Be still my heart’.
I press my lips together and glance away, trying to bury the strange heat rising in my body.
Seren clears her throat, lifting her hand to the bandage on her shoulder. I haven’t had the opportunity to ask about it yet, but I’d clocked it the second I reunited with her.
“She might be dead, but the two other sisters aren’t.
” This information settles in my stomach like stone.
“Canaan got there right before they could shove us into the waiting van. Bought me just enough time to shift and go for the compeller. I figured if I lunged for her, Rhosyn, Edie, and Siggy might snap out of it. It worked, but I took a fucking blade to the shoulder for it. Then another witch showed up, hit us with a gust of wind strong enough to send us flying. By the time we got up, they were gone.” Her gaze slides to the bassinet sat just outside the room’s arched doorway.
“I would’ve tried to track them,” she adds, her voice now taking on a distant sound. “But I needed to get to my daughter.”
Ivey hasn’t stirred since this meeting started. Earlier, when I’d peeked into her little crib, needing to see she’s safe with my own two eyes, she’d looked so peaceful. I’m grateful her young age will stop her from remembering what happened today.
“Those two got away, along with a good portion of their reinforcements as well. We took out a handful, but not before they returned the favor in kind.” Canaan winces at this information. “Four Craddock Pack wolves, including Lowri, and five from the Ashvale Coven’s ranks were killed.”
“And three of our pack’s unbonded omegas were taken,” Lena snaps, her wolf’s anger flaring. “Don’t forget about them. Jade, Diana, and Uma.”
I resist the urge to lean forward and expel whatever contents are in my stomach on the floor.
In my heart I knew we’d lost more than Lowri today, but hearing the final total—hearing their names—makes the damage to our community real in a way I haven’t fully let myself face.
And it’s a tough pill to swallow, especially knowing that somewhere out there, three Craddock Pack omegas are about to be thrown into a hell most people would rather die than endure.
And a big part of me can’t help but feel like it’s my fault. The triplets came here for me, and taking other omegas was nothing more than a bonus for the job they were already paid to do. They’d said as much.
Sensing my rising distress, Siggy’s cold fingers wrap around mine and hold tight. I squeeze back while simultaneously hating she thinks she needs to comfort me. That’s not her job. She shouldn’t be the one holding me together right now.
“What do we do now?” Edie asks no one in particular. She just tosses that question into the room hoping someone will catch it. “Are we even safe here anymore?”
A cold chill runs down my spine at the same time the weight of my Nightingale’s question lands on my shoulders.
Are we still safe here? Can I keep them safe?
“They know our town now. They’ve mapped out our response times, seen our strengths and weak spots.
Their void might be dead, but even if Amara reestablishes the perimeter’s ward and next time we know they’re coming…
if they bring more witches with them, I don’t know if we can hold them off or stop them from taking more of our omegas.
” Lena admission sounds like it pains her to say aloud.
“We can make plans, up our patrols and train harder…” one of the other Craddock she-wolves offers up. “The witches can maybe work on creating more safeguards with their magic.”
It’s a fair idea in theory. Rational. But in my gut, I know it won’t be enough if they come back.
Seren sighs, running her hand through her white-blonde bob.
She’s let it air-dry and it has more of a wave in it than usual.
“Yeah…but that doesn’t solve one of our more immediate problems.” Her gaze shifts to me, and something in her expression makes my pulse quicken.
“Another club was dismantled in Northern California a few days ago. They’re sending us a handful of the omegas who were rescued. They’ll be here tomorrow.”
My jaw drops. I stare at her, stunned.
“Wh-what?” I stammer, looking around the room like someone else might explain what I just heard. “Why didn’t—”