26. Nevin
26
NEVIN
Xan and I were strolling through the mall when suddenly, Xan grabbed my arm with a sharp gasp. It was so out of character for him that immediately, my anxiety spiked.
My mind conjured up images of Rex and his cronies lurking around the corner, but when I spun to look at Xan, I found him staring—no, drooling—at a tall, dark-haired man with piercings working at one of the stores nearby.
My rattled nerves only slightly calmed at that. Of course it was just another random hottie that Xan needed to pine over. Not the men from my nightmares. Thank god for small miracles, I guess.
“Do you see him?” Xan hissed under his breath, squeezing my arm.
“Um… Yeah? I have eyes, Xan,” I said around a laugh.
He elbowed me. “Shut up. He’s perfect. Like, god’s gift to mankind. C’mon, let’s go browse the store. I need to know if he’s wearing a ring. An Alpha like that’s gotta be married. But if not…” He grinned, big and toothy. “I call dibs. Mine.”
Straightening his shoulders and never once letting go of his grip on my arm, he marched us across the mall and into the store, which seemed to be some sort of novelty shop with gag gifts and t-shirts and party games.
“Welcome in,” the Alpha drawled, sounding bored as he scrolled on his phone with his other hand. I had to give Xan credit—he was pretty damn gorgeous, with a head of dark curls and a pair of snake-bite piercings, along with a gauged hoop in his septum. I could see ink peeking out from beneath the collar of his work shirt, too. Definitely Xan’s type.
“Heyyy.” Xan sauntered over to the counter and struck up a conversation with the sexy Alpha, whose name-tag said his name was Rafe. It fit him. While Xan and Rafe chatted it up, I meandered through the store, idly browsing the goods. There was a little bit of everything here, including adult-themed party games, like Naked Twister.
I kept wandering, only to come face-to-face with a wall of multicolored dildos and vibrators, butt plugs and cock rings. My jaw went slack as I stared at the toys. Who sold sex toys in a mall? Kids could come in here! I could only imagine little Jimmy tugging on his mother’s skirt, asking what that was.
My face bright red, I spun on my heel and hurried in the opposite direction—just in time to see Xan’s face fall as the sexy Alpha brushed him off. Poor Xan. He really couldn’t catch a break, could he?
I walked towards him, trying to come up with some excuse for why we needed to leave, when a cute little blond twink in a tweed jacket and beret came trotting in with a bento box in his hands. He shot Xan a frosty glare as he offered the lunch to Rafe, who beamed brighter than the sun. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this was the Alpha’s boyfriend.
Before Xan could say anything incriminating, I whisked him out of there in a hurry. We were four stores down before he stopped and looked behind us, then hung his head. “I don’t understand,” he murmured, sounding defeated. “Why aren’t there any Alphas like him out there who are single and interested in me? Am I just too picky? Am I not cute enough?”
My heart squeezed in sympathy. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and hugged him to my side. “It’s none of those things,” I assured him. “Your mate simply hasn’t come along yet, that’s all.”
Xan shot me the stink-eye. “You’re beginning to sound a lot like my brother,” he grumbled, but leaned into my embrace nonetheless.
I just smiled and patted my round baby bump. “What can I say? I learned from the best. Are we done shopping? Did you wanna stop at the food court and grab lunch, or just leave? Cuz we can just leave, if it’s easier.”
Xan sighed heavily. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here. Suddenly, I have no appetite.”
I patted his back and together, we headed for the exit. As we walked out into the parking lot, tiny snowflakes were just beginning to sprinkle from the gray skies above.
“Look Xan. It’s snowing!” I stuck out my tongue, but the flakes were too small to even catch.
He rolled his eyes and pulled his lanyard keychain out of his messenger bag, swinging it in one hand. “You’re such a kid. C’mon. It’s cold as balls out here.”
He wasn’t wrong. It might’ve only been mid-November, but winter’s grip on Greymercy was already an icy fist. The temperatures had been dropping every day this week, and the weatherman said we were going to have snow by Thanksgiving. Crazy.
We began heading through the lot, towards where Xan parked his vehicle, but something didn’t feel right. I felt an eerie prickling at the back of my neck. I stopped and looked around, reaching back to rub where the little hairs on my nape were standing up on end. I didn’t see anything…
Then, out of nowhere, a shadow caught my eye as someone came barreling towards us. No. Running straight for Xan.
“XAN!” I shrieked as he was all but slammed into the side of his Chevy by a much-larger man. Xan let out a cry of surprise and began to struggle and for a moment, I just stood there, dumbstruck, watching my friend try and fend the stranger off.
Then, right as my mind caught up with my body and I reached for my cell phone to call for help, I was grabbed from behind. A hand clamped over my mouth, fingers digging into my cheeks, nails biting at my skin. Bile rose in my throat as I smelled the sour tinge of gasoline.
Him. Rex. No…
“Don’t scream, and no one’s gonna get hurt,” his voice uttered in my ear, low and gravelly, and my heart nearly squeezed out from beneath my ribcage. Tears sprang to my eyes, try as I might to blink them away. No. No. No.
I pulled away, putting only two steps between us before Rex’s hand snared my wrist, yanking me right back. His golden eyes raked down the front of me, widening in disbelief as he took in the sight of my six-month-pregnant figure.
“Didn’t quite believe it when she told me, but you really are pregnant,” he murmured. “It’s a goddamned miracle.”
His laugh was sharp and bitter. I shrank back, shriveling on the inside. “P-Please… Don’t do this, Rex, please—” My head snapped back as he struck me across the face with the back of his hand.
I hiccuped a sob.
“Shut up,” Rex snarled at me. “I thought you knew your place.”
Immediately, I fell silent. Omegas should be seen and not heard. I began to tremble, fear setting in.
“Who knocked you up?”
Behind me, Xan shouted out in pain. I twisted around to try and see, but Rex grabbed me by the hair and jerked my head back around. His expression was deadly as he stared me in the eye. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, bitch.”
I whimpered. Xan… Xan was in danger. “M-My mate,” I whispered, choking out the words. Oh god. Kace. I’d never see Kace again. Rex would take me away and Kace would never get to meet his son.
Rex laughed. “Your mate? Hah! Laughable. I don’t see a mating mark on your neck, Nevin,” he mocked me. “I don’t smell an Alpha on your skin.”
“I-I showered before the mall?—”
“Shut up! Whoever knocked you up probably doesn’t give a single shit about you.” He sneered down at me, forcing my face up to his. “I don’t know how you managed to get pregnant, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I found you, and that you’re coming back home to fulfill your duties as my chosen.”
“No!” I shouted, and he slapped me across the face again. Hard enough that I stumbled backwards. “Rex! Please!” He struck me again, and then someone screamed behind us—but it wasn’t Xan this time.
I spun around to see Xan standing over the other Alpha, the man curled up on the wet pavement, grasping at his face and writhing in pain. Xan kicked him in the ribs, then shouted, “Nevin! Duck!” He came running over, and I didn’t hesitate when I saw the small pink canister gripped in Xan’s hand.
I veered out of the way as Xan raised his hand and sprayed the mace directly into Rex’s ugly face. Rex screamed and covered his eyes, stumbling back, temporarily blinded. “YOU LITTLE BITCH! I’LL GUT YOU!” he howled.
“Come on!” Xan grabbed my arm and the two of us made a break for the car. Yanking open the doors, we got in and locked them behind us. My breath came in shuddering pants as I fumbled with the seatbelt, while Xan gunned it. The tires squealed, and he narrowly avoided hitting another car as he barreled out of the lot, but we were out of there.
We escaped. We escaped… Oh god.
I hugged my arms around my belly, shivering like I was cold to the bone, sick with nerves. Xan was deadly silent, his fingers tight over the steering wheel. I looked over to see him bleeding from a couple of gashes and a bloody lip. He was pale and looked as scared as I felt.
“Xan…?” I whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“I’m assuming that’s your ex,” he murmured.
“Yeah. I’m so, so sorry?—”
“Don’t be,” he cut in, his voice sharp. “We have to tell Kace. That was too close of a call.” I nodded soundlessly, unable to think of a good enough reason not to tell my mate. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“No,” I managed to say. “Just shaken.”
“Okay, good.”
When we got back home, my heart sank when I saw that Kace’s truck wasn’t parked in the drive. Xan unlocked the door and we went inside. I sank down on the couch, wrapping myself in the blanket I always used. Being there, surrounded by familiar scents, made me crack. I began to cry openly.
Xan paced the floor as he pulled out his cell and dialed Kace’s number. A few moments later, he said, “Hey, bro. Where are you?” Silence as he listened to Kace’s response. “Listen, I need you to come home. Nevin needs you.” Another pause. My stomach twisted. “No, no. The baby is fine. He’s fine. Just… Get here, would you? We’ll explain everything soon, but we need you home.”
After he hung up, Xan sat down next to me and draped his arm around my shoulder, hugging me gently as I sobbed. “It’s gonna be okay,” he promised, but all I could see was the cold possession in Rex’s golden eyes as he slapped me around like property.
I never wanted to see him again, and now… Now that he knew I was alive, he’d stop at nothing to drag me back to hell.