29. Nevin
29
NEVIN
It’d been an eventful morning, to say the least. Kace and Sevren went out into the woods and chopped down a Christmas tree, then dragged it home and set it up in the living room. It looked almost out of place, wild and free amongst all the homey things, but Kace assured me that soon, it would fit right in.
He went up into the attic and brought down a weathered gray tote filled with holiday decorations; strings of colorful lights and sparkly garland and ornaments galore.
“Have fun,” he said with a wink, and I glanced between Klei and Xan, who grinned back at me. Guess we were going to have an Omega decorating party, then.
Xan queued up a Christmas playlist on his phone and blasted it through the speakers of our TV. We began to string lights on the tree, while the Alphas went outside in the cold to hang some on the front of the house.
It wasn’t long before the spindly fir tree was plush, aglow with a rainbow of lights that glittered off glistening silver garland, glass bulbs and colorful ornaments hanging from its branches. Xan even climbed up on the back of the chair to put a lighted star atop the tippy-top of the tree.
The three of us stepped back to admire our handiwork, and I had to admit… It was pretty nice.
Bianca mewed and gazed up at the glistening glass bulbs with big eyes, her tail swishing back and forth. I reached down and scooped her up before she could start batting them off the tree. “Behave, kitten,” I scolded. She simply began to purr and my heart melted.
Then Ofelia Rose began to cry, so Klei set up her high chair and began to airplane mashed carrots into her mouth. Me and Xan lounged on the couch while “Walking In A Winter Wonderland” played. Xan flipped through his phone, browsing Pinterest, when he suddenly sat up straight.
“Hey! We should do some arts and crafts,” he said, thrusting his screen out towards me. “Look!” He’d pulled up a crafty how-to for “reindeer treats” using pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed. I tilted my head, but he was already on his feet, bouncing on his heels. “C’mon, Nev! Grab your coat!”
“I don’t know…” I glanced out the window, towards the tree line. Kace’s property was right in the heart of pack territory, off the edge of the forest, but lately, even leaving the house made me feel a little nervous.
What if he was out there? Watching me. Waiting for me. It was probably ridiculous. We hadn’t seen sight nor scent of him since the day they’d attacked us at the mall, but those old fears still clung to me.
“We won’t go far, I promise,” Xan said, turning his big, brown puppy dog eyes on me. “Pretty please? With cherries on top?”
“Alright, alright, fine. But you have to do all the bending down to pick up the pinecones. I’m way too pregnant for that shit,” I said around a laugh.
He grinned. “Deal. You can carry the basket.”
“We don’t even have a basket,” I pointed out.
“Easily fixable.” He strode into the kitchen. In the middle of the table sat Kace’s fruit basket, which was currently full of red delicious apples and a single banana that was a bit too ripe for either of us to eat. Xan went over, dumped the fruit unceremoniously onto the table, and handed me the basket.
“There, problem solved.”
I giggled. “You’re such a brat.”
“That’s what they all say.” Xan flashed me one of his flirtiest, one-hundred watt smiles. “Grab your coat.”
We bundled up, even though my winter coat barely zipped up over my belly now. I was seven months along now and baby Zee would be here sooner than we knew it.
I should’ve been excited, but all I felt was a looming dread, because I knew that one of these days, Rex would hunt me down. He would drag me back to hell, and I could only pray that I gave birth before than, so that Zechariah wasn’t harmed or forced to be raised in the cruel Alpha-centric pack that I was born into. So that my son got to grow up with the Howells, surrounded by love…
I blinked away sudden tears.
“Nevin?” Xan asked, concern written all over his features, but I waved him off.
“I’m fine,” I said, wiping my eyes with my gloved hand. I forced a smile. The show must go on. “Let’s go.”
We went outside, into the cold, and I looked up when I heard Kace’s voice. “Where are you two off to?” Kace was up on the ladder, a string of outdoor lights hanging from one hand.
“We’re gonna go hunt for pinecones,” Xan said. “We won’t go far.”
“Alright,” Kace said. “Be careful, Nev.”
I smiled at the genuine care in my mate’s voice, but Xan turned around and puffed out his cheeks. “And what about me? You’re not worried about me?”
Kace rolled his eyes. “You too, Xan, but you’re not carrying my son.”
“Yeah. Ew.” Xan made a face. “Thank god. That would be weird.”
I giggled again, then tugged on my friend’s coat sleeve. “C’mon, it’s cold out here. The pinecones won’t collect themselves.”
The two of us marched through the snow, boots crunching through layers of fluffy white. We headed towards the edge of the woods, where the trees always dropped their loot. Xan led the way, and I toddled along after him.
He studied each and every pinecone before tossing them aside or handing them to me for safekeeping. We moved along the tree line, Xan humming a holiday tune from earlier that would most definitely become an ear worm.
And that’s when I realized… The birds were oddly quiet. I looked up, keening my ears, but I heard little birdsong and my stomach knotted. A sinking feeling settled in my gut.
“Xan?” I murmured. “Let’s go back.”
“What?” He turned to me. “But we haven’t gotten nearly enough pinecones yet! Just a few more.”
I shook my head, already backing away in the direction of the house. My heart kicked in my chest, picking up speed as anxiety shot through me like an arrow.
“Please.” I looked back to see Kace and Sevren in the distance, oblivious to my plight. “Xan?” I turned back to my friend, wondering why he wasn’t answering me, only to see him staring at something in the woods. I squinted, but the glint of snow beneath the afternoon sunlight was too bright.
I didn’t see them until it was too late.
Three gray wolves came barreling towards us. Panic shocked through me as I dropped the basket of pinecones and turned to flee, but I never got the chance.
The biggest one slammed into me from behind, pinning me to the ground, snarling low. His fangs tore at my coat, ripping at fabric, even as I struggled beneath his weight. I opened my mouth to scream, just as I felt a shimmer of magic.
Rex’s hand clamped over my mouth, silencing me. His scent choked me, thick and oily. “Scream and I’ll cut that child from your gut, I swear to fucking god, Nevin,” he growled. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
My body shook with a silent sob as he stood and yanked me to my feet, pinning me against his chest. His big hand still wrapped around my face, his other held a knife at my belly. I could feel it poking into my skin through the layers of my clothing. My eyes blurred with tears and I whimpered.
A struggle ensued, and I looked over to see Xan kicking and thrashing beneath the force of another Alpha. My stomach sank when I saw that his hands had been zip-tied behind his back. No…
“P-Please, Rex,” I whispered, pulling free of his grasp on my mouth to stare up at him. “Please don’t hurt him. He didn’t do anything! He isn’t part of this!”
Rex only chuckled. “Oh, he is now. He’s quite stunning, for an Omega, and so young too. He’ll produce quality pups,” he said, matter-of-fact. “He’s coming back with us. You should be thanking me. At least you’ll get to keep your friend.”
A soft sob escaped me, more tears spilling free. Xan would never be happy in a cage. He was too free-spirited. I watched as Xan collapsed in the snow on his stomach, panting hard. The Alpha, a man I knew as Loch, planted a boot on his back like he’d just defeated a beast.
“There. Got him, boss,” he drawled. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah.” Rex huffed. “Let’s get out of here before those Alphas catch wind of us on their territory. Get him up. Let’s go.”
Loch grabbed Xan by the wrists and hauled him up, but Xan chose that moment to open his mouth and scream the loudest, longest scream that I’d ever heard in my life. It was ripe and filled with terror and anguish. It startled birds from the trees and made my heart jump in my chest.
It stopped as quickly as it started, because Loch knocked Xan to the ground and was kicking the hell out of him. Xan cried out and curled in on himself, trying to block the attack, before screaming again. “KACE! HELP!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Loch hissed.
“Grab him! Let’s go!” Rex snarled, yanking me along after him. Loch threw Xan over his shoulder and the two Alphas dragged us into the woods, the third running ahead, still in wolf form.
We didn’t get far.
A huge wolf tore through the snow, his hackles raised and his ears pinned. Sevren! With a vicious snarl, he slammed into Loch and knocked him to the ground, freeing Xan before tearing into the enemy Alpha with a snarl.
Immediately, the third Alpha turned back and leapt into the fray, attacking Sevren, and the three of them began to fight.
But if Sevren was here, did that mean…
I hiccuped a sob as Rex’s hand closed around my throat. “Don’t even try me, bitch,” he warned, low and dark. “I’m not leaving here without you.”
“Stop!” Kace ran up, a shotgun in his hands. He aimed it at Rex, but Rex reacted by yanking me in front of him, like he was planning to use me as a human shield. The knife dug into my stomach once more, dangerously sharp.
“Do you really wanna do that, big man?” Rex taunted. “I’d think twice if I were you.”
“Let Nevin go!” Kace barked. “You lost your right to him when you ran him out of your pack and left him for dead.” Anger was scribbled all over my mate’s beautiful face, making him look downright scary. He stood tall and intimidating, taller even than Rex, and broader, too, but Rex didn’t even flinch. “He’s mine now.”
“You’re wrong,” Rex snarled back. “He’s mine. He’s always been mine. I staked my claim on him when he was fifteen. I paid his useless father off so that old man could keep his shitty farmhouse. I own Nevin. You think you can just swoop in like Prince Charming and take him away?” He jabbed the knife into my stomach, hard enough to hurt, and I cried out. “Wrong.”
“P-Please, no, Rex,” I whimpered, but his fingers only squeezed my throat in warning.
“Shut up.” He glared at Kace, his jaw set in a hard line. “Lower your weapon, or I’ll cut the child from his womb and let him bleed out in the snow right in front of you. Because if I can’t have him? No one can.”
His words sent a chill creeping through me that had nothing to do with the cold. I knew Rex well enough to know he would do it. I turned to Kace, pleading with him with my eyes, searching his face.
“Kace.” I choked out the word, trying to figure out what the right answer was, but every single one I came up with put me on the losing end. “Please, just… Just do as he says.”
“What? No!” Kace barked.
Tears welled up and spilled down my cheeks, stinging in the cold. I could barely breathe—but I had an idea. One that might end up with me dead, but it was the only one I had. We were running out of time. I needed to act before Rex stole me away for good.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I love you, but it’s the only way.” I leaned back into Rex, still staring deep into Kace’s eyes, begging him to understand. To make the right decision. To follow my lead. “Rex? Let’s go. I’ll go with you, just please, don’t hurt anyone else. Don’t harm Kace. Please.”
I felt Rex relax as he chuckled. “There’s a good boy,” he murmured, his fingers loosening around my throat to grasp my shoulder instead. “Looks like you still have a bit of sense left in you.” The knife fell away from my belly as he lowered his arm to his side. “Stupid Omega.”
His words were a slap to the face. I shouldn’t have felt the smart, but I did. It only cemented in what I already knew—if Rex took me back home, I would wither and die there.
Biting back a whimper, I hung my head and I prayed that I was making the right decision. “I love you, Kace,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”