24. Archer
Archer
T he world is going to fucking burn.
I’m practically seeing red as the four of us march up to my father’s office in the Omega Center. This was the first place we came after the police finally fucking got out of our hair after tearing away our omega.
I don’t even acknowledge my father’s secretary, a sweet, older omega who practically cowers behind her desk as the four of us pass.
I don’t blame her.
We’re all fucking pissed.
My father’s office door opens with a slam, and there he is, sitting behind his massive oak desk. With how angry I am, there’s a stupid urge to flip it and send everything flying.
“I expected you, son,” My father, sighs. “I didn’t expect such a dramatic entrance.”
“We need to talk to you?—”
“About getting back that omega you were keeping, correct?” He interrupts.
“Yes.”
“You know, I’m disappointed in you?— ”
“I don’t want to fucking hear any of your speeches right now,” I growl, leaning my fists onto his desk. “We get that we fucked up and should’ve come immediately after we found her, but you didn’t—you didn’t see her.”
He didn’t see how terrified she was, naked and trembling on Madden’s bedroom floor. None of them did.
None of them understand why we couldn’t just bring her to get registered yet. Opening up the possibility of her getting auctioned off to other alpha packs when she could barely stand the sight of an alpha would’ve traumatized her even more.
“Regardless,” he sighs. “I can’t make an exception for this omega. She should have been registered, and she must go through the proper processes.”
“But—“
“Do you know why this system was put in place, Archer?” he says, leaning back into his chair and sighing.
“Because people were killed without it. Omegas. Their alphas. Families.” He glances at Kane.
“Your pack knows intimately well why things are the way they are. With this system, as many alphas and betas as possible get the opportunity to have an omega.”
“So just because she’s a Southside omega without the same protections as a Northside omega, she has to basically be auctioned off?” Madden growls.
“She’s not going to be auctioned off,” My father sighs. “Yes, finances is a factor in pack eligibility, but the final choice of which pack she chooses to be with, whether it’s just for a heat or as her bonded mates, is up to her. She has to meet more packs than just yours.”
He must see that his words aren’t quite having the effect he wants on us, given how we’re all still fuming, because he switches tactics.
“Think of it this way, son. From the sound of things, she’s had a very difficult life. Would you want her to be stuck with you without knowing what her options are? ”
Yes.
“She’s our scent match,” Madden says softly.
Madden never talks to my father. He rarely talks to anyone other than our pack. The fact that he’s actually speaking up now is a big deal.
“Really,” My father says, sitting up straighter in his chair. He seems genuinely surprised, which is quite rare. “That wasn’t in any of the police reports.”
“We suspect it’s because of a hormonal imbalance because of the way she was abused during her heats,” I answer. “We can all tell she’s our scent match, but she doesn’t seem to feel the same pull just yet.”
“What if she never feels that pull?” My father asks, deep in thought. “There’s no guarantee that she’ll ever recover that sense if she’s spent the majority of her heats deprived.”
My fists clench at my sides. I don’t have an answer to that. Even if she can’t feel the pull, we can. And we can offer her a wonderful life.
“My sister is doing research,” Chase cuts in. “She’s saying it’s possible that after Luna’s next heat, if she spends it with us that that could help her recover.”
“Ah yes, the only omega doctor,” My father nods. “There’s still no guarantee that plan will work. Isn’t this more reason for her to go through the courting process with other packs so she can tell that she’s the most drawn to you four?”
“So what you’re saying is there’s nothing you can do,” I growl.
“The only thing I can do is advise you to take the courting process seriously if you’re actually interested in this omega. You never have before.”
Fuck him. Sure, the process we have in place is there for a reason, but he has the power to grant us an exception.
“There are other powers at play, son,” My father says, standing from his desk. “There seems to be an unusual amount of interest in this omega, considering she’s from the Southside. My hands are tied.”
I nod, turning towards the door, the rest of my packmates following behind me.
“Other powers?” Kane asks after we all climb into the car. “Who do you think could be interested in Luna? No one should really know about her other than us and the police.”
“Could it be Brandy? Or someone Brandy knows?” Chase asks, leaning forward over the center console.
“No.” We all turn to look at Madden, whose fingers are white-knuckling the steering wheel. “We all heard Luna. She was—she was going to be fucking sold off. To an alpha. An alpha that presumably has enough money to buy an omega off the black market. That requires money.”
“You think it’s a Northside alpha who wanted to buy Luna?” Kane asks.
“Yes. Especially if the Director is mentioning other powers at play strong enough to influence him,” Madden confirms.
“He’s the director, but my father answers to the board and the councilmembers,” I say, thinking out loud. “It could be any one of them.”
“You remember what Charlotte said, right? About how Luna has had a few heats with an alpha? I’d bet money that alpha is the one who was going to buy her,” Madden says.
I glance at Madden. “You seem to have a plan in mind. How do you think we should find out who was going to buy her?”
“We track down her parents. We figure out who they’re working for.” Madden is more determined than I’ve ever seen him. “And I have the contacts to figure out where they are.”
The car falls silent. We all know what that means.
Everyone knows Madden is from the Southside. Very few people know how he ended up here with us.
Madden’s family was heavily involved in gang activity in the Southside. The gang they were a part of ended up kidnapping Chase and holding him for ransom.
Long story short, Madden made his way up to the Northside with a scholarship Chase’s family arranged for him as thanks for saving their youngest child.
“You’re going to reach out to your brother?” My voice is low and controlled. Almost like I need to make sure not to spook him.
“What choice do we have? He’d be the best place to start. Unless anyone else has a good contact who knows the Southside criminal underground?”
“We could go to the police and see if they know?” Chase suggests. “They should have some information after taking Luna in for her interview.”
“They’re not going to talk to us,” Kane mutters under his breath.
“That kind of investigation would be kept under wraps, especially considering the way Luna was taken from us. They wouldn’t want to give us any more information than they would give a normal pack going through the courting process.
Especially since we know the director won’t be giving us any extra help. ”
“I hate this as much as you do,” Madden says to Chase. “You can stay back if you want to. But I have to do everything I can to protect Luna.”
“Like hell I’m staying behind,” Chase says. “We all need to do what we can to protect Luna. And I’m not a stupid ass kid anymore and we’re not going in unprepared.”
“And we are going to be prepared,” Kane confirms. “We should head back to the house before we go anywhere.”
Madden nods at Kane in the rearview mirror.
Kane is right. If we’re going to go walking into the Southside, especially into the territory of a Southside gang asking for help, we can’t go in empty-handed.
Lucky for us, Kane is always prepared for everything. Hell, if the apocalypse happened today, he’d have everything we need .
“Let’s do this.” I meet all of their eyes. “We have to do everything we can to make sure Luna is safe.”
“We won’t be able to see her until she’s registered, anyway,” Kane mutters under his breath.
“Exactly why we need to try and make sure we can actually keep her safe when we can see her,” Maddens says. “And the first step to that is figuring out who we’re up against. There’s no other pack that can protect her better than we can, but there’s no way we can go in blind.”
“Did any—did any of you know how bad things were where she came from?” I ask, my voice a bit unsteady with the guilt that weighs heavily in my chest as we drive back home.
I remember the way I scared her when she first came to our home. How terrified she must’ve been. What the fuck was I thinking?
“I—I had my suspicions,” Kane says softly. “After I told her about what happened to my parents. But other than that, no, I don’t think so.”
“I think all of us knew it had to be pretty bad, considering she didn’t even really tell Charlotte the details of what happened,” Chase says. “But none of us knew that she was mainly with betas because she was being fucking sold to them.”
I feel Kane’s grip tight on my shoulder, steadying me. Grounding me.
“I get how you must be feeling right now. But we’re going to fix this. We have to. For Luna’s sake.”