21. Reed
Chapter twenty-one
Reed
T he whole pack gathers in the living room as Levi and I have just made our announcement.
Zayden gazes at me in total shock. “You’re… leaving?”
I breathe in deeply through my nose, and just as I thought, his hazelnut scent is laced with sadness.
I close my eyes. “Aye."
Zayden's isn't the only scent I pick up on. I smell lemon cupcake, too, the sweet sugar now burning with anxiety and heartbreak.
I'm surprised she even cares about my leaving. I would have thought she despised me at this rate. I've been nothing but cruel to her.
And I ignored every one of her siren's calls.
Her heat is now over, and it looks like I missed my chance.
Maybe I never will get another chance, but it was the right call.
I think.
I don't know anymore. The best I can do for her now is to find the one who left that ugly bite mark on her neck in the first place.
He did such a botched job of it, too, and the warden is fucking history once I'm through with him.
I just have to find him first, and I will…
I will sniff him out and all his followers.
No one speaks for some time, and the quiet is unsettling.
Only my roaring blood keeps me company.
Finally, Zayden shakes his head, meeting my gaze. “No. You can't… Surely, someone else…” He trails off, and I hate doing this to him.
I don't want to do this to any of them, but war is calling.
And I definitely don't want to leave her either.
She's a spitfire, true, but she still needs protection. She's still highly vulnerable.
I still can't look at myself properly in the mirror anymore. Not that I ever had an easy time of it anyway with my scarred face, but ever since I forced that bond on her, ever since I started peering into her mind, I've hated myself.
Quite frankly, I don’t deserve to be in her head any more than I do her nest.
Magnus is the only one who doesn’t look at me. He’s still pissed at me for what happened between Opal and me.
I still have the bruises as proof of his anger.
Zayden is beside himself as he gets to his feet, pacing the room. As his Alpha, I just want to comfort him, but I remain steadfast in my decision.
“You're not going,” he orders.
My head bows. I knew it would come to this.
Levi sighs. “This is for the best, Zayden. The sooner we can locate the enemy, the better.”
Zayden finds my eye again. It's only just started healing again. “Are you trying to prove something?"
I cock my head sideways. "Excuse me?"
The Omega steps up to me, looking up into my eye. "You know I'm not angry with what happened… It's fine, Reed. We're all good."
His words echo, and I glance quickly at Magnus and Opal.
The female Omega is crestfallen, but the Alpha is furious. His fingers are clenched, and I can tell he is holding back.
He's not impressed by my heroism.
My gaze finds Opal again. “No. This is greater than us all. That Alpha is a threat to our civilization and our way of life. And I'm going to find him and kill him.”
Opal looks at me now, and her amber eyes shimmer in the light. A purr begins in my throat, but I swallow it and hold my head high.
She knows I'm doing this for her. Even if I don't say it outright.
Levi continues the discussion. “He leaves the day after tomorrow. So… we should all enjoy these last few moments together. You never know what’s around the corner.”
“No. I will leave now. No point avoiding the inevitable.”
Zayden's eyes shine as he looks at me incredulously. "Reed…"
"This is the only way I can redeem myself, Zayden. You know it," I reply.
The Omega bows his head, crossing his arms.
I've made my choice. If I can find the Alpha who hurt Opal, then maybe I can finally look her in the eyes and be proud to call myself her mate.
Because I certainly didn’t do anything to earn that title.
With a final grunt, I head to the door.
I will spend the next few nights at the barracks.
"Wait."
I stop, turning around to find my Omega.
Zayden rolls his eyes, then hugs me. “Don't die now."
I snort in response.
Magnus rises to his feet, joining the Omega's side. He folds his arms. “Yeah, come back in one piece so I can finish what I started."
He directs his thumb at the kitchen.
"Aye," I reply.
Well, at least things seem good between us again.
Finally, my eye finds Opal.
She has no goodbyes for me. She just remains on the couch, gazing down at the carpet forlornly.
That’s fine.
Because we will see each other again.
And I will present her with the warden's head.
I leave through the door at last, stopping a moment to take a breath.
I really hope this is the right choice.
But only time will tell, I guess.
On my way to the car, I spy that small, solemn girl watching me outside the fence, and it looks like Maddie has no insults for me today.
I always secretly admired her. While the other children balk at the sight of me, that young girl looks me right in the eye, scars and all.
She will make a fearless Alpha one day.
Perhaps she will even be a stronger soldier than I am.
Well, no point in prolonging the inevitable.
War is calling.
***
It took a few days of tracking and following different leads and scents, but Jeremy's team and I finally located the enemy.
His compound sits at the fringes of our society, an old abandoned farmhouse that hasn't been in use for years, but he's there all right.
I can smell him.
His toilet water stench is all over this place.
A growl slips free from my lips. The nerve of that Alpha.
He really is toying with us, but we have him surrounded now.
There is no escaping us.
Jeremy crouches at my side as he peers through a set of binoculars. "Two soldiers are manning the barn. It seems they're guarding something inside."
My fists curl. "Not for long."
Rian turns my way. "Careful now. Let's not do anything too hasty. This could be a trap."
I look at the Omega. He may be a skilled tracker, but I know for a fact that the warden is in there.
I would know that stench anywhere.
It lingers on Opal's skin. Faint, but it's there…
"You and I both know he is here, Snow," I tell him.
The Omega narrows his mossy green eyes. "Fine. I may be the tracker, but you're the Acute. I trust your instincts, Gold. But… we all have a score to settle with that prick. So, don't do anything to mess this up."
Of course. He and Jeremy are here for Belle. That sweet Omega was once a victim of that Alpha, too.
They all came close to defeating him once, but the warden managed to escape in the fray.
We will not let him go this time.
He's dead.
We wait on Jeremy's orders, and when he gives the signal, we close in.
My eyes are on the two soldiers manning the barn. They are hiding something in there, and I will find out.
Perhaps the warden himself is in there.
He's not the only one. I can scent others, too.
Omegas.
Shit.
The bastards at the door are easy to kill. While I twist one guy's neck, I grab the other's gun, and his bullet shoots toward the sky.
His face pales when a dark laugh oozes from my lips, and I'm pretty sure the bastard pees himself.
He tries to run, but I stop him before he makes it two steps, breaking his neck, too.
There doesn't seem to be anyone else around, but we must keep our wits about us.
We're not out of the woods yet.
Jeremy's team busts through the barn doors, and we stumble upon a bear cage.
One housing several Omegas.
Rogues.
The one in the middle has red hair like Opal's, and I freeze.
No. It can't be. I left her at the pack house with Zayden.
She is safe…
To my relief, it's not Opal.
But the Rogue looks an awful lot like her.
Where the fuck is the warden. His scent is all over this place.
Unless… it was a trick.
The Omegas shudder when they see us, but the redhead has her eyes on me the whole time we search the barn.
Jeremy and Rian keep lookout outside.
The redheaded Rogue produces a gas bomb in her small hand next, and it all happens so fast.
She throws the bomb at me, and the gas goes off straight away.
I slump to the ground, gasping and coughing as I try to warn Jeremy's men.
But they all fall with me.
Fuck. It was a trap.
The warden really was toying with us.
He was toying with me.
There's a reason why that Rogue had red hair after all.
I just hope she hears me when I say, " I’m sorry, Opal.”