Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
RYLAN
Only a couple of minutes after Shep left, another man—Dave, he said—brought me a big bowl of rice with grilled chicken and vegetables.
It smelled so good, and I was so hungry, that my eyes started to burn. Swallowing hard, I willed any tears that wanted to fall back to where they came from. I didn’t know if this kindness was only because I was Shep’s mate, but I knew it was the first I’d received in a very long time.
“Thank you,” I told Dave as I picked up the fork he’d set on the table with my dinner.
“The pleasure is mine.” He gave me a smile and left me with my meal. A meal that was exactly as wonderful as it smelled—tender chicken, crisp vegetables, pillowy rice, all of it seasoned to perfection.
For two days I’d been traveling by foot, staying off roads and trying to zigzag around to not leave too obvious a scent trail. The last thing I’d eaten was a granola around noon the day before.
It didn’t seem fair to me that most Alphas had an animal form they could change into.
Omegas didn’t have that. Or if we did, I’d never met an Omega who could change shape or spoken to anyone who had.
I’d heard rumors that Omegas sometimes had some type of power…
I scoffed into my half-eaten bowl of food.
The only power I’d ever seen among my Omega brethren was being powerless.
I’d have given a lot over the last couple of days for the ability to change into a wolf or cat and run through the woods on four paws instead of two legs.
Sighing, I slowed down the bites I was taking as my stomach cramped in protest. Taking a deep breath, I made myself set the fork down and lean back in my chair.
Reaching for the bottle of water Shep had left, I twisted off the cap and took a slow drink.
I needed to stay on task. This place was a kindness, and I was only an Omega with no power to speak of, but I had a job to do now.
I had to find help. While my mate might be willing enough to feed me, there was no way I could ask him for what I really needed.
I picked up my fork again and took a slow bite. I didn’t want to waste a crumb of this food. I was going to need all the energy I could find.
***
SHEP
Stepping back out into the hallway from the kitchen, I came face-to-face with the second and third in command of our pack.
Thorn leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed and looking relaxed, but his black-eyed gaze didn’t waver a millimeter from mine.
Hux was more loose-limbed and taking up half the hall just by standing in it.
There was something sad in the blue shine of his one good eye.
The other was a mottled ruin of scar tissue.
“Well?” Thorn asked, pushing off the wall and dropping his arms.
“He’s my mate.”
Hux nodded, like he’d expected as much. Our not-so-gentle giant wasn’t one to waste words.
“Your mate?” Thorn shuddered. “Are you sure?”
I’d always wondered why Thorn, one of the most loyal men I’d ever met, had such a problem with the idea of mates. He never wanted to talk about it.
I met his gaze again. “I’m sure.”
“Damn.” He took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. “Is he okay? Those guys in the parking lot were assholes.”
I weighed my words. “No injuries. Other than a small scratch. Whether or not he’s okay remains to be seen.”
That sharpened both of their focuses. Not only were they damn good friends, I’d never met better soldiers.
“He’s in trouble?” Hux’s voice was its usual low rumble.
I confirmed my suspicions with a nod and moved toward my office door.
They followed me in, watching silently while I grabbed the first aid kit from the wall and pulled a t-shirt out of the bottom drawer of the file cabinet where I kept all kinds of extra clothes.
You’d think I’d need them for shifting, but truthfully, I had to change far more often from having drinks spilled on me.
Once I had the shirt over my head, shoes on my feet, and the first aid kit tucked under my arm, I turned back toward the door, only to pause when the muted noise from the bar rose a decibel. Specifically, my bartender and pack mate, Aiden.
I glanced at the other two. “Let’s go.”
I left the kit on the couch by the door and led the way to the end of the hall. We spilled into the main bar area and a rush of noise and scents washed over me. One scent in particular caught in my nose, making my hackles rise. Alpha. And while it was faint, the scent of my mate lingered with him.
Aiden faced with three men. The Alpha was in the middle while two betas flanked him.
I’d never seen any of them before. The two thugs looked right at home amongst the rustic barstools and neon signs hanging from the walls, but the Alpha in his three-piece suit and gaudy gold watch looked entirely out of place.
I would have laughed if I hadn’t been seething with rage.
“I’m telling you, the omega is here. I can smell him. I demand access to the rest of the building.” The Alpha spoke like he was used to no one questioning him. When Aiden didn’t immediately comply, the ruddy flush of anger creeping up the Alpha’s neck turned darker.
Aiden opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off, stepping up beside him and resting a hand on his shoulder while I met the Alpha’s stare.
“I’m Shep, and this is my bar. What can I do for you?”
He puffed up his chest and stood taller. “I was just telling your employee that my Omega is here somewhere. I can smell him. He’s lost and confused and probably hiding somewhere on the premises.”
With an amount of control I didn’t know I had, I kept my face neutral. “Dark hair,” I asked. “About so tall?” I held my hand up to just below my shoulder line.
“Yes,” the Alpha said quickly, glancing around like Rylan was in the room and he’d somehow missed him. “Where is he?”
“He was in the parking lot about fifteen or twenty minutes ago. Some other Alphas were harassing him. We don’t stand for that kind of thing here, so we cleared them out. The Omega thanked us and went on his way.”
“You didn’t detain him?” It burst out of him like water from a dam. He took a step forward, that flush rising once more.
I cocked my head. “Now, why would I detain him? He wasn’t in the wrong.”
The Alpha’s jaw flexed. “Of course. I’m just worried about him.”
“Well, like I said, he headed on up the road.”
Clearing his throat, the Alpha reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my card. If you see him again, I’d appreciate a call.”
I took the card, my gaze never leaving his. “You got it.”
With a sharp nod at the two men with him, he turned on his heel and headed for the door.
As soon as they were out of earshot, I looked at Hux. “Make sure they leave.”
He gave me a nod, face grim, and headed for the side door.
I watched him go a moment before I looked down at the card in my hand. Trent Lawson. Apparently, he owned a pawnshop the next town over. I was guessing jewelry and electronics weren’t the only things in his inventory.
“I’ll keep an eye from the door.” Thorn was already moving in that direction before he’d finished speaking.
“That guy’s an asshole, boss,” Aiden said from beside me. “More than actually.”
“Yeah.” I turned to look at him. “You good?”
“I’m good.” Aiden leaned in, lowering his voice. “Is he here?”
I nodded. “In the kitchen having a meal.”
Aiden smiled and shook his head. “Good.”
He moved back behind the bar, and I went to see my mate.