Chapter 20
Sebastian
“Where are you going?”
“Recon mission,” Evan answers leisurely, his hands in his pockets.
“Recon mission?” I mull it over.
As pack lead, it’s my job to stop the village idiot from, well, being the village idiot. Then the smell of chamomile flowers and the picture of a blonde omega looking up at me flash into my mind. I’m rising to my feet before I know it.
I grab my jacket and throw it over a shoulder, nodding at Evan. “Recon mission,” I say in agreement.
“Oi! Dumb and dumber, where are you guys going?” Nico calls at us as we walk past the open door of his office. I glance back at him but don’t stop.
Jason falls in step with us as we pass his door, matching our pace.
“Are you sure, Jace? What if you step into the sun and catch on fire?” Evan asks, wide eyed. Hanging off his aloe vera scent is genuine concern and worry.
The intense smell of red wine matches the severe look the lawyer throws him in response. Jason’s come a long way from being unable to drag out the door. Now, he doesn’t protest the regular walks we take. None of us do.
Our oldest alpha joins us in the foyer, pulling on our shoes. The bags under Nico’s eyes match each of ours. It’s no coincidence we’re all at home on a weekday this time.
We’ve been working like men possessed, but not for any ambitious pursuit. No, this is something deeper. Something that may be more vicious in nature, but there’s no time to think about that. I’ll take my judgment for my deeds when it’s done.
What did she say, then? Her pack had been ecstatic about my investment? What a shame. They might not enjoy the cloak and dagger Jason and I have been preparing as much. Or the dirt Nico’s been digging up, nor the connections Evan has across magazines and networks ready to throw it into the light.
Small retribution compared to what they deserve, but most importantly, it’s leverage. A path to negotiate with to persuade them to break their omega’s bond, and if that fails, a more twisted route than negotiation. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I’m willing, even eager to do it. For Ariana.
Who is what we depart seeking out now on our, as Evan put it, recon mission. We pass the entrance to the park, taking the shortest route to her building. It’s been a habit as of late, or even something of a ritual.
There’s been someone stationed outside of her apartment for days, watching for any sign of her. Alarmingly, it didn’t take much to convince the receptionist to contact me if she saw her in the lobby. Our pack went everyday too, together or alone, just in case.
For the same reason we’ve been working from home since her birthday.
To be closer if she needed help. There wasn’t so much as a peep from the receptionist or the man keeping an eye out for her.
I contemplated texting her, but she asked us not to first and I wouldn’t dare put her in a precarious position.
Miraculously, we must have left at the right exact time. Evan may have a sixth sense. As we draw closer to her apartment, the omega steps out the entrance. I ignore the buzzing of my phone, aware she’s come out.
Ariana stands still, like she’s forgotten how to put one foot in front of the other. Busy as the streets of this city always are, people pass her by without a second glance. The omega doesn’t look at them either, staring up at the dark clouds collecting above.
“Looking for something?” Nico asks once we stop next to her, following her gaze to the overcast sky.
She didn’t seem to have noticed we were here. Ariana jumps in surprise, but doesn’t look away from the clouds.
After a beat, she speaks. “Hello.”
Then silence. Not entirely, the streets still bumble with the sound of the city. Behind us, I can hear the footsteps of people passing, the wheels of cars driving and honking. Wind howls loudly, the strong breeze whipping her hair into the omega’s face.
It’s another type of quiet. From us, holding our breath, hyper focused on the woman in front of us. From her, in her scent that lacks even its usual anxiety. Instead of shouting her emotions in the way that sweet omega perfume does, it’s like a cup of tea that’s gone cold.
From beneath the locks of hair covering her face, her eyes slide over to Jason. She makes no attempt to brush the strands away or turn away from the wind.
“Is there no way for bonded omegas to leave packs themselves?”
The question visibly throws him off. Or maybe he’s as unsettled as I am by the way she speaks from under the curtain of hair. It’s like she’s forgotten she has a physical body, so lost in thought.
“From a biological and legal standpoint, no. Once marked and bonded, an omega can only be emancipated by their pack removing the bond. The court may order an individual or pack to dissolve a bond if a criminal offense occurs and receives a conviction.”
Jason recites the words off the top of his head with great familiarity. The familiarity of a man who has had his old textbooks on omega law sitting on his nightstand for longer than his own pack mate can guess.
“I see.” Ariana says in response, tone as flat as her hello was.
We exchange worried glances.
“Is everything alright?” I ask her, gently.
“Just wondering.”
This isn’t Ariana. Chronic over explainer Ariana would never speak so shortly. Even the constant stress that trails behind her in her scent is gone. She doesn’t look like herself either.
Her usual outfits of skirts and tights have been replaced by a crumpled shirt and sweatpants. It looks like she’s been wearing them for days on end. Her long hair is tangled and filled with knots.
Evan delicately smooths her hair behind her ear, soothingly brushing the strands away from her face. Ariana, in her first show of emotion, flutters her big brown eyes shut and whimpers so quietly it almost gets swept away by the harsh wind.
“Was it your pack?” Evan murmurs.
The omega’s eyes open. “Want to go for a walk?”
We’re not going to say no. I wonder how far I’ll be able to make it, though. My chest tightened at her whimper and hasn’t loosened enough for air.
The answer is further than I thought. Despite our attempts to make conversation or glean some insight, Ariana falls quiet eventually. She answers our questions quickly but politely, then retreats back to her thoughts.
In any other circumstance, I would have loved to walk in silence with her. Just enjoying one another’s company, no need for words. The longer we stroll now, the more this worry that’s been building up inside me develops.
We at least manage to get some food in her before we walk her home. Even if we have to borderline force feed it into her. Circled back to the entrance of her building, we linger uneasily.
“Our doors are always open.” I carefully enunciate every word, making sure she can hear me clearly. “Including right now.”
Ariana smiles at me, but makes no indication of taking up the offer.
Jason looks at her solemnly. “We can protect you, if you’re worried about your pack’s reactions.”
“We’re going to help you.” Evan says restlessly, shifting nervously. All the anxiety from Ariana’s chamomile scent may as well have traveled to his. “We can get you out of there, you know.”
Nico’s blue eyes are filled with apprehension to match the blond’s worry. “Remember, anything you need. We’re only a couple blocks and a phone call or text away. You need us, we’re here as soon as possible. Can you trust us?”
“You’re alphas,” Ariana’s still smiling, but the way she says it is heartbreaking. “But I think I can. I want to leave.” The words seem difficult for her to speak aloud, catching in her throat as she roughly croaks them out. “But there’s something I have to do first.”
Leaving us with that ominous farewell, she turns around and leaves.
There’s a moment of silence as we stand, watching where her small figure was a moment ago.
Jason, normally the quietest of us all, breaks it. “We can’t wait anymore. We have to speed things up.”
“Yeah.” I agree. There’s no more time to play by the book. I turn away, chest aching the same way it did all those nights ago at the ball. There’s a silent understanding between our pack, a new vigor for launching ourselves full throttle into the operation we’ve started to save her.
The wind has ceased, but the clouds above have gotten darker. In more ways than one, it feels like the calm before the storm.