Chapter 09
AGELIUS
Irian.
I knew it was him the moment I stepped out my cabin door and caught sight of a small person being manhandled up against a wall by a larger one.
I couldn’t see his face, but I’d seen him often enough on the farm or in the Alpha house to recognize him.
The brown hair – though that was common amongst omegas – the shape of his head and neck and slim shoulders, the way he moved.
I was certain it was him, and as if to confirm it, a slight puff of breeze wafted a faint trace of his scent towards me.
He was in trouble. I knew what was happening and I had to stop it.
But I couldn’t give myself away either. My omega’s safety depended on me passing myself off as someone I wasn’t.
Perhaps Irian’s safety did too. I drew myself up to my full height, reminded myself I was an alpha, and a young and strong one at that.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” I announced, loud enough for my voice to reach the men.
“What the fuck…? What’s it to you?” The larger man, a beta, paused what he was doing long enough to turn and stare at me belligerently.
I didn’t recognize him as one of the betas I’d met yesterday, so he didn’t know me, but he would have known of me from the others.
And it smacked of poor pack discipline that he would speak to an alpha like that.
“Not to me,” I returned, trying for a tone that was superior and confident. “But I don’t think Zarbius will be happy if you damage that one.”
“Eh, I don’t think he’ll care,” said the beta, getting ready to resume his groping of the younger man.
“That one won’t be useful if he’s been damaged.
But if you want to continue, it’s your funeral, not mine.
You can explain to your Alpha how you lost him a fuck-ton of money,” I said, aiming for just the right amount of disinterest, and shrugged, heading back inside my cabin as though the outcome was of no consequence.
My heart pounded. Adrenaline coursed through me, causing my hands to shake a little.
If this didn’t work, I was going to have to intervene, but that would mean revealing myself and the outcome of that wasn’t certain.
If the beta called for reinforcements, I wouldn’t be able to take them all in a fight.
And even if he didn’t, once I’d freed Irian, I’d have to leave, and that would leave my omega at the mercy of this pack.
Once Irian was gone the pack would be expecting retribution from Talius and his pack when he learned who had taken his mate, and they might move on as quickly as they had the last time. I might not find my omega again.
I watched from the window of the cabin as the beta hesitated. And exhaled a quiet hiss when I saw him reach a decision. He roughly pushed Irian away from him and towards the door of the amenities block but made no attempt to follow him in.
Irian was safe for now. At least until Zarbius returned. And then… I didn’t know.