Chapter 24
ISCA
When Talius came back into the house the first time, I was waiting for him.
I’d dried my eyes, though one eye kept leaking every time I thought about my poor mate kidnapped and scared somewhere.
Or maybe he was giving his captors hell, yeah, I liked the thought of that.
Every now and then, I thought I caught a trace of his presence in the bond, but the bond hadn’t solidified enough yet for it to work properly over a long distance, though both Irian and Talius had assured me it would in time.
He didn’t seem terrified. Maybe he had total confidence in Talius rescuing him.
I sighed. I wished I was more like Irian, had his confident outlook. I had faith in our alpha, but I was scared for Irian because I knew what my old pack was like. I couldn’t bear Irian to go through the things I had because of me. And oh, fuck, just that thought had my eyes leaking again.
And then when I thought about Agelius being mixed up in this, I couldn’t stop the sniffling.
I’d thought he was my friend. How could he be involved in this?
Had he been friendly with me all along just to get closer to Irian?
Another wet drop trickled down over my cheeks.
I used my sleeve to wipe it away, and the fabric came away covered in snot.
I didn’t want Talius to see me losing it like this, he had enough to worry about. He didn’t need an emotional omega to comfort as well.
Talius stepped inside the house, his phone to his ear.
“Get over here right away,” he barked into the phone, his voice sharp and no-nonsense. “We need to discuss this ransom demand.”
There was a loud ‘Fuck! I’ll be right there’ from the other end of the call, and I recognized Johnson’s gruff voice. Thank the Goddess that he was here on the farm, and we didn’t have to wait for him to get back from town or elsewhere.
As he ended the call, Talius looked at me. His face softened. Maybe he noticed my red eyes, because he walked over and wrapped his arm around me, warm and comforting.
“It’s going to be okay, Isca. Irian’s all right for now, Agelius made sure of that, and we’re going to get him back.”
“But… Agelius…” I was so confused, I stumbled over my words. “Didn’t he… I mean you were fighting him… I thought he must be … involved?”
“No, he’s not,” Talius said, firmly. “He just happened to be there at the time. He’s pretending to be involved so he can help us get Irian back.”
The press of his lips to the top of my head, and the wave of reassurance that swept over me, told me Talius’ pheromones were at work.
I was a total sucker for his pheromones and they usually made me get a bit fuzzy headed on them…
a bit like I imagined getting drunk would be.
Normally it was a very pleasant feeling, and it was comforting to get the reassurance but right now I didn’t want to zone out.
I needed to know exactly what was going on.
I needed my mate back. My telepathic bond might not have been fully developed, but my heart and mind were screaming in pain from the fear and separation.
“What’s going to happen?” I asked, looking up at him, but he began to blur as my eyes started welling up again. His arms around me grew reassuringly tighter.
“Johnson’s coming over and we’re going to discuss how to handle this.”
I clung to him.
“Come and sit in with us,” offered Talius, just as a hard rap on the door announced the beta’s arrival.
Johnson entered without waiting for an answer. His heavy steps thundered across the floorboards as he strode straight into the living room. He walked straight up to us, and to my surprise pulled Talius and myself into a bear-hug, wrapping his large arms around us and squeezing, before pulling away.
“We’ll get him back,” he assured Talius. “The pack will do anything you need of it.” Talius’ stoic face cracked momentarily, and he blinked, swallowing hard. This was killing him. He had no choice but to keep it together if he was to help Irian, but I could sense the turmoil inside him.
He indicated the office with an inclination of his head, and we all hurried in.
The office chair squeaked a protest as Talius’ heavy weight landed in it with a thump, and he pulled me down onto his lap, holding me there with one large hand splayed over my rapidly beating heart.
He needed me to be close, to know that I was safe, and through the bond I felt my presence helping him stay calm when we both knew his world was falling apart.
Irian was the most precious omega ever. We couldn’t lose him.
“Agelius arrived here a short time ago with a beta from Zarbius’ pack. They brought a ransom demand,” Talius explained to me, before turning back to Johnson. Cold fingers of fear ran down my spine. I shivered and huddled in closer.
“Agelius isn’t a part of it. He happened to be near their pack for other reasons and when he saw they had Irian there, he fabricated an excuse to join the pack.”
The beta collapsed back in his seat, a few of the lines easing from his face. He wiped a hand over his face.
“Thank the Goddess. I was afraid I must have made a terrible mistake bringing him into the pack.”
“Not at all,” Talius shook his head. “He’s loyal.” I felt his head moving above me. “We were lucky he was there. I don’t like to think what would have happened if he hadn’t been.”
“And you’re sure he’s on our side?”
“Yes, very sure. He’s joined their pack on the pretense he didn’t like it here. And he told them that I wouldn’t be interested in paying a ransom to get Irian back if he was harmed in any way.”
“And Zarbius believed it. Clever.” There was a note of pride in Johnson’s voice.
Agelius had joined our pack at a time when Johnson had stepped in to run the pack for Talius.
It was when Talius and Irian had been coaxing me back to life after Zarbius had left me for dead on the most terrible night of my life.
Johnson had always had a soft spot for the young alpha.
He must have been immensely relieved to hear that Agelius hadn’t betrayed us.
“Zarbius wants the money and he wants Isca – which we knew was likely once he found out he was alive. But Agelius convinced him he couldn’t take the risk of something happening to Irian and spoiling any leverage he had.”
The moment I heard Zarbius wanted me, all my muscles stiffened. Of course he did. This wasn’t about Irian, although the money was no doubt a part of it. Zarbius had always been obsessed with controlling me.
The conversation moved on, but my thoughts churned.
I bit my lip. I rubbed a hand over the pain in my chest. I was going to have to leave my two mates.
Talius would have to give me up to save Irian.
I whimpered quietly, feeling sorry for myself.
I closed my eyes against the tears that wanted to fall and tried to compose myself.
I couldn’t let Irian stay there. It was a fair trade.
I couldn’t expect Talius to choose me over Irian.
Irian had been his mate long before I joined them, and this was my fault – none of this would have happened if I hadn’t come here.
I’d endured Zarbius and his pack before, and I could do it again. I trembled. I was very afraid.
“How did he find out?” The voices went on around me, but I only heard them as if from a distance.
“I don’t know. But if they grabbed Irian in town, then maybe they’d heard rumors. Who knows?” Talius responded with a shrug. “He also believes they’ve got an omega trafficking business either underway or about to start, and that if we don’t act soon, Irian will be on the next truck out of there.”
Although my heart felt like it was cracking in two, I slid off Talius’ lap, my feet making a soft thud on the wooden floor.
“Where are you going?” Talius’ brows scrunched, a deep V forming between them as he pierced me with a questioning gaze.
“I’m going to pack my bag,” I said softly, swallowing hard and trying to stop my chin wobbling. “I guess we’ll be leaving soon.”
Talius’ eyes widened, an expression of horrified disbelief on his face.
“You’re not coming with us!” he snapped. “You’ll stay right here until we come back with Irian.”
“But Talius, he wants me!”
“I’m not letting you go back to him,” Talius insisted.
“But Irian…”
Talius cut me off. “We’ll get him back, but we’re not involving you. Chances are Zarbius won’t stick to any agreement we make anyway.”
I bit my lip. I wanted to argue with him.
To tell him this was all my fault, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Irian because of me.
But I didn’t dare. He was my alpha, and for many reasons I had to submit to his wishes.
I also didn’t want to make a scene or be disrespectful to him in front of Johnson.
I sighed. “I’ll just go and watch some TV then.”
Talius nodded, still frowning slightly, and turned back to Johnson. I left the room and wandered listlessly down to the living room, switched on the television to drown out the sounds I knew I was going to make, threw myself face down on the couch and began to sob.
*****
I felt like I cried for a very long time. My heart was breaking. If I hadn’t come into their lives, Talius and Irian would still be together now, oblivious to all the fuckery that went on in Zarbius’ pack. Instead, I’d brought misery into their world.
At some point, I heard Johnson leaving, the murmuring of voices at the front door as Talius saw him to the door. A few moments later, the edge of the sofa beside me sagged as Talius’s heavy frame settled into it. His large hands were warm on my shoulders as he rubbed soothing circles.
With a sigh, he stood up, rolled me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom where he lay me on the bed. The mattress sagged as he lay down beside me. I felt the soft press of his lips in my hair, and with his warm body pressed up against me, I slipped into an exhausted sleep.
When I awoke, my back was cold, the bed empty beside me.
An oppressive silence filled the house, pressing down on me with a devastating loneliness that seemed to echo in my head.
Talius had gone, I knew it. I patted the sheets behind me, finding the faintest trace of warmth in them. If I hurried, I might still catch up.
Hurriedly I tossed a few clothes into my shifter bag and clipped the collar around my neck.
There was no time for tears anymore. I loved my mates more than anything, more than I believed it was possible to love anyone.
Even if I’d only had a short time with them, I’d always be grateful for it.
It had been the best few months of my life.
I knew what I had to do, and I knew what it was going to cost me.