Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
JUNIPER
I stared at the floor as Valerie ran her fingers through my hair. We were at the food court, and she’d pulled me onto her lap to fuss over me.
I’d never been to this mall before, but that wasn’t really surprising. It was massive, and all of it was clean. Each entrance had some kind of art sculpture by it. The main entrance had a massive tangle of steel and coloured glass out front, like tentacles weaving through the ground, creating a kind of maze.
The state of the untethered soul , I’d read on the plaque. Fitting. Although, instead of grasping at empty air, I was trying to cling to this.
“You have such lovely hair, Juniper,” she said, wrapping her arms around me and giving me a squeeze. Her nails were manicured into sharp points.
“Do I?” I mumbled.
“God, yes, it’s so smooth. Mine is so dry right now. Do you use hair masks?”
I thought of me and Kit, sitting on the rug in the living room, laughing as he dripped hair cream on the floor.
“Sometimes.” My voice was a whisper.
“Oh my god, you’re so cute,” she said, and brought her phone out, handing it to one of the others. “Jake! Picture, okay?”
She turned us around so I was facing the camera.
“Eyes up, girl, we gotta see that gold.” She tapped her finger on my shoulder, and I looked up before I knew what I was doing. Jake snapped a couple of photos. Valerie beamed.
“Good boy. Here you go,” she said, shifting me toward him. I should have been concerned, I thought, as he pulled me onto his lap, legs straddling him.
This time, there was no dad or Kit to keep me from predators. These were my mates. My body knew that; I could feel that as I pressed close to the alpha who held me, his mahogany and ginger scent filling my nose, promising I was safe, that he was mine.
I’d wanted Kit to be mine, but that was wrong.
This was where I was meant to be.
I’d failed my father.
I’d failed the Safe House.
I’d failed Kit.
I let my head rest on Jake’s shoulder, staring at the escalators as his hands rested on my hips.
Valerie was swiping through filters.
“My friends are going to be so jealous. Ever since Havoc and Vex showed up, everyone is dying to bond a gold pack.”
Jake’s fingers were trailing along the hem of my pants, and I closed my eyes. He was warm, pressed against me, and he leaned closer, nipping my ear and sending a shiver down my spine. This was something— his touch made me feel something good. Something that wasn’t pain or sadness. My omega instincts, helping me for fucking once, responding to his smell, his touch.
“God, keep it in your fucking pants, Jake,” Valerie snapped. “We’re at a mall .”
“She doesn’t mind, right, darling?" he asked, tilting my head up. His face was wrong, and it took me a second to figure out why; it was because it wasn’t any of them .
“We’re moving,” she said, standing up, and the pack stood with her. Jake set me on the ground and squeezed my ass as he guided me along.
We went into a clothing store, where everything seemed to cost more than my laptop. Valerie held different outfits up to me, chattering about skin tones and soul colors, before dragging me into the changing room.
I blinked up at her as she pushed me back against the wall, eyes gleaming, and tugged down the zipper on my hoodie. I’d covered Kit’s bite mark with makeup before I’d come, not wanting to have to explain it. Then her hands were pulling off Kit’s oversized Crimson Fury tee, baring my pale skin and my tiny, lacy bra. She bit her lip as she looked down at me, then trailed her hand down my stomach, leaving goosebumps in its wake as she tugged off my pants.
She rose again, her body caging mine, her scent so close, so overpowering. My own body was responding, my cheeks flushing and chest heaving as her hand rested on my hip. My perfume was settling heavily in the air, and I looked up at her with hazy eyes.
Take me away. Make me forget.
“Fuck, Val,” a voice came from outside and there was a thump on the door.
Her eyes flicked toward it, a sly smile on her face as she leaned down and kissed me.
VANDER
I wasn’t sure how I was still functioning. She was out there. Somewhere. With another pack. With an alpha Kit said was terrible .
I mashed the buttons on the keypad, growling in frustration as the call didn’t go through again. It was evening, and we were at this fancy apartment building trying the doorbell of the Carlisle’s suite.
Nothing.
“They know. They’re not letting us in,” I snarled, wanting to tear the stupid dial pad off the wall.
“They’re probably just out, dude," said Ez. He was just scrolling on his fucking phone. I turned to Jhin.
“What do we do?” I asked him. Kit was on his other side, clutching Adrian’s hand.
“Maybe we should just leave it,” he said in a miserable voice. “She could have told us, but she didn’t. She probably doesn’t want us to find her.”
“Bullshit,” I growled. “She needs us to rescue her.”
“From her scent match?” Jhin asked.
“I don’t know. I met them a long time ago,” Kit said, frowning. “Maybe they’re different now.”
“You think she’s gonna be happy with these preppy bitches?” I practically shouted, waving the stupid files in his face.
He flinched, and guilt immediately made me feel like shit.
“Sorry,” I muttered, my hand coming up to stroke his cheek as I met his eyes. “Just. I’m worried. This isn’t— her . Disappearing without telling us? Telling you? ”
“Got her,” said Ez, holding up his phone. “Westside mall.”
I stared at the post he was showing us. What did he mean? There were two women in the photo. One was Valerie Carlisle. The other, sitting on her lap was—Shit. That was Juniper.
She looked dead. Soulless. Her golden eyes staring blankly at the camera as Valerie displayed her like a fucking trophy.
‘My gold pack scent match 3’ the caption read.
No.
Juniper was my omega.
Pure alpha rage surged through me, looking for an outlet. It was Ez’s phone or the dial pad and, luckily for Ez, I chose the dial pad. It cracked, then fizzed sadly as my fist slammed into it.
“Still think she doesn’t need rescuing?” I didn’t wait for their answer as I stalked towards the minivan. Jhin’s snarl told me all I needed to know.
JUNIPER
“Little Juni,” Valerie said. I stirred, the nickname cutting through the webbing of numbness that fluttered around me.
Kit?
I lifted my head. We were… still at the mall. Sitting in the courtyard by the exit—the one by the massive, steel and coloured glass art maze that matched my mood.
I was tucked back into Valerie’s lap wearing one of the new outfits she’d picked for me, tight pants and a shiny, itchy top. And she’d just called me Juni .
She was back to looking at her phone, so I tugged on her arm.
“Please, don’t call me that,” I said. She waved her hand dismissively.
“Oh, come on. Juni suits you.” The name was like a tiny bullet, white hot, streaking through me.
“Don’t call me that,” I repeated, a little more desperate. No one called me that except Kit. It was grounding me, making me present. Kit couldn’t exist in this world where I sat silently on Valerie’s lap as she stroked my hair. Where I let predators take me. I’d been ready to let them take me when we’d met, all those years ago.
My dad had believed I deserved better; he’d died fighting for it. But I hadn’t been convinced until I met Kit. You can’t go, he’d said, as if it were true, and he’d somehow made me believe it.
Valerie put down her phone with a huff of annoyance, before plastering her smile back on.
“Oh, Juni. You’ve got a lot to learn. In this pack, I get what I want. And I don’t want to have to keep saying Juniper. It’s such a mouthful.” She popped a grape into her mouth.
She couldn’t keep calling me that.
My hands clenched into fists, and I tried desperately to school my face into neutral.
“It’s my name,” I said flatly.
“That’s enough,” she said, waving her hand. I could feel something tugging at me to back off.
Fuck. That.
“If you want me to join your pack, you’ll call me Juniper,” I said, getting to my feet and glaring at her.
Everyone froze, staring at me as I came to life. Jake had a handful of grapes halfway to his mouth.
Shit.
This hurt.
I didn’t want to be here, alone, watching Lewis as he spat on the floor.
Gross .
But she’d woken me up. She’d kept calling me Juni.
The pack had recovered from the shock. Valerie’s expression was cool and her arms folded. The rest of them looked disturbingly… amused. Lewis had put up his feet, a grin on his face, and Jake had raised an eyebrow, glancing between Valerie and me. Rick smirked, miming a gunshot to his foot.
Valerie rose to her feet, and she was a good couple of inches taller than me.
”You’re joking,” she said, her voice light.
I was not backing down.
“I’m fucking not ,” I said, fingernails digging into my palms.
Her mouth dropped open, and Lewis snickered.
“Shut up,” she snarled at him, and then turned back to me. Her head cocked to the side, and she took a step closer.
“You’re making a scene, Juniper .” Her voice was smooth, peppered with sympathy. “It’s so stressful to be this tense, right? Come back here, babe. You don’t want to be difficult.”
Her words were a weight sinking inside me. She was right, this was a big scene and I was so stressed. I should go back, because?—
What?
Oh fucking yes, I wanted to be difficult.
I blinked, feeling that slight swoop of adrenaline that came when I resisted a bark. Goodness knows I had enough practice. My eyes met hers, widening in shock. Her face twisted into a cold, predatory smirk.
“Look, boys, she’s quick .” She examined her nails. “Usually takes you idiot knotsuckers, like, a whole week to figure out what’s going on. What was the record, Jake? A month?”
“Two,” he replied, grabbing more grapes.
“Yes, but Emma was especially stupid,” snorted Lewis.
“So, who won this time? What was your bet, Rick, two days?” Valerie glanced back at him.
“You Gritch bitches always catch on quicker than the others,” Rick said, giving me a wink.
There was a horrible, swirling chasm opening in my stomach. This was a little beyond a personality difference. This was fucking messed up.
“Aw, it’s okay to be scared, babe. Don’t worry. Let your alphas protect you,” Valerie crooned, opening her arms. My heart was hammering in my chest, my adrenaline running, and yes, I was scared, and these were my?—
I was half a step towards her when I stopped myself.
Not mine .
The whole pack was laughing, and my face was turning red. She was fucking playing with me.
“You’re good, Juni . This is going to be fun. But I do seriously need you to come back here . ”
There was no power in it this time, just a normal request, and I bit my lip as she waited.
Valerie was fucked up. But I’d known that might happen when I got into this. And every moment spent in my head was taking me back to the huge hole where Kit and the pack had been. Every single thread disconnected, frayed, bleeding pain as I stood here. I looked back up at Valerie, my face cool.
“Look,” I said. “I’ll come. But I have terms. You want me to be your little gold pack doll? Then you call me by my proper name. Or I’m walking away.”
Valerie gave a nasty laugh. “Oh, I don’t think so, Juni . You’re ours.”
She took a step toward me, her gaze so predatory that I took one step back. Exits. One behind me. I’d have to be fast, and maybe I could slow them down if I?—
“I think we all agree you’re a lot more fun like this. So no, I’m not taking your terms, and no, you’re not walking away. See, little gold pack omega. There’s always another way we can make you ours.”
Shit.
She reached up and took off her hoop earrings, tucking them into her pocket.
“Truth is— my brothers have always been a little jealous of these games I can play. They’ll be so pleased to have a little doll to follow all their orders, too.”
That was definitely a sickening, dark hunger settling onto the faces of the rest of her pack. My breathing felt shallow as Lewis bit his lip. Rick had shifted to the edge of his chair, ready to stand up.
“You wouldn’t.” I was stalling, trying to solidify my escape plan. “Everyone would know how fucked up you are if you dark bond me.”
“Oh come on. Leighton Winston dark bonded a regular omega last year, and no one thinks twice about it now. No one will fucking care.” Valerie gave a delighted laugh. “After all, who’s going to miss another dirty little gold pack slut?”
Vander. Jhin. Ez. Adrian. Kit.
It’d destroy them to see me like this. And fuck, I may be nothing but a gold pack slut, but I knew I was worth more than the slavery of a dark bond.
As long as her teeth weren’t touching my neck, I had a fucking chance. Valerie took a step closer, and I took another step back. She wasn’t rushing. Why would she? I couldn’t outrun her or overpower her. My heart was racing, trying to come up with something, anything.
“Juniper!” a desperate, familiar voice shouted. Everyone turned toward the elevator, and I saw a flash of pink hair in the half-open doors before I turned and ran.
I heard a snarl behind me, and felt auras explode into the air, making my hair stand on end, but I kept running. The spinning doors were right here, and I grabbed someone’s umbrella as I barrelled past them. I pushed the door around and then shoved the umbrella in the bottom of the door, praying it would jam as I flew into the rain. Thank fuck. Nature’s scent suppressant. They wouldn’t be able to smell me unless they were right on top of me.
Had to get out of sight.
I ran straight toward the tangled artistic maze of steel and glass in front of me and ducked inside. It was protected from the rain, only patches of wetness on the ground from where it trickled down the beams.
I was flying along the ground, my breaths heaving in my ears, my heart feeling like it might explode out of my chest.
“We’re going to find you, Juni!” called out Valerie in a sing-song voice. “Once my pack has dealt with your little fanboys, we’ll hunt you down.”
She sounded awfully confident considering the Argo pack had four alphas to her three. And she must have felt Jhin’s aura, right?
I peered out from between two steel beams, trying to see what was happening inside the mall.
“Ugh, Juni, I really don’t want to ruin my hair.” She was still by the door, scowling as she looked at my maze. It was really the only place I could have hidden.
“ Reveal yourself, ” she commanded, and I couldn’t brace myself to resist it because it had already seized me, and I’d stopped, stepped into a gap between the metal mesh and banged on the glass.
Shit. Her eyes snapped to me, delight in her grin as I broke free and ducked out of sight again. There was a metro station just at the corner of the mall, and if I made it there, I could get away. I clamped my hands over my ears as I continued on. I looked back through a small gap between bars to see that she’d stepped into the rain.
KIT
We’d been wandering around the mall for a while, occasionally catching a whiff of sour cherry, but we hadn’t had any luck finding her.
Jhin pulled me to the side, dark eyes intent on mine as he spoke in a low voice.
“Kit,” he said and hesitated. “Is there reason to be concerned that they might try to… abuse her position as a gold pack omega?”
I twitched.
Dark bond .
He was asking if I thought they might dark bond her.
“Yes,” I said, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice. They had treated both me and the other omega like objects, and I could only imagine how they’d treat a gold pack. His lips thinned, and his strides grew faster.
We stepped into the elevator and Adrian gave a hoarse shout.
“Found her!”
We all pressed to the window where he was pointing. She was two floors down, near the exit, her posture tense as she faced off against Valerie.
Jhin darted back, and I heard the button click. I was glued to the scene.
Valerie held her arms out wide, and Juniper had taken a half-step back toward her before she froze. I could see the pack laughing. The doors closed and the elevator started down.
“This thing is so slow!” hissed Vander.
“The nearest stairs are way back there,” Jhin said. Vander growled in frustration, and I grabbed Ez’s arm as we stopped on the next floor. Vander growled again, and mashed some more buttons.
Below, they were still talking, Juniper was on defense, and as Valerie took a threatening step forward, Juniper took a step back, glancing toward the exit.
“Come on,” hissed Vander, and I gave a little whine as Valerie took another step, causing Juniper to back up again, looking hunted.
The elevator doors dinged open.
“Juniper!” I shouted desperately, pushing out of the elevator. The Carlisle pack all turned to face me, and Juniper ran.
Thank fuck.
Ez was charging alongside me, the pack at our heels. Valerie snarled and turned to where Juniper had run. She took one step before auras split the air.
Ez turned, pushing me back, his yellow-green eyes wide. I took the cue. No way that I would be helpful getting in the mix here. I moved to the side, going around, because if they were distracted maybe I could slip out and find Juni.
Valerie’s pack had all formed in front of her; Jhin had stopped his.
“We’re here for Juniper,” he said, his voice like blades of ice.
“Deal with them,” Valerie spat.
“Can we use the—?” one of them asked.
“ Yes ,” she hissed, and took off after Juniper.
Ah. Dang. But surely that was a stupid call, because it left her pack outnumbered. Vander had surged out, trying to go for Valerie, but was met head-on by one of the others. Their movements were blurred, so fast I could barely keep track.
“Ez, after her,” ordered Jhin, before he crashed into another hostile alpha. Then Adrian would take the third, and Ez would follow Valerie outside.
“The little one?” called out one of Valerie’s pack, sounding amused. A low laugh came in response.
One of them broke away from the fight, catching Ez as he ran and sent him sprawling to the floor.
They began wrestling, and Adrian was there, too, trying to pin him down, but the other alpha was moving strangely, holding a stick in his hand and ripping the top off with his teeth. I heard Ez grunt as the alpha jammed it into his thigh.
Adrian had the other alpha off him in a moment, but the alpha wasn’t even fighting back, letting Adrian pin him with a triumphant cackle.
“Ez! Go!” yelled Adrian, but there was something wrong. Ez started to stand, but then toppled, gripping his head in his hands.
Shit . He was in pain—I ran, skidding to my knees on the ground next to him.
“Ez?” I asked, grabbing his shoulder.
“Oh shit, Rick, his omega’s there,” came a gleeful voice from behind me, followed by more laughter and Vander’s snarl. Ez was shaking, his aura out but it felt… wrong.
“ Run, ” Ez choked, his head snapping up to meet mine. His face was flushed, a vein pulsing on his forehead and his eyes fixed on mine, terrified.
“What?” I froze.
“ RUN! ” he screamed, and in a flash he’d shoved me so hard I skidded fifteen feet back right to the wall, landing hard on my elbow.
His scream had morphed into a low, steady growl, and he’d now gotten to his feet. His gaze met mine again, and I scrambled back in fear.
I’d once seen an alpha in the middle of a rut. A house had collapsed down the street from mine when I was ten, and me and my friends had come to watch the firefighters pull people out of the wreckage. We’d frozen, as a thumping that we’d thought was the wind, intensified, and then a lone alpha had burst from the collapsed remains.
He hadn’t hesitated as he’d leaped at the nearest firefighter, but I’d seen the look of madness and fury in his eyes.
Ez had the same look as he pounced toward me, his elfin face almost unrecognizable as it twisted into a feral snarl. My heart pounded in my chest as I scrambled further back, but I wasn’t going to make it. Ez was so fast, just seconds from?—
He was knocked off course as Adrian crashed into him, sending them both careening to the side. Ez didn’t stop, didn’t hesitate as he turned on Adrian.
The abandoned alpha was still laughing as he took off toward the exit, following Juniper and Valerie.
Adrian screamed as Ez sunk his teeth deep into his shoulder. My chest was tight, and I felt like I could barely breathe. A low whine tore from my lips as I watched Adrian punch his brother in the face. Ez barely flinched. This was so, so wrong.
Jhin was at Adrian’s side and I looked around; the alpha Jhin had fought was down, but Vander was still fighting his.
I saw the remaining alpha grip something in his teeth, the same as just a minute ago.
“Vander!” I shouted desperately.
“Shit,” Vander hissed, eyes darting to the alpha’s arm. He tried to twist out of the way, kicking his opponent away from him. The needle clattered to the ground, but Vander had fallen back, and the other alpha had rolled, now sprinting to the door after the others.
“I’m going,” Vander said, running for the exit, and I turned back to Ez and the others. He was still screaming wildly, but Jhin had his legs pinned and Adrian had trapped him in a tight headlock. His face was turning purple, his hands gouging deep scratches in the floor. There was nothing but pure hatred in his eyes, but Jhin and Adrian held him firmly as his struggles slowly weakened. When he finally collapsed, Adrian let him out of the stranglehold, and then hugged him tightly, a sob wracking his body.
Jhin just stared for a moment, his expression horrified. Then, his eyes snapped to the door, and he stood up.
“Protect them,” he told Adrian, and he was gone almost faster than I could track.
I struggled over to them as Adrian shifted, cradling Ez in his lap and pushing his golden hair out of his red face. He was still sniffing, rocking Ez’s limp form.
“He’s not…?” I couldn’t finish, but Adrian shook his head, resting his forehead on Ez’s.
“He’s alive,” he choked out, and I could breathe again, taking Ez’s hand in mine. His eyes were closed, and the red was starting to fade from his face. Blood covered his fingers and face, rubbing more red onto Adrian’s already soaked shirt.
I pressed a gentle kiss to Ez’s sweaty forehead and stood up.
Adrian’s face was buried in Ez’s shoulder. I ran before he could clock that I was gone.