Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Ares
My alpha was in a frenzy. Audrey was missing and I believed Rydell when he said Malik had her.
I also knew that we needed backup. If I ignored the Chief now and ruined the connections and career that I’d built, then how could I take care of them when we got out of here?
Those twenty minutes while we waited for the Alliance to arrive were pure fucking hell. Ansel was curled into a ball in her bed, her pillow clutched to his chest. Not a tear fell, he was beyond that now. His eyes were vacant and terrified. Empty.
My alpha hated that we couldn’t help him.
Kane and Caspian were talking, heads together and voices low, both trying to reassure the other.
Rydell and Ledger were ready for war.
Caspian finally broke away from the others and approached me. His face was hard, and he was looking more fierce than I’d ever seen. Finding out about his daughter had truly changed him.
“Teach me to spar. To fight. I’m not staying here while you’re out there. Kane is going to watch over Ansel for us.” He was ready to fight now, to find his omega. Good. We’d need everyone we could get.
“I’ve got you,” Ledger said, rolling his head side to side to stretch out his neck. “Otherwise I might break and call my dad in.”
That was more of a warning for me. I knew damn well who his father was before I even walked inside.
Draven D’Angelo was one of the biggest Mafia bosses in the region. He was ruthless, and untouchable. Somehow always ready with an iron-clad alibi and answers for everything. He was cocky and calm in every interview I’d seen. His reach was far and wide for a reason.
That was not a path we needed to traverse.
Though, we would keep it in mind as a last resort.
Because that man was a monster. I’d seen the mangled corpses he left in his wake. The destruction and lives torn apart on a whim.
This would be no different, only he’d have something to hold over our heads. Especially Ledger.
I expected his son to be similar but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ledger had integrity. He was every bit the weapon his father honed him to be, only he made his own judgments and had a moral compass that rested on the side of morally gray justice.
The way he talked about karma made it clear that he had his own version that he fully intended to follow through with.
Something I’d absolutely ignore and allow to happen. My alpha was happy to have someone in our pack that was just as strong, and could do the things I’d been sworn against when I took on my role in the Alliance.
I had half a mind to recruit the alphas in my pack. Having the Alliance’s protection would only help us after we got out.
Then again, maybe we’d all earned a soft life.
If I found my omega first, at least.
I watched as Ledger and Rydell worked with Caspian, correcting his stance and helping him move. They were both fighters, their techniques solid enough I didn’t have to intervene or correct a single thing.
Good. That would prove useful.
Just as I opened my mouth to call for a break, alarms blared loudly, causing Ansel to cling to Kane and the rest of us turning to face the door.
“It’s time,” I said, gesturing for the alphas to follow me as I stalked from the room.
The military was pouring into Ash Recovery Center now. A sea of uniforms walking in, faces grim and barking orders. I knew the patients would be terrified but they would soon find that now they were in good hands.
By morning, this would be a facility owned and run by the Alliance.
I couldn’t say the same for other branches, but the Alliance was specially equipped to handle a place like this. They should have stepped in years ago, but I didn’t call the shots.
Chief led the charge as he stormed down the atrium. His face was grim, but determined. His black Alliance uniform held a single badge on front that spoke of his station, but otherwise he blended into the crowd. Only his dominance stood out.
His dark eyes scanned the room until they settled on me.
“They have my omega, Chief," I growled. His eyes held empathy as he clapped my shoulder.
“Then we will get her back. What do we know?”
“She’s in the infirmary,” Rydell answered. The chief looked back, eyes studying the dominant alpha behind me.
I refused to think of him as feral. I’d never met an alpha with more control than him.
The chief put his hand to his ear, pressing his comm. “Secure and round up the staff, get them to the lobby. Start with the medical staff, especially the doctor. Don’t be kind about him.”
Soldiers moved the moment the order was spoken, nurses, orderlies, and guards herded to the front of the building.
Some were terrified, others compliant, and several fought.
It was easy to see which staff members were the real problem here.
My eyes rested on the infirmary. Satisfaction hit me as the door flung open and several guards dragged Malik out. He was spitting mad and fighting, but the cuffs on his hands and the alpha pulling him through the hall had it under control.
“Don’t be gentle!” Rydell yelled out. Malik’s head snapped toward us, my pack smiling back at him.
Justice was sweet.
“We’re securing the perimeter, there are only two exits. She’s not getting off this property. In fact, no one is leaving,” he said. “We’re officially on lockdown.”
“Can I get my pack outfitted? What do we have?”
He eyed me, then the pack at my side. “What training do they have?”
“The mafia,” Ledger said without skipping a beat. Chief's bark of laughter in response had me freezing.
I’d never once heard him laugh.
“Of course, you are, son. I can see the resemblance. I’m assuming if you’re here, he’s no friend of yours?”
“If you offer me protection from him once this is said and done, I’ll be more than happy to assist in taking his ass down, too,” Ledger said, voice serious.
They stared at each other for several minutes before Chief nodded, then looked at Caspian and Rydell. “And you?”
“I have the dominant gene, my body is my weapon, but I can use knives,” he said. “Not a gun type of guy, but I’d say you have that covered.”
“Noted. And you?” Chief said, turning his gaze to Caspian.
“No formal training, but I’ll do anything to get my omega back,” Caspian said.
“Mr. Mafia can have a weapon, the rest protective gear only. Get your men outfitted. We have the armor truck out front,” he said, now looking at me.
“Just like that?” I asked, too stunned to move. I was prepared for a fight to get them a single bit of equipment. Hell, even to let them come along.
“There’s no one better suited to track an omega than her pack. I’ve read my reports, Aeron. I know they’ll be fine. Get them armored up, and meet me back here. We have omegas to find.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ledger said, giving him a nod.
“Find my little girl, boys, and I’ll give you whatever you fucking want,” he said. “I’ve spent years trying to take this godforsaken place down. From the moment they reported Abby as missing, I’ve been trying to find her. You do that for me, you’ll live like fucking kings.”
“We’ll do our best,” Caspian said.
“We want to help,” Ansel said. His voice was strong despite being nearly comatose before this. Kane was right behind him, a grin on his face.
“You can help track, but you can’t fight out there. I’ve got alphas who would be distracted trying to protect you,” he said to Ansel. It wasn’t said with anything other than honesty and Ansel nodded.
“I’m not a fighter, but I can feel her. She’s here,” he said.
“Wait, I thought you weren’t bonded?” the chief demanded, looking at me now with narrowed eyes.
“They aren’t,” I said. “But they’re about as close as you can be to bonded without a bite, though.”
He sighed, and shook his head. “Get them outfitted, but leave the weapons to the ones who have training, alright?”
Ansel nodded. The chief swore and stalked away, calling over another soldier.
“I’m not leaving him unprotected,” Ledger warned me before turning back to Ansel, eyes fierce. “You take a knife or something, you hear me. Fight back no matter what.”
Ansel didn’t protest, he nodded. “I’ll fight. She needs me.”
“Head out front, Ansel and Kane in the middle. The staff is out there,” I said as I led the way. Rydell took his usual place at the end of our line.
The lobby was full of angry and confused staff. Most were compliant or controlled by cuffs and guns. Malik was slumped in a chair near Cross’s office. He was cuffed to the chair he was sitting in, bruises forming on his face already, and I could only hope more followed.
My men didn’t play around.
“Special Agent Murphy,” Brady greeted at the door.
“Cheif wants me to get them outfitted,” I said, giving him a salute. “They’ve got my omega.”
Brady’s eyes narrowed at the news. “How are you all keeping it together?"
“We aren’t. I’m about to tear this fucking building apart,” Rydell growled. The venom in it had Brady stumbling back, but he just waved us on. I had a feeling word of Rydell’s dominance would be spreading around fast. That would work in our favor. It meant less questions and interruptions.
“Go, get your weapons,” he said. “We’ve got the place secured. You’ll find her.”
“We better,” Ledger bit out as he stalked past.
Soldiers moved out of our way. Maybe it was the wild look in our eyes or the way we moved with precision, a single group unified in our fury, that had them moving.
Either way, I’d take it.
We made a beeline for the truck. I ripped it open and stepped aside.
Ledger licked his lips, excitement dancing in his eyes as he plucked out two guns, stashing them away after checking they were loaded, and tucked a knife in his boot.
He pulled out a vest and snagged a box of ammo, finally ending with a police baton in hand.
“How they simply let a few psych patients touch all this is insane,” Kane snorted, watching Rydell step in to suit up next.
“They’ve got full dossiers on our pack,” I admitted. “I’ve vetted you guys and the Chief isn’t an idiot. He knows you aren’t fucking crazy.”
“Oh, we are,” Ledger grinned. “But we’re stable enough to get our fuckin’ girl back. Hurry up.”
He reached past Rydell to toss Kane and Ansel a vest. Then tucked a knife into Ansel’s waistband, hiding it easily. The omega didn’t even flinch at the contact.
Kane, Caspian, and Rydell didn’t take a weapon, but they didn’t need to. I’d have trusted soldiers at their side if we went anywhere they couldn’t follow.
“Brady,” I barked out as we walked back in. “Get Cooke and Vance in here. They’re on me.”
“Cooke. Vance. Murphy wants you in the lobby,” he said into the comm.
The two men were in front of me in under a minute. Cooke was a big alpha, nearly as big as Rydell. I chose him on purpose. He was also dominant, and one of our most controlled soldiers. Vance was a beta who had more skill with a gun and stealth than any soldier I’d ever seen.
“These are two of my best men,” I told the others, making quick introductions.
“You’re dominant,” Rydell said, stunned at the revelation.
“Yup. I’ve got your back, kid. We’re going to get her back.”
“I’ll rip this place apart,” Rydell warned, not for the first time.
“My favorite kind of mission,” Cooke grinned back, a rumble of satisfaction at the idea alone.
“Lead the way,” Vance said. “Time is ticking.”