Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Rydell
Isearched every inch of this godforsaken office too many times to count. Yet, we were no closer to answers. I had no idea how Malik was getting in and out at this point. I was starting to doubt myself, but something told me she was here.
I could feel it… feel her.
“Okay, this might seem a bit crazy,” Caspian said, turning toward me. “Turn off the lights.”
“I’ve got them,” Kane said as he walked in.
“Wait, where’s Ansel?” I asked, realizing we were one pack-member short now. The omega shouldn’t be alone.
“He’s in Audrey’s spot. He didn’t want to move, but I couldn’t sit there anymore. There’s a guard out there with him. One Ares had vouched for earlier.”
“Thank you,” I said, letting out a breath. “Hit the lights.”
I wasn’t sure where Caspian was going with this, but I wasn’t about to doubt him now.
If he had a lead, any lead, it wouldn’t hurt to follow it.
I was getting nowhere myself. Every second Audrey was gone, my alpha was beating at the bars of his cage.
I kept him down with sheer will alone. If I let him out, he’d be ripping the cinderblock straight out of these walls.
With a click, darkness fell over us. At first no one moved, eyes adjusting to the sudden change. It took a few moments before I could see again. My sharp senses were a benefit of my dominant status and right now it was coming in handy.
That might be the first time I’d given my alpha the credit he deserves. I could feel his presence swell, not to fight me but to almost agree.
“Move to the edges of the room,” Caspian ordered. “Look for any light filtering through. It might be easier to spot hidden doors or false walls this way.”
I started in the corner of the room, just in front of the door. My fingers moved first, my eyes tracking behind them as I scanned for any miniscule gaps in the foundation.
The treatment room was big, but it didn’t take long to cover it and head for Malik’s office again. I couldn’t let that room go. She was there somewhere.
The room was gutted now, just bare walls and empty floors. When I stepped into the room, Cooke flashed his flashlight twice, then Vance signaled back his location, letting me know they were here, too.
I had to hand it to the Alliance team. There was no hesitation with them following our lead, trusting that we knew enough to handle this. Ledger might’ve told them he had experience and Cooke shared my dominant designation, but at the end of the day, we weren’t professionals.
But no one knew our omega like we did.
“I’m starting along this wall,” I announced just inside the door. “We can work around each other and cover more ground. She’s gotta be here somewhere.”
My words were almost a plea. Desperation lacing them and echoing through me.
“I believe you,” Cooke said without hesitation. “Keep strong. She needs that right now.”
“Thanks,” I uttered, already focusing on the room around me. I didn’t need his praise. I needed my Omega.
Audrey needed us.
I couldn’t stop thinking about all the horrible things probably happening to her right now. Wherever they’d taken her, it wasn’t good.
Something about this entire situation just didn’t feel right. This wasn’t just about her. Others had gone missing before. Yet, it felt like there was something more to it this time. That she was chosen for a reason.
We moved in silence, carefully combing the room inch by inch. It felt like I was barely moving, my fingers sliding over the stone I should know by heart at this point, I’d checked it so many times.
Malik was smart. He wasn’t transporting patients right in front of his weaselly little assistants. He was covering his ass. The only way to do that was from his office.
It was definitely in here.
I had a feeling the others agreed. Otherwise why would they be hanging in here just as much as I was? It wasn’t to watch over me, they were barely focused on me.
Their presence did help, though. To know it wasn’t just us out here looking for our mate, but the Alliance as well.
It was strange to have allies when I’d spent most of my life alone and feared.
I hadn’t realized how much I needed anyone else until Audrey came to ARC.
Then we started forming our pack. Having the others treat me like I was human and wasn’t some terrifying monster, waiting to unleash my insanity, was a big deal to me.
I knew I was never the monster society painted me as.
I never had been. What happened to the assholes who tormented me was more than deserved.
I had no regrets about how I ended up here. It led me to her. To them.
I’d promised her a future, one free of stress, away from here, and I would do everything I could to make sure she got to experience that life.
She was an omega and she deserved to be treated like one.
From the sound of it, her family never had bothered. She never had true acceptance of her designation. They took care of her but they were more infatuated with themselves than their daughter.
Unfortunately, the bond that holds packs together is so intense it can make them lose what’s important.
They’d let Audrey pretty much raise herself, pretending to be strict to keep up appearances.
It was always about controlling her, keeping her in line.
The appearance of being good parents over genuine connections.
Now should be the time we found a way out of here. To give her a nest she could make her own.
To give Ansel one as well.
Despite the fact he never wanted an alpha, he had three alpha packmates now.
He was just as much ours as the rest of the pack was.
Ours to protect, to keep safe, just not to love romantically.
That worked for us. I only wanted him safe and happy, nothing more.
Our connection was a brotherly one and that wasn’t ever going to change.
It was yet another reason why we had to find her fast. He needed her and she needed us all.
I was so lost in my head that I’d stopped moving and hadn’t even realized it.
“Did you find something?” The gentle tone of Cooke’s voice told me he knew damn well I was thinking about her. “Stay focused on her. I promise, we aren’t going to give up on finding her.”
“Like you would for any of your own pack?” I asked. It was probably not the time to ask that question but I couldn’t help it. I suddenly needed to know if the bond between Cooke and Vance went beyond working together.
“We are,” Vance admitted. “Sanchez is our packmate, too.”
“Do you have an Omega?”
I wasn’t really sure if Sanchez was an omega or not, but surely, he wasn’t working with all of these alphas if so.
“We do,” Cooke admitted. “Colton is our omega. It doesn’t hurt that he works for the Alliance as well. The fates knew what they were doing, putting us with someone who could understand this life.”
“You’d think they wouldn’t purposely place packs together,” I said, shocked.
“You’d be surprised what the Alliance allows, especially when some of their best agents are ready to quit for their pack.
I love what we do, but this pack means more to me.
Our team is important, but even more so, Sanchez wouldn’t be easy to replace.
This whole operation would be shit without him.
We all knew it and so did Chief. It helps that only the two of us work this close together.
Colton would kick our ass if we hovered over him during missions.
That’s why we love him. He’s strong, sturdy, and can handle me, if you know what I mean. ”
“I honestly don’t. I’ve never given myself a chance to be with anyone without holding back. Didn’t trust it. Even with Audrey I was restraining myself the entire time.”
I didn’t know why I was admitting that to him. Maybe I just needed to get it off my chest, to have validation from someone who knew what it was like.
He studied me until understanding settled in his eyes.
“You got sent to one of those facilities, didn’t you? Fucking Alpha detention centers. Makes sense.”
I nodded. “I was sent there without a reason other than my designation and my dad’s inability to control himself.
They want to act like we’re monsters who could lose it on a dime.
Yet, they threw a bunch of us together in close quarters, all at the height of puberty and the teen years where emotions are all over the place.
It was reckless from the fucking start. I have control, but only over myself.
The group of alphas who forced me to bond were insane, they were the exact villains everyone said dominant alphas could be.
I’m just now accepting that I won’t ever lose control unless I want to. ”
Cooke stepped in front of me until we were standing face to face, only a foot between us. His eyes locked onto mine, not letting me look away.
“I don’t know what Ares’s plan is, but I want you to know the Alliance can protect you. All of you. We’ve got your back. We’ll get you out of this place.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. They were a good group, but I had spent too long under someone else’s control.
Vance wasn’t letting me off the hook that easy.
“They’ll keep you together, you know. You’d be an asset, not a liability.
Most of you could work on missions, undergo training.
The rest of your pack could stay in a house within the compound.
Protected. We just want you to know that you have options. ”
“Before we consider any of that, I’m going to guess it’s not gonna be a walk in the park to get out of this place,” I said. “The Omega Network has reach and on paper, they make us look insane.”
“The fact you guys are able to help us search will work in your favor. Now that we know the board is corrupt, not just Sanchez, but his entire team, is digging them out. They’ll be systematically tearing this place down from the inside out.”
“I want to know what they find,” I muttered. Maybe Ledger and I would have to enact some of that good old-fashioned karma he always talked about. Because they absolutely need to be taken down. Not just their careers and status, but their freedom.
Maybe even their fucking lives for what they did.
They ruined all of us here far more than the world did. Knowingly. Purposefully. All for greed and power.
We’d spent years being sedated, medicated, and beat down in every way that counted. Left alphas like Caspian to drown in their grief. Had one person not lied to him, told him the truth about his daughter, maybe he would’ve been able to get his shit together a long time ago.
If they’d let Kane know the details about his pack, maybe he would have remembered them sooner.
They didn’t care about anyone here. Ansel was stuck with alphas that could absolutely hurt him.
If they’d taken two seconds to let a non-corrupted doctor evaluate Ledger he’d have been released years ago.
No. Everyone had to go down and I was gonna make sure they fucking suffered.
The other two went back to searching and I did the same, working my way back to the front of the room, just behind the doorway. Defeat started to settle in my gut as I neared the end, knowing we couldn’t keep searching here forever.
My fingers brushed over a small cut in the stone. It was too clean and smooth to be accidental. Not to mention far out of reach of the knob or anything else that could have caused it.
“Here,” I said, voice a rasp as I fought to find the light, refusing to step away just yet. They were there in seconds, hands moving over mine then running over the cement.
They both stopped at the exact same spot.
Vance flicked on the light, all of us blinking against the harsh change for a moment. Now that we found the starting point, I could see it now. A hairline fracture in the stone, almost imperceptible.
“You were right, kid. She’s here,” Vance said, shaking his head.
“Now, how do we get in?” I glanced around but there was nothing to see anymore. It was barren. “It has to be remote controlled. Did anybody take Malik’s keys? His belongings?”
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”
We must’ve been louder than we thought. Caspian and Kane were rushing in, ready to help.
“What is it?” Caspian asked, pushing his way forward to see what we were crowding around.
“We think we found the spot,” I said, gesturing to the wall. “They think it’s remote accessed.”
Caspian cursed. “We should have fucking known. That’s exactly how they worked all those damn cuffs we wore.”
“If anyone can find it, Sanchez can,” Cooke said, gesturing for us to follow.