Chapter 34 #2
Jared, the grumpiest one who’d barely let us into the library in the first place, stood on the edge of the group with a scowl that was harsh enough to set the recipient on fire.
My cheeks heated, and I tugged on the back of Phantom’s shirt. “Maybe we should come back later.”
I couldn’t admit that I’d stolen the keys right in front of the entire pack. There were too many of them.
They’d kill me.
And they’d make me give them back.
Phantom would know how to apologize, right? The keys couldn’t leave the nest; they were a part of it now, but he could smooth it over.
“Yeah, Little Omega, we should,” he said. “They’re not a pack we want to be around while they’re pissed off.”
My body went stiff with fear. “W-what do they do to people who anger them?”
He wrapped his arms around me and turned me to head back to our cell. “Karma and I cut off fingers for them every once in a while. Of the people who don’t return the library books.”
Oh no.
I glanced down at my fingers, wiggling them in the fabric of Phantom’s shirt.
I like my fingers.
He’ll be able to figure out how I can keep them… right?
My footsteps stumbled as I thought about what would happen to me if the librarians found out I had their keys.
Would Karma be the one to cut off my fingers?
Or would it be the grumpy one from the door yesterday?
Maybe they would do it personally so that there weren’t any… conflicts of interest, or whatever.
I wanted to blurt out everything about the keys I’d hidden in my nest, but I kept my mouth tightly shut. They could hear me out here. I couldn’t admit that I’d taken something from a pack that cut off fingers until I was in the safety of my nest.
Picking up my feet, I rushed forward, breaking out into a little jog. Phantom caught my arm and tried to halt me, but I kept going, pulling him with me. “What are you in a hurry for?” he asked.
“Can’t say.”
“Please stop running. It’s a bit too tempting for all the alphas in here who want to chase you.”
I shook my head, continuing to drag him along. “I can’t!” I exclaimed, voice wobbling. “I want to keep my fingers.”
And the keys, a little voice whispered.
They can’t have them.
Phantom halted so abruptly I wasn’t able to keep going no matter how hard I tugged. When I turned to look at him, his eyes had blown wide, a hard set to his jaw.
Oh… he might be really mad about the keys.
I guess it’s still hard to tell, but he might be.
“Take me back to the room?” I begged.
He swept me up in his arms and I clutched his neck, huddling against his chest. Phantom didn’t run, but his strides were so long that it was basically just as fast as my jog was.
We took a side hallway to get to our wing without going through any of the major areas, and he slammed the room door behind us when we entered.
I dove into my nest as soon as he let me down, patting around to find the pillow where I hid the keys.
There they were—heavy metal on a little keyring.
I’d found one or two others from around Anarchy to hide in my nest, but no one had missed those.
I didn’t know the librarians would be furious enough to hurt me over it.
And I couldn’t really help it, anyway.
Clutching the precious keys to my chest, I peered out from the bottom bunk at Phantom. He stood, tall and imposing, his arms crossed over his chest. I couldn’t see his face until I peeked out a bit further, and then I caught his frown.
I winced.
“C-can you convince them not to steal my fingers?” I asked.
My grip on them was white-knuckled, and I didn’t want to give them up—my fingers or the library keys.
Phantom folded himself down onto the mattress, holding his hand out for them. I tentatively passed them over with a little whine.
“Why did you take these?” he asked.
He was obviously angry, and I fought against the tears beading in the corners of my eyes.
“For the nest,” I whispered. “I was keeping them safe.”
“You needed keys… for your nest? Do you have others?”
I reached out possessively to pull a pillow to my chest. This one had another set of keys in it, but these weren’t missed. I wasn’t going to give them to him for no reason. And I definitely wasn’t going to reveal the key I carried around constantly in my pocket.
Phantom’s frown softened as he watched me, though the wrinkle between his eyebrows didn’t smooth over. “Where did you get those from?” he asked.
“People’s pockets.”
His eyebrow wrinkle deepened again. “Whose? You don’t get close to many of the alphas here.”
I shrugged. “The Emerald pack didn’t really need them… right? And then when Sin and I were at the rut cages, I got a set there.”
Phantom’s hand landed on my thigh and squeezed. “Just to be clear, you’ve stolen keys from our allies to put in your nest?”
I really wish he wouldn't use that horrible word. “I-is it stealing if they didn’t notice I took them?”
“Yes, Little Omega. Still stealing. And you also stole the keys to the rut cages?”
“It was the one they used for the cage I was in with Sin. I needed to take them.”
“Can I see that set?”
I clutched the pillow closer, knowing exactly what keys were in this pillowcase. They were a memory; I definitely couldn’t give these keys up. That’s why I’d snatched them in the first place.
“Are you going to give them back to me?” I asked defensively.
He looked up at the ceiling for a second, releasing a long, heavy breath. “Yes.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out if he was lying. Would my alpha lie to me? I would be mad if he did.
In the end, I decided he must be telling the truth. I fished the set of keys from the pillowcase and dropped them into his waiting hand.
He examined them.
Those were a bit more rusty than the others I’d collected, old and worn from frequent use. The base colour was a bronze shade, not like the silver of the library keys.
Phantom’s expression pinched, and then he silently handed the keys back to me.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked quietly.
He sighed heavily, cupping my cheek in his palm and squeezing my thigh with his other hand.
Leaning in, he brushed his lips against mine, and I whined, trying to lean closer for a real, proper kiss, but he didn’t give me one.
He pulled back, staring into my eyes with a faint smile finally quirking his lips.
“You’re not in trouble, Little Omega. Could you stop taking keys for your nest, though?”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip. “I don’t think I can do that. I need them.”
“What if we get them for you? Is that OK?”
He’d… help?
My heart raced as I clutched the rut cage keys tightly in my fist, staring at him. I wanted to get all the keys myself, to prove to Sin that I could protect them, and to my alphas that I could make a proper nest, but I had already gotten into trouble with one of the sets I’d found.
And this way, all the keys would be special. They’ll be gifts from my pack.
A grin grew across my face as I mulled over the possibilities, and I gave him a hearty nod.
“Yes! I have to approve them, though. They’ve got to make a noise that I like when they jingle together, and the edges can’t be too sharp but also not too dull.
It’s hard to find good ones, but you can help if you want to. ”
“We’d all love to help. I’ll get you a new set to replace the library keys, so you don’t feel like anything is missing.”
My chest tightened and my grin dropped. “I have to give them back?”
Oh no.
Phantom’s expression was conflicted, but he nodded. “They only have the one set. Used to have two, but one got lost a while ago. No one will be able to get new library books unless we give them back.”
The keys clinked against each other, hidden from view in his fist.
They were supposed to be part of our nest. Mine and Sin’s.
I flexed my fingers against the fabric of the pillow.
But I did like my fingers. I really liked my fingers, in fact.
Pushing away from Phantom with a huff, I let him keep the library keys, and curled up in the deepest corner of the nest.
They’d better get me a good replacement set.