Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Ronan
“Where the fuck is he taking her?” The man that had been holding her hand when I stepped out of the van screamed out at us. This beta was practically frothing at the mouth to protect her.
The sheriff had a hand on his shoulder, but I couldn’t help but stare at him, watching the way that he was losing his mind over this omega.
“She’s safe with him,” I finally said.
His attention snapped to me, eyes narrowing. The look of pure disgust on his face should probably have deterred me, but I couldn’t help the grin that took over instead.
“Who the fuck are you?” he spit out at me.
The venom had me smiling wider. This beta was unexpected.
“Not a threat to you, beta,” I said as I tried to wipe the amusement from my face.
“Not a threat, my ass!” he screamed. “He just took my mate.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Oh? Did she have a bite mark I missed?”
His teeth bared, and my laughter burst out unexpectedly. Fuck, I was losing it. The fact we’d found Aries after all this time had me practically giddy.
“I could argue that she is safer than anyone else on this planet right now. He’s waited a long time to find her. If she wanted him to stop, she would’ve told us.”
“Safe with him?” the man scoffed. “If she were safe, would she have been taken in the first place?”
My control snapped and it was already pulled taut. He was a pleasant distraction, but that was something I would not allow.
I stepped closer, but the sheriff stepped in, saving him from my fury.
“I understand that she’s been through hell, and you probably all have, but you do not get to pretend like he didn’t do his damnedest to get to her,” I spit out.
Leon’s anger deflated but he wasn’t giving in completely.
“She’s not the same woman that he lost,” Leon said. The beta was stubborn. “You don’t get to come back and snatch her away.”
“You don’t get to make decisions for her, either,” I challenged.
“While we’re all standing out here, these poor girls are waiting to find some peace,” one of the women said carefully.
“She’s right. Aries has been waiting for him, Leon. And she would have said something if she didn’t want this. Take a breath and she’ll be back before you know it.”
Leon looked away, jaw tense, but a single nod was tossed her way.
“Now, If you could come with us, we’ll get you all settled,” she promised the omegas. They followed the women, leaving the sheriff, Luca, and a still-pissed-off Leon standing alone.
“Sounds like a pack matter,” the sheriff said pointedly, looking at Leon.
“Not until they prove it,” he said firmly, not giving an inch.
“I admire your grit,” I said, “but maybe you should let the alphas handle this.”
Was I baiting him? Oh, absolutely. It was a condescending, asshole thing to say, but it did exactly as I intended.
His cheeks flushed with fury, eyes narrowing on me. He angrily shoved a hand through his long hair.
“Maybe we should be working together,” Luca pointed out, putting himself between Leon and me.
“I’m not sure what the fuck this is about or what kind of pissing contest is happening between you two, but frankly, I just figured out that I have an omega.
I’m not going to fuck it up by standing here and fighting. ”
“And who are you?” Leon said. His mouth was just as sharp when directed at Luca, but my best friend didn’t rise to the challenge like I did.
“My name is Luca. I’m with them.”
“I don’t think I understand why the Crows are involved in the first place,” the sheriff said. He hadn’t walked away like I expected.
I studied him for a moment, deciding what all to tell him, then simply shrugged.
“We had a target. Our target had the girls. We relieved him of his supply.”
He let out a snort. “I’m sure that’s the whole story.”
“Of course,” I grinned, not the least bit worried he’d press further.
He sighed but let it go. “As you were told from your contact, we will not add chaos to this town. You behave and we’ll be fine. We’re not off to a great start, so keep it together. These omegas deserve peace.”
“It’s not just omegas here, though, is it?” I pointed out, cocking my head as I looked at Leon.
“No,” he confirmed. “The betas are under my protection the same as the omegas.”
With that, the sheriff tipped his head at us, looked at Leon pointedly as if telling him he was a call away, and walked across the road.
He leaned against another building, tipping his hat down to shield the sun and watching us, giving us privacy while still making it known that we were on thin ice.
“Well, what a pleasant greeting,” I mused.
“What the hell did you expect? The red carpet?” Leon shot back. “A congratulations for doing the right fucking thing?”
I moved into his space, taking a deep breath. He glared and stepped back while I laughed again.
“I swear to all that’s holy, Ronan, what the fuck?” Luca said, glaring at me.
Luca was my best friend, my right hand, and yet here he was questioning my motives. Perhaps I was a little less controlled than I thought.
“What, dear friend? Have you never seen flirting before?”
If looks could kill, Leon would have slayed me where I stood.
“If that’s flirting, then there’s no fucking way I’m letting you near my omega.”
“You keep saying your omega, your mate,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I still have yet to see a bite mark.”
It was the second time I pointed it out, and this time he looked no less angry about my words. He took it personally.
“It’s because they haven’t been together long,” a woman said.
She was one of the women from earlier and had just walked back out of the bar.
“Why don’t you boys come in and have a drink instead of causing a scene on my beautiful city streets?
” she added with a wink toward Leon. “His delivery may be a little hostile, but that’s one of my best friends your alpha friend took off with.
You were warned and I’ll be damned if I let some aggressive alphas come into our city.
If she said a single word of protest you’d all be thrown out. ”
“A drink sounds lovely,” Luca said, glaring at both of us.
I knew that Nik would lose his mind the moment he found her, I just hadn’t expected it to hit so hard. He was almost fully in a rut by the time they ran away.
We followed the woman with dark hair into the bar. The others had gone a different way.
She walked behind the bar like she owned the place. Then again, I didn’t know any of them well enough to know whether she did or not. All I knew was our omega and her friends had set up this town.
The omega poured a double shot before sliding it over to Leon. He slammed it back, and she refilled it again, ignoring us for the moment.
I guess it made sense. He belonged here, we didn’t.
At least, not yet.
Though, I wasn’t sure how this would even work. We hadn’t thought into the logistics, but I was and forever would be, a Crow. I was next in line to take over. I couldn’t simply leave my birthright and suddenly become domestic.
Aries wasn’t going to settle in with the fucking Crows, and leaving Nikolai behind with Aries meant we’d be a fractured pack.
There was no winning here.
Not to mention, Leon complicated things.
“Thanks, Briar,” the beta said as he drank down the second.
“I’ll take one of those double shots,” I said, nodding at the bottle still in her hands.
The woman studied me for a moment, as if considering if I was worthy of being served a drink. For a moment, I thought she’d find me lacking, and honestly, fair enough. I hadn’t exactly won anyone over here.
Okay, maybe I was a dick after all.
Finally, she poured me the double shot I asked for and slid it over. I slammed it back, the warm liquid burning as it went down my throat.
My head was already a mess. I should be more worried that Luca was angry, that this beta was apparently pack, and that my brother was alone with our omega.
“So, are you sticking around?” Briar asked, amusement dancing in her eyes.
She knew the answer, but I shrugged. “It seems so.”
“Well, I can direct you to some temporary accommodations,” she said.
“I doubt that’s necessary,” I said quickly while Leon answered, “Yes, they’ll need that.”
We shared a look, his a glare, mine frustrated. I savored the anger he was shooting my way. It gave me something to focus on.
Leon got up and stormed off to the bathroom. Briar eyed me, giving me a silent warning. The omegas around here were tough as nails. I knew that the girls we brought in were at least in good hands.
A minute ticked by, and I wondered what exactly happened to Leon.
“I’m going to go check on him,” I said, knocking on the bar before standing up and sauntering my way there.
I took slow steps, giving him time, but he still didn’t show. I wondered for a moment if he’d slipped out back, but his scent was strong here. I could feel the panic, the worry, the loss of control.
The beta was spiraling.
Guilt tugged at my gut. I was being a dick on purpose, using it so I didn’t lose my shit. This was huge and everything was riding on if she was our scent match or not.
I shoved open the bathroom door, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. His hands were gripping the sink, head hunched over until I walked in. Now he was standing up, glaring at me.
“Look, I’m sorry for being a dick. I’m freaking out a bit and you were an easy distraction. I didn’t mean to send you into a spiral.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” he huffed. “I’m more worried about Aries.”
“They were scent matches. He was coming for her when they took her and has been searching for her since. Four years in, the cops in their hometown produced a fake death certificate. He spent the last eight years spiraling and taking his anger out on our targets. She’s safe with him, even in a rut.”
He studied me, not saying a word. Those blue eyes were lethal and I found myself grateful he was here more than upset by his presence.
“I’m glad she had someone here to look out for her,” I offered the olive branch. He eyed me with suspicion but I was serious this time.
With that, I walked away. His breath shuddered behind me, but I didn’t look back.
He would join us when he was ready, but I’d done what I intended to do.