Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
Aries
For the first time in years of living in this house, I finally had a nest. The guys hung the canopy, draping it and securing it to the walls so it was more like a tent than a nest. We found string lights with big round bulbs that we strung around the top to add soft light without being overwhelming.
Thanks to all three of them helping set it up, the fabrics smelled like pack, my omega was melting into a pile of pure bliss.
“Well, omega, i think we’re done,” Ronan said, placing a final pillow on the insane pile. They’d bought far too much but the pure clutter of cozy was speaking to my omega soul.
“Thank you,” I said in a whisper, taking it all in. The bed was big enough to fit all five of us comfortably and I was almost disappointed we’d be skipping my heat.
“Fuck!” I cried out, glancing at them in horror. “I missed my appointment last week with everything going on.”
“Is it too late?” Leon asked. I snagged the phone in his hand, pulling up the calendar and wincing.
“No. I guess that explains my omega being a bit possessive and not fighting the nesting store,” I groaned. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. We’ll happily spend a week fucking you senseless,” Ronan promised. “And seeing how I’m the only one without a bite, I’m going to be claiming you inside and out.”
My body flooded with warmth, scent perfuming in the space, seeping into the fresh fabrics.
“She likes that idea,” Nikolai grinned, stalking forward and pulling me close. “I’ve dreamt for years of having my omega, spending heats and putting a baby in you.”
His words were laced in a purr and I could feel the truth of it in the bond. He wanted this, wanted me.
No, want wasn’t a strong enough word.
Craved.
When he stepped back enough for me to suck in a breath not doused in his scent, I wavered on my feet.
Fuck, having my pack semed to be accelerating things.
“Alright, we need to prepare,” Leon said. “Give her space so she doesn’t go early.”
They retreated and a whine echoed out of me. My hand slammed over my mouth as if I could stuff that sound back in.
“I’ll go to the store,” Nikolai offered. “What all do we need?”
They walked away, leaving me standing there and not bringing attention to my sudden neediness. I loved that they all seemed to know what I needed, even if this was new.
I took my time taking a cool shower and changing clothes to see if it would help me feel normal again. It definitely chased off the heat spike. My stomach rumbled and I quickly threw my hair into a high ponytail before hurrying downstairs.
The entire main floor smelled like heaven. Spices, herbs, and garlic were heavy in the air.
“It smells incredible in here. I’m starving,” I announced, glancing around but only finding Ronan, Luca, and Leon. “Is Nik still at the store?”
“He’s probably wandering the aisles overthinking and buying far too much,” Ronan chuckled as he dished me up a plate of lasagna and garlic bread.
“Have I mentioned that I love that you can cook,” I said, digging right in.
They made their own plates and joined me, but as the dinner drew on, I couldn’t help but glance at the clock.
Even for a lost alpha, that was a long time at the store. Then something hit me.
My fork clattered to my plate, everyone freezing as my hand grasped at my chest. A pulse of pure anger and pain, then the connection shut down.
“Something’s wrong,” I gasped, already running for my shoes and keys. Luca rushed forward, plucking the keys from my hands and rushing out ahead of me, Ronan and Leon on our heels.
There was only one main grocery store in town and we spotted his van easily. That didn’t convince me of anything. I needed to see my alpha with my own eyes.
He had to be here. Maybe someone pissed him off taking the last of something…
Even I knew that it wasn’t true. Our connection was locked tighter than when they’d left.
I sprinted through the store, weaving around shoppers, reaching the end with no alpha in sight.
“Found something,” Luca called. I changed direction, finding him in the back corner near the service entrance. A full cart was abandoned and I knew it was his by the things he had piled high.
Luca had a busted phone in hand, turning it on and frowning at the screen that was broken beyond repair.
“Someone took him?” I asked no one in particular, already pushing through the employee only door.
It was empty in the back room, not a soul in sight. The floor had two distinct clean patches, as if someone was dragged through here. Someone definitely took my alpha and there would be hell to pay when I found them.
“Guys!” I pointed at the floor as they rushed in.
Ronan cursed. “Pull up his tracker. Change of plans.”
“You have a tracker in him?!” Leon said, shock and worry filling his tone as we rushed out to the lot and dove into the van. Luca already had his phone in the stand on the dash, following the directions to find our missing pack member.
“Yes, he has a tracker,” Ronan finally spoke up again, giving us both a look. “As will you.”
There was no question, just a demand.
“Like hell,” I muttered, but he let it drop for now. With Nikolai hurt and missing it wasn’t the time to fight about trackers.
And honestly… the idea of them always being able to find me was a bit reassuring considering.
Luca tore through Widow’s Peak, but it was obvious they had taken him beyond the border. That made this a whole lot more complicated. There were a few towns nearby but far more random cabins set up in the mountains.
“Tell me you have weapons?” Leon said carefully as Luca drove down the treacherous mountain roads, following the GPS the best we could.
“Of course, we do,” Ronan scoffed. “Know how to fire a gun, beta?”
Leon’s answer was stolen by a collective scream as a truck tore around the curved road, slamming into us head on.
Pain exploded through my body, my screams tearing out of me with enough force my throat ached sharply. We were tumbling through the air before the impact of hitting the rocks below shook through us.
Then it went dark.
Nik
My throat was dry and my head throbbing as I blinked open my eyes. For a second, I had to blink against the dim lighting and try to figure out where the hell I was.
I was shopping… then, nothing.
My arms were bound to my sides, my body secured to a chair with a thick chain that dug into my skin, bruising me.
The fuck?!
“Ah, the prodigal son is awake,” a familiar voice echoed out. A light clicked on and Alessio walked into the room. A few men stood behind him. Not Crows, but familiar.
My head was just too foggy to place them. What the fuck had they given me?
“I’m going to kill you, Alessio,” I warned him as he stepped forward. He looked rough. His usually pressed suit was crumpled like he’d slept in it for days. The slicked back hair looked like it fought through the old gel and was sticking out now.
He sneered at the sound of my voice, or maybe my words. It was hard to tell with him. He’d always hated me.
Even Victor, who was vehemently against his ‘bastard children’ joining the Crows, tolerated my presence more because I followed his orders and did my part.
Alessio was the spoiled youngest brat of Victor’s ‘true’ bloodline which meant he was an entitled prick. Ronan was shaped by his father’s heavy expectations whereas Alessio was left to do anything he could to gain his father’s attention.
“I’m taking over the Crows,” he said as if I was stupid. “Your precious packmates will come running, and just like that you’ll be at my mercy. By the end of the day, there won’t be a trace left of any of you.”
“Yet, you were too big of a bitch to get me yourself. You hired someone else to do it,” I laughed, the sound cruel and mocking.
He crossed the room in a few short strides before cocking his fist back and slamming it into my jaw.
My head snapped to the side, copper filling my mouth.
I turned back, my smile widening as my alpha surged to the surface.
They used chains for a reason, they knew damn well I’d tear through rope in seconds.
“I’m strong enough to kill you,” he growled, yanking his knife from its holster and lunging for me. I barely felt the knife plunge into my arm, my focus on keeping the bond shut tight to save my girl from this.
A shrill ringing echoed in the tiny, cement room and he frowned, pulling it out.
“What?” he barked into the cell. He listened for a moment before a smile that made my stomach turn filled his face. Without sparing me a glance he was out the door, the others right behind him.
One paused and turned to me as if contemplating how to handle me. That singular moment gave me clarity. It was the same omega who was at the gym that day, the one making Cassie uncomfortable.
Now I knew why. They were there for recon.
The question was, how did they find us when we hadn’t even told Victor our location?
Before I could consider anything further he was stalking toward me. He cocked his hand back and hit me with something heavy, darkness sweeping me under before I could react.