Chapter 9 #2
Most importantly, I need to get Jonathan Varenthrall out of the fucking picture.
Permanently.
Until that happens, I’ll continue to take pleasure in fucking with him however I can.
“I’m bringing a vial home.”
I can hear the smug smile in my own voice. This is what I need. A win.
Not only am I sticking it to Varenthrall, but Dax will be forced to admit that I’m not so ‘compromised’ that I can’t get my job done. Proof that I’m not just simping out over a random Omega because I need to get laid, which is exactly what he currently believes.
“Don’t drink it!” Dax shouts the unnecessary as fuck warning so loud I flinch away from the sound. A pointless reaction, obviously, but damn…
“Fates, Dax. I’m not an idiot,” I snap, doing a final sweep of the room. Closing my eyes, I focus and reach out, trying to get a read on the house.
Nothing. It’s dead quiet in this wing.
I let myself out and pad back down the hall and into the foyer.
“I’m going to go check out the structure in the back. The one with all the security.”
“Copy. Stay alert and get me as many visuals of the security there as possible.”
Slipping through the kitchen, I exit the house the same way I entered and cross the grounds. The structure looms ahead, and as I start a count of the motion sensors, I falter.
“What the fuck?”
The last time I was here, this place had been locked down like Fort Knox. Motion sensors, cameras, a keypad lock on the single door with a fucking biometric print signature.
Now there’s nothing. All the security is gone. There are no guards, no lights, no hum of electronics.
Cautiously, I extend a hand and push gently on the door. It swings open on a silent hinge.
“Dax, something’s wrong. The structure’s wide open. There’s no security. Door’s unlocked.”
Dax curses. “That can’t be right. Three days ago, it was swarming with security. Fates, I hate how useless my tech is around that godsdamned estate. I can’t get a read on anything.”
I step through the door, making sure it doesn’t shut behind me. There’s no need to go any further—the place is totally empty. Nothing but four stone walls, a stone floor, and the overpowering stench of bleach.
“It’s clear, but they’ve scrubbed it. Smells like cleaner and there’s fuck all here but air.”
“Think he knew we were coming?”
I snort in disbelief. “Doubtful. He probably just moved whatever was in here. Asshole has a habit of moving shit around. He swaps warehouses all the time. Makes sense, he wouldn’t keep something on his property for long.”
I pull out my cell and take plenty of photos before pocketing it again.
“Get out of there,” Dax says, clearly frustrated that we were too late to discover what Varenthrall had hidden away in here before he moved it.
As I head back to the house, my mind is racing. The blood vials, the now-empty structure, the weird as fuck decorations… this place is a nightmare. I can almost feel a threat looming in the air, patiently waiting for the perfect time to strike.
It feels like a breeding ground for something incredibly fucked up.
What, though? What the hell are the Severed and Varenthrall up to?
Once back inside the estate, I hesitate in the foyer, considering my options. There are only two places left to check. The basement and the east end of the estate.
Her end of the estate.
Fuck it.
“I’m heading to the east wing.”
“Negative. You are not going there. Gav said—”
I jog up the stairs, my boots silent on the marble floors. The place feels more like a mausoleum than a home.
How can anyone stand to live here?
“I know what Gav said.”
I can hear Dax grinding his molars. “Really? Then what part of ‘stay away from the Omega,’ are you failing to understand?”
“I’m not going to her room,” I lie. “I only need to sweep the area. Make sure I’m not missing anything. Then I’ll hit the basement and be done.”
“You’re lying. You can’t seriously think I don’t know when you’re bullshitting me.”
No, I didn’t think there was a chance in hell he’d believe me, but what else was I going to say?
‘Yeah, you’re right, I swear to the gods I can feel her somewhere deep in my chest, and whatever’s connecting us is swirling faster and faster the closer I get to her, and honestly, I don’t think there’s much I wouldn’t do just to see her face’?
That won’t just get me pulled from the mission, Dax will probably convince Gav to bench me for the next decade, and I’ll be forced to go rogue, kidnap the Omega, and find a nice secluded cabin where I can hide out with her until my packmate calms down.
Which may actually take the entire decade.
“There could be more shit we’ll miss if I ignore it.”
I have to remain calm. If I don’t, this is going to devolve into another shouting match. As much as I want to push back at him, I know letting my Alpha instincts run the show right now will only cause the whole situation to devolve into chaos.
If that happens, Dax will go straight to Gav without hesitation. It’s the one line he refuses to allow a mission to cross.
“There could be files, documents, trackers, records. We have no idea what he could be hiding up here because we have no idea what’s actually going on,” I continue, backing up my logical explanation with a pulse of calm confidence down our Bond.
Dax growls in frustration. “You are supposed to be doing recon. You did recon. You’re putting yourself in unnecessary danger, Caelan.”
“It’s not enough,” I reply.
I can’t help but notice the empty walls and musty scent. I wouldn’t even know someone lives on this side of the estate if I hadn’t seen Idril days ago. It’s completely devoid of human presence. No pictures on the wall, no decorations.
The air tastes stale, and while it’s clean enough, the lack of life is so far removed from the way Omegas usually live that I can’t help feeling uneasy.
Fates, it feels like a fucking prison.
“You think I’m losing it,” I acknowledge gently. “I get that. I hear you. Let me fucking prove to you that I’m not. Let me finish my job. I’ll clear the East wing, see that the Omega is fine, and get out.”
Dax is silent for a long time. I wait patiently for him to respond with my heart in my throat.
Right before the silence becomes too heavy to take for another second, he replies. His tone is a mix of wry amusement and irritation that proves Dax knows me better than I know myself sometimes.
“You’re full of shit. You’re aware of that, right?”
I exhale in relief and smile. “Probably.”
Now that he’s on board, I pick up the pace, forcing myself to check every closed door I pass until I come to the end of the hall.
Double doors stand before me, weirdly silent and ominous.
I know instinctively that this is Idril’s room. The silver swirling pool in my chest seems almost excited. It’s churning, frothing, lapping gently at my instincts in encouragement—which feels fucking weird to acknowledge because Bonds don’t work like this. This isn’t something they do.
Our instincts might spiral and feel sentient, but that’s biology.
Bond’s don’t…. Have emotions.
So what the fuck is this?
After a long few moments standing outside her doors, I almost leave. Almost convince myself it would be better to turn my ass around and walk back down those stairs and away from the Omega. I almost convince myself that pushing further will only make shit messier.
The vial of blood weighs heavy in my pocket, reminding me that there’s more at play than my draw to the female in that room.
Still… the swirling pool in my chest refuses to calm down. It’s only become more frantic the closer I get to Idril. My fangs are throbbing, and my heart’s started racing again.
I clench my fists, warring with instincts that want me to open the doors and my logical mind that’s screaming that it’s smarter to play the long game.
Dax must feel my hesitation through the Bond; his voice is suddenly in my ear, startling me.
“Talk to me, Caelan. You’ve stopped. Why have you stopped?”
“Finished the east wing,” I keep my voice low, despite knowing no one else is here except Idril. “Checked everywhere except…”
I don’t need to say it. He already knows.
“That’s enough. We don’t need eyes on her. Just wrap up and get out. Gav will understand.”
I know he’s right, and I also know he’d pull me out if he had the rank to make that call, but he doesn’t.
“Where are you?”
I don’t answer.
“Caelan. Where. Are. You.”
“I’m just going to check,” I murmur.
My eyes can’t seem to leave her door. She’s in there. Just on the other side of those doors.
Fuck, I can almost feel her. Picturing her just a few feet away sends a shiver down my spine that pools deep in my lower stomach.
“I just want to know what her living situation is like.” I don’t even know who I’m talking to anymore. Dax? Myself?
“Who gives a fuck,” Dax snaps, and I hear his fist crack against the wood of his desk.
“You heard Gav. At best, she’s an ignorant, spoiled Omega who enjoys all the luxury daddy’s money provides and doesn’t ask questions.
At worse—at fucking worst—she’s in league with him. You’re compromised. Get. Out.”
For a millisecond, I almost give in to his demand to leave. Almost.
Until I hear scratching coming from under the door, soft but frantic.
Curious, I hunch down and angle my head to get closer, but before I finish moving, I realize what it is.
The damn cat. It’s scratching at the inside of the door like it wants to be let out.
I thought only dogs did that?
The other night, Idril was worried her father might discover the cat’s existence. If it keeps scratching, it’s going to blow her cover to hell.
For that matter, why isn’t she stopping it?
Unless…
Unless she isn’t able to stop it.
The thought makes my stomach knot up with anxiety.
The scratching grows louder. Faster. More insistent. Like the feline knows I’m out here.
Resting my hands on my hips, I let out a huff of frustration.
Apparently, I’m doing this.
I can’t wait to explain this shit to the team tonight. “Sorry, Gav, I know I have a spotless record when it comes to mid-mission tactical decision-making. I was as shocked as you were when I finally broke after five centuries because the cat made me do it.”
I’m actually rolling my eyes at myself when I see something that makes me suck in a shocked breath.
A lock.
On the outside of the Omegas’ door.
My hands curl into fists. “That fucking bastard.”
Dax hears, because of course he does. “Who? What is it?”
Black starts to creep in around the edges of my vision. I take three hurried steps toward Idril’s door and push down on the handle, praying I’m wrong. Praying Varenthrall hasn’t actually locked his own daughter away.
The handle doesn’t budge.
Locked.
“He locked her in. There’s a fucking lock on the outside of her door. That son of a bitch!”
Most Omegas have internal locks in their nests. The ability to keep out Alphas—or any other asshole, really—is essential for an Omega’s biological need for control and safety.
But that’s not what this is. Her father locked her in. This isn’t protection. This is godsdamned possession.
This is isolation, control, and power.
“Shit,” Dax swallow thickly. “Okay, that’s… certainly a parenting choice. I’m going to point out once again, however, that it has nothing to do with you. You need to—”
I’m not sure what Dax says next. I’m too lost in the fury burning through my veins. Red, hot, boiling anger pulses to the surface from somewhere deep in my chest.
A growl vibrates through my chest. My vision narrows on her door.
I can’t look away.
What the fuck is that asshole thinking? There’s no one else in this house! What if there’s a fire? Does he expect her to jump off the balcony and pray the lilies and dahlias break her fall?
Protect. Mine.
“She’s locked in,” I snarl. I know I should be concerned that my fangs have dropped, but I’m not.
I’m fucking prepared.
My Alpha rumbles with approval in my chest.
“Don’t fucking do this, Caelan.”
I know Dax can feel my rage through our Bond. I can almost taste the tension buzzing in every word.
I’m doing a piss poor job of concealing my fury, but I can’t get a handle on it. The beast inside of me is ready to tear apart anyone or anything that stands between us and the Omega in that room.
“I’m going in.”
“NO. Caelan, stop. Listen to me—”
A feral sound I’ve never made before rips past my vocal cords, cutting him off.
He isn’t getting it, and I’m sick of fighting with him.
This is no longer up for discussion.