Chapter 19
VANCE
The bar in town was stuck in the eighties, but I didn’t mind the vibes. There was an old-fashioned jukebox in the corner, and the owner, Earl, didn’t give a fuck about anything. He ignored the fact that there were seven strangers in his bar at ten in the morning.
He tilted his head at me, and I nodded back. He’d been kicking us out of here since we were fifteen and trying our luck.
“Wanna show me your ID, kid?” He cackled at Franklin, who flipped the old man off.
“You’re going to need to get out your reading glasses to see it, old man.”
The other mercs who operated under Alexander were an odd bunch of different species.
There was a crow shifter, Rien, and his partner, Jez, who was a fox shifter.
Leighton was a shapeshifter, and one of the few female mercs we had.
She worked alone, but if she had to go out, she was usually partnered with Vaskar, a leopard shifter.
Buenaventura was old and partnered with no one.
He was a shapeshifter of a sort, and he was the last of his species. He shifted into a nightmare.
The final members of the group were Benson and Maxi, both wolves. I’d prepared Dawn for their inclusion in the group, but she still froze.
Their eyes snapped toward her, and I stepped in front of her, lifting my lip in a snarl that promised death if they so much as breathed wrong in her direction.
I’d argued for their exclusion from the mission, but it wasn’t because I doubted their character.
They were good guys, and they believed in the betterment of shifter kind, but they were still wolves, and the wolves had betrayed my mate.
Alexander had insisted, because he wanted to instill Benson as interim Alpha if we couldn’t find a decent replacement for Dawn’s shitty Alpha among the backwash of their pack hierarchy.
I glared at them, and Maxi came over, knelt in front of us, and tilted his head to the side, baring his throat to my mate. Talbot rumbled deep in his chest, and I could only imagine what old Earl was thinking.
He was supplicating before Dawn, and I could feel her let out a shuddering breath. She stepped forward and placed her fingertips on his throat. It was a wolf ritual, but I could still feel the pulse of her Omega magic.
Maxi finally looked up, slowly rising to his feet.
“I know the file behind this case, and we need you to know that neither Benson nor I would ever condone violence on an Omega or any pack members who are weaker. We left our own pack because they had similar ideas. We joined this” —he waved a hand to the other mercenaries that operated beneath the convocation member for shifters— “because someone needs to do something, and sometimes the only thing wolves will listen to is force.”
Dawn swallowed hard and pressed closer to my side. I let my Alpha free—a comfort to her and a warning to the other people in the room. She was mine, and I would protect her with my claws if I had to.
Benson raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Maxi was a beta, but Benson was an Alpha. He stepped forward slowly, like he didn’t want to spook her.
Softly, he murmured, “Omega.” Dawn dragged her eyes up to his face. “I am honored to meet you. I am so sorry for everything our species, and my designation, have put you through. We will help you make it right. I swear it on my honor.”
Dawn looked disbelieving but nodded once. I didn’t think they could ever be friends, but he was respectful enough. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone else,” I told her.
I introduced her to Rien and Jez first, and they both bowed low. “Omega,” they said respectfully, and she gave them a tentative smile.
“And this is Leighton, Vaskar, and Buenaventura.” She shook each of their hands, but when she grasped Buenaventura’s, she gasped. Her eyes went wide and glassy, and the grizzled old fucker actually smiled.
“It’s not worth wasting your energy on, little Omega,” he grumbled, but it was more gentle than I’d ever seen him speak to anyone.
Dawn nodded rapidly, sucking in a deep breath. I bundled her to my chest, and we sat around a large, round table. I placed my back to the door, because I knew none of the others would want to be in such a vulnerable position in unknown territory.
“Everyone got the brief?” I asked, and they all nodded. “From what intel I could glean, they have no security or well-trained wolves. It should be an easy in and out.”
Leighton groaned and knocked on the scarred wooden tabletop. “You know I hate it when you say shit like that.” She turned to Dawn, giving her a soft smile. “No superstitions at all, that one. What about you? How many civvies are we looking at?”
“Civilians,” Franklin translated in her ear.
“Uh, there were thirty-two people when I left, but a few of the other women were pregnant, so I’m not sure anymore. My old Alpha was selling the pups soon after they were born or getting rid of them somehow, so I don’t know exactly how many. Around twenty-seven adults though.”
Benson rumbled low at her words, and I narrowed my eyes on him. He was a strong wolf, maybe one of the strongest, but I was a fucking Alpha bear. I would tear him to pieces. I knew the aggression wasn’t aimed at my mate though.
“Anyone you think could lead them after the Alpha is gone?” Maxi asks, and Dawn hesitated then shook her head. “It’s okay, Omega. We’ll stay until everyone is safe and well. We won’t abandon them.”
Dawn let out a small sigh of relief, and I realized it had been weighing on her. Those people who were her family hadn’t ever lifted a finger to help her, but she still worried for them.
We got several pitchers of beer, and Talbot got these weird donut balls that Earl always got shipped up from the city that were smothered in some kind of chocolate spread. He put the huge bowl in front of Dawn and watched her eat every one with a contented look.
If the rest of the crew thought it was weird, no one said anything.
We went over site plans, entry points, exit strategies, and what we’d need before and after. We’d done this so many times now that everyone knew their role.
We kept at it until the lunch crowd rolled in, and then we dispersed.
Everyone nodded respectfully at Dawn. Buenaventura lingered and reached out, touching Dawn’s cheek.
I growled low, uncaring that there were humans in the room now.
Vente, as Leighton liked to call him, was one of the few people on the team that I couldn’t eliminate.
If there was a fight between us, I would lose, but it would be bloody.
He scowled at me but ignored the growl. “Keep your chin up, little Omega. These assholes will take care of you.”
“Thank you,” Dawn murmured. She hesitated and then hugged him, like full body hugged him, as if she was a baby koala and he wasn’t an ancient killer.
I could feel the waves of Omega pheromones she was pouring into him like he was a black hole.
“You too. The night is long, but the dawn is always the brightest. No pun intended.”
He laughed softly. “Some of us operate best at night,” he replied. “We’ll see you in Nevada.”
Then he was gone.
Dawn watched him go, her lip trembling. I ushered her out of the bar, since we were already getting too many looks.
“What’s wrong, sunrise?” Franklin asked her, pulling her into his arms for a hug, because we could scent her distress, even though it was mild. He likely wanted to cover Vente’s scent with his own too.
She shook her head. “He’s just so sad, so devastatingly sad.”
He hugged her tighter. “Vente has lived a long life and seen a lot of things. He wouldn’t want you to be sad for him.”
“If not me, then who?”
I didn’t know who, but I fell even more in love with my little mate.
I could admit the depths of my feelings to myself.
We all could, but none of us wanted to rush Dawn.
We would just continue to be. This time next week, when we’d conquered her demons and her life looked brighter, then we would help her begin to heal.
Until then, we’d love her silently, until she never doubted us again.