Chapter Twenty-Five
“There are eight registered alphas in Pack Kincaid,” Hadeon said, dropping a thick manila folder onto the rickety plastic table. “But I’m sure you’ve met all of them by this point.”
“I have.” Just the same, Sidian scanned the list of names on the front page of the stack of documents, the first sheet of paper resting atop the stack.
Dax, Slate, Nash, Axel, Jett, Knox, Talon, Ford.
Every single alpha had been present for both of Sidian’s heats, and every single one of them had taught him he didn’t know the definition of true suffering.
Not yet. Not until they were done with him.
“They have such stupid fucking names. Stupid fucking names for stupid fucking alphas.”
Hadeon snorted, then tapped the last name on the list: Lilac. “This is their omega. We’ve looked into him. They registered him out of nowhere. No courtship, no nothing. Weird for a pack of their status, but I’ve seen weirder, so I didn’t think too much about it.”
“Is there anything I need to know about him?” Sidian asked, already flipping through thick stacks of paper to find anything the Mambas might have had on the omega.
He couldn’t tell Hadeon that he already suspected the real reason Lilac Kincaid had been chosen for the pack; if the timelines matched up, they might have needed someone to watch Amey when they were away from the house.
That was of course presuming they kept her.
Might they have traded away an infant omega girl for a male omega?
The thought made him faint. They'd better not have—
“I don’t think he’s with them willingly,” Hadeon said, tapping the picture.
The male omega peered up at the camera through long dark lashes, his expression guarded and his eyes empty, almost lifeless.
Lank black hair hung dull and frizzy around a pale, oval-shaped face.
Sidian had seen his own reflection at the center once before they had opted to remove all reflective surfaces from his immediate vicinity, but he recognized the expression on that face all too well.
That hopelessness. That certainty that life would never get better, but it could always get worse.
What turned Sidian’s stomach the most though was the color of those eyes. Lilac’s eyes matched his name, a delicate shade of violet with a warm, almost pinkish tone. But they were purple, like Sidian’s own, and he could almost feel Dax’s lips pressed up against his ear during that first heat.
“Your eyes are marvelous. Perhaps I’ll keep them in a jar on my bedside table.”
“He was seventeen when he was registered as their pack omega, though it’s not like the law much gives a shit once the mating bond is in place.
” Hadeon’s finger traced down the omega’s face to the side of his throat; the bite still looked new, a bruising violence against fair skin.
“His family wasn’t notable either. We found no evidence of them trying to get him back, though. ”
Sidian nodded, swallowing the bile that burned up the back of his throat. “I’ll keep all that in mind. Do you guys even know if he’s still alive? Maybe they just… Killed him.”
“We try not to get too close to them,” Hadeon admitted after a moment. “The Vipers are lucky; they get in, kill everyone, get out. Traffickers are primed to pay close attention to anyone or anything suspicious, so we have to work from the darkest shadows we can find.”
“I don’t get something,” Sidian said, flipping through the files, his eyes scanning each page. Much of it was just basic information that he didn’t need. “Why bother me if they had an omega?”
Hadeon tugged the file closer and flipped back to Lilac’s profile, carding through a couple of pages before pointing out a bold word near the top of the page: Infertile.
“If I had to guess, that would be why. Guess they thought they’d get a kid or two out of you since their omega couldn’t have any. ”
“Too bad for them,” Sidian muttered, his chest tightening when he felt the telltale flutter of slight movement inside of him.
The baby had been quiet, but he seemed to sense the moment his mother started thinking about him again.
“I don’t know what to do about their omega.
If he gets in our way, there’s nothing we can do about it.
We can’t risk their catching us. They’d kill Roe in a heartbeat. ”
“And do worse to you,” Hadeon said, and Sidian felt goosebumps break out even beneath the layers he wore. “If you have to kill him, it’s not like anyone will be there to judge you for it.”
But Sidian would remember doing it for the rest of his life, no matter what his reasoning was. “What do we do if we don’t have to kill him? Do we call you? How do we handle any of this?”
“The captain doesn’t want us involved any more than we already are,” Hadeon said, and Sidian nodded even as the unease slinking below his flesh prickled the hairs on the nape of his neck.
He understood that. Of course, he did. If the Mambas needed to creep about with as little influence as possible to avoid their targets growing suspicious, then getting involved was out of the question.
Pack Kincaid was tied to the trafficking rings, even if only through a minor role, but it made sense that the Mambas didn’t want to risk even that much. It was only fair.
And they weren’t the Mambas’ problem to deal with. They were Sidian’s. Sidian’s alone.
“We can supply you with weapons. They won’t be traced back to us, but it’s gonna depend on how you want to do this.
” Hadeon shut the file and slid it over to Sidian, who scooped it up into his arms and cradled it against his chest. “You know the best chance you’ve got is to walk in there and shoot ‘em.”
Of course, it was. “I know that, but they didn’t let me off easy. They made me fucking suffer, and I want them to know what that felt like. They’ll never get it, but still.”
“I thought as much.” Hadeon combed a hand through his face, his expression torn. “Kane will tell you he wants to case the place before you go in. You need to listen to him. You need to use a strategy.”
That was fine, but the thought of Roman noticing Amethyst through a window or something sent Sidian’s heart up into his throat.
Though maybe… Maybe he could pass her off as Lilac’s daughter or something until he could tell Roman the truth.
“I’ll do that. I want them dead, but I don’t want both of us dead.
Kinda defeats the purpose of everything. ”
“Good deal.” Hadeon looked uncomfortable. “Are you like… Okay, dude?”
No, Sidian wasn’t okay. He wouldn’t be okay until Pack Kincaid was dead, until Roman knew the truth about Amethyst and the baby still inside of him, until all of this was over and they could decide to do what they wanted to do with their lives.
Then, and only then, would he allow himself the chance to breathe, to think about what it might look like to heal on the other side of all of this.
He was holding it together because he had to.
His daughter was in the hands of the most brutal men he knew, and the only way to retrieve her from them was to kill them.
That was more important than just getting revenge; if Sidian didn’t kill them, they could always come back.
They could drag him into court where he would be no one and have nothing to show that he could care for Amey, and they would take her away from him all over again because they could.
But how could he explain that to someone like Hadeon? “I will be.”
Hadeon escorted him back upstairs to the dorm floor where Roman was waiting, pacing back and forth between the dining room, living room, and kitchen with his arms folded over his chest. In nothing but a tank top with his hair still damp from his shower, he looked intense, and Sidian bit the inside of his cheek.
His alpha was upset about something, which did not bode well.
Was he angry that Sidian wasn’t waiting somewhere for him? Because that shit would not fly.
“Sorry for stealing your mate away,” Hadeon said in a bored voice, and Roman spun toward them. “I was just giving him the information he wanted. All our shit’s downstairs.”
Roman’s face softened, though the tightness around his mouth did not ease. “That’s fine. Sid, do you want to stay here tonight, or do you want to find a motel?”
“Here’s fine. We need weapons anyway. We’d just have to drive back.” And there was no use in going to find a place to stay when the Pit had nice, cozy beds already close at hand.
“Puppy’s room is empty,” Hadeon said. “You can sleep there for the night. Kitten might not be thrilled about it, but she’ll keep her mouth shut until you’re gone, so you don’t have to worry about her. Get some sleep, omega. You’re going to need it.”
There was something endearingly sweet about the way Roman furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing in Hadeon’s direction while Sidian just scoffed at them both. “Sure thing. Thanks for the files. Hope you guys still find whatever you need to find without Pack Kincaid to stalk.”
“I’m sure we will.” Hadeon offered him a brief smile, though it seemed strained.
Roman slipped an arm around Sidian’s shoulders and led him down the hall of dorm doors to one that stood cracked open, slipping past him to turn on a dim lamp that set on an empty nightstand.
Only a digital clock and what looked like the snaking cord of a phone charger sat atop the smooth white surface, though it looked as though it had been chipped in places.
There was no scent in the air despite this room belonging to someone, and there were no personal effects.
Sidian supposed they might have kept minimalist quarters, but it seemed like the Mambas had already decided their missing alpha was dead.
He sank down on the edge of the mattress, the softness a comfort as he watched Roman shut and lock the door.
There was a tension in his broad shoulders that set Sidian’s teeth on edge, his shoulders hunching before he made himself sit up straight.
Looking at Pack Kincaid’s familiar faces just had him rattled; there was nothing to be afraid of with Roman.
He was the gentlest alpha Sidian had ever known, and that had to count for something.
Roman turned to look at him, and though his face was devoid of emotion, there was a soft relief in his eyes. He had been worried then. “Can I see what Hadeon gave you? I think the Ultima has a GPS tracker, but I don’t want to use it if I can avoid it. I’d rather follow paper directions.”
Did using a built-in GPS have some danger associated with it? Sidian didn’t know, and he decided he didn’t care as he handed the folder over. Roman knew what he was doing. It was best to follow his lead. “This is them. I’d recognize their faces anywhere. There’s just… A slight development.”
“What kind of development?” Roman asked, flipping open the folder. “None of these names are familiar to me, but fair enough considering they live here in Jersey.”
Sidian swallowed. “They have an omega. So that’s an additional problem.”
“That is an issue to contend with, though if we’re lucky, that omega won’t be treated well and won’t want to stay with them.
We might have an ally to consider.” Roman flipped a few pages, studying the text, before snapping the folder shut.
“But before we get into this, there’s something else we need to talk about.
I have a development of my own we need to discuss. ”
That was not what Sidian had wanted to hear. “What happened while you were with the medic? I didn’t even think your wounds were bad enough to need it. I went easy on you.”
The corner of Roman’s mouth twitched as he came to join Sidian on the bed, the folder resting on one knee. “I don't disagree with you, but Captain Nightingale wanted to meet with me in person to discuss something he noticed in the footage. He called my boss to confirm whether or not it was true.”
Sidian tensed. “Stop sounding so fucking ominous. What is it?”
“Lorcan Devereaux brought me into the Vipers because he suspected I was a prime alpha, and he was right.” Roman glanced over at him, but Sidian could only blink at him, his head buzzing with electricity. “And Nightingale believes you might be a prime omega.”
And just like that, everything was fucked.