17. Delilah
Chapter seventeen
The door to the van slams and I jolt awake, disoriented. As I look around, I blink in confusion, catching sight of the two people in the back of the van with me and Joker.
“You alright, luv?” Joker mumbles in my ear, his accented words sliding down my spine like water.
The two others turn to look and I relax as I recognize Phantom’s eyes, even though he’s no longer wearing a mask or black face paint.
His smile is warm, a contrast to the icy color of his eyes, his square jaw dusted with dark stubble.
His hair is longer than I would have expected, the slightly curly mop pulled back into a top knot, highlighting his undercut.
“Welcome back, sweetheart,” he chuckles, winking at me.
I flush and turn away, looking at the other person.
Again, I recognize these eyes as belonging to the quietest member of the group, but my brow pulls down in confusion.
The alpha’s features are soft, almost feminine, but with their short cropped hair, androgynous build, and a scent that is strong with notes of cedar and leather, my instincts are detecting masculine energy.
“Oh, that’s Siren. They don’t talk much,” Joker says into my ear with a little laugh.
Siren rolls their eyes before tearing open a package of candy, pouring the fruit chews into their mouth.
“Maybe I just don’t have anything to say to you, Jokes,” Siren replies.
I’ll admit to openly staring, even as the van starts up again.
Something about Siren confuses my instincts.
By all accounts, I know I’m looking at an alpha; the pheromones I’m picking up are a dead giveaway to that.
But what my eyes are seeing and what my nose is smelling don’t necessarily match.
A strong scent like that, and I’d expect to be looking at someone like Phantom or even Joker if he was an alpha.
Before I can puzzle it out, my attention gets pulled away when Phantom laughs.
“Siren is non-binary, sweetheart,” he says softly, looking at Siren.
I turn my attention back to them as well, my expression turning from confused to curious. “Is that why your scent doesn’t match?” I ask.
Siren looks at me, and I shiver as the ice in their eyes spears me through the heart.
“I’m more masc today, so my scent does match. If we choose to keep you around, you’ll see when it changes,” they say, a noticeable bite to their words.
I mutter an apology and look down, fidgeting with the cuffs of my sweatshirt again. I’m aware of the eyes on me, but I shrink back into myself, keeping quiet. Sudden movement makes me jump, and Joker reaches up to catch something thrown our way.
“Are you hungry, little wisp? It’s not much, but we’re still a few hours out from homebase,” Joker asks softly, holding his hands out in front of me, showing me two packages of snacks.
I tentatively reach for the chocolate and peanut butter pieces, earning a nuzzle and purr from the omega behind me.
“Sweet tooth for a sweet girl,” he mutters in my ear, just loud enough so no one else can hear.
My cheeks heat, and I smile softly as I open the candy and eat slowly. Conversation flows around me, but I hardly understand a word of it. They’re speaking English, but the terms and jargon being thrown around are confusing enough for me to tune out of the conversation entirely after a few minutes.
There aren’t any windows in the back of the van, so I just close my eyes and pretend to sleep again, just so I don’t have to engage. Joker tucks a blanket around me, snuggling me close even as he eats the other package of gummy candy.
“You really shouldn’t get attached. She can’t stay,” Siren says, breaking a long stretch of silence.
“Says who? We’ve got plenty of room,” Joker fires back immediately.
“Joker…” Cross’s sighed word is more distant from the front of the van but I can still detect the gentle exasperation.
“I thought you were with me on this. We can’t let her go back into that government sanctioned torture house slash sex slave market,” Joker snaps, holding me tighter.
“Easy, Jokes,” Phantom soothes.
“Of course, I don’t want to send her back.
But we have to be realistic here. With that APB, she’s not going to be able to leave base, which will make her just as much of a prisoner with us as she was with them.
And we have our work that still needs to get done, which either leaves her at homebase, or forces us to bring her with us,” Cross says calmly.
I have to fight to keep my face blank despite my confusion. Their work? What sort of group have I found myself involved with? I saw what Joker did at the facility, and how the rest of them were dressed, but I’m still missing a few dots in order to form a full picture.
“It’ll go away after a while, and we’ve already basically made it out of the area free and clear. We just have to wait for a while, and it’ll go away. Then she’ll just be a regular missing person,” Joker says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I hear you, but I just want us to look at this from all angles,” Cross says with a heavy sigh.
“I’ve already looked. And the only angle I see is the one where she stays,” Joker says, shifting me easily to hug me closer.
“What has gotten into you?” Siren snaps. “She’s just an omega, and we’ve already got you.”
My heart sinks at their dismissive tone, and aches even more when Bones growls in agreement from the front of the van.
“I don’t know, Rin. All I know is what my instincts are telling me.
And they’ve been screaming bloody murder from the moment I met her.
Protect her. Keep her close. Bring her home.
So bitch all you want, but my instincts have never been wrong before, and I’m not about to ignore them now,” Joker snaps, more heat in his voice than I’ve ever heard before.
The van goes silent as everyone takes in the seriousness of his words.
Omegas are rare, about as rare as people with naturally red hair, and are the most sensitive designation when it comes to interpersonal relationships.
Alphas are dominant, aggressive, assertive, and betas are the mellow balance between the two extremes.
Functioning packs, especially ones bigger than three people, will have a mix of them, usually with only one omega at the center of a group of alphas and betas.
But according to the people who study these sorts of things, omegas will be able to sense imbalances within their pack and their instincts will start to look for a solution.
That can be another alpha, or a beta, but occasionally, it means adding another omega.
If Joker’s instinct are reacting this strongly to my presence, that’s not something to be ignored.
Not if this pack wants to maintain proper balance.
The silence stretches on, growing increasingly suffocating with each minute.
Not even Bones dares to contradict his omega’s words, which ignites the tiniest ember of hope in my belly.
“Okay. If that’s how you feel, then we’ll just have to figure it out,” Phantom says at last.
Bones lets out a low growl, but doesn’t speak to contradict the other alpha. The tension releases and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Joker purrs and chuckles, leaning down until his nose brushes the shell of my ear.
“You’re bloody awful at fake sleeping, luv,” he breathes.
I keep my eyes closed even as they roll, which only makes him chuckle again.
“I told you I’ve got you, and I meant it,” he says as the alphas start talking among themselves.
I hum softly, smiling slightly. While I’m still very unsure of how things are going to go, knowing that I’ve got at least one person in my corner is comforting enough to allow me to relax for the rest of the drive.