43. Bones
Chapter forty-three
I watch Joker and Cross from the couch as they work to create the list for our next supply run, and I smile behind my mask as they brainstorm things to get Delilah.
I still feel like an ass for how we treated her, but I’ve got my own mental list of things I’m going to pick up that should at least start to make up for my behavior.
Cross looks up as his phone pings, frowning at the notification before straightening. His scent shifts slightly, smoke edging forward, and there’s a pulse of worry across our bond.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, getting to my feet.
“Delilah just unlocked the med bay,” he mutters, already walking toward the back door.
Joker and I follow as Cross pulls open the back door, and right away, my instincts snap into focus as I hear banging from the open doors of the barn.
I take off at a jog, leaving the others to catch up, my long strides getting me to the barn in no time.
Siren’s panicked voice hits me first, right before the overwhelming scent of black jasmine and chocolate, sticky sweet and floral on my tongue.
“What’s going on?” I ask, rounding the van to where I hear Siren pounding on the med bay door.
“I don’t know! I managed to get access to the chip, and then she just freaked out. She went in here and won’t open the door,” Siren replies, uncharacteristically manic.
Cross shoulders past me toward the door, trying the electronic lock, but letting out a growl when the handle doesn’t budge.
“She’s engaged the manual lock. I have the key somewhere, but—”
I let out a snarl, protective instincts flaring hot in my chest. I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but Delilah’s distress is potent enough for me to smell it from outside the door, and it’s only getting worse. I push forward, raising a fist to pound harder on the door.
“Omega, open the door,” I bark loudly.
Several moments pass, but I can’t hear any movement, any signs of life from within the room. Just the scent of her true essence coated in fear in my nose driving me crazy. I bang on the door again, hard enough to rattle it in its frame, but still nothing.
“We can try to pick the lock. There has to be a way in,” Siren says, not sounding convinced of their own plan.
“It’s designed to be secure, to keep the drugs in there from getting stolen when we’re not here,” Cross counters.
“Drugs? Do you think…”
Everyone turns and looks at Joker as he trails off speaking. There’s no color in his face, and he’s lost his normally rock solid control over our bond, allowing his fear and despair to trickle down toward me and Cross.
“No, she can’t. Even with the door lock, there’s still a lock on the cabinet. And that needs a special key and a code only I know,” Cross counters quickly, not that it soothes our omega.
Turning back to the door, I take a step back, done with waiting.
My boot connects with the door right above the lock, the impact radiating up my leg for a moment, but it doesn’t matter.
Not when I see the cracking in the frame.
Another kick, and then one more, and then with a fourth and final kick, the door gives way, swinging into the darkness med bay and crashing into the wall behind it.
“Delilah!” Joker calls out, rushing in first, looking around wildly.
Cross flicks on the lights, and my brow pulls down over my eyes.
Nothing looks disturbed or out of place, and there aren’t any windows in here that she could have escaped through.
I can still smell her, but there’s so much of her scent in the small space that I can’t really tell where it’s coming from.
“Honey, you’re okay. It’s just us. Come out for me,” Cross says, tone gentle.
I turn in place as the others fan out, searching the room. But then my eyes lock on a cabinet, and the door that’s slightly ajar.
“Turn off the lights,” I mutter to Phantom, the one closest to them.
Without question, my second in command obeys, and I approach the cabinet slowly, signaling to the others to keep back even as I crouch down low. As I get closer, I can hear the quietest breaths, erratic and muffled, but still there.
“Omega, I know you’re in there,” I start, trying for gentle but flinching at the half-growl painting them despite my best efforts.
A tiny squeak from behind the doors is the only response I get, and I let out a sigh.
This close, the smell of her fear nearly chokes me, but I’ve endured much worse for less important reasons.
I try to center myself, to push aside my own distress and find the purely alpha part of me that’s been clawing up my throat.
A low rumble spills from my chest, my alpha purr stuttering at first from disuse, but the longer I go, the steadier it gets.
“Come out for me, please. Can you do that for me?” I try again, hands twitching at my sides.
The world seems to hold its breath for a heartbeat before the cabinet door slowly swings open.
If the circumstances were different, I’d almost be impressed with how small Delilah managed to make herself to fit into the bottom of the cabinet.
I pull the door open a little wider, heart in my throat as I reach a hand down and rest it gently on her back.
Delilah yelps like I hit her at the first brush of my fingers, somehow shrinking even smaller and shivering like a leaf in a storm.
I swallow my growl, focusing even harder on purring as I manage to get enough of a grip on her to pull her out of the cabinet and gather her in my arms as I shift to sit cross-legged on the floor.
“Baby girl, what happened?” Phantom asks, hiking his jeans up his thighs before crouching down beside me.
Delilah doesn’t answer, at least not with words. She lets out an almost animalistic whine, a noise that sends a chill down my spine and makes my arms tighten around her before I even make the conscious choice to move.
“She’s…I don’t think she’s really with us right now,” Cross says tentatively.
“What do you mean?” Siren asks alarmed.
Cross sighs and pauses, but I don’t look up, focused entirely on the omega in my arms. Her little whimpers are calling to my instincts in a way I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before.
I’m more alert somehow, my senses waking up enough for me to hear the wind in the trees outside, Joker’s slightly labored breathing, the subtle shift in Phantom’s scent as he settles beside me, purring like crazy.
“It’s almost like…dissociation, I guess. I’ve only read about this, and that was years ago. I don’t—”
“The point, Silas. Find it,” I snap, teeth rattling with my purr.
“Right, sorry,” Cross replies, clearing his throat. “From what I remember, omegas in distress can sometimes dissociate so badly that they lose themselves in their instincts.”
“Like when we go into heat and it’s all just base needs,” Joker adds.
“Exactly like that, yes. But in this case, it’s not hormones making her like this. It’s fear. That’s why…”
“That’s why her scent is so strong,” Siren picks up when Cross trails off. “She’s trying to signal for help, or soothe whatever’s attacking her.”
I lean down to nuzzle Delilah, but then pause, exhaling sharply as I realize my mask is still on. “Teddy, help,” I call softly, glancing up for only a moment to lock eyes with Joker.
He nods and moves forward, helping me out of my mask before kneeling on my other side. I take a deep breath, fully inhaling Delilah’s scent before leaning down to brush my cheek against her hair.
“You’re safe, little one. We’ve got you,” I whisper, not even caring if anyone else can hear.
“Out,” Delilah rasps.
I blink, not sure how to respond. But then she reaches up and starts scratching at the skin on the back of her neck, right where that fucking tracker is.
“Baby doll, what are you—”
“Out,” Delilah whimpers, louder this time, scratching even harder.
“We can get the tracker out, beautiful. Just—”
“OUT!”
Delilah’s screech makes my ears ring, and stuns me for a moment, giving her time to scramble out of my lap and across the floor. She darts into a corner, hiding her face as she continues to claw and rip at the back of her neck.
Cross takes a few steps toward her crouched form, hands up where she can see them. “Honey, you’re hurting yourself. Stop—”
“Out! Out, out, out,” Delilah snaps, dissolving into sobs, not stopping.
Joker is the first to move, going up behind her and taking both of her wrists in his hands, hauling Delilah to her feet when she screams and thrashes. Using his hold on her, he wraps both of their arms around her stomach as Cross turns the lights back on.
“Lilah, you have to come back to us, to me, okay? We can’t help you if you’re going to fight,” he begs.
Phantom and I get to our feet, but Cross motions for us to stop. Delilah sobs, tears running down her face, but even with the weight she’s put on, she’s nowhere near as strong as Joker.
“Should we sedate her?” Siren asks softly, coming up behind me.
“No, not yet,” Cross answers, speaking before I can.
I look at him, taking in his expression.
He’s watching carefully, hardly blinking as he takes in every detail.
I don’t know what he’s seeing but I trust him enough to let him take the lead for now.
When I look back at Joker and Delilah, my shoulders drop a little in relief.
Delilah is still crying, but she’s not fighting as Joker holds her, more of an embrace now than restraining.
He’s whispering something in her ear, so low I can’t hear, but whatever it is seems to be calming Delilah down at last.
“Honey, can you talk to us?” Cross tries, words a low, comforting murmur.
“I just…please. Get it out,” she says, voice raw.
“Do it,” I snap, turning to face Cross.
“I will, but we need to consider—”
“It’s safe. There’s no explosive. It’s just a vet chip,” Siren says, speaking over Cross.
The medic lets out a long sigh and looks away, his eyes darting around the room as he straightens, cataloging. I turn my attention back to Delilah and Joker, breathing out a sigh of relief to see she’s turned to press her face against Joker’s chest, and he’s rubbing slow circles on her back.
“Okay. I just need…give me a few minutes to get prepared. Can you get Delilah on the bed?” Cross says, speaking first to himself and then to Joker.
“Can she stay in my lap? She doesn’t want to let go,” Joker says with an ironic chuckle.
“I can make that work,” Cross replies, moving off to start digging in the cabinets for supplies.
I give my omega a grateful nod as he gathers Delilah in his arms, carrying her over to the bed.
Phantom adjusts the back so Joker can lean against it, Delilah positioned over his lap with her head tilted down.
Without thinking, I step up and gather her hair away from her neck, accepting a hair tie from Phantom and wrapping it around the strands to keep it out of the way as Cross sets up for the extraction.