Chapter 33
Sully
I'd rather be at home teaching my omega a lesson. I'd rather be at home listening to my brothers fuck her and teach her a lesson while I sit alone in my room and fuck my fist for the fifth week in a row.
Instead, I'm stuck listening to someone babble on about their portfolio. These events usually consist of someone trying to pitch Constantine Industries to invest in their company or to pimp out their daughters. All night, every approach has been financial or work-related before they inevitably transition to my omega. Is it true? You've officially bonded?
I don't smell bonded, so I understand their skepticism, but I don't fucking appreciate their tones. They all wonder if the Rag is right, if Enzo went rogue and bonded Ophelia against our will. I'm getting tired of this farce. It's time to go home and claim my omega.
At the thought of her, I look over, but she's not there. Mid-sentence, I walk away from some local alphas pitching me their dating app to invest in and join my brothers.
"Where is she?"
"Bathroom. Enzo's there too, they'll probably meet in the hallway."
I grit my teeth, "I thought we agreed she wasn't to be left alone tonight?"
Theo and Asher both groan. "Man, you try telling her that. She gets all upset and uses that omega whimper and pout on me. Paired with Ophelia's logic, she has a point."
Asher adds, "I watched her walk to the hallway. The bathroom's right there. She should be back any sec—"
He pauses mid-sentence. Alpha pack bonds aren't as strong as those with their omega, but they are strong enough to feel his distress.
"What is it—"
I don't even finish the sentence before he turns and bolts toward the bathrooms. Asher's urgency is making my stomach twist, but I don't hesitate plowing through groups of people to follow just as quickly. When Asher reaches the bathroom, he slams his palms on the door, barging in.
"Ophelia! Ophelia!" He roars.
"What the fuck is happening?" I demand. Theo's banging on door stalls. Omegas start shrieking and screaming.
"Asher! She's not in here. I need you to calm the fuck down and tell me what is happening." A flashback to the first few weeks of Ophelia falling off the bridge, Asher's descent into chaos comes to the front of my mind.
His hands run through his hair like a madman. "Her bond. Something's wrong. She was annoyed, but she's always annoyed."
He darts out of the bathroom, hurrying down the long, dark corridor. "Then she got scared really fast, then the bond just…" he searches frantically, but there's nothing back here but empty push carts and a few tables stocked with supplies.
A tumultuous growl reverberates around us as Enzo barrels past. We follow him out a back door. There's nothing back here.
"Where is she!" Enzo shouts. He's near-feral; his dark eyes are nearly black beneath his glasses.
"Everyone just calm the fuck down," I growl. "She was inside, going to the bathroom. She got scared, and now her bond, what? Enzo? Someone tell me what the fuck is going on!"
I glance between my two bonded brothers. This is the point of the bond. To sense each other, to feel and prepare and care for our mates.
They both look on helplessly. "It's sluggish. Like she's sleeping, but that doesn't make sense."
"Like she was drugged." Enzo spits, storming inside. Theo darts around the building to search on foot. I tell Asher to go with him so we have at least one bonded to scent her while I follow Enzo.
I wanted our mating to be perfect. I tried to control every aspect, wanting her on her knees and begging for it, but I should have bonded her sooner. Hell, I should have done it before we left the house, with her blood seeping out of my bite mark on her neck and my come dripping down her legs. Maybe then this wouldn't have happened. I've always put her safety first. What the fuck is wrong with me? I've never felt such shame as I do at this moment.
She can't have been drugged, that just doesn't make any sense.
I catch up to Enzo, "Maybe we're overreacting. Maybe she's just…" It would be logical we were overreacting. She's a mercurial woman; she could just be hanging out back with her friends. So, we'll look around and find her and I'll spank her ass raw for scaring us when we do.
Enzo stops abruptly, changing course, and heads for the Bradfords. They're surrounded by two different packs, and Imogen, looking wholly uncomfortable between them.
"You." Enzo points to her, teeth snarling.
"M—me?" She shakes.
"Enzo, I don't think Imogen had anything to do with this."
"She's your friend. Did she tell you something? Where she was going?"
Imogen's shoulders stiffen, and she stands a little taller. "I don't know what you're talking about," she asserts.
"Ophelia. We think she's missing. Something might have happened. Did she tell you anything?"
"Oh my goodness!" Her hand comes to her mouth as she gasps. "Missing?"
The Bradfords rapid-fire questions, but Enzo throws his hands. "You're all fucking useless."
With that, he turns on his heel. I tell them, "Please call us immediately if you happen to see her."
Enzo's head whips back and forth, then zeros in on Fletcher. Perfect. She's across the room with a stiff upper lip, a severe gray bun, and an outfit that screams classroom, not gala. She sees us coming and at first looks annoyed, like we're going to try and talk policy again, but when she takes in our determined expressions, her brows furrow in concern.
Before Enzo can start screaming and scaring people, I cut in, "Fletcher, we believe something may have happened to Ophelia. We can't find her, and her bond is muted. Something's wrong."
"Oh no!" A bright peach scent hits me.
“Bianca,” Enzo snarls, just as Theo and Asher rejoin us from their search. I look at them hopefully, but their solemn yet frantic head shakes tell me the obvious. No Ophelia.
"My name is Bridgette!" The girl screeches, stomping her foot.
Ignoring her, I tell Asher and Theo to do another sweep, to split up and search the party and all the back rooms. Maybe she went to visit her catering friends. I'm grasping at straws. Too much time has passed; she wouldn't have just disappeared like this.
"Your poor mate, Theo. What terrible news. I can help you search, if you'd like." Bridgette cuts in.
Theo doesn't even acknowledge the girl as he and Asher take off into the crowd.
Trying to stay calm, to be the leader, I turn to Fletcher, when she clarifies, "Why do you think something happened to Ophelia?"
"We can't find her. The bond is muted and the more time that passes the more I'm certain something is wrong." Even as I say the words, I can feel my rage building, my anger that Fletcher's not moving fast enough. "Where's the security room? We need to check the cameras. Now!"
Fletcher, her head of security, and three other perimeter officers crowd in a small room, Asher and Theo joining us a few minutes later. Thank god we're at an omega facility in High Hills; otherwise, we might not have access to this kind of surveillance.
In some cross between his typical taciturn and boiling rage, Enzo directs the security feed. The guard rewinds it based on Enzo's hunches, threads, and feelings he picked up from their bond.
"Where were you anyway?" Theo accuses Enzo while the guard filters back through the recordings.
"I was working. I thought she was safe with three of my brothers. Apparently, I was wrong," he grinds out.
"We need to work together. Anything yet?" I interrupt before they can spiral.
The guard nods. On the feed, we watch a nondescript SUV pull up outside one of the back entrances. It idles, he fast-forwards a few minutes, then my heart pounds in fury.
There are three of the four Olcenes—presumably the fourth is driving—with Ophelia draped like a rag doll over Jackson's shoulder.
My entire body turns to stone. Shuts down.
I allowed myself to be foolish, convinced she was fine or being petulant while we ran through the gala, arguing amongst ourselves in search of her. That time is over.
Color drains from Fletcher's face. I've no time for her apologies. "I don't understand how they—"
"Find out how the Olcenes got in. According to Fletcher, they were banned, but obviously, there's a crack in your system." Turning from the head of security, I look to my brothers.
The same transformation of worry and fear, horror over what could happen to her, then stark determination to do what we must to get her back passes their expressions. No more arguing, we need to work together.
I direct, "Asher, you and Theo head to the Olcene home. Perhaps we're lucky, and they were dumb enough to bring her there. Enzo, Fletcher, you're with me."
"Me?"
Asher and Theo take off with expediency. "Yes. You. Your lack of respect for the situation ten years ago is what let them get this far. They should have been punished. I don't care that they were only three years apart in age, Alma was SIXTEEN!" I scream in her face, losing control for a moment. Straightening my jacket, I take a breath.
"They've seen Alma all grown up in my Ophelia. If anything happens to her, Fletcher, I will burn this building to the ground. Now, where would they take her?"
"We should check the pool house. That's where they brought Alma."
"Directions."
"It's, it's, on the east side of the property. Here, Officer Howl, would you mind?"
The Head of Security nods and takes off, Enzo on his heels. I stop him. "I'll go. If she's not there, I'll be right back. Use their computer, figure out where else they could have taken her, what other properties they might own."
He wants to argue but nods and sits back down. Never have I been happier with my brother's dalliances in light hacking.
It takes us ten minutes to confirm she's not in the pool house. It looks abandoned, with dust along every inch of the shelving. There's no bed, no bedroom, just a few couches and chairs that look like they're used by the occasional rebel omega who sneaks out of the main mansion to smoke or fool around. I allow a moment of disgust that the Olcenes thought taking their omega here for the first time was good enough.
When I get back to the security room, Enzo is in the zone. All his energy and focus are directed inward. He doesn't notice or acknowledge anyone around him, so I check in with Theo and Asher, who are just arriving at the Olcene estate.
Ten minutes turn to twenty, turn to thirty. They've now had her for over an hour. Fear grips me. The very thing that held Ophelia away from us for so long, the worry that we were just another hyper-aggressive alpha pack, feral and unhinged, has come to fruition in an even bigger nightmare, by the same pack that instilled that fear in the first place.
Another hour passes. The police come and go. The betas work diligently beside us, making calls and interviewing guests. The gala—I'd forgotten all about it—ends in a whirlwind, with guests clamoring to find out what's happened. Fletcher and another guard make announcements.
I can't think of what might be happening or what they could be doing to her. I don't want to interrupt Enzo to ask how his bond feels. As soon as we get her back, I'm bonding her to me.
It'll be okay, I keep telling myself. It'll be fine.
"I've got something." The words take a second to register.
"What? What is it? You found her?"
"I found a second property in their name. They hid it from their financials under a pseudonym."
Enzo looks vulnerable as he looks up at me. Scared. The visual sends chills down my spine, it's so out of place. Gone is my disinterested brother, in his place this flesh-and-blood man who's lost his mate.
Temporarily. "Let's go."
On my way out the door, Fletcher says she'll share the location with the police, who are still out amongst the crowd gathering information. I don't bother responding. Asher and Theo returned over an hour ago, so we all pile into the SUV.
The property is north of High Hills, even deeper into the mountains. The thought that they have such a hidden place is disturbing and promising. Half an hour later, the SUV bounces down a narrow dirt road, the only light from our car in the otherwise darkened forest.
When we're a few yards out from the final location ping, Enzo hits the headlights, immersing us in darkness and silence. I send out a couple of backup texts.
He turns off the car, leaving it on the quiet road, and we sneak out into the night. Until we come upon a cabin in the woods lit up with chaos.