32. Theo
Theo
K ennedy’s claws latch around my throat, tearing at my skin as we both topple backward. She follows me as my back hits the ground, winding me.
I choke out her name. “Kenny.”
Not dead. Not dead.
But something else. My mate leans in close, our noses brushing together, and snarls again in a clear warning as my hand lifts in cautious movement.
“Steady,” I breathe. “It’s okay, Ken.”
But her eyes – bright and vivid and almost glowing – they don’t know me at all. Hot liquid drips down my throat, followed by a line of burning pain that I barely feel as she rips further into my skin.
“She’s going to kill him!”
A hand lands on her shoulder, and she swipes at it before it falls away. Even her nails have sharpened. When I shift, her head swivels back to me, eyeing me with a predatory focus.
Slowly, I angle my head. Offer her my neck. “You want it, Ken? Take it.”
Kennedy pauses. For a barest half-second, her head tilting as if in confusion.
But then she’s gone, her weight ripped away. Rolling to my feet, I throw out my hands. “Don’t fucking hurt her!”
Oscar has one knee braced in the small of her back. Jake and Max have an arm each, struggling to even pin her as she bucks and growls beneath them.
Jesus fucking Christ. Three grown alphas are struggling to hold one small omega in place.
“Your belt,” Oscar roars. Kennedy twists, snapping her teeth close to Jake’s arm until he yanks it back just in time. “Now!”
I unbuckle hastily, pulling the tan belt from around my waist free. Max carefully grips the back of her hair, holding her as gently as possible as the three of us work to wrap the leather around her arms, pinning them behind her back.
“That won’t be enough,” Oscar says shortly. “Legs. And… and mouth.”
He glances at my neck, his lips thinning. “Let’s pray that her nails aren’t contagious.”
“How the fuck do we fix this?” My breathing is staggered as I secure Jake’s belt around her legs. Oscar releases her with a rush of air, leaning back. But she still struggles, still snarls.
She doesn’t stop. Doesn’t let up.
“ Enough .” He barks finally. There’s pain in his face as he looks at her. “ Stop , Kenny.”
But she doesn’t respond to his bark at all, and that small hope inside my chest shrivels. We don’t even have that to help, to try and settle her while we work out what the fuck happens now.
Max saws at his own belt with a knife from the bag on his shoulder, his face tight as he turns to show us the smaller length. “So we can carry her.”
For her mouth.
All of us stare at it. Finally, I shake my head. “Not… I can’t do that.”
I can’t gag her.
“We have to get her down,” Max insists. “We carry her, we’re getting bitten.”
He’s shifted. From panic, and agony, into something more focused.
As if he can possibly fix this.
“There’s no cure, Max,” I say quietly. “You know that. Not for this.”
“I’ll find one,” Oscar says tightly. When we all glance at him, even Max, with varying shades of disbelief, he gets to his feet, glancing down at the bucking omega tied on the floor. “I will. I just need time.”
“Fine,” Jake breathes. He’s put more distance between them, his eyes flicking between us and Kennedy’s face. “Give it to me. I’ll do it.”
Max grips her hair again to help him, holding her steady. Kennedy spits, hissing like a fucking mountain wildcat as Jake slips the leather around her face. His eyes darken as he buckles it into place, her growls growing muffled. “There.”
“We can carry her now.” Max reaches for her without hesitation, hoisting her up. “Although she’s probably not going to like it.”
Understatement.
Kenny rears back, as if she’s going to throw her head forward into Max’s face. A soft growl ripples from his own throat. But he starts walking, ignoring her struggling as he shoulders past. “Someone grab my bag.”
Jake, Oscar and I stand there for a moment. Shell-shocked, maybe.
Oscar scrubs his hands down his face, beneath his glasses. “She’s alive. That’s the most important thing right now.”
“She would hate this,” I breathe. “Being like this. Do you think she’s in there?”
But Jake shakes his head. His shoulders tighten. “Apparently not. Once they’re gone—,”
“Enough,” Oscar says tightly. “We need to stay close to Max. This won’t help her.”
And then he’s gone, following them.
Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Slowly, we fall into step behind them. And with every step we take back down the mountain, I pray with everything I have that Jake is wrong.
When we catch up, Oscar places his finger against his mouth. “She’s asleep.”
Passed out. But she looks so normal, her face turned against Max’s chest. My lips press together. “What now?”
He inhales. “We’ll secure the nest for her. She’ll have to – to stay there, while we work on this.”
“It’s illegal to not report a feral omega.” I come to a stop in the middle of the trail. They all stop too. Even Max.
“Could you do it?” Jake asks quietly. “Call a Center? Have them bag her and tag her like an animal?”
“That’s not what I meant. They already know.” I shake my head. “It was in the paperwork, remember? They know what’s happening to her.”
That they even let her out of the hospital is a miracle. “They’re going to look for her when she doesn’t check in.”
Oscar looks grim. “Then we need a better plan.”
Except… it doesn’t matter.
None of it matters. Because as Kennedy’s trailer comes into sight through the trees, it’s clear that someone beat us to it. A large trailer with blacked out windows is parked up, several people in thick boiler-style suits talking to each other.
A woman walks over to us, her eyes assessing. “This would be Kennedy Traylor, I presume? My name is Joanne Owens. I’m her keyworker.”
Max steps back, cradling Kenny against his chest. “What exactly are you doing here?”
Joanne tilts her head. “Well…Kennedy called us. She asked for a pick-up. Transport to Springfields Residential Center. This is the time we agreed on.”
Her lips firm as she takes in Kennedy. “Did she hurt anyone when she turned?”
“No,” I say harshly.
Her eyes lower to my bloodied neck, wariness settling into her expression. “May I ask who you are?”
“We’re her mates.” Oscar slips in front of Max and Kennedy and holds out his hand. “Oscar Rivers, from the Rivers pack. We’d like to discuss alternative arrangements for Kennedy’s care.”
She barely shakes it. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Kennedy consented to being taken into our custody – and her agreement is what we need to work with.”
Some sort of silent discussion is taking place behind her. Several of the white-suited people move forward.
Max takes another step back. Jake, Oscar and I close ranks.
Oscar leans forward. “You’re not taking her into that place.”
Joanne’s lips press together. “Springfields is an excellent facility. One of the best in the country, perhaps. I don’t know what you’ve heard, Mr. Rivers, but the days are long gone where we chain omegas to the wall for something they can’t control. Believe it or not, we’re here to help.”
She takes a step back, giving us space. “Having mates is… unusual, for one of our omegas. But you’re welcome to visit. We have times every day. The Center is very open to working with families on care arrangements.”
Her voice lowers. “I promise you, that you will find any alternative difficult to live with.”
We’d have to keep her isolated. Locked up. We’d have to tie her down for meals, restrict her movement. Every hour would feel like a punishment, every moment a fight where we’d have to pin our mate down over and over again. Until her heart gave out, and we would sit there and watch her die.
Again.
“No,” Max says again, “Oscar – tell her .”
But I know what he’s going to say.
He clears his throat. “How exactly does it work?”
“Kennedy will have her own apartment. It has an outside space, but it’s completely secure. Trained medical staff will be on hand at all times. We have hospital-grade equipment, and our teams are very used to managing omegas without hurting them.”
She hesitates. “And this is not a long-term arrangement. Things tend to happen rather quickly. But she’ll be safe, and comfortable. As much as we can make her.”
“And if… if she gets better?” Jake’s voice wavers.
Even the cold beta looks stricken as she looks between us. “You know… that’s not possible. If you didn’t, I’m sorry. But Kennedy won’t be able to heal from this.”
“Then let us go with her.” I find my voice, pitch the offer. “Let us stay with her. All of us, or just… just one of us. I’ll go. I’m happy to sign anything needed. A waiver.”
“I’m so sorry.” And she genuinely looks it. She frowns, eyeing my neck again. “That wouldn’t be safe for you. But it would also be highly distressing for Kennedy, in her current state. But you can absolutely see her, even spend limited time with her. Every day, if that’s what you want to do.”
“Behind a safety wall,” Max says icily. “Call a cage a cage.”
It’s no life.
“It’s not right.” Max is shaking his head. And his eyes are bright as he backs away. “She can’t go there – it’s not fucking fair!”
No, it’s not.
“Max,” Oscar says quietly. He closes his eyes, squeezes them. And when they open, they’re resolute. “Give Kenny to me.”
My throat closes up. Max’s head shakes. “No.”
“Max.” Oscar’s voice grows stronger. Deeper. “She’s going to wake up soon. We need to let her go. And we’ll see her as soon as we can, alright? We’re going to help her. But they’re right. We can’t care for her the way she needs right now. This… this isn’t about us .”
I can’t look at Max’s broken expression. Jake steps up beside me. “We want to assess where she’s going.”
Joanne nods at his words. “As soon as she’s settled. You can come and look around, ask any questions you need to. We’re not here to keep her from you.”
“Every day.” My heart hurts. “We get to come every day?”
She offers me a small smile. “Every single day, including weekends and holidays.”
“If we had the right set-up,” I say hoarsely. “Can she come home?”
Her mouth twists. “That’s… not a decision I can make alone. It would be for her medical team. But you can think of me as a… go-between, I suppose. A point of contact. I gave Kennedy my card before, but here’s another copy.”
I take the card she hands out.
And we stand there and watch. Max sinks to his haunches, his hands wrapping around the back of his neck and his head bowed as Oscar carries Kenny over to the back of the van. He snaps something at the men in suits when they try to help, before he sets her down and unbuckles her. His hands so careful on her broken body.
He steps back.
I barely hear Joanne’s murmur before she leaves, getting into another vehicle.
The doors close, and they slowly pull away.
Taking our mate with them.
And all they leave behind are jagged, broken pieces of who we used to be.