Chapter 42
ESPER
It was a girls' day. Since being bonded I haven't had the chance to hang out with my new friends. My new real friends. We huddle in their apartment, far from the construction going on down the hall at my—well, our new Pack apartment.
We thought about moving to the neighborhood, but we all liked being so close to the center of the MC. The Bar gets loud at night, but it doesn’t bother me. I like feeling a part of the vibrant Midnight Wolves life.
Jewels’ apartment is just as sweet and cozy as it was before. The light pastels and warm lighting just make me want to melt into the cotton candy vibes. The lights are dim and her phone is hooked up to a projector propped up behind the couch.
“We are starting our first ever Presentation Night, ladies. I will start with my presentation on why hotdogs are better than hamburgers.”
“Why is this thirty slides long?” Lacy asks and I chuckle. Only imagining what could be on these slides.
Jewels cocks her head like a curious puppy. “How long are yours?”
“My presentation on hot guys of the early 2000s is half of that, Jewels!”
“Same,” I mumble as we all break out laughing before presentation night even starts. My “Why Vampires Are Cooler than Werewolves” presentation (sorry, Wolves) sits at a whopping fourteen slides.
“It’s not my fault there weren’t that many hot guys...” Jewels’ mumbles.
The Midnight Wolves were going on their monthly club-wide ride.
Though this time is different. They’d only be taking a two-hour ride, instead of the normal four hours, followed by dinner at Coal’s.
They left three men to protect the fort—that is, us and the Bar.
One of the men being Jewels’ mate, One Eye, who is standing outside the apartment door with a gun.
I’m not new to guns. I’ve learned to shoot, seeing that I have an ex-MC dad and two firefighter dads who've seen more than they wish they did.
But it doesn’t feel good that the guys feel they need to carry them.
“So hot dogs are better for many reasons, the first being that they are cheaper than hamburgers.”
“Just like dick is cheaper than pussy.” Lacy barely manages to get the words out before busting out laughing.
“Wow, Lacy, have some decorum."
“What? It’s true! Pussy is like gold.”
“How would Cobra feel about that revelation?”
“I didn’t say dick wasn’t good.” She pauses, thinking. “Well, actually, only his dick is good.”
“Maybe a woman is meant to join your Pack,” Jewels says, waggling her eyebrows, which makes Lacy blush and suddenly I’m sitting up straighter and leaning in.
“Are you two keeping something from me?” I ask and Lacy avoids eye contact as Jewels nods vehemently.
“Who?” I ask, pulling the fluffy pink blanket from my lap and moving closer to the beta.
“She’s a new scent match. An omega actually! But… we’re taking it slow, you know how shy Cobra is—”
A sharp crack cuts through our conversation like a knife. We can’t even hear each other breathing. My eyes widen as a commotion grows outside the door. We jump up, untangling ourselves from the insane amount of blankets piled on the living couch.
“What do we do?” I whisper and Lacy freezes. Her sandy brown skin pales as she races toward the door.
“One—”
“Shhh.” One Eye slips into the room, silently closing the door.
His deep brown skin is covered in a sheen of sweat, and his curly hair is thrown in a low ponytail.
He grabs his omega and wraps her in his arms. “You three have to climb out the window, onto the fire escape and run. Go to Coal’s, make sure it’s safe, then call DJ. He’ll lead the crew back here. Quick!”
“What about you?” Jewels asks, gripping the sides of his face.
“I’ll be fine, sunshine. Go.” He pushes her out of his arms and steps back out the door. Lacy wastes no time, grabbing both of us by our forearms and dragging us to the window.
A gunshot rings and Jewels cries out, snatching her arm from Lacy’s and racing toward the door. Another shot, and One Eye yells out to run, probably knowing his omega is struggling.
I wonder if Soren or Reed feel my panic. Maybe they are racing here, and I can't determine if I’m relieved at the thought or not.
We have no idea what’s actually going on. How many enemies are here? How many are armed?
No, it’s better they’re not here. I’ll be okay, and so will they.
Harsh cold breeze stings my eyes as I slide open the window, looking down at the two-story climb to the ground. We could probably even jump one of them if we have time.
Terrified tears stream down my face, but I have to escape. We all do. Before I can get a foot out the window, the door to the apartment is kicked open. Jewels screams as she dashes for the intruder, not before grabbing a lamp from the side table and throwing it.
The guy, dressed in all black with a black ski mask, dodges the flying lamp, but Jewels is an omega on a mission.
“Esper, go!” Lacy shouts, but I shake my head.
If they’re fighting, I’m fighting.
I grab another lamp, throwing it at the guy as he storms in the room towards Jewels. Jewels yells as she drives a knife (where the hell did that come from?) into the guy's ribs. The man falls and the three of us run into the hallway. One Eye is nowhere to be found, but it can’t be good.
He wouldn't leave his omega to fend for herself.
“James!” Jewel yells, but we don’t have time to look for him. Another guy in a black ski mask turns the hall.
I grab Jewels’ arm as Lacy takes off in front of us. We’re not fast enough though. Jewels sobs behind me and my tears have turned into streams down my face as we run. Barefoot and in our frilly pajamas.
Jewels is yanked away from me. I turn to try to grab her again but another set of arms are wrapped around me.
“All these omegas they’ve been keeping from us, huh, boys.” The man holding me hollers right next to my ear. I scream as the guy holding Jewels pulls out a gun.
Lacy doesn’t see. She jumps the guy closest to her, the one holding me, and lands a blow to the side of his head. We slam into the wall and I cry out as the weight of three grown bodies smashes my arm against the wall. I swing both my arms, clawing at the rubber protective gear the fuckers have on.
“I’ll shoot her.” The words make us freeze. My eyes trail to Jewels, not wanting to see the gun I now know is pointed at her head. “Lucky for you too, we only came for one omega today.”
A ringing hurts my ears. Lacy and Jewels are in danger, One Eye may be hurt—or worse—and it’s my fault.
My head goes spacey. I think it’s called shock.
“Okay. Okay,” I say, nodding. Jewels and Lacy both shout. But the guy holding me lets me go and grabs Lacy, swinging her like a ragdoll as they shove both of my friends into a random open room and prop a chair under the door handle.
They’ll be safe. It’s a surprisingly comforting thought.
I swallow my nerves, trying and failing to stop my tears as I hear their yells and see the door shake under their pounding.
“Let’s go.” They both grab my arms, dragging me across the hall and to the stairs. They thankfully lift me up higher so my feet aren't scrambling on the metal stairs.
“What do you want? I can give you money? Something? Anything? Just leave! I won’t say anything, I swear,” I can't help but plead. Maybe they’ll be amenable to whatever cause they are actually here for.
“You gonna find us another omega? The boss promised us an omega. Hell, maybe he promised us you.”
I gulp as they laugh. The Bar area is a mess. One Eye and two other Midnight Wolves members are sprawled on the floor, and I’m so glad Jewels isn’t here to see her mate like this.
There’s no blood on the ground. They are knocked out.
I think. I hope. My eyes dart to the men in the center of the room.
A man I've never seen sits on the centermost table. He’s got tanned skin, long ratty black hair and what seems a permanent snarl on his face that's attempting to smile.
His power-hungry eyes land on me and he kicks the two men I instantly recognize.
Lightning and Rocker, Soren’s brothers, are standing and walking towards me. I can’t tell who I should be more scared of: the two holding me or them.
“We got it from here, boys. This one's ours,” Lightning says, grabbing my arm and squeezing me right against his chest. His wet cardboard scent instantly assaults my nose. I try to push away from him, but I can barely move in his grip. I whimper. But I keep fighting.
Never stop fighting, kiddo. No matter what.
My dad’s words play on a loop. I try to focus on them instead of what could happen next. I stomp on his shoe as hard as my bare foot possibly can. It's hard enough because he lets me go, bending with a curse.
And there, holstered over his shoulder, is a gun. Not just a gun. But my only chance.
I launch myself toward it, trying to disguise the purpose of my action by kneeing his stomach. My fingers graze the gun as I crawl over Lightning, but Rocker’s hands are on my hips and throwing me on the ground.
My already sore arm takes the hit, and I groan and I roll. The dirty bar floor stains my pretty pink pajamas, and my shoulder aches and my head throbs and my heartbeat won’t slow.
Still, I hold on to that fucking gun.
“Little Omega learned a thing or two, huh?” The man sitting on the table leers, and I weakly stand up. Rocker is laughing at Lightning. They think they've got me.
But I’m a Midnight Wolves omega.
Before that, I was my Daddies’ daughter. They didn’t leave me or Harley defenseless in this world.
“Leave,” I shout followed by a cough as I aim the gun.
“Do you even know how to use that, little girl?” The leader nods towards the gun.
I wrap both my hands on it, my finger on the trigger, and aim. “Wanna find out?”
That makes the five men cackle. They laugh so hard, they bend at the waist. I take a deep breath, seeing One Eye on the floor, my mind drawing back to Jewels and Lacy safely tucked upstairs.
The leader, still smug, watches me. “Why don’t you put that down—”
The loud click of the safety turning off makes the men freeze. Their bodies tense as I tilt my head.
“Omega, put it down,” Rocker barks, but I shake off the command.
I’m not scared. I’m not weak.
My mantra continues even as one of the men who brought me down here raises his gun at me.
“Stop,” I say, swinging the gun towards the third man who tries stepping closer to me.
“If you’re gonna shoot, shoot,” the guy at the table says.
Okay, if you say so.
My entire body jerks as I pull the trigger. I can’t see where the shot goes. No sudden groans or grunts, and I search for where it went as the eerie silence in the bar settles over my skin.
I missed.
Nerves tremble in my belly and shake in my hands as I aim again. My heart is pounding in my ears, and I swear I can feel the blood pumping under my skin.
“Get her! Stop playing this stupid game!”
I shoot again, clipping Rocker on the shoulder this time. He falls, and I aim at the stranger coming closer and shoot again, getting his thigh.
“Stop!” the man on the table yells and everyone does. We freeze.
One of the two I shot mutters curses. Rocker holds his shoulder, but the other guy is on the ground, still as stone.
I hope he fucking dies.
“Unless you can take a headshot, darlin’, I suggest you put that damn gun down.”
The sharp scent of burnt pancakes wafts around me, and I lose my breath.
“She won’t miss again, Axe. Trust in that.” Reed’s footsteps sound behind me, and his arms circle around mine. I nearly sob in relief.
Reed’s body is flush with mine. Axe gets up, his eyes harden as the rest of Midnight Wolves come from the shadows of the bar.
DJ, Jewels’ third mate, rushes to One Eye on the floor. His dark hair pulled up and the deeply tanned skin of his face pulled tight in worry as he flips him over, checking over One Eye. I see him whisper in his ear and another Wolves member takes over as DJ’s worried eyes meet mine.
“Second floor, chair in front of door,” I say and he’s off before I even finish my sentence.
Cobra, Lacy’ mate, is fast after him, and my attention turns back to this Axe.
Reed’s fingers loosen mine around the gun, taking it from my hands.
He doesn’t move away from me though. It’s like he can’t. I turn in his arms. Gripping his shirt, as I inhale as much of his scent as I can. My eyes catch Soren’s, and I nearly sob again.
I shot his brother.
My throat closes up as Soren’s eyes move from mine to the room.
I follow his gaze, turning so I can see the room.
Wolves have taken Axe and his men, including Soren’s brothers, roughly dragging them off.
Reed keeps his gun trained on Axe. Just as they get to the door of the Bar, they stop and look to Ace, who stands behind Reed.
Ace coughs and the attention instantly switches to Reed. I look up at him. His eyes glitter under the red lights and sunset peeking through the windows. His jaw clenches as he stares at the men by the door.
“To the Cage.”
Cage? I scrunch my brows but then shake my head and cuddle into Reed’s chest.
Reed finally puts the gun down. I hear him click on the safety as he hands the gun to Ace and finally, fucking finally, his arms come around me. Lifting me against his chest, and I sob into his shirt.
I can’t stop sobbing. Even as the rest of my Pack surrounds me, their worried scents mixing, and oh my god.
“I love you guys so much,” I whimper. I slide out of Reed’s arms, turning to Soren whose eyes look devastated.
Oh, god, I put that look there. “I’m so sorry—”
“No.” He cups my face and shakes his head.
“I—I shot—”
“I’m the one who is sorry. I should have dealt with this a long-ass time ago. I should have—”
I cut him off by sealing my lips to his. He melts against me like he’ll die without my skin against his. My hands get lost in his hair as I grasp my beta tight.
“It’s okay. We’re okay,” I say in his ear, and my Pack mutters their relief as they huddle in.
Asher kisses the back of my hand, Neven’s hand rests on my lower back, and Reed lays his head against the back of mine.
I needed this. Needed them.
Maybe now… maybe now we’ll be free from the Outlaws. Free from the fear of the what ifs.
There is nothing that doubts my place with them, not even this.