Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Mason
Thank God Lennon stole the keys right out of Conrad’s hand, shoving him into the passenger seat. He was in no state to drive that far.
I climbed into the back of his extended cab truck, not bothering to say a word. We were all seething and out for blood.
“Ferry or driving?” Lennon asked, breaking the silence as we neared the edge of Westgrave.
“Drive. I need to calm down before I murder them instead of just beating their asses,” Conrad said.
His voice was so strangely detached that a shiver ran through me. I wasn’t an easy delta to shake, but his fury was palpable.
As it should be.
I couldn’t believe that they had the balls to blame this on Lana. I had a feeling they truly had no idea what happened to her. They’d had one of the most incredible omegas in the world and then left her alone during a heat to suffer.
A heat that they should’ve been aware of.
We stopped once for gas at the edge of town. I hopped out, running inside to get drinks and snacks, knowing easily what two of my best friends wanted. It at least made me feel better to do something.
Conrad gave me a nod of thanks. That was the most he managed, his focus on the road ahead. I could tell that he was still trying to get his alpha under control.
It didn’t matter if Lana was an adult, she was still family, and I knew Conrad well enough to know that he would defend her until his dying breath.
The rest of us were all willing to do the same.
“How are we going to find them?”
“We’ll start at the arena, then the house the paramedics found her in.”
It was quiet after that. We didn’t bother turning on music, giving our friend the space he needed.
He cleared his throat, finally breaking the silence. “I have full intentions of going to jail tonight, and I’m fine with it. I’ve accepted it.”
“It won’t come to that,” I said. “We have evidence they won’t want out. They’ll take their beating like the bitches they are.”
“We’re in this together, brother,” Lennon said, before turning on the music, a smile on his face. The delta was more than willing to prove to Lana that she was ours, and we always protected our own.
When the sign finally came into view for North Crossing a few hours later, I was practically on the edge of my seat. Conrad gave directions, leading us deeper into the city.
Instead of avoiding the arena, he led us right to it. He eyed the parking lot as we drove past, then gestured for Lennon to keep driving.
“They’re not here. I’m guessing they’re at home, sleeping off the fallout from this.”
“They were messaging from midnight well into the early hours of the day,” I confirmed. “The timestamps on those were almost constant. Fucking idiots.”
He flexed his hands one by one as if warming them up.
“So what’s the etiquette here?” I asked, partially trying to lighten the mood, but truly, I’d never been in a fight before.
“We’ll even it out. I’ll take the alpha,” Conrad said.
“I’m an equal opportunity kind of delta; I don’t really give a fuck as long as someone gets hurt,” Lennon said.
“I’m the most inexperienced, I’ll take the beta. Maybe that will even it out or something,” I said.
“Works for me,” Conrad said, cracking his neck.
The small neighborhoods gave way to giant ones, the houses getting bigger by the second.
“Damn, they flaunted their money,” I said, gaping at the house coming into view. I swear the further we drove, the more wings or stories were added onto the houses, almost like it was a competition.
“You haven’t even seen anything yet,” Conrad said, shaking his head. “Milo comes from money.”
“Yet he couldn’t buy any fucking decency,” I said with disgust. They always said money couldn’t buy class. It fit that asshole perfectly.
“End of the street,” Conrad finally said after another two blocks.
I leaned down a bit lower so I could see further up ahead as the house came into view. He was not kidding about that asshole coming from money.
The house was insane, big enough to house our entire hockey team and full packs for each. It had a wrought iron fence, perfect landscaping, and was bigger than four people could ever need.
“You’re telling me that she spent months in this fucking monstrosity alone, waiting on them to find time to spend with her?” I asked carefully, my heart already sinking for my omega.
“No wonder she had so much to work through. These assholes will be lucky if there’s anything left of them when we’re finished.” Lennon was out for blood now.
“It took the paramedics ten minutes to find her,” Conrad said, his voice thick.
He pulled open his glovebox and pulled out printed photos of Lana laying in the hospital bed. At least ten copies.
“I was prepared for this day to come,” he said in answer to our unspoken questions.
That damn photo still haunted me. It showed my omega nearly in pieces; she was so broken.
Conrad climbed out, pausing before closing it and looking back at us.
“Promise me that you won’t let me take this too far. I don’t want any regrets.”
“We’ve got your back, brother,” Lennon said as he climbed out too.
I followed them quickly, refusing to be left behind. Anticipation was surging through my veins, adrenaline already pounding at me.
This was it, the exact moment we’d been waiting for. A chance to get the revenge that our omega was far too kind to get for herself.
The front door flew open right as we reached it, and I took in the pathetic pack. They looked rough. I could see the dark circles under their eyes, the evidence that they’d spent the night suffering. The alpha’s lips twisted into a mocking smile.
“We knew you’d come to your senses and come begging for our forgiveness,” Milo said smugly, but it quickly fell away as he took in the three of us. His teeth bared in warning, a growl echoing out.
It was hilarious.
We were tense, but not one of us moved forward yet. We were waiting to see how Conrad wanted to handle this.
“What are you doing here, Conrad?” Milo asked. “Where is she? I see you’re still fighting her battles for her?”
“I want you to think really hard about what you might’ve missed with Lana in January when she left this place.”
The anger in the asshole’s face was quickly replaced by confusion. “The fuck are you talking about?” he growled.
“This has nothing to do—”
“Think really hard about what you might’ve missed,” Conrad cut him off with a growl, repeating himself. Something I knew the alpha hated.
“If she’s cheating on us, which she clearly is, then it’s not up to us to fix this. It’s up to her.”
The deep, raspy laugh that echoed out of Conrad should have sent these men running, but they were far too stupid and just as self-absorbed as Lana described them.
“Let’s see if this can refresh your memory,” Conrad continued in that eerily calm voice. This man had been my friend for years, and I’d never heard him talk like this.
He held up the stack of photos inches from his face. “I want you to know when I leave here today, exactly why you can barely fucking walk. No one gets to hurt my sister the way you did and walk away unscathed.”
“I didn’t hurt your fucking sister,” Milo tried to argue.
“You almost took her from me!” Conrad screamed so loud that they flinched back several steps, eyes widening. Spit flew from his mouth, eyes unhinged.
I had a feeling they’d never seen Conrad lose control like this.
“Spoiler alert, it was her fucking heat that you assholes missed. You left her for a week with no one to take care of her. She barely survived. Managed to crawl on her hands and knees from her nest to her phone to call me.”
“What, no—” Dean started but Conrad wasn’t done.
“You’re mad that you missed a couple phone calls tonight?
How do you think she felt calling the pack that promised to see her through the heat, promised to protect and love her, yet couldn’t be bothered to show up when it counted?
It took her nearly a month to get her body back to normal, and she was so fucking touch-starved and sick. It was us that put her back together.”
“Put her back together?” Milo scoffed, clinging to his anger like it could protect him from Conrad’s wrath. “I saw the pictures.”
“Then look at this one,” Conrad said, shoving the photo right back in his face. The alpha couldn’t even seem to handle staring at it for more than a couple seconds, eyes dropping like a coward.
“Funny, I have the same fucking problem trying to look at that picture. Because I don’t like my omega hurt or sick,” Lennon ground out. He was just as mad as Conrad now, and I had to keep my head for both of them.
“I’m not sure whatever story Lana concocted to have you eating out of her hands like this, but I can promise you it’s unfounded and unnecessary. We took care of our own.”
The blatant lie was the last of Conrad’s control.
They must’ve sensed it coming. Everyone seemed to move at once, the world slipping into some sort of strange slow motion. The alphas clashed together, the sound of fists colliding with flesh echoing out. The sound was nauseating.
Sutton looked like he was about to back off, but Lennon wasn’t having that. He launched himself forward, his fist colliding with the other delta’s face, sending him flying back onto his ass. No matter, Lennon gripped his shirt and dragged him back to his feet for another round.
“I’m not here to fight,” Dean tried to say as I stalked forward.
“Funny, because you left her with no choice. She had to fight to stay alive, then continue to fight for weeks afterward. You’re mad because she didn’t get your permission to leave you? There’s no way that you truly comprehend how badly you fucking deserve this,” I said before my own fist flew.
The pain that went across my knuckles was drowned out by the adrenaline slamming through me. I had no issues with going too far.
This beta was outmatched, and I managed to get a few satisfying hits in before Milo tried to defend his beta from the beating, stepping between us. Conrad backed off while I took a swing at Milo’s face. Then he jumped right back in.
Dean was slowly backing toward the door, and I knew exactly what he was about to do.
“Go ahead,” I said. “Report us to the police, and don’t worry, we’ll make sure they know that we’re defending our mate and his sister, and that we have evidence of the neglect that you caused.
We have medical records verified by multiple physicians, and the photos to add to it.
Oh, and not to mention the 911 emergency logs. Please… be my fucking guest.”
His eyes widened, and I swear I saw a hint of concern.
My laughter was absolutely patronizing, his eyes narrowing automatically.
“Don’t worry about her anymore, you pathetic bitch. She’s not your concern. She’s mine now, and she is well cared for because we actually give a fuck about the girl that we bonded to,” I screamed in his face.
Have we bonded? No. But they didn’t need to know that.
“Enough,” I said to the others.
Both Milo’s and Sutton’s faces were swollen and bloodied. Lennon had a busted lip, but Conrad didn’t have a single scratch. His anger was enough to shield him this time.
When Conrad didn’t stop, I pulled him back, shoving him toward the car. Lennon surged forward, knocking me out of the way and taking a blow for me. Milo had tried for a sucker shot and failed. Even in a fight, our pack was looking out for each other.
Maybe they should take some fucking notes.
While Lennon had him by the throat, I cocked my foot back, slamming it directly into the alpha’s dick, hopefully breaking his knot in the process.
Lennon laughed as he threw the alpha to the ground. He curled on his side, protecting his cock from another blow.
“When you’re laying in your fucking bed tonight recovering, I want you to think about every fucking thing that you should’ve done, but didn’t. Then savor that regret, because that’s all you’ll have left of Lana. You will never touch my sister again,” Conrad warned.
“She’s where she belongs now, and I hope you die alone,” Lennon said, spitting on the alpha before heading back to the truck.
Lennon tossed me the keys and I jumped in, starting it up. The moment they were both inside, I tore out of the driveway.
Justice had been partially served. Now we’d have to wait to see what they tried to do next.
I just hoped that they truly stopped and let it sink in that they were the cause of this.
It was never Lana.
At the end of the day, the truth was they fumbled an incredible omega, and I hoped their regrets were more punishment than we could ever give them.