Chapter 9
9
Kellan
Crew Dutton had been my best friend for years. I’d take a bullet for the man without hesitating.
But if he didn’t stop hogging our omega, I was going to kill him.
Since leaving the APA’s secondary compound, Crew had been carrying Hazel around like a kid who won an oversized stuffed animal at the state fair. Even as we boarded the private plane provided by the senior Pack Dutton family, Crew picked a seat and arranged Hazel on his lap without letting go.
I don’t think anyone had Crew going feral on their radar, but holy shit. He’d gone off like Fourth of July fireworks, ripping a path of mayhem and destruction on the small comune as he searched for Hazel.
And I understood his rage after seeing the small shack and her destroyed clothes in the dirt. The smells that had implied the worst.
I shuddered in my seat across from Crew and Hazel, fixing my gaze on the woman who owned my fucking heart and soul.
Hazel stared blankly at the floor, not exactly conscious but not relaxed enough to sleep yet either. Across the aisle, Rhett and Jude had taken seats facing one another. We’d all been silent during take off, and we’d instructed the single flight attendant that her services wouldn’t be needed.
There was an audible ding as we reached altitude and the captain released the seatbelt signal. I undid the belt across my lap and leaned forward.
“Crew.” I waited until his navy blue eyes focused on me. “Time to give up Hazel.”
Crew glared at me in response, but Hazel lifted her head.
“There’s a shower in the back bedroom,” I reminded him, pleased when life sparked in her green and gold orbs. “Let’s let her clean up and get changed.”
Hazel was still wearing Rhett’s jacket, but now had a blanket tucked around her legs. She looked so fragile and small curled up in Crew’s lap. My fingers itched to touch her, to make sure she was truly okay and really here.
Crew glanced at Hazel, his expression stricken. “A shower might not be the best idea,” he murmured. “We should… If there’s any DNA…” Crew looked sick, teetering on the verge of going feral all over.
I jerked back like I’d been punched in the jaw. Fuck. I knew what he was trying to say, but couldn’t.
If Hazel had been raped, taking a shower would fuck up the forensics.
“I want a shower,” Hazel spoke up, her soft voice controlled.
Crew held her tighter, pressing his nose against her throat. “I know, baby. But we need to document whatever they did to you. We have a doctor and nurse waiting for us when we land, but our priority was getting you out of there as long as you weren’t injured.”
Hazel straightened a bit and sucked in a deep breath. “I’m fine, guys.”
I reached for her hand, linking our fingers. “Sugar, whatever happened doesn’t change how we feel about you.” I had to force the words out because it was true none of us would see her differently, but we’d never forgive ourselves for failing her in such spectacular fashion.
“I wasn’t raped,” she said, her tone firm. “There’s no forensics to collect or tests to run. They planned on force-bonding me tonight, but you guys got me out.”
Crew frowned. “We saw the shack and the smells…”
Hazel’s cheeks flushed as her jaw clenched. Her small hands balled into fists on her lap. “Donovan said no one was allowed to touch me before the ceremony. Hayden didn’t like that, so he…” She swallowed hard. “He marked me in a way that didn’t leave a visible reminder.”
I was growling before she finished, my chest vibrating with fury. Rhett and Crew were snarling, too, and Jude looked ready to rip someone apart.
“He tried to humiliate me, and when that wasn’t enough, Hayden and Daryl brought in another girl. I think her name is Willa? The things they did to her …” Hazel gulped down a breath and shook her head. “Other than some seriously disgusting, and very unwanted, bodily fluids, they didn’t touch me. I tried to clean up in the river before Rhett found me, and I actually think that made the smell worse.”
Rhett nodded in agreement.
Hazel grimaced. “Look, I really want that shower.”
“Okay,” Crew replied, his hold relaxing for the first time. He nodded at me, the motion almost imperceptible, but I understood it all the same. He was trusting me to protect her from whatever might happen between here and the shower.
I wasn’t sure who, or what, he thought might be a threat. The cabin crew and pilots had all been vetted by the Senior Pack Dutton and by us when we’d joined the bureau.
Other than tripping over the light strips on the floor or a random bout of turbulence, Hazel was safe, and no one was pulling our girl away from us again.
I stood and tugged on Hazel’s hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up, sugar.”
The blanket pooled around her feet and she followed me without any complaint.
This plane was owned by Upshine Media and used to carry all sorts of celebrities and business moguls, which meant it was decked out in all the bells and whistles. At the very rear of the cabin was a bedroom with a queen-sized bed and a full en suite.
On the bed was a hastily packed bag we’d thrown together for Hazel when we left the house, but we’d buy her whatever else she needed when we got to California.
“Wow,” Hazel murmured, taking in the bedroom. It was done in whites and creams with darker wood accents that matched the rest of the color scheme in the plane. I’d been part of this pack for years, and friends with Crew even longer, but all this fancy shit still felt surreal.
I’d grown up firmly middle-class. My family had been pretty standard, fuckhead brothers aside, and while I’d never wanted for anything, I also wasn’t accustomed to life in the lux lane the way Crew and Rhett were.
I didn’t grow up with private planes and a full staff that lived nearby. My vacations were spent on the beach, a three hour drive away in a station wagon with questionable AC. While those two were used to private planes and chateaus or some shit.
Glancing at Hazel, I remembered that she’d grown up with Crew and Calla. She was used to fancy shit and expensive things.
Things that I couldn’t exactly give with a basic federal salary.
Standing in the bedroom of a freaking private jet, it rankled that my omega’s needs might be met by someone other than myself. Fuck knew I couldn’t afford first class tickets, let alone an entire private plane.
It was stupid. When we’d become a pack, we’d had a long talk about finances and combined our income as a pack, including the hefty trust funds Crew and Rhett had been given. At the time it had seemed normal, but now that we had Hazel, I was realizing that there were things I couldn’t give her on my own.
“Kellan?” Hazel’s big eyes were full of questions as she watched me.
I pointed at the half ajar door, ignoring her look. “The bathroom is in there.” I hesitated. “Do you need help?”
Hazel’s shoulders slumped with a weary sigh. She was clearly exhausted, the marks under her eyes from a lack of sleep impossible to ignore. “No. But…” She licked her lips. “Can you stay in here? I just want to know someone?—”
“I’ll be right here when you get out,” I vowed, sitting on the edge of the bed. I grabbed the simple black duffel and handed it to her. “Here’s some clothes we grabbed.”
She slumped in relief. “Thanks, Kell.”
“Take your time, okay? No rush.” I tried to push an encouraging smile on my face, but I had a feeling we both knew it was bullshit.
We’d gotten Hazel out of a shit situation, but there was still a lot more we all had to work through.
She gave a tiny nod and went into the bathroom, closing the door but not locking it.
I scrubbed a hand over my face as I heard the water start in the shower. Exhaling a long breath, I undid the knot I’d twisted my hair into and felt the ache deep in my skull as the long strands fell down.
Collapsing backward, I folded my hands over my stomach and resisted every urge to storm into the bathroom and scour every inch of Hazel’s creamy skin. I needed to see that she didn’t bear the marks of her captivity.
The smell… Fuck. She’d reeked of other alphas, and it had my own inner alpha on edge. I hated that she’d had to go through this shit again because we’d fucked up. We hadn’t protected her the way we’d promised.
My failures left a sour taste in my mouth that only turned more bitter the longer I stared at the ceiling and let my mind drift.
She’d said they’d planned to bond her tonight. If we’d been a few hours later, we could’ve lost our omega.
I was deep in self-loathing when Hazel exited the bathroom. I’d been so busy playing out what-if scenarios in my head that I hadn’t heard the shower turn off.
Pushing up to my elbows, I took in the sight of Hazel in one of Jude’s oversized shirts and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. Her long hair was damp and she smelled fresh and clean with hints of her own chocolate cake scent starting to break through.
“Are you okay?” she asked, padding over to the edge of the bed where my knees were bent. She nudged her way between them, watching me with concern.
“No,” I admitted, “I’m really not.”
She crawled across me, laying over me like a blanket while burying her nose against my neck. My arms wound around her small frame, hugging her to my chest. I slid my hands under her shirt, needing to feel her skin.
She inhaled my scent deeply, her lips feathering over my pulse. “I’m not okay either.”
My arms tightened around her as a tremor rippled through her thin frame. “I’m so sorry, sugar. We fucked up. We promised to keep you safe?—”
Her arms tightened around me. “Don’t. What happened isn’t your fault.”
“It was,” I disagreed.
Her head lifted. “Kell?—”
I pressed a finger over her lips, silencing her. “We never should’ve left you and Jude alone. He was still recovering from surgery, and you…”
Her brows drew together. “And me, what?” She sounded adorably offended.
I traced the Cupid’s bow of her upper lip. “And you are ours to protect. We underestimated how devious Martin was. Fucker.”
Hazel sucked in a deep breath. “Shit. Martin.”
My eyes narrowed. “What about him?”
“No, not him , but his son.” Hazel frowned, deep in thought. “Carter?”
Now I sat up, lifting Hazel with me until she was straddling my lap. “How do you know about Carter?”
“Because he called Donovan when we were all in the car together,” she replied.
Jesus, fuck. That meant the shit with Martin had been a plan to separate us from Hazel.
“We need to tell the others,” I told her, a grim sort of realization settling around me.
She gave a small nod. “I know. I’m not sure if what I heard will make any sense, but you all need to hear it.”
I tipped my head back. “God, does this ever end?”
Her fingers massaged the tight muscles on the back of my neck. “Everything ends, Kellan. Good things, bad things… Nothing is forever.”
I made sure I had her gaze captured in mine before rasping out, “You’re wrong. What we have? That’s never going to end. I’ll love you forever.”
A smile ghosted across her lips. “That sounds pretty serious.”
“I am serious. We all are.” I splayed one hand across the small of her back, dragging her flush against me. My teeth nipped her neck, and I smirked as a shiver rolled through her. “I’m going to claim you soon. Right fucking here .” I raked my teeth over her soft flesh again.
“Kellan,” she moaned, her head listing to the side to give me better access.
“I’m going to bond you. Marry you.” I rocked against her, letting her feel how hard I was for her. Always for her. “I’m going to fuck you, knot you, until I get you pregnant. I can’t wait to see you pregnant, sugar.”
Her breath caught. “Marriage and a baby?”
“Bab ies ,” I clarified, because there sure as shit would be multiple kids. I wasn’t sure how the others felt, but I had a feeling I’d just unlocked a breeding kink by talking about getting Hazel knocked up.
“Till death do us part, huh?”
I scoffed and shook my head. “Fuck till death, baby. I’ll love you in this life and chase your ass down in the afterlife. You’re ours forever, Hazel Jones. We’re never letting you go again.”
She shuddered in my arms.
“Does that scare you?” I hesitated, reminding myself that, aside from her time with us, she didn’t have the best experience with alphas. And what just happened with the APA might’ve derailed some of the progress we’d made.
“The only thing that scares me is not being yours,” she admitted softly. “I can handle anything as long as I have my pack.”
“You have us,” I promised, meaning it with every single molecule in my body. “We’re yours.”
Hazel pressed her forehead to mine, her long lashes fluttering closed. “Kell?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for coming to get me.” She smiled. “Again.”
“Always, sugar.” I kissed her slowly, teasing her lips open to slide my tongue against hers. I crushed her to me, deepening the kiss and wishing I could rip her clothes off and bury myself knot-deep in her cunt.
Soon , I swore to myself.
Soon I’d make her mine. We’d make her ours .
And we’d kill anyone who threatened the perfect future we were planning.