Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
LIAM
H er sweet fuckin’ scent is burned into my brain. Warm like brown sugar and vanilla but with a dark, rich undertone of jasmine that makes my mouth water and other parts stir the second she walks into my bedroom.
Last night, she was totally focused on saving the world in my video game, her brow furrowed and sticking out her tongue as she concentrated. Adorable as hell, my little Omega.
Her sweet arousal spike hit me, nearly undoing me without even laying a hand on her. She was so fucking tempting, wearing nothing but a damn t-shirt.
The whole time we played the video game, I fought the urge to pin her down and work that scent until it got even thicker. Make her squirm, make her beg for me.
And the best part? When she conked out against me for the night. Got to tuck her soft curves in close, arm wrapped around her while I plowed through that fucking boss fight. She felt comfortable enough with me to allow sleep to knock her out. Yet she kept nuzzling into me in her sleep like she was already mine.
But fuck... if she keeps tempting me like that with those big bedroom eyes and that sinful scent... well, I’ll make sure she leaves more ravaged and sated as any Omega ever.
So, I stood, my muscles coiled tight, and backed away like she was a lit fuse, and I was the bomb waiting to go off. I left her there, in my bed, looking like a fallen angel—a temptation I couldn’t afford to touch.
Wanting to be within earshot if she came looking for me, I spent the night on the couch. Paid for it, too. Tossed and turned nearly all night, the fabric scratching at my skin, reminding me with every goddamn itch that I was the one out of place, not her. She belonged in my bed—hell, she belonged in this house, with us, where I could keep her safe.
“Fuck.” My back was sore, each muscle protesting the night spent on the unforgiving couch, but it was worth it. When I closed my eyes, I could still smell her on my sheets, and I’d be damned if I was going to let anyone—or anything—take that away from me.
I bite down the disappointment of returning to my room after breakfast and finding her not there. I brush my teeth and take a quick shower, thinking of her reaction when I tell her she should sleep with me from now on.
The sunlight seeps through the window, casting a golden glow over the room that does jack shit to ease the tightness in my back. I dress in jeans and a t-shirt, with one thought hammering in my skull—Kayla’s scent on my sheets, a sweet mix of innocence and something that whispers to every Alpha bone in my body that she’s our Omega.
I just have to convince her of the fact. Not just for the ache in my spine but because the thought of her curled up next to me, safe and sound, is the only thing that’ll give me peace.
“Fuck,” I mutter again, stretching out the kinks as best I can.
I head downstairs, looking for her but don’t find her anywhere.
“Kayla?” My voice bounces back at me, unanswered. A prickle of unease stirs in my gut. I check the spare bedroom that has more of her scent, but it’s empty.
“Kayla!” Louder this time, an edge of command sharpening my tone. Still nothing.
Room by room, I search, finding only cold silence. The kitchen—empty. The library—just books standing sentinel on their shelves. The game room echoes with the ghost of last night’s laughter, the memory of her smile as real as the concern now clawing at my insides. Where the fuck is she?
“Kayla!” It’s more snarl than shout, frustration boiling over. “Where are you hiding, little Omega?” I murmur under my breath, trying to tamp down the rising tide of something dark and dangerous.
I barrel through the mansion, each empty room a taunt, each silent corner a tightening noose. Fucking desperation drives me down corridors like I have a rapid dog on my heels. I slam another door open, leaving a dent in the wall.
“Kayla!” I bellow, her name ripping out of me.
Gotta find her before I go fucking crazy. My fists are clenched so tight, my fucking nails are digging into my palms. Warm blood trickles down, metallic and strong, but I barely feel a goddamn thing except the burn to have her in my arms.
I need to find her before this panic chews me up from the inside out.
“Kayla!” My throat burns from shouting her name.
I pound on Dane’s door next, praying like fucking hell she’s inside with him.
He opens the door with a gun and a cleaning cloth in his hand. “The fuck, Liam?”
“Kayla,” I growl. “She’s gone.”
“Are you sure? She was with us at breakfast.” Dane wipes the oil off his fingers onto his rag, his movements precise, controlled—everything I’m not feeling right now.
“Yes, I’m fucking sure. I’ve searched everywhere twice.”
Dane pales. “Shit. I did see her heading for the front door this morning before I stopped her.”
“Have you seen Ryker?” My voice is almost a snarl now. What if she went outside and he saw her? Decided to turn her in, despite my and Dane’s protest to keep his precious reputation intact?
He shakes his head. “Not since last night. Let’s check his room.”
Together, we head there, Dane tucking his gun into the waistband of his camo pants.
I don’t bother knocking, but burst into Ryker’s bedroom. His bed is unmade, and we both know he’s a ‘make your bed first thing in the morning’ kinda guy.
“Shit.” My pulse hammers. I don’t need to explain; Dane knows what this means. “We need to look for them. Now. Check the grounds.”
Without another word, we rush outside, and our boots crush the gravel beneath our feet. Outside, the sun’s a sadistic bastard today, as though it’s trying to melt into the goddamn pavement.
“Kayla!” we shout in unison, voices desperate, commanding.
“Ryker!” I add, the name tasting like betrayal on my tongue.
I can’t lose Kayla. Not when every instinct screams that she belongs with us—with me. She’s my Omega, and I’m her Alpha.
“Cameras,” I bark. “We can check the damn cameras.”
Dane nods, silent, his expression grave. I pull out my cell, fingers jabbing at the keyboard with frantic urgency, but the screen blinks back at me, obstinate, with an error message. No fucking connection. Of course, the internet chooses now to crap out on us.
“Son of a bitch!” The curse tears from my throat, raw and savage.
“Ryker,” Dane suggests, eyes flicking to me with a glimmer of hope. “He might know something.”
I whip out my phone, punching Ryker’s number with movements so forceful, I nearly crack the screen. It rings—a mocking, hollow sound—then his voicemail greets me, impersonal and indifferent. I don’t bother with pleasantries.
“Ryker, where the fuck are you? Kayla’s missing.” My words are bullets. “Call me back. Now.” I end the call, shoving the phone back into my pocket. Panic claws up my inside. Kayla. She’s mine, goddammit. Ours. And nothing in this world or the next will stop me from finding her.
A second later, the rumble of an engine slices through the air. My instincts flare to life as I jog over to the gate. It swings open, and there he is—Ryker, riding in on his goddamn bike like he’s the king of the road, and no Kayla.
“Where the hell have you been?” I snarl, my voice venomous as I storm toward him. Anger surges, hot and potent, thinking he might’ve taken her to Nexus.
“Chill, Liam,” Ryker says, killing the engine and swinging his leg over the bike with an infuriating calm that right now just pisses me off more.
“Where’s Kayla?” My fists clench, ready to unleash the fury boiling in my veins. “You take her for one of your joyrides and turn her in?”
“Back the fuck off,” Ryker pushes back as he steps into my space. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Kayla’s missing.” Dane strides toward us, every inch the military man, calm in the face of chaos. “We’ve torn this place apart. She’s not here. And neither was your ass.”
“Missing?” Ryker’s eyes narrow, the revelation hitting him like a punch. The volatile energy that always surrounds him shifts, becomes something darker, more dangerous.
“Since breakfast,” I spit out. “And the internet’s down. Can’t check the cameras. Your bed hasn’t been touched, so don’t fucking tell me you were here all night.”
“Shit.” Ryker rakes his fingers through his black hair. “I didn’t take her anywhere.”
“Then where the fuck is she, Ryker?” My voice is a growl. “She’s ours, damn it. If something’s happened to her...”
Dane steps between us. “We need to figure this out. Together. We’re her Alphas, and we have to find her.”
My blood thunders hot through my veins. Every instinct screams to hunt, to find, to claim. Kayla is the missing piece of our goddamn puzzle.
A metallic taste floods my mouth, and my pulse is hammering against my temples as if trying to bust through the bone.
“Where the fuck is our Omega?” The words claw out of me, jagged and raw.
“Listen,” Dane’s trying to hold us together, keep us from tearing at each other’s throats. His hand on my chest feels like it weighs a ton, but it isn’t enough to ground me. Not now.
“Kayla,” I rasp, the name a shard of glass in my throat. A shudder rips through me, the primal part of my brain screaming that our Omega is missing, that she might be out there, alone, scared... or worse. I shove Dane’s hand away and stalk toward the house, needing to move, to do something, anything.
“Fuck.” The curse is a whisper torn from the depths of me. It’s more than worry; it’s a visceral dread that eats at my insides. She’s ours—mine—and the thought of her being anywhere but safe under my watch is a living fucking nightmare.
“Ryker, if you know anything—” I start, spinning on him with a snarl, ready to tear the truth from his lips.
“I don’t.” He cuts me off, his voice like gravel, just as torn up inside as I am. “I swear it.”
The sound of her laughter last night haunts me, her head thrown back so carefree, eyes glittering like the damned stars themselves. She trusted me enough to fall asleep next to me, her breaths soft and even. I watched over her, the silent guardian. The Alpha in me vowed to protect her at all costs.
“Then we find her. Now.” I’m already moving, every cell in my body ignited with purpose. “We track her down.” I’ll burn this fucking world to ashes before I let her slip through my fingers.