46. Raptor
Raptor
The night is a thick, pervasive blanket of disappointment. The longer the minutes tick by, the more certain I am.
The warehouse is just an abandoned warehouse. This is not his latest home away from home. If he’s not here, then we have wasted our time.
I look at the cheap watch I stole. Three hours have passed. I’m not sure why Raven insisted we grab a watch, but she forced our hands, making sure I had it when I left them.
I frown, glancing down. I left a note on the table. It told them where we were going. They should be here by now. Why aren’t they here? At the last minute, I decided it would be a better idea to have the alphas come and kill him with us. I changed the plan.
They should be here, and that makes me nervous.
Are they caught or not coming?
I don’t do uncertain. It’s not something I am good at, so sitting here in the bitterly cold night, with those thick storm clouds rolling in, wondering if I’ve been betrayed or if the people I care about most in the world have been murdered is starting to freak me out.
Panic crawls up my skin, pulling my hairs on end. I fight to control my breathing, tightening my grip around the knife in my hand, glaring into the black windows of the factory.
If I go in there, I will get hurt.
Raven tries again to break through, but we shove her back, refusing to let her out. I love these alphas and our omega. and I’m going to fight for them. She doesn’t even know them.
Why aren’t they here?
“No, I’ll be the one doing the hurting. They clearly didn’t want to help us.”
My rage gets stabby, and I flex my fingers around the knife I’m holding.
Fine, I’ll do it myself another day.
I turn to leave, but I hear a voice that I recognise. He sounds like he’s laughing, which is just not possible, and yet, I can’t turn away. How did he get inside without me seeing him?
“Pix?” I hiss quietly.
Raven shoves into our body, making my head ache.
Pix says something and laughs.
I push her down, force her away. Pix is here. I get tunnel vision. I have to go down and get him out.
With uneasy steps, I slide down the hill, into the massive dirt yard. I look this way and that, slowly scanning for danger. The warehouse door is open, yawning wide as if in invitation.
I go into the warehouse, as if I had another choice, searching the dark. I won’t abandon our omega. One slow, measured step after another, the dark encloses me, and still, I hear his voice. He’s talking to someone. I can’t make out what they are saying, but they don’t sound upset.
He shouldn’t be here.
Why is he so loud?
This is a trap. Of course, it’s a trap, but I have to check it out anyway, just in case. It’s Pix. I can’t ignore it.
Sweat runs down my hairline and along my spine. The tight black top is suddenly too revealing. I should have worn a bigger hoodie, something with more material. There’s a maze of machinery in here, lots of rooms. I don’t know what kind of factory it used to be, but it’s not an empty shed. At all.
I pause.
This feels like a trap; I’m almost a hundred percent sure it is now. Which means I’m walking towards Father, and he knows about Pix and me. That is not a good thing.
But if it is Pix, I might be able to save him.
Indecision holds me still.
It’s almost certainly not, but what if it is?
Merle and Kestrel like him. I like him.
I lick my lip, torn between waiting for help and rescuing him now.
In the end, I keep moving forward, step after step, heading towards his voice. Kill Father. Stab him. Cut his throat. Get us free.
I get into the room where I find a phone on a chair. It’s the only thing in the room. On it is a video of Pix and Bonnie.
I crouch in front of the phone, refusing to touch it. They are standing in a hotel restaurant, laughing. I can see more of the family wandering around. It looks sunny, and he’s in shorts and an open shirt. He looks like he fits in.
I flick my eyes around the screen and pause on the red dot that says this is a live feed.
No!
I grit my teeth and don’t say anything.
I can’t. Damn him to hell. I can’t save him, but I can’t save myself either. This was a mistake; we should never have come here.
Devastation rips through me, and my control over the body loosens.
I swipe the phone off the chair, hurling it at the wall so hard it breaks into a couple of pieces. The screen shatters, and the world falls back into silence.
I hear him laugh.
My skin crawls, but I don’t run.
No, it’s too late for that.
“Merelee.”
Oh, fuck…I’m tossed into the dark.