9
Apollo
S houting from downstairs filters in underneath my closed door, making the piece of charcoal clenched between my fingers pause over the canvas I’m working on. It’s quickly followed by a loud crash and an angry roar, which immediately has my hackles rising.
I jump to my feet, and in three long strides, I wrench my door open, letting in the riot of noise and chaos happening on the main level of our penthouse.
I’m at the bottom of the stairs and stalking towards the commotion coming from our living room set up past the kitchen in the blink of an eye.
Adrenaline is already coursing through my veins at the possibility of violence.
The peace I usually find when sketching has been shattered, and now I’m itching for a fight.
And something clearly has my pack brothers in an uproar.
“Get Kars on the phone, now!” I register Wren’s snarling voice first before I round the corner of the archway leading into the living room, but I freeze the moment the scene comes fully into focus.
Lark scrambles for his phone laying on the coffee table, and Wren is pacing back and forth in front of the large sofa where Caito’s hunched over someone else laid out on the couch. I take a few more steps closer to the sofa, and finally Wren and Caito look up.
Caito steps back, a low growl emanating from him just as a scent bowls into me, nearly bringing me to my knees. Spiced jasmine and the tart tang of citrus hangs heaviest near the sofa, and when I peer over the back of it, I spy the source.
“What the fuck have you done?” My tone’s deadly calm, but I can feel the fury rising up in me like an approaching tidal wave. My omega is unconscious on our couch, her head lolling to the side. I can smell the lingering bits of pain in her scent, even in her current state.
“Calm down, Apollo!” Wren barks, the sound booming out into the space around us, but it’s not even enough to make her so much as stir.
I narrow my eyes at my pack lead. “Don’t you fucking dare tell me what to do-”
“Enough. She was heading to Raven when some asshole alphas caught her scent. It’s my fucking fault they even got their hands on her.
I was taking a call when she slipped out of her apartment and didn’t even realize she left until minutes later.
” Caito’s absolutely livid, but he holds his hands up to me in a placating gesture, as if he can sense the darkness lurking beneath my skin, threatening to consume me and send me into a homicidal rage.
My eyes shift to my omega when she makes a soft noise in her current unconscious state, and I watch her beautiful face contort in pain a little when she shifts slightly.
“Kars is on his way. Ten minutes tops. I’ll head down to bring him up as soon as he gets here.
” Larks words slice through me like a hot blade, and I stiffen.
“Where is she injured?” I snarl, my hands clenching into fists to stop myself from throwing my pack brothers out of the way so I can get to her.
Parker Kars is our pack doctor, for lack of a better term.
He does a lot of unsavory work for us under the table, and in exchange, we bankroll a clinic for him on the south end of the Parkway.
It’s a trade off situation, and I’m not sure it’s the appropriate call to bring him here.
If my omega is injured, I don’t want some back alley hood doctor putting his hands anywhere near her.
As if Wren can read my mind, he growls, “Kars is the best we have at the moment. We haven’t vetted any other doctors in the city as well as him.
My inner alpha will not allow a stranger anywhere near her right now.
” My teeth grind together so hard, I’m afraid they’ll shatter from the force, but the fucker has a point.
Better the devil you know, and all that shit.
“Tell me you dispatched the motherfuckers that did this.”
Caito nods. “Unfortunately, there was little time for the torture I would’ve really liked to inflict on them.”
“They’re dead?” Wren’s tone isn’t accusatory.
“Yes. I’m sure we’ll be getting visitors soon. I’m sure there were plenty of witnesses around. I didn’t have time to remove their bodies. She was hurt.”
Wren shrugs. “This city may be a cesspool of rejects and loners, but they still have strict laws regarding omegas and their safety. When they learn she’s our scent match, you won’t be at fault for ending them.”
“I wouldn’t have given a fuck if they had, anyway.
” Caito snorts. He lowers himself until he’s sitting on the floor beside the couch where our omega’s laying.
I just barely stop myself from snarking at him that he’s hogging all of her space for himself, but then I note the glint in his eye when he swivels in his spot to face her again.
He’s still under the influence of his alpha and the blood lust. If anyone gets near enough right now, and he believes they pose a threat, he’ll end them on the spot.
Hopefully it ebbs by the time Kars shows up.
Wren isn’t the only one we need to worry about.
Taking careful steps, I move around the sofa until I stop on the other side of the coffee table. It’s hard to believe that this small woman is the other half of my soul. She’s absolutely breathtaking, even in this unconscious state.
She’s dressed in a simple pink sweatshirt ,and soft, cotton black sweatpants with a cute pair of ankle boots.
Her shoulder length blonde hair spills out across the throw pillow Caito has positioned underneath her, and the light blue dyed tips bring a small smile to my lips.
She’s so damn small compared to all of us.
Lark being the exception, but even he has packed on muscles that’ll dwarf our omega in comparison.
She’s everything I didn’t know I’d been missing until this moment. “Fuck.” I breathe, unable to hold it back. So many emotions roil underneath my skin as my eyes continue to track over her.
Both of my pack brothers make noises of agreement without voicing any words. Then, Wren speaks. “We need to talk about what this means before she wakes up.”
“Lark should be here before that happens.” I warn, already knowing the clusterfuck it’ll cause if we have any discussion about our omega without him. We don’t make pack decisions without all of us present.
“He already knows about my suspicions,” Caito mumbles, and leans closer to her, scenting her slightly exposed neck without laying a hand on her. Judging by the way his shoulders tighten, I can tell he doesn’t like what he discovers.
“I smelled it on her too when you brought her in a bit ago.” Wren confirms, and I’m glad I already know what the hell they’re talking about, otherwise it would’ve incensed me more. “It’s floral and too sickly sweet to be hers.”
Caito dips his head, his entire body starting to tremble with the force to hold back his building fury. “I need to see it.” He growls, but then we hear the front door open again before he can reach for her.
A few heart beats later, Lark stalks in with Kars trailing behind him, his medical bag slung over one shoulder and a hard set to his jaw.
“Which one of you is it?” He demands without any preamble.
When his eyes roam over us and meet mine for a brief second, I bare my teeth at him in a soundless snarl.
He jerks his attention away from me quickly, and then his eyes land on our omega. His entire body goes stiff and he blinks at her in confusion. He’s lucky he’s a fucking beta, otherwise I think I’d have to kill him for the way he’s looking at her.
Fuck, I still might do just that. Or, at the very least, pluck out his eyes.
Wisely, he rips his stunned gaze away from her and makes eye contact with Wren.
“What’s going on here?” He’s slightly less demanding, and that irritates the hell out of me.
He knows not to step on Wren’s toes since he’s the piggy bank behind his little clinic.
He doesn’t show any of the rest of the kind of respect we deserve.
I’ll make him regret it if he doesn’t do his fucking job in the next ten seconds.
“This is our scent matched omega. She was ambushed by two alphas a little bit ago.” It’s the only explanation Kars needs.
His face pales, but he quickly shakes it off as he moves to Caito still sitting beside the couch. At the beta’s approach, he lets out a soft growl of warning, but he doesn’t lunge for him when he lowers himself down to a crouched position.
He studies her for a moment with clinical detachment, not moving a single muscle. Then he swallows. Hard. “I need the sweat shirt off. I can’t properly assess injuries with so much fabric in the way.”
All four of us stiffen at that, both Caito and Wren letting out low rumbles of irritation. I know it’s a logical request, but I still don’t have to fucking like it. My fingers twitch with the sudden urge to rip the beta’s head off. Fortunately for him, I refrain.
“I’ll do it.” Lark steps forward. As a physical therapist, he’s certainly better equipped to do so. If she has any broken bones, his expertise will come in handy. I relax when Kars moves out of the way to make room for Lark.
With tender gentleness, Lark pulls at the sleeves of the baggy sweatshirt. “Help me sit her up so I can pull it over her head.” He directs Caito, who’s the closest. Together, they manage to slip the garment up and over her head without jostling her too much.
Our worst fears are confirmed when they settle her back against the pillow beneath her. My eyes narrow in on the mark that scars the pale skin of her shoulder. The skin over it is mottled in a way I recognize all too well.
It also tells me a lot. Not only is she hiding an active bond mark, but she’s tried to cover it up in the only way she knows how: by burning it.
Caito snarls, and Wren bellows a curse as he turns away from the horrific scene in front of us. Lark makes a low rumbling noise in his chest before he steps back so Kars can take his place again.
I’m fucking frozen when Kars gets his first glimpse at what has us all collectively losing our shit. He chokes on a shocked gasp. “What the hell is this?” He goes to take a step back, but I move incredibly fast.
I clamp my hand down on his shoulder, already predicting his next move. “Do your fucking job and examine her for injuries. That is the only thing you need to concern yourself with, lest you forget who you owe everything to.” I lean in close to growl in his ear, and he goes rigid under my touch.
“If you’ve bonded her against her will-”
Caito snarls as he rises to his feet, all that pent up fury bubbling to the surface and spilling over in the way that makes the beta still clutched in my grasp flinch.
“It would be wise of you not to continue down that road of questioning, beta. Now use your fucking brains and do as you are told.” His voice is barely restrained violence, his alpha riding him hard to put this asshole in his place for even suggesting we’re responsible for the scars on her body.
Kars looks around at all of us, clearly not liking being left in the dark, but I could honestly give two shits less about what he thinks. The only thing that matters is his ability to help our omega.
He gives a curt nod, and I release him after a moment so he can slide between Caito’s and Lark’s hulking frames to return to the couch. He kneels again, deliberately keeping his gaze off the offending bond mark my omega had tried to sear away from prying eyes.
I grit my teeth and clench my hands into fists while he pokes and prods her arms, neck and chest, steering clear of her breasts.
He then moves on to her legs, doing the same thing.
His hands slide underneath the back of her head and twist her neck gently from side to side, peering at every angle as he does.
After about ten minutes of his examination, listening to her heart and breathing, checking her vitals, he rises back to his feet to start returning his gadgets back to his bag.
“My initial diagnosis would be a pretty severe concussion. Did she pass out after the attack?” He directs this question to the whole room.
“Not immediately after. About fifteen minutes later. I was helping her out of the car, and as soon as she was upright, she passed out.” Caito responds with cool, biting words.
Kars nods. “I think she might have a bone fracture somewhere either in her clavicle or acromion.” He gestures to the shoulder that isn’t sporting a bond mark that shouldn’t be there, before continuing.
“There is a lot of swelling and it’s already got a nasty bruise.
I won’t be able to tell you for sure unless I can get her into an X Ray.
When she wakes, I suggest bringing her down to the clinic so I can give her a scan.
If she’s got a broken bone and the damage is extensive, she might need surgery. ”
Anger floods through my system at this entire situation, and I turn away from them so I can get my bearings before I lose my fucking shit.
Those assholes are lucky Caito’s already beat the life out of them, otherwise I would immediately head to finish the job.
No one hurts my omega and gets away with it.
And as soon as I find out who put that mark on her skin without her permission, I’m going to end him, too. Nice and slow. Draw it out until he regrets the day he put his filthy fucking mouth on her.
“We will bring her down to the clinic as soon as she wakes.” Wren vows.
He’s now turned back to our little group with his massive arms crossed over his chest. He reminds me of a viking war general preparing to head into battle with just his fists and brawn.
Bastard’s scary as hell when he gets that glint in his eye.
He knows how to get shit done, though. That’s why he’s our pack lead.
“Call me if anything else comes up.” I can tell the words pain Kars to say, but he offers them anyway. He doesn’t wait to be dismissed, and Lark stalks after him, most likely to make sure he leaves without getting sticky fingers.
Desperate people do the most foolish things sometimes.
Once he’s gone, and Lark returns, Wren squares his shoulders.
“Come on. Let her rest. We have much to discuss, and I don’t want to disturb her.
” His eyes soften when they land back on the little omega on our sofa, but he resists the urge to snatch her up.
I can tell he’s feeling the need, because it’s the same feeling hounding me right this second.
I hate to leave her like this, but the discussion that needs to happen can’t wait. So, I follow after my pack, even as the hollow pit deep in my gut expands with each step taken away from her.