Chapter 46
CHAPTER 46
MCKINLEY
A pollo holds me as he sleeps. Sleep is a terrible word for what he is doing.
He’s fighting demons in his rest and losing terribly in each battle he enters. The groans and whimpers coming from my strong Alpha break my heart. He trembles and cries out. Not getting any real rest like he needs to do. It’s almost worse for him to be asleep if this is what he is doing.
Clover’s name falls from his lips as he tries to get to her and fails.
Over and over again he fails.
My heart thunders, anxiety spiking as he tries to get her again. The constant failing in his nightmares is making me worried about what would happen in real life.
“Wake up.” I gently push him, my hands shaking as Apollo’s eyes snap open.
He’s staring at me in a way that is pure horror.
“Clover?” Her name is a question and I just shake my head.
She’s still gone.
Apollo’s bedroom door smashes open, making us both look up to see Griffin and Vaughn stumbling inside. We had left the nest last night because none of us could seem to get any rest without her in there. One had been the only one remaining. Keeping vigil for our Omega.
Griffin is yanking a hoodie over his head as Vaughn looks pale and terrified as he comes towards us. His hand shakes as he holds out his phone, as if it’s going to explain what he’s doing in here.
It’s been two nights without Clover under our roof. Thirty Six hours from the way the clock is showing 4AM in blinding red numbers.
“His dad found her. He has the house. We’re going to get here.” Griffin uses words to fill in the blanks.
Apollo is already out of bed, tugging on pants as I sit up. Confused by everything they are saying.
They know where Clover is?
“Your family, Apollo. Or the police? We should tell someone-”
“No. We tell no one. The less people that know, the better. We’re getting Clover back and I’m going to fucking rip Bryce Weaver’s head right off his body.”
Oh, cool.
Apollo’s going to jail.
That means that Griffin is going to be there with him because everyone knows his self control is absolute shit. Hopefully Vaughn will talk sense into-
“Not if I do first.” Vaughn sneers.
Okay .
A pack full of murders. Just what every Omega wants.
They do have a point. Our Omega was stolen. She was having a moment and needed time to herself. She couldn’t even get time to process everything before the wrong people were taking her away..
“We really need to get a lawyer on retainer.” I mutter, pulling on my shoes.
We’re going to get our Omega.
Griffin gets to drive. Apollo doesn’t yell at him about how he’s going fifty miles over the speed limit as he zips down the street. He’s chasing the sunrise and he’s going to win.
I’m in the backseat with Apollo trying not to get car sick..
No one has said anything this entire ride. We just left the house, quietly since Apollo’s family was staying with us and tore off to whereever we’re going.
Thunder cracks through the sky. One lightning bolt chasing after another. They light up the dark early morning sky just before the clouds open up, dumping rain on us so quickly and heavily that for a second we can’t even see outside of the windows.
Griffin eases up some on the gas as he takes a turn. He may not be the best driver most days, but today he knows we’re getting our Omega home and nothing can chance stopping that from happening.
Apollo’s hand comes to the back of my neck, squeezing me, and making me look up at him.
There is sorrow written across his face. It mixes with the anger he had on it earlier and I want to soothe him.
“I’m sorry I pushed her away. I didn’t know. I just…I just wanted to fix everything.” He sounds dejected, hurt about what happened.
He doesn’t understand that Clover has never had to deal with issues before. She’s always had people telling her what to do. Now that we’ve given her freedom she’s just trying to explore it a bit to see what can be done and what can’t be done.
Hopefully, she will realize after this how vital good communication skills are. If she needs help we can all go to Pack therapy. I’m sure we all need it by now.
My hand slides into Apollo’s free one, lacing our fingers together.
I don’t want him to take the blame anymore. I want him to have the strength that he can’t give himself.
“O, I love you. When we get Clover back we’re going to sit down and talk. It’s all going to be okay, okay?” I try to force a smile to convey that it’s going to be fine.
It’s hard to smile when part of your heart is missing.
“Here.” Vaughn speaks softly and the car takes a turn, pushing my body into Apollo’s.
Griffin is so focused on driving I’m not sure he realizes we’re sliding until the car is corrected with a sound that tires absolutely shouldn’t make.
No one says anything about it as we take several more turns before he pulls up behind Vaughn’s father.
Vaughn’s dad is outside, a pair of binoculars in his hands as he stares at the ornate house just out of view.
We’re in a part of town that used to be popular with the original families. Big money properties that display wealth are perched on private lots of lands that resemble English countryside manors.
This particular house is in slight disrepair, obviously not used in a while.
“I saw your Omega try to make an escape. One of the men dragged her back in.” He doesn’t greet us, just gets into things, “You’re not going to be happy when you see her. They haven’t been treating her right.” His honesty is a knife to my stomach.
Haven’t been treating her right?
What have they done to her?
“I’m going to kill them.” Growls Griffin, stepping forward.
A hand reaches out to stop him from advancing and Vaughn’s father finally puts down his binoculars. He looks at the Alpha in front of him and shakes his head.
It’s not condescending, but more of letting him know that he can’t just barge in there like a bull in a China Shop.
“I’m going to call the police. That way we can say that we reached out to them if things get out of hand. You’re a pack. That’s your Omega. Whatever happens in there you will be protected. I will make sure of it.” He lets go of Griffin, stepping away as he pulls out his phone, “In this part of town, with the storm we’re having, I’d say you have ten minutes.”
We’re already drenched by the time we are at the front door. I don’t know why we expected it to be open. It’s of course locked when Griffin tries to yank it open.
I hope the storm covers the sound of the yanking of the door. Griffin is tugging at it. Making war with the wood as it doesn’t give an inch.
Vaughn pulls him back, watching the way that our pack mate looks like he is about to break down. Instead of letting Griffin cry, probably what he needs to do, Vaughn points to a window that is partially open.
We all seem to look at it, forming a plan in our heads. Apollo reaches for Griffin, raising him up so he can grab the ledge of the roof covering the front porch we’re standing on. He struggles for a grip in the rain for a second before seeming to get a good hold.
Apollo pushes him as Griffin tugs, rolling on the roof. We all stand, watching him peer into the room before nodding that it’s all clear. He reaches his hand down as Apollo goes for Vaughn next, helping him up. Then I’m on the roof, moving into the room as quietly as possible with Vaughn behind me. Since Apollo is the tallest he can stand on the banister. Vaughn and Griffin each grab an arm to help lift him up.
The room I’m standing in must have once been a bedroom. There is an air mattress that is blown up in it now but no other furniture is inside. The hardwood floors need to be cleaned because they hold dirt that is so old it’s almost sticky underfoot. The yellowed floral wallpaper has lighter spots where pictures must have once hung. As a whole, the room is chilling and unwelcome. Perfect for a horror movie and terrible if this is the state of the place our Omega has been held in.
Obviously, since there is an air mattress in here, someone has recently slept in here.
It didn’t smell like Clover.
One by one, the Alpha’s crawled through the small window. The floors were getting soaked from the rain that was dripping off of them. All of us staying quiet as we tried to figure out what was happening in the house.
Carefully, I moved towards the door. My heart is hammering in my chest. I didn’t want to step on a loose plank and give up the advantage we had of sneaking up on them. It wasn’t that I was afraid of Pack Weaver. I was concerned someone was close to Clover and could hurt her in an attempt to control us.
She was everything and we couldn’t risk hurting her.
“…her heat is starting. We just fuck her through her heat, bite her, and she’s ours. Once she’s bitten in no one can take her away from us.” Someone is talking close enough that I can hear snippets of their conversation.
Over my dead body will I let her be bonded into someone else’s pack.
She’s meant to be ours. I think she wants to be ours too.
“I don’t think we should bond her. Why do we even need an Omega?”
“We need an Omega to center our pack. She’ll do whatever you ask of her Orion. She’ll have your little Alpha pups.” Sneers a woman in response. “It’s clear Bryce isn’t giving her up. Even if she let those other fuckers have her.”
“You’re right. I’m not giving her up. If you have a problem with adding her to our pack I highly suggest you change your attitude. She’s going to be our Omega. That’s final.”
I hope all of these people step on Lego pieces every day for the rest of their lives.
I hope every shower they take is neither hot or cold enough, so it’s always just uncomfortable to be in the water.
I hope they flip their pillows and find both sides are hot every time they lay on them.
All the bad juju that I can send into the universe for them I do.
Griffin just sends himself into the hallway because he’s lost his mind and is ready to have murder on his record.
We’re all going after him, not getting far before we’re face to face with Pack Weaver.
“How dare you-”
Bryce gets his nose broken with a quick punch from Apollo. I hadn’t expected our leader to be the first to throw a hit, but I can’t pretend I’m not happy to see him defending Clover. They deserve what’s coming to them.
Bryce, Orion, and Jennifer.
We’ve studied all about the pack at our place as soon as we realized that something was going on with Clover. Learning about them so that we could take them down
They are an affluent pack. Money can buy a lot of things in this world. Their money was enough to get them in the door at the Omega Academy. I’m sure they had a choice of Omega’s too. They had just made the mistake of thinking themselves too big. They tried to take, so used to the world just giving them what they wanted.
Not this time.
“Where is our Omega?” Apollo sneers, his fist still formed and ready to fight.
Having them all here is safer. It means that Clover can’t be used as leverage in front of us. It gives us a chance to walk out of this all without having to do too much damage.
I see Jennifer’’s eyes flash to the stairs. I’m unsure if she’s going to run or giving us a clue of where we can find Clover. I don’t give her a chance to explain before I’m leaping forward, grabbing her arms and pinning them behind her back.
This sets off Orion, who lunges for me. Vaughn shoulders him, knocking him off balance and towards Griffin who pushes his head back before bringing it forward and smashing the other Alpha’s face.
Blood splatters from his nose, the wall and carpet getting the splashes of the red color. Griffin tackles him to the ground, wrestling him until he’s sitting on the other Alpha’s back. His knee pinning the hands and arms down as he holds him.
Only Bryce is left standing, one hand to his nose as he surveys the options in front of him.
Unfortunately for him, there are no options other than to give us our Omega back peacefully or try to resist and meet his ending.
“She’s not your Omega.”
He says the wrong thing. It earns a growl from Apollo who reaches for him. Bryce moves quickly, his hand catching Apollo in the jaw. It knocks him back for a second before he shifts forward, ready to fight him again.
Jennifer fights against my hold and I move to press her into the wall so I don’t have to fight her.
“Just let them take her! We can keep Marcus and get another female Omega if you want!” She cries out.
They’re not getting anyone if I have a say in it.
Which I do, because I will be going to the Council to have them on a ban list. They don’t deserve the honor of being able to take care of an Omega.
“She has the perfect scent. I’m not giving her up.” Bryce snaps.
Griffin grunts as Orion fights under him, still trying to get out of the situation that he’s ended up in.
It seems like Pack Weaver is splintering.
“Just let the little whore go.” Orion hisses. Griffin grabs his head, slamming it down three times until the other Alpha is drooling blood onto the hardwood.
It makes a red river among the gray dust.
For some reason, seeing the blood is satisfying. Knowing that they’re being hurt makes some of the pain I’m feeling ease up. I want them to all be punished.
“You’re give her the fuck up.” Vaughn speaks up for the first time. He holds out zip ties, “This should hold them for now. We need to find Clover.”
I don’t know why he has them or where he got them from, but I’m thankful he thought of bringing them.
We make quick work of binding the three people up. Zip tying their ankles together, hands behind their back and then zip tying all of them together so they’re stuck as one moving body.
It makes it impossible for them to really go anywhere from the angle they’re tied in. Plus, Orion seems to be dead weight thanks to Griffin using his head to test out the hardness of the floor. He probably has a concussion and seems dazed.
“Let’s look downstairs.” I’m already moving as I speak, rushing down the stairs.
Clover’s scent is strong down here. All of us can sense her close by.
Turning into the main living room, I catch sight of blonde hair hanging over a couch.
Rushing over, I freeze when I see her.
She’s sprawled unnaturally over the couch, as if someone picked her up and dumped her on it. Her eye is swollen shut, a cut on her cheek that has dried blood on it right under it. Her mouth is half red, blood dried in the corner as several scratches are around it.
Her neck has fingerprints and bruising, showing signs of her having been choked. On her arm I can see more fingerprints from where they must have been grabbing at her and pulling around.
Our poor sweet Omega.
A choked sound makes me turn, Griffin has tears in his eyes as he drops to his knees beside the couch. Sobbing as he picks up her hand and holds it to his face as he lets out all his emotions.
The storm rages outside, mixed with the sound of the sobbing Alpha.
We’re all frozen, staring at our Omega as a pounding comes from the main door.
“Police! Open up!” Vaughn takes a shaky breath before tugging the door open and getting greeted with a gun.
Of course they think we’re the bad guys. Maybe they’re right. If we couldn’t take care of our Omega maybe we do deserve to be taken away too.