20. Havoc
Havoc
I hated leaving my Honey Girl in bed this morning.
Fucking hated it.
There should be some kind of universal law against a male finding his Omega, spending half the night discovering exactly how fucking right she feels in his arms, and then having to drag his ass out of bed before the sun is properly up.
Especially when Gabriella Santos sleeps curled into a male like she was fucking made to be there.
She was.
I'd woken with her cheek on my chest, one soft thigh thrown across mine, her dark hair everywhere, and her scent wrapped around me so completely Monster hadn't made a single fucking sound.
Not one.
That should've scared me.
Instead, I'd lain there staring at the ceiling with my hand spread across her back, wondering if this was what peace felt like.
Then the fucking call came.
Duty. Always fucking duty.
And this one had been a near miss.
A couple of idiot would-be hunters had decided to bring their bows and arrows onto the mountain to test their mettle.
Out of fucking season, I might add.
Apparently, breaking hunting regulations wasn't enough excitement for them because they'd also built a campfire, gotten drunk, and failed to put the damn thing out properly.
Wind did the rest.
Thank fuck Justin had been scouting the skies, cloaked and invisible in his Dragon form. He'd spotted the smoke and called us in before a stupid mistake became another catastrophic wildfire.
By early afternoon, we had it contained.
Another hour and we were certain it was dead.
And now all I wanted was a shower, clean clothes, and my woman.
My woman.
Fuck.
That still did something to me.
Mate, Monster rumbled.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Talking to yourself again, Wolf boy?”
I flip Wreck off without bothering to look at him.
He laughs.
Asshole.
“Good job today,” Wreck says as I rinse off in one of the outdoor showers at the station.
I grunt.
“Thanks.”
What the fuck am I supposed to say to that?
We don't usually go around thanking each other and shit.
We work. We do the job. We keep the mountain from burning down.
Then we give each other shit until the next call comes in.
But I guess it was a good job.
A-Feral is getting better.
Tighter.
And as weird as it is having Wreck officially acting as our Alpha, it works. Maybe because he doesn't want anything from us. No obedience for obedience's sake. No fucking power trips. No proving he's the biggest asshole in the room.
We each take turns wearing that crown.
Wreck leads when somebody needs to lead and gets the fuck out of the way when they don't.
Monster respects that.
Mostly.
I tip my head beneath the stream. The showers were something I'd rigged months ago because it didn't make sense to drag mud, soot, and half the fucking forest into the station every time we came back from a job.
Raised wooden platform.
Separate stalls.
Saloon-style doors.
Cold water.
Nothing fancy.
But we're in the middle of the damn woods. Nobody's wandering up here unless they have business with us, and it lets us hose the worst of the grime off before going inside.
The water sluices over my head and shoulders. Fuck, even ice cold that feels good.
I close my eyes. And immediately think about this morning.
Gabby.
Warm.
Sleepy.
Her amber eyes barely open when I'd bent over to kiss her goodbye.
I'd almost climbed right the fuck back into bed.
Honey Girl.
My Honey Girl.
My Omega.
I still don't completely understand how that works.
She's not like me. Not a Wolf. But Gia isn’t a Bear, and she’s Wreck’s Omega. So, I guess that’s not that unusual.
Besides, I know she's not human either, though she still hasn't told me exactly what she is. And really, that's okay. I can wait.
For now.
Because last night taught me something I hadn't understood before. The matebond isn't ownership.
Monster might snarl mine every five fucking seconds, but even the beast seems to understand there's a difference between possessing someone and being chosen by them.
Fate brought Gabriella to me.
Maybe it recognized her before I did.
Maybe Monster understood what she was to us weeks ago.
But Gabby chose me. And I chose her. That's what makes this bond ours.
Not instinct.
Not biology.
Not even the Fates.
Choice.
My mouth twitches.
Fuck me. Listen to this sentimental shit.
Monster gives a contented rumble.
“Don't start.”
I put my head beneath the water again. And that's when it happens.
Something inside me pulls tight.
Hard.
My hand slaps against my chest.
What the fuck?
The sensation hits again.
Not physical. Not exactly.
It feels like something invisible between Gabby and me suddenly snaps taut. The warm presence I've been vaguely aware of since last night changes.
Darkens.
My breath catches.
Fear.
Not mine.
Hers.
My heart starts pounding.
“Fuck.”
Monster explodes.
Mate.
The Wolf slams against me so violently my claws punch from my fingertips.
Mate. Fear. Go.
“Fuck!”
I grab the wall. Water pounds against the back of my neck.
“Havoc?”
Justin's voice comes from somewhere outside the stall.
I can't answer.
For one terrible second, I don't know if I fucking can.
The matebond pulses again.
Panic.
Gabby's panic.
Not vague nervousness.
Not worry.
Fear.
Real fucking fear.
And now that I've recognized it, I can't not feel it.
It claws through my chest like it's my own.
Maybe that's what the matebond is. Not hearing her thoughts. Not knowing exactly what she sees or why she's afraid.
But feeling my Omega across whatever distance separates us.
Knowing when she needs me.
Monster howls inside my skull.
GO.
“You okay, bro?”
Justin walks into the stall beside mine, but I barely register him.
“Fuck.”
“Havoc?”
I shut off the water.
“Havoc, man, you look white as a sheet.”
“Something—” I drag in a breath.
Another burst of fear hits, and it chills me to the bone. Now my fear joins hers.
Then Monster piles rage on top of both.
Find. Mate. Protect.
“Something's wrong.”
Justin goes still.
“What's wrong?”
“Gabby's upset.”
“How the hell do you—”
“Scared.” My voice turns into a growl. “She's fucking scared.”
Monster surges so hard my bones ache.
Go.
“I know.”
NOW.
“I fucking know!”
Justin's head appears over the partition.
“What the hell?”
I turn on him.
“Not talking to you.”
His eyebrows climb.
“Okay. Good. Thought our relationship took a really weird fucking turn.”
Normally I'd tell him to eat shit. Right now, I can't even manage that.
I grab a towel and get out. My clothes are sitting on the bench nearby, but I don't bother drying properly.
“Havoc.”
I yank on my jeans.
Justin steps out of his stall with a towel around his waist, watching me too fucking closely. Then his eyes narrow.
“You mated Gabby?”
My hands stop working my fly. Slowly, I look at him.
“None of your business.”
His nostrils flare.
“The fuck it isn't.”
Monster snarls.
Wrong fucking time to challenge me, Dragon.
Justin seems to realize it too, because his stance changes slightly.
Not submissive.
Never that.
But less confrontational. Still, he doesn't back off.
“She's human, isn't she?”
“Actually, no.”
His eyebrows shoot up.
“But again—none of your fucking business.”
“What is she?”
I grab my shirt.
“Didn't you hear the part where I said none of your business?”
“You don't know.”
Not a question. My glare must answer for me.
Justin swears.
“Havoc, man, we need to discuss this.”
“No, we don't.”
“Yes, we fucking do. Cross-species matebonds can be—”
“She's my concern. Mine.”
The words come out with enough Alpha dominance that the air seems to thicken around us.
Monster pushes close.
Mine.
“She has a kid. You can’t just fuck around with her!”
I snarl louder.
“I fucking know! Look, Gabby isn’t mine because I decided it. She is mine because she did. Only mine,” I growl.
Wreck walks around the corner, shirt hanging open and mismatched eyes moving between us.
“The fuck are you two fighting about now?”
“Havoc mated Gabby.”
Wreck stops.
His gaze swings to me. Then his mouth slowly curves.
Fucking hell, here we go.
“Don't.”
He holds up both hands.
“Didn't say shit.”
“You were about to.”
“Congratulations?”
“Fuck off.”
Wreck laughs.
Justin doesn't.
“Havoc doesn't know what she is.”
Wreck's amusement vanishes. I point at both of them.
“Listen to me because I'm only saying this once. Gabriella will tell me what she is when she's ready.”
Justin folds his arms.
“And if whatever she is presents a danger?”
“To who?”
“I don’t fucking know, bro. To you. To us. To the mountain. To her—”
A snarl tears out of me. Monster is suddenly right fucking there.
“A danger to her?”
Justin's eyes flash.
“That isn't what I meant.”
“Then choose your next words real fucking carefully.”
Silence.
My chest heaves.
Fuck.
Control.
I need control.
Gabby needs me. Standing here fighting another Alpha isn't helping her.
I breathe through my nose.
Once.
Twice.
The matebond pulls again.
Fear.
Fuck this. I yank my shirt over my head.
“She's coming here this weekend,” I tell them. “Her and Matteo.”
Wreck's expression softens slightly at the kid's name.
Good, because that's another thing we're going to get straight.
“And I expect both of you to mind your fucking manners.”
Justin stares at me.
“Matteo, too?”
“Yeah.”
Something inside me settles just saying his name.
Gabby's son. Not just that. Monster speaks up, my pup too.
The realization doesn't shock me nearly as much as it probably should.
Maybe because Monster already decided that too.
Matteo belongs with Gabriella.
Gabriella belongs with me.
Not like property.
Like family.
And anything that is hers?
I protect.
Simple fucking math.
Wreck studies me for another second.
Then he nods.
“Understood.”
Justin sighs.
“Fine.”
“Good.”
I shove my feet into my boots.
“Havoc,” Wreck calls as I turn away.
“What?”
“You need backup?”
The question stops me. Not because I'm going to take him up on it.
Because he means it.
My Alpha. My Crew. My fucking Pack, apparently. Whatever the hell we're becoming up here.
“No.”
I reach for my keys.
“This is my mate.”
Wreck nods once.
“Go.”
I don't need to be told twice. I take off. Monster is practically tearing through my skin before I reach the truck.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
“I know.”
The matebond throbs inside my chest.
Gabby's fear. My rage. Her anxiety.
But the strongest is my need to get to her. Everything is just tangling together until I can't tell where one of us ends and the other begins.
And suddenly I understand something else about this Alpha/Omega connection.
The Fates didn't give me Gabriella because she's weak and needs a stronger male to save her.
Nah, my Honey Girl is anything but fucking weak.
It gave us each other because somehow we're stronger together. Her presence quiets the monster I've spent my entire life fighting.
And apparently, when she's afraid? She wakes every protective instinct I've ever possessed.
I don't know what scared her. Don't know what happened. Don't know who the fuck I might have to kill when I get there.
But the matebond is pulling me toward my Omega like a fucking compass.
And for once in my life, Monster and I are in complete agreement.
Find our female.
Protect our mate.
And God fucking help whoever put that fear inside my Honey Girl.