Chapter 33
RUNE
LITTLE BIRD - STAR CAST
Ihate being alone.
I spent most of my goddamn life alone. I used to enjoy the solitude. I liked not having to speak to anyone. I liked that there wasn’t anyone around pointing fingers at the giant, no one judging the way I look, and that there wasn’t anyone around to be afraid of me.
Being alone never bothered me before.
Before I was mated to five other people who, in a matter of days, made me hate the peace and serenity that comes with being by myself in silence.
It probably doesn’t help that I’m also worrying about those same five people in a way I have never worried about anything in my goddamn life.
I flex my fingers at my sides, balling my hands into fists then opening them wide as I continue pacing the floor of Styx’s apartment.
From one end to the other, back and forth. I’ve worn a path in the carpet and I’m working on the wood floor. It’s only a matter of time before it gives out completely and I end up pacing on top of the RV until the roof caves in under my weight.
With a sigh, I scrub a hand over my hair and check the clock.
It’s a little after seven.
A little after seven in the evening, and I haven’t heard from one of my mates for about six hours, not one, and I think I’ve had enough.
I turn around and slam the balcony doors closed, securing them the best I can since we haven’t replaced them after I all but blew them to pieces, then check all the windows and call for my dogs.
“We’re leaving,” I grunt as I grab my wallet and start searching for Dimitri’s keys.
Thank god they took Leon’s car to the airport.
If they hadn’t and it was my only option right now, I’d be turning that Taurus into a convertible and ripping out the front seat in order to sit in the back, just so my big ass would have enough leg room and not crack my skull on the ceiling every time I hit a pothole.
I fit better in D’s truck, and the dogs like that they have to ride in the bed because there’s only a small bench seat.
Yanking open the junk drawer in the kitchen, I pause.
I just called him D.
It was only in my head, but I don’t think I’ve used the shortened version of anyone’s name except Leon, and that’s only because he doesn’t care for being called Leonidas.
I'm sure that’s something else that comes with bonding. A level of comfort that you haven’t reached before. A natural easiness between mates.
I’m thirty-nine years old and I’m starting to worry it’s going to take me another thirty-nine years to figure out how to be with my pack without questioning every fucking thing that happens between us.
Maybe I was supposed to be alone.
Shaking the thought from my head, I dig around until I find my alpha’s keys, snatching them up quickly before ushering the dogs onto the stairwell and locking up behind me.
Now is not the time to try to figure any of that shit out, though.
It probably isn’t even something to figure out, and the last thing I need to do is focus on it when I should be trying to contact my mates.
I know the others think Olive needs space, that she’ll come home when she’s ready, but I’m more hesitant. There’s some truth to it, the need she has for her own space in order to process things, but even our girl wouldn’t stay away this long. Not when she knows what it could do to the rest of us.
Like make me question everything about life as I know it.
I’m not going to wait any longer, not if I can help her in some way.
That tightness in my chest returns as I load my hellhounds into the truck then move toward the driver’s seat.
The feeling waned after Olive left.
It didn’t entirely go away, but that emptiness or whatever it was, subsided quite a bit and eventually I didn’t feel anything negative coming from her.
Then I felt nothing.
There was nothing at all from our girl flowing through our bond, not until I started having chest pains, and that’s why I’m peeling out of the barn and taking off in the direction I think they’re coming from.
Which sounds really stupid—chest pains having a direction—but there is something pulling me from our property, a nagging feeling in the back of my mind telling me to get the fuck on the road and find our omega.
Save our omega.
I’m not about to fail her again, it’s not fucking happening.
Following my gut, I tear through town and head for the highway, the direction somewhat familiar as I quickly hit eighty miles per hour.
Why do I know this route?
My brow furrows as my phone rings, and I answer without looking as I change lanes. “Beta.”
“Yes…” Styx says slowly down the line. “You weren’t looking at your phone, were you? You just knew it was me.”
“I did.”
“God, that’s hot.”
I smile a little then slam on my brakes as the semi in front of me does the same before I go around him and drive on the shoulder for the next few miles. “Is everyone okay?”
“We’re good, love,” he says, his tone a little off before he quickly adds, “Injured, but good.”
“We’re bringing you a present!”
I roll my eyes as I hear Leon shout in the background. “Thank you.”
“It’s Boris’ head!”
“What?” I punch the horn as some asshole cuts me off and for a brief moment, I realize I’m driving like Olive. More of that bonding stuff I don’t understand, I bet.
“That’s not why we’re calling.”
I can hear a bit of a scuffling on the other end, my beta snapping at my alphas, both of them going on about a bloody head rolling around the cockpit of a private jet.
Normally I enjoy things like this, listening to the way my mates interact with each other, watching how they love each other in such unique ways, but right now, my chest is growing tighter by the second and my nerves are all but shot.
“Found a lot of information while we were at the mansion,” my omega grunts as he gets hold of the phone. “You okay, honey?”
“I’m good.” I smile a little at Nikolai’s genuine concern, one that grows when he hears squealing tires and me blasting the horn again.
“Rune, where are you?”
“On my way to Olive.”
“What do you mean? Did she call you?” I can practically hear him roll his eyes. “Of course she didn’t. How do you know where she is, and why are you going there?”
“Instincts.” I am running on nothing but instinct, intuition, and pure fucking adrenaline right now. “I’m sharing my location. How long before you land?”
“D says maybe another hour. We can change course, though, and meet you.”
I shake my head even though he can’t see. “That’s not necessary.”
At least, I hope it’s not.
I’m confident in my ability to handle myself and anyone stupid enough to try me, but I’m making a sad attempt at not jumping to the worst case scenario before I reach Olive.
It wasn’t until very recently that I started to feel like something was wrong, and that could easily be me mistaking my newfound hatred for being alone as a problem with our girl.
Something is telling me it’s not.
“Are you sure?” Niko asks as I cut across all four lanes and barely make the exit. “You know we’ll land this thing wherever you need us to.”
“I do, but I’ll be fine.” Not to mention, that’s dangerous as hell, and could be a big enough distraction that it puts Olive directly in harm's way. I don’t want to risk any of them by doing that.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing.” I rub the center of my chest, my hand moving from bite to bite as the pit in my stomach grows. “I love you. All of you.”
“Rune? Rune, do not hang up on me. I swear to god, if you—”
I hang up and toss my phone on the passenger seat, ignoring the way it starts lighting up like fireworks on the fourth of July.
They aren’t going to listen to me when I tell them not to follow, I know they’re going to show up wherever I’m going, anyway, and there’s not one goddamn thing I can do to stop them.
I’ll leave my phone on so they can track my location, but that’s it. Arguing is pointless, and so is trying to convince them nothing is wrong with our girl.
I just need to get to her before it’s too late.
I’m already horrible with words, explaining how I failed our omega, again, and in turn, hurt the four of them, is something I will struggle with in the moment, and for the rest of my life.
I should have lit this fucking warehouse on fire.
The thought echoes through my mind about an hour and a half later as I pull up to the last place I expected to revisit, killing the headlights and slowly rolling down the service drive as I scan the fenced-in lots.
Whether it’s being scent matches, or the fact that we’ve mated in general, the intuition that comes with a bond bite is very intense and extremely accurate.
I didn’t expect to end up here, though, and considering the memories associated with this place aren’t ones anyone would want to relive, I doubt Olive is here for nostalgia.
And that means people are going to die tonight.
I park Dimitri’s truck behind the same section of fence I used before, the one covered by overgrown and unkempt hedges. All three dogs come to attention as soon as I get out and quietly close the door before lowering the tailgate for them.
Pointing to the same vantage points they had when we rescued Olive and Nikolai, I give the pups their orders, telling them to wait for their commands before they do anything. Which is going to be tricky because I can see that they’ve already picked up our girl’s scent. Just like me.
My omega’s scent is strong, even this far from the building, and I’m going to pray it’s because she’s afraid and nothing more. If it means she’s bleeding, if it means someone is in that fucking warehouse hurting her, whoever it is will be begging me to kill them before the night is through.
I walk over to the passenger’s side window, toss my wallet and keys on the seat with my phone then pull my hoodie up over my head and use it to cover those things. Only to immediately scowl when I realize I didn’t grab one fucking weapon when I left the apartment.