24. Apollo

Istretched as I woke up with a yawn, pushing my arms above my head. The sound of my shoulders cracking was so satisfying, especially knowing that they ached because I'd supported Candy so she could be fucked by my mate.

Reaching out for her, my eyes half-closed, a sleepy smile on my face. I wanted to pull her close to me. Even if she was caged by Zeus and Odin, I could find some way to bury between them so I could hold her tight.

I was met by a wall of solid muscle. The thick arm around my waist and hard cock poking into my back told me she definitely wasn't cuddling me from behind.

Lifting my head, I tried not to wake them as I gently extracted myself from Zeus's arms. Peace settled over me as my gaze landed on Candy, her face buried in Odin's chest, both of them breathing softly together.

I was taken back to the first time I saw my pack like this. When everything felt simple, when we thought there might be a way to escape the contract.

I bent to pick up the clothes I'd dumped last night before climbing in next to her and feasting on her pussy. I was the only early-riser out of the four of us. I wanted them to wake up to a treat, and it was five a.m., so there was plenty of time to cook them breakfast.

The hosts didn't have kitchens in their apartments. Their meals were always provided by the Club staff, but I could cook there when I asked.

I'd been fussing around in the main kitchens for at least half an hour. I usually cooked at home and brought it in for her. They were used to me sneaking meals to Candy during her heat as well. I would make sorbets and cakes of mango, passion fruit, and lemon, so she knew we were always with her.

I was preparing the last plate when it hit me.

Shock pounded through my body as Odin's rage exploded. I doubled over, pain shooting through my ribs before he disappeared from the bond. I cried out in horror, falling forward, crashing into the plate of fruit and pastries in front of me.

"Apollo! What is it?" A chef was with me in a second.

"Call security," I gasped, clutching the counter, my knees giving way under the sheer agony smashing through the bond.

I pushed through, searching for Odin, but nothing was there.

All I could do was heave myself up and drag myself along the edge of the counter, tears beading at the corners of my eyes.

"Send them to Candy's rooms," I rasped as the chef grabbed the phone on the wall that connected them directly to reception.

Fear flooded me as I kept trying to reach Odin.

It couldn't happen again.

It wasn't happening again.

I wheezed as I forced myself towards the door.

I couldn't lose them.

The silence was deafening as I shoved through the double doors to the kitchens. It was only two flights of stairs and a long corridor. I could do it.

Growling, I pushed away the stabbing pain as I focused on the dark green carpet which marked the lower floor of the club.

Losing a mate was one of the most painful things someone could experience. Our minds and bodies were connected on such a deep level that to lose a member of the pack was to lose a part of yourself. And, for many, it led to weeks of insanity as they attempted to adjust to the loss. My mind was still functioning, and I had to believe he was alive.

I ran, each step life a fresh knife wound in my stomach, but Zeus was right there, next to where Odin vanished.

Panic consumed me with such a force, I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't feel Candy—there was no chance we could without a bite.

I was only a minute away, it shouldn't have taken so long.

Zeus burst to life through the bond, his fear deafening me. It sailed high, taut, and I swear I heard a roar from the second flight of stairs. My focus was on him, dread beating me, trusting Zeus would take care of it. As long as he was there, Odin and Candy were safe.

Until suddenly, he was gone.

"No!" I let out a yell of anguish, my hand slamming against the wall to keep myself up as I reached the corridor, my tears running freely as Zeus's energy was slashed from our bond.

I couldn't give in. I couldn't let the fear dominate me. There was no way I could lose my mates. Not like this.

No one would dare attack the club… no one sane, anyway. The danger must have come from breaking our contracts. We'd been with her for five hours. It was too early for someone to find us. So who else could it be?

I cried out as I dragged myself to her door. There was no sign anything had changed except the dead silence of my mates. I fumbled as I punched in the code, but it went red and beeped. Another wave of dread drenched me as I tried again and again, but nothing.

I wasn't waiting around for security. I couldn't stand here when my mates were in danger.

Lining myself up with the opening of the door, I drew back, bracing an arm against the frame before throwing myself at the door with all my strength. I bounced off it with a solid thud, pain shooting across my right shoulder and collarbone. It didn't matter, I had to keep trying. No pain was comparable to my fear.

Whines and growls were pouring from me. Rage fuelled my strength, but it wasn't enough. If I were Zeus or Odin, the door would never have been a problem.

By the time it gave way, my arm screamed, burning, bleeding. I thought I had dislocated it, but I didn't have time to worry. My mates were in there.

I fell into her apartment, my head snapping right, my eyes landing on the two huge forms of my mates slumped on the floor. A sob fled from me, part relief, part fright. Because I couldn't tell if they were alive.

Their scents hit me instantly; the sour taste of sick lemon vodka, rotten passion fruit, and bubblegum so sweet, it stung me like a wasp. There was another body slumped on the floor, dressed in black and, from the size, it couldn't be her.

I nearly collapsed, my mind flashing back to the bar. Seeing Odin on the floor sent my panic into overdrive. I needed to get to them.

Odin was the closest. Slumped against the bed, upright, I forced myself forward, falling to my knees before him.

"Please. Please, Odin," I gasped as I extended my left hand, shaking as I reached for his neck. "Please, stay with me."

Another sob dropped from me as I felt his pulse and his shallow breaths scattering along my arm. "Thank God," I choked out, quickly running my hand over his body, searching for wounds.

The light on the other side of the bed cast him in shadow, and as I brushed his chest and his stomach, my hand bumped into something small.

Narrowing my eyes, I found a tiny dart, thinner than my finger, red at the end. I just had to pray it was a tranquilliser and not anything deadly.

"Fuck," I whimpered as I withdrew my hand.

I gathered the bottom of my shirt, leaning forward to pull out the dart and dump it on the floor. I didn't want to touch it in case it had fingerprints.

My gaze snapped to Zeus. I forced myself to stay calm as I dragged myself across the floor past the other body and towards my mate.

But there was no Candy.

My hands shook as I found Zeus. He was on his stomach, his arm flung out towards the garden door.

Even when we lay together in the hospital after Michael left, both of us broken as Odin healed, I didn't see him as weak. They were both my strength. They guarded me as I protected them. And finding him crumpled on the floor, with no fight or passion, was more terrifying than Zeus's wildest nightmares.

"Zeus," I moaned as I reached for his throat. "Zeus, baby, please. Please be safe."

I let out a cry, my head falling on his arm as his pulse beat steadily in his neck.

I had to find the darts. I needed to get them out of him.

As I brushed my hand over his chest, there was a clattering behind me, and my head shot up. Lips across my teeth, a low growl rumbled in my chest as I held on to my mate. I didn't care how many of them there were, I'd fight to the end to protect them both.

Though I was still wheezing, barely able to think, my alpha instincts cooled as Bones and Arrow entered the room. I knew they were okay, they were only here for us. I trusted them more than anyone else we had worked with in the past.

Three other guards emerged from behind them and started a full sweep of the room. Though we'd been working together for years, I had to be alert. It was my responsibility to protect my pack, and I'd abandoned them. I thought we were safe; I let my guard down, and now our omega was gone.

One guard bent to inspect the third person on the floor. Another went to Odin, and I would have snarled at him to back off if Arrow and Bones weren't standing over me.

"Where is she?" Arrow asked, lowering his gun as Bones and the other alphas searched the room. He was Bones's mate, and head of the security team at the Club.

They were both big men, but they had nothing on my mates. Ex-army, buzz cuts, their hard gazes a permanent feature. Both were dressed in black, just like the man crumpled on the floor.

I shook my head. I couldn't speak. The pain was too much, winding its way through my body, tremoring out from my dislocated arm and into my heart. They'd been completely knocked out and I couldn't feel them in the bond, but my mates were alive.

"We've checked the other rooms," Bones said, his face hard. "Nothing there."

"Call Michael," Arrow said bluntly, his attention fixed on Zeus.

"It's six a.m."

"I don't give a fuck." He turned to Bones. "He's either going to be pissed it's early or pissed we didn't call him."

There was a silent standoff between them, their auras vibrating, and I wanted to shout that it wasn't time for macho alpha games. We needed to find Candy.

Bones clicked his tongue as he glared at his mate. "Fine. Two minutes."

Arrow hunched down next to me as Bones strode to the other side of the room, pulling his phone out, and disappearing from my line of sight.

"Alright?" Arrow asked me as he scanned Zeus's chest, searching for wounds.

"Of course I'm not alright," I croaked, my left hand still clutching Zeus.

I was amazed how composed I sounded when I was dying inside.

Arrow's brow creased. "We'll find her. Just trust in that. You know Michael doesn't stand for this shit."

Arrow might appear understanding, but he didn't have an omega. It was just him, Bones, and their female beta, Amber. I'd never say it to his face, but it wasn't the same as an alpha losing his omega in heat.

"Can I check him over?" he asked softly, looking at Zeus, his eyes filled with compassion.

I nodded numbly as I released Zeus's arm, pushing away and forcing myself to rise. My right arm was useless, agony sending black spots into my vision with every movement. So I left it hanging, as if it were just a disposable part of me. It was less important than my mates.

There was one more place they hadn't checked. One place I hadn't shared with anyone.

It was the biggest secret I kept from my pack, and one of the many I kept from Candy.

"I'll be back in a minute," I said to Arrow, who didn't look up as he pulled a dart from Zeus's chest.

I squeezed my eyes closed at the sight of the small piece of metal in Arrow's hand. Zeus was breathing, his heart was still beating. Even though I couldn't feel him because of whatever drug was in the dart, I had to trust he would be okay.

I checked to make sure none of the alphas could see me before I left the bedroom. There were two more guards out in the main corridor, and they both gave me a nod as I turned from them, heading straight to her living room at the very back of her apartment. They'd already done a sweep, and no one was there to catch me heading towards the large hanging drape on the far side of the room.

With a final quick check behind me, I pushed it aside to find the small service door that must have been made when the rooms were first built.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I whispered as I opened the door to her nest.

I hadn't been inside before. The only reason I knew about it was because there had been a last-minute emergency before a show, and she needed me to pick something up for her. I saw the corner of the drape caught on the small handle, took a peek, and knew straight away from the scent what lay behind the door, but I never went in.

I didn't want it to be like this. I wanted her to invite me in, to open her space to me because she loved me. It was a complete violation of her trust to enter her nest without her permission, but she could be hiding after whatever happened in her main rooms.

Even if I couldn't sense her aura, I had to check, just in case she had been hit by a dart like Odin and Zeus. Maybe she dragged herself in here before she passed out, or maybe she'd managed to run away and hide after all.

Slipping inside, I shut the door behind me. No one else could find out about it.

"Candy? Are you here?" I called softly, keeping my gaze on the floor even though my instincts were telling me to rub myself over every surface so she knew I was hers.

Another layer of pain added to my already burning heart. I couldn't smell her. She was in heat, and there was no way her scent wouldn't be coating the room, but I had to check.

I bit my lip as I looked up. And blinked.

Once. Twice. My breath was instantly stolen by the simplicity of it.

Of everything I knew about her, I didn't expect a single bare mattress and thousands of sparkling fairy lights scattered across the ceiling like flecks of paint. White sheets, bare floors, and a pile of clothes next to the four pillows on top of the mattress I recognised straight away.

All the clothes we had ever given her over the years, spread out with an indent in the centre where she slept. If she chose to bring us here in the future, I wanted to curl up there with her and tell her we'd always protect her. So, we needed to get her back.

"Sweetheart, it's me. Are you in here?"

But there was nothing. Not even a whimper.

I scanned the floor, trying not to fixate on the four cups, four pillows, four empty picture frames, four coat hooks. It was obvious. It was so clear, and it made the agony of her loss that much harsher.

The wonder of her collection was drowned out by the pounding fear that had been eating away at the last traces of my sanity.

I couldn't find her. I couldn't smell her, see her, taste her.

All I knew was that she was gone.