27. Blues & Twos

TWENTY-SEVEN

BLUES sections of her stab vest sent flying as her radio hit Oliver in the face. Oliver grit his teeth, wrenching his feet free as he crawled on his hands and knees between the corn. It shouldn't have been so difficult, but the quagmire had long since swallowed his shoes, leaving only his pink and lime green socks to cover his feet.

‘Now, now, now,’ his wolf snarled, and before he could rip off his own stab vest he burst into his sandy wolf form.

His canine senses bloomed across his vision, and his sensitive nose picked up the trail almost instantly. Bosko slowed as he and Nancy gained, and as Oliver wound through the stalks with his belly slung low, he finally caught up to the sex traffickers.

Catching the terrified child’s eye, he tipped his ears forward in an almost playful manner, trying to reassure the boy that it was going to be alright. Because not even heaven and earth could stop Oliver from reaching him. The boy blinked, sending a torrent of fresh tears streaming down his filthy face.

Oliver snarled, his lips peeling back over his fangs as his claws tried to grip the slippy ground. Something curled in the back of his throat, something hot and wild that thrashed to be let out. He stared at the boy, and the boy stared back. It caused something to snap in Oliver’s brain as he opened his jaws, threw his head up to the sky and let the primordial howl rip free from his lungs.

It was like a fire whipping from deep within his belly, as it crashed up his windpipe and spilled over his teeth. The deep, bellowing sound triggered the boy’s omega senses, snapping him out of his panicked stupor. He twisted and bucked in his abductor’s grasp, nipping and barking until he finally wriggled free. Self preservation must have kicked in for Bosko and the other man, because they shifted without so much as a backwards glance.

Oliver jumped on Bosko, Nancy on the other, as they tussled in the mud, flattening the corn stalks as they thrashed and ripped and snarled at one another. Oliver pinned the wolf beneath him, using his body weight as an anchor as the wolf’s legs struggled to gain purchase on the slippy ground.

A pulse throbbed through his fangs. ‘Bite, bite, bite,’ the sigma wolf roared as he failed to stop his head reeling back and his jaws snapping around the other wolf’s neck. There was a moment of still as his teeth breached flesh, and then another as hot, metallic blood gushed onto his tongue.

‘ Kill. Kill. Kill.’

Before he knew what he was doing, his skull began to shake as he pinned his prey in an alpha death grip.

‘Stop, stop, stop!’ A voice screamed in his mind, cutting through the fury. It was Nancy. She stood in front of him with her ears pressed flat against her head. ‘Stop, friend. Calm. Not right.’

Oliver stilled as the beta pressed her muzzle into his scruff, licking behind his ears and over the top of his head. It was an objectively stupid thing to do, given that he was running on pure adrenaline and rage, but as the familiarity of her scent washed over him, he loosened his jaws.

Bosko cowered beneath Oliver, the stench of urine obvious to all of their noses. He bit down on the back of the wolf’s head, forcing him to shift back to human form.

Nancy huffed and lowered her head, before turning and stalking towards the other trafficker and the terrified omega.

With a shiver, Oliver shifted back. He began to shake as he gripped Bosko’s arms, wrenching them behind his back. “Bartek Bosko,” he said, swallowing as he tried to maintain control over the almighty adrenaline dump that was about to hit his muscles. “You are under arrest for abduction and the statutory rape of a child. You do not have to say anything—shit—” And then he was sick all over him, because morning sickness held back for no man.

“Bugger,” was all Oliver could say, as he and Lucas watched the blue Honda Jazz being towed out of the field. “Even with your valeting skills, there’s no getting those dents out,” he said, trying to make light of the situation. Lucas, however, was not laughing as he stood in silence with Oliver tucked so far under his arm they were almost sharing a foil blanket.

Members of the public were beginning to gather. Even a photographer from the local newspaper made an appearance because, as it turned out, thirty-five police officers descending upon a crop field in pursuit of a hostage was not something one saw every day.

“That’s a big fucking cake fine, pal,” Nancy said, staring at Oliver as he watched the recovery agent struggling to coax the Jazz out of the mud. “Writing off the oldest unmarked car in the division and vomiting all over a suspect. In fact, I’d say that’s breakfast. For a month.”

Oliver sucked his teeth and gave a sheepish grin, because despite Lucas’ piss-poor mood and Nancy’s ribbing, he was feeling pretty pleased with himself.

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Lucas said, eventually turning his gaze towards Oliver.

“What? That’s totally unnecessary,” he replied, stepping out of Lucas’ grasp. “I wasn’t injured, just a bit muddy.”

“It is necessary,” Lucas barked, making Oliver flinch. Thankfully, Nancy chose that moment to make herself scarce. “It’s necessary for me to know that you and the baby are unharmed.”

“We are unharmed,” Oliver said in the most mollifying, omega-like tone he could muster. “You can’t be sending me off to the hospital every time things get a bit dicey.”

Lucas rounded on him, a mixture of hurt and anger in his eyes as he gripped Oliver’s shoulders. “Dicey?” He growled, “A bit fucking dicey ? Reed, one minute I was talking to you on the phone, the next the line was dead and you were screaming down the radio. When you pressed your red button, I thought—” The alpha’s eyes dropped as his shoulders sagged, and Oliver thought fuck the photographer as he gathered Lucas up in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver whispered. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just saw the boy in danger and then… well, you know the rest.”

Lucas huffed, and he felt momentarily small as he sagged into Oliver’s embrace. “Please never scare me like that again,” he said, before cupping his cheek and kissing his forehead. “And you’re seriously worried about being a shit father?”

As it happened, the two of them couldn’t fulfil their promise of a takeaway with Matteus and Julian that evening. It was past midnight when they finally stumbled through the door of the apartment, and neither could wait to have a proper shower and get into bed.

Lucas fell asleep with his head under Oliver’s t-shirt, but Oliver was still awake when his alarm clock ticked over to two o’clock. He stared up at the ceiling, guilt gnawing at his insides. Picking up his phone, he typed, ‘Hey Matty, I’m pregnant.’

No, no, no, that was too blunt.

‘Matteus, I am with child.’

Too formal.

‘Hey Matty, so, a funny thing happened and as it turns out…I’m pregnant. Surprise!’

What the fuck, dude? Sighing, he rubbed his eyes and lifted the neckline of his t-shirt to gaze down at the alpha. He was about to wake him, but as his eyes drifted to Lucas’ fingers gently caressing the skin just below his navel, he decided to let the alpha dream for just a little longer.

‘Hey, sorry to text so late. Hopefully, you’ll see this in the morning. Run with us tomorrow? Love you. Ollie xx,’

Swallowing, he clicked send. There was a response seconds later.

‘We’ll be there. Love Julian xx’

Followed by a photograph of Matteus fast asleep with his mouth hanging open. Oliver chuckled and placed his phone back on the bedside table.

The interview team was working through the night to drag as much information out of Bosko as possible. Patrick, as expected, had tried to throw Oliver under the bus the first chance he got, but his solicitor shut the interview down pretty quickly before he could say something stupid. It did, however, mean that everyone in Op Sceptre now knew of their association, and what had happened six years prior. Strangely enough, Oliver made his peace with it as he drifted off to sleep with the softly snoring alpha nestled against his skin.