Chapter 3

Silas

“Either stop with the growling or take your territorial ass outside of my examination room,” Korren, our head Healer, snapped.

Bowen scowled but quieted, his rumbling growls changing from a chest-vibrating rattle to a more subtle pitch in his throat.

“I’m not territorial,” he stated.

Korren snorted but didn’t bother responding, focusing on the little wolf on his examination table instead.

When we reached the medical building, Korren and his staff moved quickly and efficiently. The shock of the Omega’s presence only gave him a moment’s pause before he began shouting orders, including a command to contact Alpha Wynn.

Bowen and I explained to Korren how and where we found her. Everything was going smoothly until one of his medics—an unmated male—tried to take a blood sample.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Bowen lunged forward, his possessive snarl warning the younger male away. My wolf growled along with his unit mate. I strained against the partial shift hovering against my skin, keeping my composure and blocking Bowen’s path while I tried to de-escalate the situation.

His need to eliminate whatever threatened the Omega took me by surprise. My wolf’s reaction was equally puzzling—he wanted to touch, mark, and claim. He needed it.

I needed it.

I’d never felt so close to the edge.

Every moment spent denying my wolf provoked my instincts. Every unmated male posed a threat to our bond until it was complete.

Her heat wasn’t helping.

The smell of her slick had grown more potent on our walk to the medical center, and I was sporting a semi-permanent hard-on by the time we arrived.

I’d never smelled anything so singularly consuming. Even my iron-fisted restraint was fraying.

Korren shrewdly assessed us. “Corey, you and the rest of the team can handle the patient in room ten. I’ll deal with this myself.”

Logically, I knew they wouldn’t try to claim our Omega, but my wolf didn’t relax until the unmated males exited. When only the mated head Healer remained, my wolf finally accepted that there was no competition for his mate.

Gentry and Theron entered the room ten minutes later. The moment they crossed the threshold, their nostrils flared. Our bond sparked, crackling like wildfire, and I knew they felt the draw to this Omega as well. It was a call from the Goddess herself.

Our fated mate.

Gentry’s red brows furrowed as he stepped closer to the unconscious wolf. His eyes flashed from blue to gold, meeting mine for confirmation.

I nodded.

“How?” he asked, eyes gleaming.

“I don’t know,” I said.

Theron lingered by the door, crossing his arms over his chest and analyzing the scene with a blank expression. I would’ve thought him unaffected if it weren’t for the shallow pulse in his jaw.

“She’ll be okay,” Korren said, looking over his charts before turning his attention to us. “Even so, she’s dehydrated, malnourished, and on the brink of hypothermia. If you hadn’t gotten her here when you did, we’d be looking at limb restoration and rehabilitation.”

My wolf growled, rejecting the possibility.

“What do we do?” Gentry asked, eyes glued to her curled-up form.

“We wait for her to wake up. Keep her warm and hydrated until then. Her vitals look good, and her wolf has a steady heartbeat, but I’ll have to assess her again when she’s conscious to see the extent of the damage.”

Wood scraped along the linoleum, and when we all looked at the doorway, we found Bowen dragging chairs into the room.

When Bowen noticed our staring, he shrugged. “We’re gonna be here a while. Figured I’d get some chairs.”

Theron helped him with the furniture, then sat closest to the doorway.

“Oh, there is one more thing,” Korren said. “There is a strange pattern to her fur growth on her left flank.”

My eyes zeroed in on the spot where her golden fur thinned. The hair was sparse, twisting and twirling in a circle slightly larger than a coin. I wouldn’t have noticed if Korren hadn’t pointed it out.

Something about it put my wolf on edge. He wanted me to inspect it further.

“Something we should be concerned about?” I asked.

“No, not yet at least.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” Bowen snarked.

Korren narrowed his eyes. “Let me make myself clear. I’m leaving you here under the condition that you don’t cause my patient any duress. I will kick you out at the first sign of any disturbance.”

Gentry flashed his most charming smile at the cranky doctor. “I’ll keep them in line.”

“Be sure that you do.” Korren looked pointedly at Bowen before walking out.

Theron let out a harsh breath, and his shoulders sagged. The medical building made him uncomfortable, so his presence was surprising. I reached for his link—the thread that led to his emotions—and sent soothing pulses through our bond. His dark chocolate eyes met mine, and his full lips quirked. It couldn’t be considered a smile, but it was enough to let me know he appreciated the gesture.

I sat between Bowen and Gentry, and silence descended on the room. The weight of her presence—of the shift she had brought to our lives—was both a blessing and a curse.

Our Omega.

Our mate.

And she was unsanctioned. Wild. Forbidden.

The Council would see her as yet another slight against them. Any other sanctioned pack—one loyal to the Council—would have reported the Omega and let them decide her fate like all the others in their possession. To do that would mean losing her to the system.

Claws broke through my fingertips, piercing my skin as a fierce wave of anger swept over me. No one would take her from us.

“So, she’s ours,” Gentry said, broaching the subject.

“It would seem so,” Bowen replied, deceptively calm.

“The question is, where did she come from?” Theron asked. “You said you found her in the woods. Are you certain there were no other scents nearby?”

“None,” Bowen said.

“Odd.” Theron eyed us, and I knew I wouldn’t like what he had to say. “How can we be sure this isn’t a trap? That she wasn’t sent here by the Council?”

“You think the Council would send an Omega to do their dirty work? They’ve got some screws loose, but they wouldn’t risk an Omega,” Bowen said.

Theron’s heavy brows rose. “That’s exactly what they would do. It’s the last thing we’d expect. Think about it. If the Council is desperate to get inside Hidden Creek’s borders, which they most certainly are, they won’t waste their time sending someone suspicious.” He gave the wolf a pointed stare. “They would send something we covet—something we wouldn’t anticipate.”

Shit. He had a point.

“She’s our mate,” I reminded him.

“An unexpected wrench in their plans.” Theron crossed his arms over his chest. “But until we know how she got here, it’s safer to keep our distance. Assume the worst.”

Bowen stared at him incredulously. “You can’t be serious. She’s our mate. Even if she originally intended to do the Council’s bidding, it would stand to reason that the mating urge will change her plans.”

“Hate to say it, but Bowen’s right,” Gentry said. “She’ll be in heat soon. The urge will take over, and the longer we hold out, the more we risk our wolves falling into a rut. Once the bond is in place, we’ll be able to detect any inaccuracies in her story.”

“And that’s enough for you?” Theron snapped.

“It will have to be. Unless you plan on fighting the bond?” I questioned.

All eyes turned to him, and Theron straightened, legs wide and shoulders relaxed. Dominance rolled off him in waves as he assessed each of us.

Time seemed to slow, and the haunted look in his eyes told me he wasn’t entirely present. His gaze flicked over to our sleeping mate and then back to us, resigned. “There’s no fighting it.”

Gentry joined Theron and slipped his hand into the larger man’s. “Whatever happens, we’re in this together. We don’t even know her, so let’s not assume the worst. It won’t do us any good.”

Gentry’s empathic nature balanced out the harder edges of our group, and times like this reminded us why the calmer, sweeter male had bonded to three clueless brutes like us.

A familiar voice spoke up from the doorway. “She’s a tiny thing.”

We all turned to face Alpha Wynn as he strode into the room. His icy blue eyes swept over our mate before settling on us. “Korren said you felt the mating pull.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “When we found her. At first, I didn’t believe it. But when Bowen, Gentry, and Theron felt the same flare in our bond, there was no mistaking it. The female, whoever she is, is ours.”

Wynn weighed my words, his features hard as marbled stone. Then, he nodded. “When she wakes, it’s likely she’ll be in heat. What are your plans?”

“We’ll satisfy the urge and fulfill the bond,” Bowen answered. “After, we’ll question her, find out where she came from, and investigate why she was alone in our woods.”

“This is an unusual situation, so I have to caution you. Bonding with the Omega isn’t something you can take back if she turns out to be an enemy. There will be no mercy for her,” Alpha Wynn stated.

My wolf snarled at the threat, but I held back. As much as it would pain me, the pack had to come first—and it would, no matter what.

Before we could respond, the sound of footsteps drew our attention, and our commander and head of the Enforcers, Alaric, stepped into the room. He gave us a brief nod before turning his attention to Alpha Wynn.

“Isolde is asking for you,” Alaric said to Wynn.

“Tell her I’ll be there in five minutes,” the Alpha replied.

Their Omega—Hidden Creek’s Alpha female—was deep into her pregnancy. The Alpha unit was rarely more than a few feet away from her.

Alpha Wynn glanced at us. “I’ll check in for an update in a few days. Until then, your unit is responsible for her.”

When the Alpha exited, we took our places around our mate. My wolf wouldn’t let me leave even if I wanted to. So, with nothing else to do, we settled in and prepared for a long night.