Chapter 18

Shae's cheerful voice filled the car.

"This is going to be great, Cat. Mari is the sweetest and she and Aubrey will be able to help you with all kinds of Omega things. Plus, how about the apartment, and the area?"

I reached over and put my hand on Shae's thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze as I drove. They were doing a good job of masking their worry for Cat on the outside, but they couldn't hide it from me with the bond.

"Shae, you don't need to sell me on moving in with your mother-in-law anymore. I am excited, I swear. It's just a lot of change, really fast."

Cat stared out the window after speaking and the worry I'd sensed in Shae flared. I heard a seat belt click and cursed as Shae climbed from the passenger seat into the back to sit with Cat.

"You know better than to do that, Sunshine. There could have been an accident?—"

"You were stopping at the light, Miles, besides Cat needed a cuddle and it's my job as her best friend."

Cat laughed softly and shook her head at Shae but leaned into them all the same. Peeking into the rearview mirror, I took them both in and a small wave of guilt struck me. Cat had closed her eyes to lean her head on Shae's shoulder. The dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced on her pale skin than I'd realized. Her deep red hair was thrown up into a bun that looked more like something Trevor would do quickly rather than the normally put-together styles that Cat usually wore.

Shae whispered to her softly and I saw Cat reach out and grip Shae's hand. When Shae and I had started getting serious, Cat had already moved out to be with the pack she'd fallen for. Just before Shae had ended their lease to move in with me, that pack found an Omega who'd wanted Cat excised. Shae had told me about the Foundation encouraging Omegas to excise Betas from their future packs and I'd echoed the rage they felt.

Cat had been a shell of herself after they made her leave. Shae had stayed with her and they helped rebuild her one piece at a time. Looking back on how much losing that pack broke Cat, even though she hadn't been bonded—her becoming an Omega from that drug made sense. She was already as close to an Omega as I'd ever seen a Beta be. The same way Theo had basically been an Alpha.

I watched the road as we drove from Cat's apartment, being both vigilant and trying to give them as much privacy as I could, for Cat's sake. My stomach flipped when I remembered what Cat had said about Ethan's mom being Shae's mother-in-law. I'd meant it when I said that I wanted Theo and Jade to bond Ethan into the pack. I had no doubt that he belonged with us but there was still an element of pressure that I felt, with everyone else moving at a pace that seemed fast and unnatural to me. I knew that there wasn't anything wrong with how fast they'd all moved. Shit, most packs who found their scent-matched Omega wouldn't have made it through a heat at all without bonding. I just needed time to know him better, without the strain of all the horrible things happening to our pack.

The more I thought about it, the reason I was probably so uneasy was because my feelings for Ethan were developing so much faster than they had with Shae. I wished I could know how much of that was due to his being an Omega and how much was because he was there for me when Shae had been taken.

I'd really liked being around him after that: spending time with him and Shae, and especially that dinner at the beach when it was just the two of us. We needed to find time to do that again. My musings were interrupted by the voice of the GPS, which Shae had changed to an Australian man, amusing themself to no end, let us know that our destination was ahead.

Ethan's brother, Nate, was waiting out front and waved at me before pointing at the loading spaces beyond the front door. I pulled into the space and Bodhi parked the moving truck behind me. Ethan's sister was at school, and we weren't about to allow his mom to help lift things but, from what I heard, she was ready to help Cat get settled. Between all of us, it wouldn't take long to move the things Cat wanted in her room up to the apartment then the rest down to storage in the lower levels.

Shae and Cat got out of the car and made small talk with Nate while I helped Bodhi get the ramp ready on the truck. The Alpha had a lot of ground to cover when it came to repairing his relationship with his siblings. He was putting in the time to get to know all of us and to welcome Cat, even though he'd moved back into his own apartment.

"I swear it seemed like less stuff when we were loading it all in here."

Bodhi stood with his hands on his hips and a slight furrow of his brows as he looked into the small moving truck. It was only three-quarters of the way full, but I understood what he meant. Even though we were in good shape, activities like moving house seemed to work the weirdest muscles.

"We're not getting any younger Bodhi. Shit's catching up to us."

He scoffed before sneaking a glance over to where Cat and Shae were laughing with a bemused looking Nate.

"Don't say things like that, Miles. Still have too much to do."

He walked into the truck and started loading some things on the hand truck. I whistled over to the others to get their attention.

"Any time you all want to grab a box…"

I was just teasing, but Nate and Cat hustled over. Shae just rolled their eyes and took their time walking to the truck. They placed an exaggerated, smacking kiss on my lips before taking a box that Cat handed down and starting into the building.

About two hours later, we had nearly everything out of the truck. Shae and Cat had come back down to get some of the new nesting materials that she had picked up, that were in the back of my car. They were walking back into the building, comparing the fabrics and textures, when all my senses prickled with alarm. I looked around but couldn't see anything initially. Bodhi was the first to see the threat from where he had been climbing into the moving van.

Three men had moved so that they were between the building and where Shae and Cat were talking. At first glance, the men didn't look suspicious until a van pulled to a screeching stop close to where Shae and Cat stood—and then the men moved.

"Cat!"

Bodhi's panicked cry caught their attention and the men grabbed onto Shae and Cat, dragging them toward the van. My snarl ripped through the space as I ran to close the short distance between us. Bodhi rounded the truck, trying to intercept the man who had his hands around Cat's arm and was pulling her closer to the van.

The man who'd grabbed Shae had his back to me, since my Sunshine was not making it easy for them. He barely had time to turn before my fist was slamming into his temple. He lost his balance and was starting to fall when I hammered another two hits in the same place on his head. The man's eyes rolled and he dropped, unconscious. I turned to get Shae as Nate raced out of the building. I reached for Shae, but they shook their head, eyes locked onto where Cat and Bodhi struggled with the other two men. Then there was a shout from inside the van.

"Just get the fucking Omega."

Cat's desperate scream ended in a heart-wrenching series of sobs, and that broke through my hesitation. I pushed Shae into Nate's arms so I could get to Cat.

"Get Shae inside, now!"

Bodhi was fighting with one of the men who'd been holding Cat. Blood was flowing down his cheek but he was holding his position so the other man couldn't get Cat to the van. There was another shout from the van as I reached the man who had Cat.

"Hurry the fuck up!"

Then Bodhi's voice seemed to break Cat from the panicked trance she was in.

"Cat, drop!"

She went slack in the man's hold, becoming dead weight and forcing him to adjust. That gave me the opening I needed to get in a punch with my whole weight behind it. Drilling into his ribs, I forced him to release Cat then barreled into him until he went down. He got a swing in and clipped my jaw before sirens sounded somewhere close enough to get the attention of the would-be kidnappers.

The man that Bodhi had been fighting broke away at the sound and ran into the van, leaving his friends behind. Bodhi scooped up Cat and rushed her into the lobby as the man that I'd been grappling with cried out when my hold dislocated his elbow. I lost precious seconds checking to see if Bodhi and Cat had gotten clear and he kneed me in the head. Taking advantage of how disoriented the hit made me, he managed to get up, to race as fast as he could after the van that was starting to pull away.

Shaking my head, I staggered over to the lobby door as Shae ran back out to meet me. They wrapped their arms around my shoulders and shook violently. I curled an arm around their back and purred. They smelled like the fucker who was still unconscious, and I moved my beard along their cheek, touching their arms and wrists and anywhere else I could to scent mark them and erase the smell of the man who had dared to touch what was mine.

Nate came back out and walked toward me then stopped and put his hands out as if to placate me. I couldn't figure out why until I realized that I had been clutching Shae to me and the purr I'd been using to calm them had shifted to a growl at his approach. I cut it off and mumbled an apology to Nate who shrugged and patted me on the shoulder, then moved to speak to the police that were arriving.

I wasn't sure how long I stood there, just holding Shae to my chest, rubbing gentle circles on their back and purring. My hindbrain was still screaming at me to take them home where it was safe or to go rip the Beta that had been left behind out of the back of the ambulance and make sure he could never hurt anyone else again.

It was common knowledge, among those who knew me, that I avoided violence and tried to temper the aggression that came with being an Alpha. But that didn't mean there wasn't a part of me that reveled in the most primal aspects of my designation. It was something that I reserved for protecting those I loved. Jade was the only member of our pack who'd seen that part of me unleashed. Burying my face into Shae's hair, I breathed deeply, trying to fight the onslaught of memories that threatened to overwhelm me.

Jade and I had grown up together. Our parents had all been friends and my dad had helped found Drake House with Jade's dad and his brother. There had been all the jokes, growing up, about the two of us getting married someday but we'd just roll our eyes and keep playing. When I emerged early as an Alpha at fifteen, I'd thrown myself into training with my dad. Jade had been right there with me though she still hadn't shown signs of a designation emerging. It wouldn't have mattered to our families one way or the other if she'd been a Beta, so no one really dwelled on it.

We were leaving a football game our freshman year at university when Jade's scent sharpened, broadcasting that she was an Alpha long after we'd all stopped waiting for her designation to come in. The eucalyptus that had undercut her scent got stronger and mint joined it in a combination that was soothing and felt like home—like pack. She was struggling with all of the scents and stimulation from all the sounds and noises, so we steered off into one of the empty stadium corridors. I had told her that I would be right back and ran to get her some water from one of the concession stands.

When I turned the corner back into the corridor, there were five Alphas, who seemed older than us, standing around Jade. A low snarl was coming from her and the fuckers were laughing. I knew she had the same training I did; she'd been taking me down when we sparred for years, but as I took a few more steps into the long corridor, I realized the two Alpha's standing on either side of her had her arms pinned behind her. There was swelling around her mouth and one of the Alpha's holding her arms had blood running down his cheek from a small cut. They were taunting her about showing her what women were good for and to learn her place. The man in front of her reached out and began lifting her t-shirt. Jade began to thrash against the ones holding her and my growl echoed through the corridor. They fucking dared.

One of the Alphas that had been standing more to the side saw me coming and turned to run. Another spun toward me and didn't get a punch in before I'd laid him out. The distraction was enough for the two holding Jade to loosen their grips and she struck. A hit to one asshole's windpipe dropped him to his knees clutching his throat and gasping for air. She turned to the other Alpha that had held her and began laying into him.

My sights were set on the one who'd tried to lift her shirt. He squared his shoulders, all cocky, until he locked eyes with me. I watched that bravado leach from his face. Our dads had kept up our training, making sure that we didn't slack even though we were in college. I hadn't ever felt the quiet and unwavering focus that Jade always described when we trained. But in that moment in the corridor with those predators? Nothing else mattered. My focus was entirely on punishing them. Making them suffer for every touch, all the thoughts my imagination supplied that could have been going through their heads. I was resolved that—for what I knew they could have done to my best friend—I'd make them bleed.

The fool facing off with me sloppily lunged, trying to swing at my face. I ducked to the side and used his own momentum to bring his ribs right into contact with my knee and dropped my elbow into the side of his head. He went down hard onto his hands and knees, coughing, but I kicked him in the ribs, hard. It had been the same side that had caught my knee and the crack that reached my ears, accompanied by his pained cry, brought a smile to my face.

He'd turned over and was clutching his ribs, trying to scramble away from me as I prowled towards him. I lowered myself down slowly and gripped his shirt in one fist.

"The fuck do you think you are, man? You're done here, my dads will make sure you go to pris?—"

I hammered a punch into his face to shut him up then shook him enough to get his attention back on me, making sure he could hear every word I said.

"You want to play the ‘do you know who I am' card, you fucking prick? Picked the wrong woman to try that shit with. You'll be lucky to live once our families hear what you did."

"That bitch needed to be taken down a peg. We would have broken her enough that you could have done whatever you wanted to what was left."

He spat in my face, and I dropped him briefly to wipe the blood and spit from my skin. Then I was straddling him and raining punches into his face, listening to his skull bounce against the concrete with each strike.

The sound of a purr rolled over me and I froze with my arm pulled back to hit him again. It wasn't a soft sound. It felt strong, solid, even though it was rough around the edges, as though whoever was there had to force it out. I looked down at the bloodied and unconscious Alpha beneath me, knowing the sound wouldn't have come from him. My hand lowered to my side, and I looked around to see Jade walking cautiously toward me.

Her mouth was still swollen and bloodied, even with the crooked grin she was giving me, and she'd managed to acquire what would be a black eye to the other side of her face. She was broadcasting strength and everything Alpha to anyone who might come near us. But I'd known her my whole life and I saw the concern in her eyes. She was worried about me. Standing, I walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. Neither of us cared at all about the blood that was on our hands or spattering our clothes.

"You don't need to worry about me, Jade. I'm not hurt."

She pulled back and her brows drew down as she spoke to me.

"I know, Miles. But that Alpha is nearly dead, and we're not officially pack yet. If you killed him, you would have gone to jail."

I smiled because we were going to start a pack. She was an Alpha and we could register now. That excitement waned as her words sunk in and I turned to look back with a clearer head at the downed Alpha. Fuck.

There wasn't much left of his face that wasn't swollen and bruised or broken. How long had I been hitting him after he was unconscious? I'd been lost in a haze but seeing what I'd done… I stumbled to one of the walls to brace myself as I started to retch. I didn't want to be this person. I would do whatever it took to protect the people I loved but I had the realization that if I stayed working with Drake House after I graduated, I'd never get to be anything else. The dads had been pushing us toward working for Drake House after college and Jade was fully on board. I'd gone along but also had been keeping a secret, even from Jade. I'd found something at school that made me realize how little interest I actually had in following in my dad's footsteps.

Jade's palm settled between my shoulder blades, and I heard her speaking on her phone but couldn't really understand the words. The sound of sirens started off far away but were getting louder, and I started to panic.

"Hey. Look at me, Miles."

I slid down the wall, conscious of the vomit near where I sat but not really caring. Jade squatted in front of me and grabbed my chin, pulling it until I held her gaze.

"The dads will handle this. We weren't in the wrong. We'll go through the paperwork and officially declare a pack. Then you… Miles you never have to do anything like this again. You know that, right? You can work construction or be an architect or whatever it is that will make you happy. That's what matters."

"You knew about that?"

Jade scoffed and turned to sit beside me, on the other side to my mess, and tipped her head on to my shoulder.

"You left the flyers from that ‘pick your major' fair, your books, and drawings on your desk. Didn't take fucking Sherlock Holmes to riddle out that you were interested in it, dumbass."

I laughed and laid my hand palm up between us and squeezed her hand when she laid hers in mine. We'd be fine. We had each other and we'd find the rest of our pack. No one would hurt us like this again.

"Miles? Love, I need you to come back now."

Blinking my eyes into focus, I looked at Shae, whose brows had creased adorably with worry. I had gotten completely lost in that memory—maybe the hit to my head had been harder than I'd thought.

"Sorry, Sunshine."

"Nate got the police to agree to talk to us up in the apartment."

I nodded, sliding my hand from their back down to lace my fingers with theirs as we walked into the lobby. This time had been different than before. When Jade had been attacked, I was young and dumb and still trying to cling to the version of myself I thought my family wanted. When those men had made a grab for Cat and Shae, I hadn't lost myself to the rage. I hadn't been so consumed that I didn't know where they were and hadn't lost sight of the fact that I was there to protect before anything else. Something lifted from me then, an old lingering fear that I would lose part of myself if I ever had to be that man again.

I tugged Shae to my side and kissed their temple, a purr rising from my chest as we ascended in the elevator. No matter what darkness the world threw at us, I knew I could meet it head on, and still be me.