Chapter 5: Plague

Chapter

Five

PLAGUE

T he stench of rot and stagnant water makes me want to retch. Without my mask and its filters, every breath fills my lungs with countless bacteria and spores. My stolen lab coat clings to my skin, damp with sweat and filthy water and blood. I trail behind the others, watching Ivy perched on Wraith's broad back as he stalks through the tunnels.

I feel guilty.

Not just because I'm jealous, and I have no right to be. No right whatsoever. I'm not normally a jealous alpha, and I understand on a logical level that it's ridiculous to feel that way in the first place. My pack brothers have as much right to bond with Ivy—in every way—as I do.

If she wants them, if she chooses them, that is her right.

But my alpha instincts are still fired up about it.

I feel guilty for reasons beyond that.

My fingers trace the outline of each surgical tool concealed in my stolen lab coat. The familiar shapes of scalpels and syringes that once brought me such satisfaction now mock me. What good is surgical precision when I couldn't even find our omega? When all my careful planning and meticulous preparation meant nothing?

Wraith found her first.

Protected her.

Kept her safe.

The most unpredictable, wild, unhinged, feral, aggressive pack brother I have was the one who came to her rescue. Not me. All my careful plans and preparations meant nothing in the end.

When Ivy needed me most, my strengths failed her.

Our quarry's inky blood leaves an oily trail along the concrete, mixing with the grimy water. Each splash of my boots through the putrid mixture sends droplets of contamination onto my clothes. My skin crawls at the thought of the bacteria festering in this cesspool.

I deserve it.

I've failed so spectacularly today.

Ahead of me, Whiskey says something that makes Ivy laugh. The sound echoes off the tunnel walls, pure and sweet. My chest tightens. Even that oaf manages to comfort her better than I can. He may be a brute, but at least he knows how to make her smile.

Have I ever made her smile?

What do I have to offer?

Clinical detachment?

Surgical skill?

Oh, right. She was happy about the birth control. Happy I gave her the absolute bare minimum an alpha can give an omega.

A little taste of freedom.

A rat skitters across my path, its naked tail leaving a trail in the slime. I grimace. Focus. We have a mission. Find the Knight. Get out alive. Everything else is irrelevant.

Including my wounded pride.

Why are we even doing this?

Because she feels sorry for this thing?

I should be frustrated, but it just makes me more obsessed with her. Obsessed because even though the world has been so cruel to her and others like her, she's still so… kind. Compassionate. Forgiving.

If I'm lucky, she'll show me the same grace she's showing this iron monstrosity that nearly killed us all not twenty minutes ago. Grace for failing her. Grace for letting myself get distracted. Those minutes I spent bickering with these assholes and planning every little detail of her rescue should have just been spent finding her faster. I doubt Wraith planned at all. He's never approached any situation with a strategy.

Other than kill, maim, and destroy, of course.

The idea that she may have suffered because of my obsession with the finer details and planning everything out makes me want to fucking vomit.

And then, when I finally had the chance for it to all pay off, when I had that bastard scientist right where I wanted him, he made us and I snapped before I could get anything useful out of him.

Me. The one who lectures everyone else about keeping a level head. I'm no better than the others.

Not even Whiskey. At least his reckless blundering usually has a way of working out. Lucky bastard.

Fucking useless.

"The trail leads this way," Thane calls from up ahead, gesturing toward a partially collapsed tunnel. Water pours from broken pipes overhead, creating a curtain of questionable liquid.

For some reason, I can't bring myself to give a shit.

"Through there?" Whiskey's voice carries a note of disgust. "Fuck that. Place looks ready to cave in. And that looks like shit or acid. Maybe both."

"You have a better idea?" I snap, the words coming out sharper than intended. "Or would you prefer to stand here debating while the building collapses around us?"

He turns, eyes narrowing. "You wanna go another round, Doc? Because I'm happy to rearrange that pretty face of yours some more."

"Both of you stop," Ivy cuts in. Her voice carries an authority that makes us both fall silent. "We don't have time for this."

She's right, of course.

But the fact that she has to play peacekeeper between us only proves how far I've fallen.

I'm supposed to be the voice of reason.

The calculating one.

The one with backup plans for his backup plans.

Instead, I'm picking fights like a yapping dog.

Wraith moves forward without hesitation, shielding Ivy with his massive frame as they pass through the water. The others follow, leaving me alone in the tunnel. The red emergency lights cast everything in a hellish glow, turning the water at my feet into rivers of blood.

How fitting.

I can't imagine the terrors the prisoners in this hellhole have been through, and from what I've picked up here and there, the lab Wraith—and apparently Valek—were from was home to even more despicable practices.

Even children were being tortured.

He looks especially shocking in this lighting, and knowing it was deliberate makes it so much worse. In all our years together, I've never seen more than fleeting glimpses when his mask slips during battle or when Whiskey's drunk and antagonizing him. The exposed muscle and sinew, the sharp teeth permanently bared.

It's a masterwork of cruelty.

Imagining someone doing that to a child… I can't imagine. I left everything behind and became a doctor because I wanted to help people. Kill, yes. But help, too. How could anyone feel the call to such a sacred profession only to harm the most vulnerable and innocent people to exist?

He must be in constant agony.

There's nothing I could do to restore the appearance of his face, but perhaps I could give him something for the pain. I doubt he'd trust another doctor near his face, though. It's hard enough to get him to let me give him vaccines.

A wolf would make a better patient.

But even though there's nothing that could be done to fix such extensive damage, our omega clearly doesn't mind. She looks at him with such warmth and affection in her gaze, it's as if she's completely blind to the ruin of his face.

She doesn't just care about him.

She loves him.

That much is clear.

And maybe that's why I'm so fucked up about this. He's surely the first alpha she's ever loved. If she loved all of us at once, perhaps I would feel differently.

At least it wouldn't be eating me alive.

At the same time, it gives me a shred of hope.

If she can look past his face, maybe she can look past my flaws, too. My weaknesses. My endless—and growing—list of colossal fuck ups.

Then again, I can help mine.

I'm a selfish asshole for centering myself right now. Another flaw to add to the list. She deserves the kind of pure devotion she's clearly getting from Wraith. The way he looks at her like she didn't just hang the moon, she made it.

The kind I'm not sure I can give.

I've spent too many years building walls, hiding behind my mask and clinical detachment. Even now, I maintain my distance. I tell myself it's to avoid contaminating her with my darkness, but really, I'm afraid.

Afraid of letting anyone get too close.

I take a deep breath, ignoring the stench of decay that fills my lungs. One foot in front of the other. Focus on the mission. Push everything else aside.

I've done it before.

I can do it again.

Even if it means watching from the shadows while the others protect our omega. While they earn her trust, her affection, her...

No. Those thoughts lead nowhere productive.

I step through the curtain of water, letting it soak through my clothes. What's a little more contamination at this point? I've already lost everything that made me who I am.

My control.

My purpose.

Might as well lose my dignity too.

The tunnel opens into a vast cavern, and my training kicks in automatically. High ceiling? Risk of collapse. Multiple branching passages? Potential ambush points. Limited visibility due to sparse fungal lighting. The spores could be deadly. Could make us hallucinate and turn on each other. I've never seen mushrooms like these.

"The blood trail's getting fresher," Thane mutters ahead of me. "We must be getting close."

I nod, though he can't see me in the dim light. The Knight's dark blood stands out against the pale stone, still wet enough to reflect the ghostly blue-green glow. We're running out of time before the whole facility caves in, but I keep my concerns to myself. If Ivy wants to chase this monster into the depths of hell, I'll follow.

It's the least I can do to make up for failing her before.

A distant crash echoes through the tunnels, followed by the groan of straining metal. More debris rains down from the ceiling, forcing us to dodge. Wraith curls protectively around Ivy, shielding her with his bulk. The sight sends an unfamiliar ache through my chest.

"Watch your step," I warn as we pick our way through the rubble. "The structural integrity is compromised. One wrong move could bring the whole place down."

"Thanks for the obvious observation, Doc," Whiskey grumbles beside me. "Got any other pearls of wisdom to share?"

"Oh, he's got pearls," Valek slurs from my other side.

"Shut the fuck up," Whiskey and I say at the same time.

Valek barks a laugh. "I see the odd couple is already finishing each other's sentences," he says in his usual mocking tone. Guess he's getting back to normal.

For now.

When I get my answers, I'm going to give him a complimentary lobotomy. God knows his head injuries have been stacking up and having the same effect. Might as well finish the job.

Then I'm going to stick a brand new chip in the back of his neck, which has clearly been pre-carved for me. I'm actually shocked he managed to dig the chip out without killing or paralyzing himself.

It makes me wonder if he had help.

I can put two and two together. His disappearance with Ivy, the things they've been saying, the fact Ivy clearly explained something to Wraith or he'd be disemboweling Valek with his bare hands for kidnapping her…

Did she help Valek escape?

I shake my head, refusing to let myself spiral down the rabbit hole. None of that matters right now. I need to focus on scanning our surroundings. On keeping Ivy safe. What happened back at the base while Thane, Wraith, and I were on that mission hardly matters right now.

Ivy is clearly not afraid Valek is going to hurt her.

She seems pissed off, not frightened.

Then again, she is incredibly brave.

Not many omegas would be able to look at Wraith without pissing themselves, let alone riding his back with their legs around his waist and arms wrapped around his scarred neck.

And no omega would be heading straight into the bowels of hell to rescue an incredibly dangerous wounded monster they don't even know.

No omega but our Ivy.

The tunnel broadens again. My eyes scan for threats, cataloging potential escape routes. Multiple passages branch off like arteries. The ceiling stretches up into darkness. Water trickles down the walls in steady streams.

"Which way?" Whiskey asks, his voice echoing.

I study the blood trail, noting the spray patterns and directionality. "That passage." I point to the leftmost tunnel. "Based on the blood spatter, he was moving faster than usual. Probably losing strength from blood loss and desperate to reach safety."

"Good," Thane grunts, already heading that way. "Maybe he'll be easier to deal with this time."

Ivy shoots him a glare that could freeze hell. "We're not going to hurt him."

Thane sighs in exasperation, but he doesn't argue.

Whiskey was right. We do have a new leader.

The cavern narrows ahead, forcing us to proceed single file. The perfect place for an ambush. The Knight's trail leads straight through, black blood smeared along the walls where his armored bulk scraped past.

But I push forward, keeping pace with the others. Ivy needs me—needs all of us—whether I deserve her trust or not.

And this time, I won't fail her.

No matter what horrors await us in the depths below.