19. Ella

Chapter nineteen

Ella

I don't understand.

All I wanted was a shower and a set of clothes to wear.

Why am I being punished?

I know it has something to do with Brody.

His distressed scent traveled all over the house.

Has he gone into heat?

He told me that an Omega 'nests' right before they go into heat and only an Alpha's knot can alleviate the pain.

I may not be an Alpha, but I'm just as qualified to alleviate his pain.

But Theo handcuffed me to this cell.

Am I even surprised I am back here again?

As if I would ever be welcome in their home.

Still, I cannot stay here. Brody needs me.

I need to get out of here.

My eyes search the floor. Anything that can get me out of these cuffs.

There's not much save for a few pieces of broken concrete outside the cell. I pick up a shard and whack it against the chain of my cuffs.

It takes a few tries, but I soon break the chain and drop the shard at my feet. Now I just need to get out of the cell.

To my surprise, it's unlocked, and Theo must have really been in a rush.

Yet, do I want to leave the safety of my cell?

This is the safest I have genuinely felt in twenty-four hours.

I have bars around me now.

I am secure.

But Brody is in pain.

I have to help him.

So, I open the door, heart pounding as I shut it quickly behind me.

All hell doesn't break loose.

Still, I drop to the ground and crouch towards the exit, trying to be incognito, and soon I'm in the woods.

Alone.

With nothing but the open sky and trees for company.

Flashes of memory return, and I see myself taking down that Alpha again, his blood dripping down my fingers.

I had been insane. But it makes sense now what was happening to me.

I had been under an artificially induced heat.

As courtesy of the warden.

That Alpha had me wrapped around his little finger.

But he doesn't anymore…

Now I am free.

The cell isn't far from the house. I can spy it through the trees in the distance, just as that black government car pulls up the drive.

I halt in my tracks.

What is the government doing here?

A woman in a prim suit gets out the back, followed by two large bodyguards, and my heart jumps to my throat.

Are they here to take Brody away?

Over my dead body.

Brody is mine and I will kill anyone who tries to take him from me.

I left Alastor's knife down in the basement.

If I could just get to it…

I rush around the house, ripping the doors to the basement wide open.

Then I sneak down the stairs and find the knife behind the washing machine, the one I wrapped up in Brody's shirt.

I still don't understand why Alastor gave me the blade, Out of all the Alphas, he is the only one who has been civil with me.

But does he have to look so smug about it?

I know Alastor's kind. He doesn't do things out of the goodness of his heart.

He wants something in return from me.

Maybe he gave me this knife because he knows that when push comes to shove, then I'll actually use it.

Especially on those who try to take my loved ones away from me.

If I do this, they will surely send me to the gallows.

I am a dead Omega from this moment onward.

But I have to do this. I must protect what is mine.

I'm still wearing Theo's shirt and his scent mocks me now as I grip the knife, taking the steps to the kitchen one at a time.

I hover on the top step, peering through the gap of the door.

"Just a routine check, Mr. Titan…"

The woman's voice fills me with a hatred I have never known before, and she will be easy to kill.

I've never killed a Beta before…

I'm sure they bleed just as much as Alphas.

"Why the bodyguards?"

That was Theo.

The Beta giggles, and I growl at the sound.

So fake.

"Again, just a precaution."

A deathly silence befalls the kitchen now. I try to get a look at my victim, and I almost throw up when I finally see her.

So clean, so proper, and oh so respectable.

Another government drone.

"So, where is the lovely Brody?" she asks.

Theo sighs. "Right this way."

My eyes widen. He can't be serious.

That woman shouldn't be anywhere near him.

They leave the room, and I curse when I miss my chance.

When all is quiet again, I open the door and look around the kitchen.

All is clear.

Gripping my knife, I sneak out of the kitchen and up the stairs, keeping my back flat against the wall.

The conversation continues in Brody's nest, and how dare she intrude on such a sacred place.

I peer around the wall.

The bodyguards stand outside, and there's no way I will get inside.

"My… it's worse than I thought," the Beta says.

Kellen whimpers, "He… he will be fine, right?"

She doesn't respond at first, taking her time. When she finally replies, she says, "It's fine. Just a spike."

The whole house draws a collective breath, and it doesn't look like I have to draw any blood today.

The Beta giggles, voice all chirpy once again. "Brody will be all right, Mr. Titan. However, I must perform another house check. Routine."

My heart pounds.

I spoke too soon. The steel of my knife will be stained red after all.

The moment she sees my room, then it's game over.

She will take Brody away.

I haven't slept in the bed. The sheets are unruffled, but if she looks in the closet, then she will see all the signs of another Omega.

I almost hear Theo having the same thoughts, and it seems we are on the same page for once.

Yet unlike Theo, I am prepared to kill the bitch.

If I have to go down for it, then so be it.

At least Brody will still have his Alphas when I'm gone.

I was never going to fit in here anyway.

The Beta steps out of the nest and I sneak down the stairs, hiding in the closet just below the steps.

Now I peer out the gap of another door as she checks over the kitchen, ticking off boxes on her clipboard with a stupid pen.

Seriously, she has a nerve.

"All seems good in the kitchen. The dishes are spotless."

They are. Brody and I worked hard on them, and I arranged the plates just right when I placed them in the cupboard.

The Beta seems to approve, and now she checks off another box on her list.

I can't help but be a little smug.

I may be a hot mess, but at least I can stack plates just right.

She checks the rest of the bottom level of the house and then returns upstairs, and it makes no sense.

Why not check the rooms when she was still up there earlier?

Damn, she really likes to do things by the book, doesn't she?

If she deviates from protocol, then she will explode.

I have no choice but to follow her back upstairs.

When she sees my room, that's when I will strike.

I'm sure the guys can take on her bodyguards when the need arises.

Just so long as they leave her for me.

She's mine.

Unfortunately, the closet door rips wide open, and I meet those bemused green eyes.

Alastor.

He sees the knife in my hand, then cocks his head to one side, a smirk besmirching his face. "Interesting…"

I grind my teeth.

Caught redhanded.

Now we will both lose Brody.

Fucker.

He won't get in my way.