27. Oliver

Chapter twenty-seven

Oliver

L arge, green eyes fill my feverish, heat-filled dreams, eyes framed by lovely locks of dark, honey-blonde hair, and finally, I snap awake.

"Mila?"

Her soft voice doesn't come, and panic seizes me instantly.

Someone purrs behind me, but the sound can only soothe me long enough. Anxiety claws its way back down my throat, stealing the breath from my lungs.

"Where… where is Mila?"

I can't think straight. All I can think about is her.

One thing is certainly clear to me; I am in serious, serious pain, and I need her with me. Right now.

Or I could die…

"It's okay, Ollie… I'm here… we're all here…"

Gryphon.

It seems I caved in the end and begged for him to join me in the nest, and I'm grateful. Truly.

I wouldn't have survived that wave last night if he hadn't arrived, and I bite the inside of my cheek, swallowing my pride.

This has to be one of the most painful heats I have ever had to endure.

None have ever been this intense before, and what the fuck is going on with me lately?

I have not been myself.

Normally, I am pretty needy in the weeks leading up to my heat, but I have been so focused on Mila and making her happy that I seemed to have forgotten that I was an Omega who has his own needs.

It's almost as if I was putting her needs before my own. I even cut off one of my Alphas from the pack bond, and I bet that was why the first wave of my heat had been so painful.

I was pretty sure I was going to die.

It seems I have my wits about me again. My heat has left me alone long enough to help me think straight again.

Well, somewhat straight.

It's hard to think rationally when your body is craving fucking knots, and once again, I condemn the day I awakened as an Omega.

I am dependent on my Alphas in order to survive, and I hate it.

I will die without their touches.

Some life, hey. But at least I get to have a nest…

Mila makes me feel like I am needed. Like I'm a protector.

There's no missing the pain in her big green eyes. I just want to kiss that pain away whenever I see it.

I look up, meeting all three of my Alpha's eyes.

Lachlan's are bloodshot and shiny. Barret's eyes are hard and cold, and Gryphon's are filled with fire.

The latter's jaw tics as I repeat myself.

"Where is Mila? She's not in the house…"

Is it possible to feel someone's absence? Her room is down the stairs, all the way at the end of the hall, but I know she's not there.

The house is cold. Empty. Devoid of life.

Where the fuck has she gone?

Gryphon purrs, reaching across to wipe away a curl from my face.

I grip his wrist, looking straight into his red-brown eyes. "Bring her back. Now…"

My voice is low, dangerous, ending with a growl, and my Alphas stir uncomfortably.

It almost sounded like a threat.

The fire intensifies in Gryphon's eyes, and they become more red than brown now. "Oliver…"

"Bring her back to me, Gryphon. I know you sent her away…"

Silence spreads across the nest. No one seems to know what to do or say.

Sure, I am not thinking rationally here. I am telling my Alphas to bring an unbonded Beta into my nest.

Mila is an outsider. Also, there's the whole thing with her being a possible threat, but I never believed for a second that she was a danger to us.

Not until after I met her and gazed into her lost green eyes.

She's only doing Governor Frederick's bidding in order to keep her dad safe. The old man is sick, and he needs a roof over his head in his final years.

He needs constant care twenty-four-seven.

That is why Mila is here. I haven't told any of the guys because I swore I wouldn't tell them, but it only made me respect her more.

Family is important after all.

I would have done the same for Isabelle.

I can only hope that she is being taken care of, wherever she is…

If not… then I hope she is no longer suffering and has found peace.

"What are you all waiting for her? Go and find her. Now!"

They don't move. Barret and Lachlan look torn between leaving me and searching for Mila, but they don't have to worry about me.

Besides. I would rather die than leave Mila alone out there.

I don't know how, but I know she's in danger. I can just sense it.

Something bad is about to happen.

Gryphon growls. "Oliver… you're in pain and you are delirious. We understand, but Mila—"

I whirl on Gryphon, and I don't know what he sees in my eyes, but it makes him shut up. Good.

"Find her, Gryphon, or so help me…"

The threat is all too clear. If he doesn't go out there and bring that Beta back to me, then I will cut the final string.

Even if it kills me.

An Omega needs to be bonded to all of their Alphas in order to survive.

Once we commit and accept their bites, we are tied to them forever.

If those bonds break, then I die.

But he's no Alpha of mine if he keeps Mila away from me.

If I suffer, then we all suffer.

It never bodes well for an Alpha, too, if their Omega dies.

They go into a state of despair. They are banished from the Alpha population and shamed for failing to keep their Omega safe.

But I am willing to risk all of that. So long as Mila is by my side tonight.

She has to be here. My next wave is about to hit, and I need her.

Her touch is the only thing that can save me now.

Then my life will be complete.

My stomach pinches, and I curl up yet again, crying out in pain.

It's too late. I have fallen victim to the next wave.

But before the wave buries me under, I manage to say, "Find her. Mila. Bring her back. Need—"

The flames engulf me, and another sea of fire drags me under.

I just hope I survive this time.