Chapter Twelve

King

I waited until the team got near before walking up to the house to meet the vans and SUVs. Each one of the team greeted me with fist bumps. That was, until I saw Ryan climb out of a van. "What in the fuck?" I roared. "What is he doing here?"

Hammer stepped forward, likely knowing my lion was milliseconds from coming out. "He's one of us now, right? He's an adult and made the decision to come with us. To see his mate. To participate in the team."

My gaze targeted Tyrus. That bear's life was currently in danger. "You! I told you to take care of him. To look after him. Not bring him right here in the fucking center of fucking danger. You promised me, Ty. You promised!"

Hammer put his hands up in surrender and dared take another step toward me. My shoulders slumped as Ryan's eyes widened in fear. Fear of me. Me. His alpha. My mate should never fear me. Fuck. This was why I was no good for him.

Too bad I couldn't stay away.

"King, your mate wanted to be here," Hammer said. "And Tyrus hasn't broken his promise. He is taking care of your mate, right this minute. We won't let anything happen to him."

"I don't care." My body vibrated with rage. "He fucking lied to me."

My lion couldn't take it one second longer. His anger was too much for my human body to hold. He burst through my human skin and, in seconds, I was roaring at Tyrus who shook with his own shift.

It was lion versus bear now.

"Shiiiiit," Aziz called out. "You two, come on. We've got work to do. Everybody's dick is big. We get it."

Everyone laughed, but it was not enough to break the tension.

My lion took a swipe at the bear, but he only backed up instead of charging me. I wanted him to charge me. Hit me. Fight back. Give me some way to channel all this frustration. He had put my mate in danger.

"Stop this, King." My lion's joints buckled at the sound of my mate's voice. "This was my choice. I am here because I want to be."

My lion snarled at him, disagreeing.

"Don't you jump down my throat." Ryan turned, hands on his hips, a new commanding tone in his voice. "We have work to do here, and this isn't helping. Shift back so we can get this omega and his babies out of here. You can yell and fight later if you want to."

My lion huffed out a breath through his nose. The omega was commanding me, and my lion was listening. He stepped back from the bear and bowed his head. Submitting. Again. But he still refused to shift back.

"I mean it, King." Ryan closed the distance between us and stroked his hands through my mane. No one touched my mane. Couldn't really say that anymore though. "Come on, big bad lion. You have to help us. You can protect me while we work."

Tyrus shifted first, and Sloan handed him a pair of pants. Ryan took his cue and headed for the van. My lion stalked his movements but already, we had given up the fight.

My omega won. As it should be.

"Go on. You're wasting time, you big oaf." He held out a pair of jeans to me. Submitting totally, my lion let my human side out and stayed silent while putting my pants on.

"Holy shit," Pop-Tart said, coming over and fist-bumping my mate. "You just faced a damned lion. 'Bout time you joined the team."

"Fuck off, Pop-Tart. Don't touch my mate," I said.

The rest of the team stood there, eyes big and mouths open. "It was a fist bump, King. These alphas, I swear." Sloan shook his head. "Ryan, why don't you come with me. It will be easier for the omega to trust us if he sees us first, especially with the amount of alpha power being thrown around."

"Wait," I said and grabbed my omega by the waist. I leaned in close to whisper in his ear. Sure, the others would still be able to hear, but they would turn their attention elsewhere. "You making my lion submit was the sexiest thing I've ever seen. Don't do it again."

Ryan burst out laughing and followed Sloan.

Aziz came over, handing me a shirt and my already armed holster. I rarely used a gun, but sometimes I wore them just in case. "King…"

"Not a motherfucking word, hyena. Not one word."

Aziz snorted and shook his head. "Yeah. You've got one hell of an omega. I will say that."

"No need to tell me that. I already know."

Hours later, we had the omega and his babes in our care. They were headed back to the compound. Ryan had gone back with the others, since I had things to do that he really couldn't participate in. He'd argued a bit but gone with them after I promised to come back to him. That omega needed to be bedded soon. I wanted him to wear proof he belonged to me. My teeth marks on his neck. My scent mixed with his inside and out.

I found the hard drive, buried right where the omega said it was. He claimed his alpha took it from the big bosses once he realized they wanted to use his omega, his mate, as one of the breeders. He had planned to run with his family and then turn the big guys in.

The hard drive was buried in a cave, tucked under a rock and insulated in about ten of those zipper-top plastic bags. The omega didn't specify what information was on the hard drive, but if it could cost him his life, it had to be something good. It had already cost him his alpha's life.

Still, in order to keep up appearances, and try to prove I was still on their side, I had to return this to the big baddies.

They had me meet them in some abandoned mechanic shop. The people I worked for didn't use restaurants or places regular people went. Instantly, the scent of used engine oil and tire rubber hit me along with the sourness of the people I had to meet up with. Tyrus didn't need the hard drive. We had access to everything now that he'd infiltrated their system.

Working with my team and saving omegas was the best part of my job. But this? Meeting with these evil jerks was the last thing I wanted to be doing. Hell, I didn't even want to text them or talk to them on the phone.

"That's far enough, King," a voice spoke as I stepped into the open garage. The big automated door slowly closed behind me as two huge, buzzing lights flickered above my head. "You have what was taken from us?"

The men in front of me were wearing all black. Masks over their mouths. Black baseball caps. Sunglasses. Even gloves.

If your job entailed hiding yourself to that degree, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

"I have it."

I handed the hard drive to one of them who stepped forward. He pinched the plastic bag by the corner, sure being careful for a man who was already wearing gloves. Maybe a germaphobe.

"And the omega?"

"He was gone by the time I got down there. I found this and left. But the team is on it."

"You had one job, lion. Get in there, find what was stolen from us, and kill the ones you found."

I snorted. "That's two jobs, but okay." One of the men pulled a gun from his waistband. I put my hands up. I had an omega to get back home to now so some fake humility would have to do. "I apologize. Didn't mean any offense. We will find them and make sure they're taken care of."

"See that you do, but we can't really let you go without some recourse for not completing your job."

"It's the first time I've ever not completed a mission."

The man's eyebrow arched. "First time for everything. Still, a price must be paid."

Before I could protest or let my lion out to shred these assholes, a needle pierced my neck, and I crumpled to the floor. While they kicked and beat me with tire irons, I was aware but unable to move. My breaths were shallow and labored. I floated in and out of consciousness.

Sometime later, they left me there, the clanging sound of the tire wrenches hitting the concrete their goodbye.

My eyes drifted shut, but I had to live.

I had to live for Ryan.