Chapter Nineteen

Ryan

Things happened so quickly when I was taken that I didn't really know how far I was, in what direction, or even where I was. But when the lights came on, I found myself bound, another omega in the room with me. Only, he wasn't captive, too. He was somehow connected to my kidnapping. I didn't get it. Why would he be?

He looked awful, like someone had sucked all of his life force out of him and left him a shell of a man. It didn't make sense, but then again, what part of a kidnapping did.

King was going to be pissed…beyond pissed. Not at my kidnappers—that was going to be a rage-and-vengeance-filled frenzy. No, he was going to be pissed at me for being so careless as to follow his scent like that or possibly for going to town at all.

It wasn't like I hadn't been warned. Sure, I took the concerns as unfounded, but still they were there. Gods, I'd been so focused on what I wanted to do that I missed the glaring signs that it had been a bad idea, and now it was too late. I was gods knew where, bound by something that had my bear silent, and being glared at by an omega who somehow was a part of this.

At least I didn't have any of the kids with me. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I had.

The omega came over, scented me deeply, and said, "Figures, figures."

"What do you mean?" He was talking in riddles, not that my head was clear. Whatever he did to get me here had done a wallop on me.

"Your mate killed my mate. Destroyed him. Shredded him into a thousand pieces, and then what? He gets to go have his happily ever after, knocking up the first omega he sees?"

"What are you talking about? I just went out to get some Play-Doh and some applesauce." Could he be talking about King? Possibly, but his words didn't make sense even if that were the case.

"Don't play stupid with me. King's your mate." That answered that. "Didn't you think it was weird? His scent was there."

In hindsight, I should have. But no, I had thought—silly me—that he was there to surprise me, or yell at me, or maybe both. What a fool I'd been.

"Not really." I was going to bark back at him with the hopes of getting information that could help me get out of here and home. "How did you get his scent there like that?"

"It was all over my mate's remains." His voice cracked. "Can't believe he'd let his pregnant omega out like this."

"I'm not pregnant."

"Don't lie to me. I can scent it on you. You reek of it."

"Wait. I'm pregnant?" Instinctively, I put my hand on my belly. Could he be right? How had I not known?

It didn't matter, not really because he was using it as a distraction and getting us out of here required me not being distracted.

And just then, I realized that I did think I was pregnant. I hadn't thought of getting me out, my de facto went directly to us . I was pregnant with King's baby. What should be one of the happiest moments of my life was blanketed in horror and distress.

As much as I loved the idea of having a family with my mate, the timing was making this situation exponentially more difficult. I needed to keep the baby protected, while at the same time dealing with this other omega—and that was going to make things infinitely more complicated as well. But I could do this. I'd gotten out of worse before, and I'd never had as much to fight for as I did in this moment.

"I don't know who you are, but my mate, he's not a bad guy."

"Mine was." His words shocked me. He plopped into a chair. "He stole me from my pack. Didn't even ask. Just grabbed me. And then he marked me. Refused to let me mark him back. It was his way to control me, and the fucker still is controlling me from his grave."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, not looking at me. I wasn't sure if he was holding back tears or not wanting me to see his vulnerability. In either case, I decided the best decision was to wait for him to continue.

"If we'd completed the bond, his death would've made me sad—sadder than it should have—but I'd be able to get past it. But he never would allow it, and now I'm trapped in this fucking limbo. It's all your mate's fault."

None of that sounded like my mate's fault.

"Why did King kill your mate?" I asked. I wasn't going to question whether he did or not—the scent didn't lie, and, well, frankly, my mate did kill people for his job.

The omega told me a long story about his mate trying to take over an established auction—of omegas not fine antiques—and how he pissed off the wrong alphas.

"He deserved to die, don't get me wrong, but not until we fully mated. Because now, now I'll never be whole. I'll never be able to mate again. I'm stuck. Don't you understand? I'm stuck. and now I'm not only stuck because of the bond—now I have the chip."

I didn't understand what he was talking about, but his hurt was visceral. I hated how much I didn't hate this guy, how much I wanted to help him—to fix him. But that empathy had to come second. First, I needed to get out and keep our baby safe.

There was noise outside, and I talked to the omega, trying to distract him. Maybe it worked, or maybe he had talked his way through this and had given up, but when the guys barged in to rescue me, he didn't fight them. He didn't even try.