Chapter Seven

Jeremy

The ball was rolling for the team. Even though I'd taken this job to protect my brothers in arms and their mates from separation and worry, here I was, glad that they were coming here.

It was one thing to be alone and know I was working for some greater good. I knew I was. Stopping these breeding rings was the reason Hammer put together our team in the first place. Now that my friends were on the way to help me, I didn't feel so alone.

The way back to the would-be breeding house was longer than leaving it. Always was.

But, this time, we had a plan.

We would be taking this place down before they had even one omega under that roof.

Shit.

That's wrong.

They already have one omega under their roof.

My omega.

My mate.

The male who had my wolf howling for him since the moment I stumbled into that closet of an office.

I didn't tell the others he was my mate, but they would know as soon as we were together. Because I didn't intend to leave that place without him. Even if I had to throw him over my shoulder, kicking and screaming. If he stayed, he would surely be put through the wringer, as the others would. They would realize someone in their ranks was a rat and, eventually, that it was me. But, by then, we would be gone. And Clay would come with me.

I parked the truck next to the others and grabbed the bag of snacks and the half-eaten pizza in the box from the passenger side. I had to have some excuse for taking so long and going away in the first place.

My objective was to stay under the radar, but Amos' nosy ass would've noticed my absence.

"Damn, that smells good," someone said as I walked into the house. I haphazardly tossed the box onto the table and told them to eat the rest. The slices were gobbled up in minutes. They fed us, but not like shifters and especially predator shifters should be fed. The raccoon shifter, Amos, would've been okay but, to the rest of us, what the bosses fed their guards were mere scraps.

I had to get to Clay and tell him some things before my shift and where no one else would see us. If someone saw us together, it could put a target on his back. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

But I had to warn him.

Without tipping him off.

Tell him he was mine.

Without scaring the young omega to death and have him screaming, running away.

I shook my head, stepping into the hallway while I tried to figure out some way to go in there and figure this out—together.

My wolf growled inside me, wanting to get to his mate. He had his own thoughts. In his mind, things would work out. They had to. Clay was our fated mate.

Fuck.

I knocked gently on the door, looking up and down the hallway. There was no answer, so I opened the door, slipped in, and closed it behind me.

Clay was white as a sheet, and his right hand gripped something tightly. He slammed the laptop shut as his eyes went wide. "Jordan," he whispered. His voice cracked. The air inside that tiny place was all strawberries and cream, but even more potent and almost sticky in my senses was the tang of fear. His heartbeat might as well have been a drum, it pounded so loudly.

"It's Jeremy." I needed him to know my real name.

He nodded, but said nothing more.

"Clay?" I asked. "What is it?"

No matter what was happening, my priority was my mate. He might not know I was his mate yet but I was, nonetheless. If I had to slaughter everyone in this place to get him out safely, I would with a fucking smile on my face.

"I…nothing. What are you doing here?" Though my mate was in a complete state of panic, his voice washed over me, and my wolf preened at the small interaction. The beast.

"Clay, what's going on?"

He said nothing. I said nothing. We stood there, neither one of us moving, some kind of nonverbal communication flowing between us.

"I…" he muttered. He tried to slip his fisted hand under the desk but I stepped forward.

Gods, I was about to take a big chance but I had to.

This was my mate.

"Clay, did you find something? Something you weren't supposed to see? Something vile happening right under our noses?"

If I thought his eyes were wide before, they were nothing compared to the saucers they turned into. "How? I'm not saying anything."

"Clay, look at me. I would never hurt you. I would never endanger you. You know that, right?"

He nodded. "I don't know how, but yes. I…I don't even know what to do. If they caught me…"

"Give it to me," I said, not even knowing what he had so tightly gripped his knuckles turned white. "Whatever it is, I'll smuggle it out of here. You won't be in danger. I won't allow it."