Chapter Thirty-One

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Now Playing: Animal I Have Become- Three Days Grace

Performing with Omen’s bond glowing in my chest is a heady experience. I feel settled and alert, alive. My body moves through every note, every moment of showmanship, while my mind stays focused on the left side of the stage, where she is watching us from the wings.

I’m glad my bass covers my junk otherwise the crowd would get to see exactly how hard I am. The pulses of joy and arousal flowing from our omega are spurring us into a frenzy. One our fans are eating up. I can’t wait until she’s ready to start working as our photographer again. Having her out here on the stage with us will be a hundred times better.

Nexus makes it to the chorus, preparing us for the first big breakdown of the night, when chaos brings the show to a halt. Anger and fear take over my body, bringing my instincts to life. As fans scream, running toward the exits or trying to climb the stage, I drop my bass and head to meet my omega.

A surge of fans breaking past the security staff at the front of the stage blocks my path. When Lincoln, our head of security, steps in my way it takes all of my control to not bark him out of my way. I track Omen as she’s jostled, a growl rattling up my chest when I watch the bodyguards we’d assigned to her get separated.

“Let’s go,” Lincoln demands. His hand grips my bicep, trying to steer me to the other side of the stage so we can escape out of an emergency exit. “Walker and Thompson will get your girl and meet us at the car.”

Trusting others to care for my omega isn’t something that comes naturally to any alpha, but I bite my cheek to stop from lashing out at him. This is an unfortunate part of our jobs, and it’s something I will have to adjust to the further we get into the limelight.

When we were on tour before it felt different. I trusted Lex to have her back, and he always did. Thompson and Walker are both good guys, but I don’t have the same trust in them as I did Lex. They don’t have the same single-minded focus her former bodyguard did.

Callisto steps beside me, his body shaking and his eyes wide. I feel shitty for being so focused on Omen and not realizing how difficult this must be for my beta. He doesn’t handle conflict well, and a full attack on one of our shows has to be hell on his anxiety. Wrapping my arm around his shoulders, I let a purr rattle to life in my chest to calm him in the only way I could. Once we are home, I will take better care of him.

“This way.” I follow Nexus and Titan down a back hallway, but my legs nearly collapse when a blast of pure panic shoots from Omen’s bond into me. Nexus feels it too, the strength of her fear makes him stumble.

Lincoln turns wide eyes to me when I let out a vicious growl. “Lead the way.”

I dodge his body, leaving Callisto to run behind me. Titan can take care of our other mates, right now my omega needs me. And I’m not going to let her down this time.

The string of Fate between us leads me through the back of the building to one of the exits. Ignoring Lincoln’s shout to wait, I burst out of the door and scan the parking lot.

There! She’s being carried by a man and a woman. Pride fills me as I watch her fight to escape their grips, but I can feel in her bond that she is starting to lose consciousness from the woman’s hold on her throat.

A grayed-out van idles several yards away from them. It all clicks, who these people are and why they targeted this show. What happened inside was a diversion so they could kidnap my girl. They chose the wrong fucking pack to mess with, though, because we aren’t giving up without a fight.

My bark stops them both in their tracks. The triumph I feel is overwhelmed by concern when Omen drops to the asphalt, her shoulder digging into the ground. Fuck, she has to be hurting after that. She doesn’t seem fazed since she’s instantly on her feet and bolting for us.

The van they were trying to take Omen to drives off as Lincoln and our other guards rush past us to apprehend her attempted kidnappers before they can shake my bark. I’m ready to follow them and dish out some of my own justice, but the overpowering scent of rotting sunflowers distracts me.

Omen nearly knocks me to my ass when she launches herself into my arms. Shock locks my muscles for several seconds before I wrap myself around her. She’s terrified and upset, and she came to me for protection. I feel like I’m king of the fucking universe right now.

“Gorgeous,” Nexus murmurs softly, “are you okay?”

All three of my mates have their hands on her, gently soothing her while reassuring themselves that she isn’t injured. A few scrapes and bruises, but no lasting damage so far as I can tell.

“Y-yeah. Yes. I’m okay.” Omen’s voice is shaky and tight, still full of fear. This omega has been through too much in her short life. My chest aches with the longing to take away all the trauma she’s endured, but like my other mates I know sometimes trauma can be what shapes you.

“We called the police, they’re on their way,” Brady’s voice cuts in from beside us. Omen opens her eyes long enough to glance over and offer him a shaky smile. Our manager’s jaw is clenched tight with his own anger. He’s been protective of Omen since the day she joined our tour, even going so far as to put us through hell with our shows after she quit.

He grips each of our shoulders tight before he disappears to check in with the rest of the studio and venue staff. Hopefully, the damage to the fans, the staff, and the venue isn’t terrible. The label will put out an apology statement, and ensure any fans who were injured are taken care of, but my conscience will still say we are to blame.

We stand in the parking lot for way too long. Night is in full swing and the air is growing chillier with each passing hour. Omen is still plastered to my chest. She tried to get down several times, but I just held her tighter. If she isn’t in my arms, I will fucking lose it, and the last thing we need is an alpha on a rampage.

Police and some FCDA agents showed up an hour ago, but they haven’t cleared us to go home yet. Apparently, an anti-designation group related to the church bought tickets to the show and tried to take control of the bar inside. They were attempting to create Molotov cocktails when a fight broke out with venue security. Thankfully, everyone was able to escape with only minor bumps and bruises, and stitches for a few of the venue staff.

An agent approaches us and takes Omen’s statement. Her eyes are drooping and my girl is dead on her feet from all of this mayhem. “So we’re free to go?” I ask, as soon as he’s done talking. My girl needs her nest, and I need to fuck one of my mates silly to shake the rest of this aggression riding my instincts.

The bodyguards assigned to Omen inside of the venue were overly apologetic as they drove us back to Starburgh. The sun is just peeking over the horizon when we pull into the driveway. Omen slept for most of the trip, her head in Nexus’ lap and her feet in Titan’s. Giving up the contact between us was difficult, but I recognize that both of my alpha packmates need to be reassured by her touch too.

Sitting in the back with Callisto gave me the opportunity to check in with him, which he needed. He is still shaken by what happened, but his worry mostly lies in us nearly losing Omen again. It’s complete horse shit that these bastards continue to target her. We need to find a way to make them back off for good. As sad as it is, I doubt having his wife in custody will stop Benjamin Montgomery from coming for our girl. If anything, he’s going to try even harder.

Omen trudges into the house, beelining for her nest. The defeated slump of her shoulders when her phone rings nearly has me snapping the device in half, but it’s Donovan’s name on the screen.

We wait at the entrance to her nest, not wanting to intrude as she talks to the DAU leader. She collapses face-first into her bed, breathing deeply and melting. Joy spreads through me watching her relax when she’s surrounded by our scents. She waves one hand in the air, inviting us to join her.

Donovan’s words are muted, but the tension they create is not. Disgust and anger flow from Omen’s bond into me, amplifying the lingering anger still hidden inside of my heart from earlier. She agrees with something he suggests and ends the call a few moments later.

The nest is quiet as she buries herself deeper into the blankets. Titan kneels over her, his massive hands working the stress from the muscles in her back while she processes everything she just learned.

“What did Donovan say?” I finally ask when my patience starts to run dry.

Omen sighs and pushes to her knees, shooting Titan a grateful smile before turning to look back at all of us. “Jacquelyn isn’t talking, but they found heat inducers on her. The men they captured alongside her were more than willing to talk. They are hired hands, I guess.”

We all hiss out a breath hearing that. This would have been the third time that woman drugged our girl, and it could have been fatal if we hadn’t stopped them. Even with Nexus’ bond to stabilize her rejection, Omen hasn’t recovered enough to physically withstand a heat yet.

“So, after my brother met and rejected your sister,” Omen starts hesitantly, worry evident in her bond. I nod encouragingly, sending her a pulse of reassurance. I no longer hold her responsible for her family’s actions, and I never should have done so before. “He went to Doctor Harrison’s lab and had that madman perform a black market knot removal surgery. It didn’t go as planned, obviously. Ben has been plagued with severe pain to the point of dysfunction ever since. So he is unable to have children, and apparently so is his wife.”

My stomach churns with this information, wondering why it is important. Nexus distracts us all, easing a moment of tenseness as he whispers apologies and promises to his dick to never treat him so poorly. Omen snorts out a laugh, the stress lines around her eyes lightening a fraction.

“Since neither of them can conceive–and they believe Hannah will win custody of her children–they plan to force me to bond with Adam Pierson’s son. To have a Montgomery-Pierson heir they can mold to take control of the cult after my brother’s eventual death.”

“They what?!” Nexus gasps. Callisto is pale beside Nexus, his face turning a little green.

“Over my dead body,” Titan growls.

Waves of possessive anger snap out of me as I feel the beginning stages of a rampage taking over. No one gets to touch my omega, to breed her, except for us. Fuck, I need to get control of myself before I do something stupid like try to mount Omen and put a fucking baby in her before anyone else can.

“Tee.” I grit out his name, my jaw clenched so hard it hurts. I’m afraid to breathe, let alone move. My control is wire-thin and fraying rapidly. “I’m going to need you to restrain me.”