Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

WHISKEY

I stroll into the meeting room, hands shoved deep in my pockets. We've been back a whole damn week and we're still no closer to having an action plan, and I don't fucking do inaction.

Starting to feel like I'm crawling outta my skin here. Doesn't help that Ivy is walking around like a ghost haunting the halls of the Chateau rather than someone who actually lives here. But her reclusiveness doesn't stop her sweet scent from being infuriatingly alluring.

Like a juicy steak always dangling just out of my reach…

If steaks smelled like honey and vanilla and the best lay of my fucking life.

I haven't been the same since Ivy's heat, that's for damn sure. Nothing is ever going to come close to what it felt like to claim her. To be inside her. And not just because of the sex itself.

I'm fucking obsessed with her.

Except for Ivy, the others are already here, their expressions grim and tense. Thane stands at the head of the table, his arms crossed over his broad chest, brow furrowed in thought.

"So," I drawl, plopping down into a chair and kicking my feet up on the table. "Are we finally gonna talk about what to do with the little bomb Nikolai dropped on us?"

Thane's gaze snaps to me, his dark eyes narrowing. "We don't have any proof that what he said is true," he says, his voice low and controlled. "Just the word of a gunrunner, which won't mean shit to my father."

Valek snorts, leaning back in his chair with a sardonic twist to his lips. "For all we know, your father could be in on it," he says, his accented voice dripping with disdain. "He clearly doesn't give a shit about omegas."

Kind of surprised Valek's implying he does.

Thane narrows his eyes, but he doesn't argue. What would be the fucking point? We all know it's the truth .

The alpha takes a deep breath, visibly forcing himself to calm down. He runs a hand through his hair, his jaw tight with barely suppressed rage. "I'll deal with my father. I'm already planning a trip to the capital," he says, his voice rough. "To feel out whether he knows anything so we can figure out what to do from there."

He looks around the room, his gaze settling on each of us in turn. "In the meantime, I want someone else to go out into the field. Hit up one of the underground markets, find out if there's any talk of these stolen omegas."

Valek straightens, a glint of anticipation in his silver eyes. "I will go," he says. Always eager to run off. And considering he's only here because the alternative was an electric chair, firing squad, or hanging, I guess I can't blame him. "I told you, my contacts in the Outer Reaches may prove useful."

"Not alone, you're not," Thane says in a rumbling growl a hair off from an alpha bark.

"I'll go with him," I chime in, a grin spreading across my face. "I love the market."

Plague sighs, a long-suffering sound that's only slightly muffled by his mask. "I should go as well," he mutters. "To make sure these two idiots don't get themselves into trouble. "

I flash a wide grin at Plague. "Wouldn't mind at all, Doc. Always a pleasure to have you along for the ride."

Plague visibly bristles at my words, his shoulders tensing. I can practically feel the daggers he's glaring at me from behind those gold lenses. But I don't let on about our little... encounter. No need for everyone to know about that particular indiscretion.

Besides, it was a one-time thing.

Wasn't it?

The memory of Plague's hands on me, rough and demanding, sends an unexpected shiver down my spine. I shift in my seat, trying to shake off the sudden heat pooling in my gut.

Fuck. Now is not the time to be thinking about that.

Valek pauses, his hand on the doorknob. "That would mean leaving Ivy alone with..." He trails off, but we all know what he's thinking.

Wraith.

The big guy is standing in the corner, his arms crossed over his massive chest, what's left of his lower face unreadable behind that gas mask. But I can feel the tension radiating off him, the barely leashed violence that always seems to simmer just beneath the surface .

"You should stay, too," Thane says to me, his voice brooking no argument. "You're not exactly low profile."

I open my mouth to protest, but then snap it shut again. He's right, damn him. Last time I went on a mission to the underworld, I got a little too drunk and slapped an alpha mafioso on the ass. Almost got us all killed. Worth it, though, considering he was clearly about to assault the waitress, and the look on his face when he realized the tables had turned was priceless.

They probably have a fucking bounty on my head. And the underworld is pretty much all that's left of society out there in the Outer Reaches.

Besides, staying behind means I'll have more time with Ivy. Maybe I can cheer her up, get her to open up a bit. She's been so distant lately, so withdrawn. It's like she's retreated into herself, pulling away from all of us.

"You should get a present for her at the market," I say, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the table. "Something to make her smile. Has anyone else noticed how distant she's been lately?"

Plague nods, his mask bobbing slightly. "I've noticed," he says, his voice muffled but unmistakably concerned. "She's been withdrawing from all of us."

A knot forms in my gut. So it's not just me, then. I've been trying to tell myself I'm imagining things, that maybe Ivy just needs some time to adjust. But hearing Plague confirm it makes it real.

"She barely leaves her room," I mutter, running a hand through my hair. "And when she does, it's like she's not even here. Just going through the motions."

The memory of Ivy's blank stare as she passed me in the hallway yesterday flashes through my mind. It was like she looked right through me, her beautiful blue-green eyes dull and lifeless. Nothing like the fiery omega who'd fought us tooth and nail when we first brought her here.

Almost like she's planning something. Biding her time.

Or she regrets what happened between us.

"Her past is still largely a mystery," Thane muses, his brow furrowed in thought. "We don't know what she went through at the Center, not really."

"And until we do, we can't truly help her heal," Plague agrees, his voice heavy with regret.

Thane is silent for a long moment, his gaze distant. Then he sighs, a weary sound that seems to come from deep within his chest. "While I'm already in the capital, I might as well pay the Center a visit. See what I can find out."

I feel a flicker of rage at the thought of that place, of the horrors Ivy must have endured behind those walls. I've only ever passed it once heading into the city, and it looked a hell of a lot nicer than anything out in the Outer Reaches from the outside. Nicer than most places in the capital, too.

But I guess some prisons aren't obvious. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for her, trapped and alone, at the mercy of those twisted fucks.

I'm no angel myself, but there is a line I won't cross.

Harming an omega.

I know one thing for sure. Whatever they did to her, whatever scars they left on her body and her soul...

We'll make them pay.

We'll burn that fucking place to the ground and salt the earth until nothing's left but ashes and bitter memories.

Thane pushes back from the table, his expression set in determination. "Valek, Plague, you two head out to the market. See what you can find out."

Valek is clearly pissy about having a chaperone, but he doesn't argue as Plague follows him through the door. Just scowls and mutters a slew of Vrissian curses under his breath with "bird" mixed in here and there.

Plague glances back at me like he's going to say something, but whatever it is, he changes his mind. I watch him go, trying not to make it too obvious.

"Whiskey, Wraith, you stay here with Ivy," Thane continues. "Keep her safe, and try to get her to open up if you can."

I know he's talking to me alone with that last part. Wraith's the epitome of a closed book. Pretty sure he's as empty as a sketchpad in there, but it's hard to say. I give a mock salute, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. "Aye aye, captain."

Wraith just grunts, a sound that could mean anything from agreement to murderous intent. With him, it's always a bit of a toss-up.

With all of us, really.

I lean back in the chair, my mind already racing with ideas. I need to find a way to get through to Ivy, to break down those walls she's built up around herself. It won't be easy, I know that. She's been hurt bad and trust doesn't come easily to someone with her past.

But I'm nothing if not persistent.

And I'll be damned if I let her slip away from us.

From me .

Fuck .

I've never been one for attachments. Easier to keep things casual, no strings attached. It's safer that way. Less messy. But Ivy... she's different. She's gotten under my skin in a way no one else ever has.

I can't help it. There's something about her, a strength and a vulnerability that calls to me on a level I can't quite understand. I want to protect her, to shelter her from the cruelties of this fucked-up world we live in.

And yeah, okay, I want to make her smile too. I want to hear her laugh, to see those haunting ocean eyes light up with true joy instead of being shadowed by pain and fear.

I know it won't be easy. And she'll probably bite me again. Maybe knee me in the gut a few more times.

But I also know that she's worth it.

Worth fighting for, worth bleeding for.

Worth dying for, if it comes down to it.

I push up from the table, my boots thudding against the concrete floor as I head for the door. Wraith falls into step beside me, a big creepy shadow that radiates malice like a physical force.

We make our way through the winding corridors of the bunker, and Wraith turns off at the last moment to go fuck off and do whatever the hell he does when we're not on a mission. He glances back toward me, his icy gaze flicking toward where Ivy has sequestered herself away, and for a moment, I think he's going to change his mind.

"You coming, big guy?" I ask.

He hesitates. Then, with the slightest shake of his head, he turns and stalks off like an overgrown panther.

Maybe he's got the right idea.

I should probably knock and let Ivy know it's just going to be her, me, and Wraith for the next few days, but something tells me I should give her some space, too.

She'll find out soon enough, anyway.