32. Emmett

32

EMMETT

“ E m, wake up."

"Hmm," I groan, tucking further into my pillow.

"Em! Alpha, come on, get up!"

Some of Oliver's urgency registers, but not much. Well, not until I'm smacked upside the head with denim. "What the fuck?!" I growl, sitting up and glaring around the room until I find my beta hunched over by the window.

"Come see this," he hisses, waving me over.

Swallowing my annoyance, even after I see the shining red clock that says two in the morning, I slide out of bed. To appease my crankiness, I spank his ass hard .

"OW!" Oli yelps, jumping around to give me his most ferocious glare. I grin and he scowls. "Just fucking look!"

He yanks me forward by my arm and finally forces me to look outside. Two flashing squad cars are parked at the new neighbor's house. I don't hear any sirens, but it doesn’t look like there's too much of an issue. It also looks like they won't be leaving for a minute.

I can't see much under the cover of darkness, but I'm pretty sure there are a few people standing around too. What's happening?

The sight makes my stomach warble with worry. "Get dressed. We're going over there." Snagging the jeans that hit me in the face, I shove my legs through them and grab whatever shirt I can find.

"Really?" Oli asks but is still ready to go in under ten seconds.

"Yeah." Hustling down the stairs with Oliver on my heels, I reason, "We should check on her. From what we know, she's living there alone."

"So we finally get to meet the mystery girl?" he all but squeals.

With our shoes on and the door unarmed, we're jogging down the road before I realize I might need to tone my crazy beta down. Before I can actually warn him this isn't a normal 'welcome to the neighborhood' moment, we're walking up the driveway.

"Ma'am, everything is just fine. We appreciate you calling us."

Some of the tension bleeds out of me when I see the big beta officer calming our elderly neighbor lady. Mrs. Nelson twists her hands in front of her, breaking my heart a little seeing how worried she is. It makes sense. She also lives alone, so I bet whatever happened is hitting her a little harder.

"The scream was so loud, are you sure the girl is alright?"

"Scream?" Oliver asks, stepping forward. The cop stiffens, but my beta just holds his hands up. "We live a few doors down and saw the lights."

The officer still narrows his eyes but explains, "Mrs. Nelson heard a scream and called it in. Everything is fine, gentlemen. You can head home now."

I know a dismissal when I hear one, but I can't shake the need to push the matter. "My pack and I sold her the house. Is she okay in there alone?"

I doubt the man can narrow his eyes any further without closing them completely, but I don't care. And considering Oliver is now sneaking his way toward the open front door, he's feeling a bit off about leaving the woman here alone too.

I mean, shit, the police are here!

"Ms. Rose is not alone, sir. Please.” He holds an arm out in form of showing me the way down the driveway, but I'm stuck on one very fucking important thing he just said.

"Ms. R-Rose?" I stutter, my heart falling out of my ass and shattering at my feet. Feet which have since gone numb since hearing that name.

The officer opens his mouth just as the sound of shattering glass echoes through the night. Then Oli screams for me. "EMMETT!"

Any possible smidge of doubt I had that the name didn't belong to my scent-matched omega bursts into fucking flames at the sight of my beta crashing to his knees in the doorway.

The fucking doorway we sold to our omega.

The girl who got away. Except, as I come to a screeching halt behind Oliver, the girl I once knew isn't staring back at me. The omega staring at me is a woman .

Amaya .

Caught in years of pain and yearning, I make a fatal mistake: ignoring the alpha holding her upright.

I watch in frozen shock as he settles Amaya on a chair and charges me. "YOU!" the alpha roars. "LEAVE!"

I don't think I can. I truly don't think I can live without my eyes on my omega ever again. No matter how many fists fly at my face.