62. Amaya

62

AMAYA

I 'm counting the minutes, no that's a lie, I've been counting the seconds since I heard Vincent's motorcycle roar to life outside. Yes, I really want ice cream, but with every moment he's gone, the twitchier I get.

We're coming up on the seventh minute of me trying to force myself to snooze a little more, but I just can't do it no matter how sleepy I still am. I won't be able to rest until my alpha is tucked back into my nest. Preferably with a carton of chocolate ice cream and a spoon, of course.

Gently, so as not to disturb my couch nest, I nudge my sheet off of me and stretch. Vincent will be home any minute, and I can't eat my goodies lying down.

The sound of the lock jiggling on the front door then the hinges creaking open have a wide smile stretching my cheeks. A nasty little pull on my skin tells me I've been drooling. Gross .

"Just in time!" I exclaim excitedly and wipe my face.

Shifting my butt as Vincent's heavy boots stomp toward me, I scooch into a sitting position, ready to receive my treat. The smell of motor oil assaults my senses, but maybe I'm just sensitive to his motorcycle scent or something.

"Eee," I squeal, doing a little jig when I feel his urgency through the bond. "Gimme!" I encourage, my sleepiness draining away with the buzz of our tether.

I tip my head back in hopes of also getting a kiss. Instead of my mate's soft lips, a leather clad hand slams into my mouth. My eyes cross and a muffled scream burns my throat as blood threatens to choke me out.

"They just keep getting dumber and dumber," a voice grumbles, sending chills across my exposed arms and chest.

I writhe and wiggle, using the rest of my body to my advantage to escape the intruder's clutches.

"Oh," someone drawls in the low lighting of my living room. "At least this one's trying."

I can practically feel their hands reaching for me, and their vile breath breathing down my neck as I scramble across the couch. I hold on to hope that Vincent will bust through the front door and save me, but my heart slamming into my ribcage squeezes at the same time my brain rattles with pain.

The world tips and twirls, reminding me of a particularly bad punishment I received at the academy. The time my skull was slammed into a brick wall. The implication that I'm feeling my alpha's agony rips a keening cry from my throat.

I don't care about the pain, not even as it becomes my own as I tumble from the couch and crack my head against the coffee table. Nothing matters, not the black stealing my vision, or the monsters bruising my biceps as they drag me through my home. All I can truly register is the horrific silence through our bond that numbs my soul.

I am, once again, at the mercy of monsters.

I can only hope I am being torn from my mate, not my alpha being torn from me.

' Alpha?' My omega sounds as woozy as I feel even as the brisk night air steels the breath from my lungs.

No alpha , I scold as my hip bangs into something solid and cold. We protect him now. I feel my omegas confusion, so I explain before everything goes black, and I shut down the bond that connects me to my alpha.

We won’t let him feel our pain too. This burden is ours, and ours alone. We have to protect him from what's to come. My alpha is the most amazing person I have ever met, but he, along with my other mates, will blame themselves. I don't want them to. They have hurt enough to last a hundred lifetimes.

I don't know what happened to Vincent, and the hit to my own head keeps me from thinking about it too hard, but I know he's injured. He has to heal, to be strong. For himself and for them.

'Protect mates?'

Yes, we protect them.

I've been torn from my happiness once. I can do it again.

I was a victim before, but maybe now it's time I try to be a survivor.

I'll just have to do it on my own.

For them.