Page 18 of Bubblegum Pop
One of the young alphas turned, calling back into the room, “Hey! Hurry up!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m just finishing,” another shouted from within.
I closed my eyes, swallowing the aching blend of deep, cutting pain and unbearable rage. I was barely holding on. I could easily reach out and snap their necks, or simply fire four bullets and be done with it. We weren’t meant to carry guns on site, but I’d find a way. I’d hunt them down if she asked.
Her scent rolled through the open door, thick, cloying, and tinged with despair. Rather than her sweet bubblegum that always set my body alight whenever she was near, this seeped out of her room like gunge, creeping along the corridor.
I’d been on the door for at least eighty of the ninety-six hours that had passed since her heat had first started, listening to them fuck her, her cries muffled behind the door, along with the same laughter I heard now.
We were meant to work switch shifts. One of us on with another member of the security team, two of us off, changing every eight hours. With a single whiff of her heat scent, Zeus went into rut. We nearly had to lock him in one of the underground rooms they kept for out-of-control alphas until he calmed down. Thank God she hadn’t started in the car.
We refused to let any other alphas guard her without us, and we couldn’t keep Zeus away. Odin and I worked back-to-back to make sure Zeus didn’t lose control.
And we were the ones who saved Zeus from seeing those alphas’ faces as they left, drenched in the scent of bubblegum.
The young alpha finally emerged from the room, hurriedly pulling up his fly as he grinned goofily at the others, and they all turned and left without a single care for what had happened. I was sure Candy was already forgotten, and they’d go on to spend their money on newer, shinier toys.
I shared a look with Odin as they passed, the wound of our loss growing. Even the idea of our scent match fucking someone else burned. And to know she had gone through a heat—her first heat, no less—with a pack other than ours forced me to embrace the serene, empty calm that only came when I had no control, when my fury was so intense I had to submit to it and let it tear through my body without showing anything on the outside. I could hide my feelings from my mates through the bond so they didn’t have to bear my pain as well. I had to focus on Zeus and Odin to make sure nothing happened to them.
Clenching my fists, I stilled my trembling breaths, forcing air through my nose, hopelessly watching their backs as they turned left to go down the stairs, away from my grasp. The biggest danger had passed. If I killed them, we would never see Candy again.
Feet on the ground, chest burning, I kept myself down, but my mate had been pushed too far.
“Odin!” Bones snapped, but it was too late.
Odin swung around, roaring as he slammed his fist into the wall next to Bones, who didn’t even flinch, despite the spray of plaster as the wall gave way. He’d been working for Michael longer than we had, so things like this didn’t surprise him anymore.
My mate’s giant chest heaved, rasping through his teeth, his energy spiked, going haywire through the bond. If I didn’t steady him, he might tip over the edge and go rogue, and then I’d never be able to stop him.
“Hey,” I said quietly, stepping in beside him, trying to work through the rage beating off him. It would be easy to join him, to explode and shout out how stupidly unfair this situation was, but I was their pack leader and I had to protect them.
Odin pressed his palms flat against the wall, thumping his forehead on it, his shoulders up to his ears as his back convulsed.
Bones opened his mouth to speak, but I shook my head. Even though I was sure Bones could take Odin if he really tried, it wasn’t what my mate needed right now.
Odin flinched as I placed my hand on his shoulder, his gaze fixed on the floor. “It’s okay,” I murmured.
“It’s not fucking okay,” he whispered hoarsely. “How can this be okay?”
“Apollo,” Bones’s sharp voice cut through us. “The cleanup team is here.”
“We have to move.” I nudged Odin with my shoulder, trying to bring him away from the wall.
His jaw hardened as he let loose a deep breath, and finally opened himself up enough to let my energy wash over him, and I pushed my calm down the bond.
“We can lose our shit later, but we can’t let them see this,” I said softly, my thumb outlining the firm line of his shoulder that swelled under his suit.
We weren’t supposed to get emotional about our charges. We were here to do a job, that was it.
I wanted to take her away, to hide her from all of this. I’d already planned the places we would visit, how we would spoil her, and do everything we could to erase this place from our minds. But not yet.
“I’m right here.” I reached out, squeezing what little I could of Odin’s hard bicep, his muscles so tense there was nothing to hold on to. “Just stay focused on me, okay?”
Odin straightened, pain creasing his brow as he turned, resignation flowing from him. He pressed his back to the wall next to me, and I gripped his arm again, craning my neck as I stood below him.
He needed contact. He needed me. I shifted in front of him, my other hand on his hip, holding his gaze, breathing with him.
“Shall I stay?” Bones asked from behind me. He didn’t have an omega, but he knew how crazy alphas could be. This wasn’t the first time hosts had scent-matched with staff. He and his mate, Arrow, were the only people who knew about us.