Page 5 of Omega's Salvation
“Nepheline?”
I look up from my seat on the floor and sigh. I’ve tangled myself up in the blankets and pillows, finding comfort in my mates’ lingering scents, one of Asani’s old shirts pressed up to my nose. This Omega bullshit is inconvenient. It was much easier with that serum running through my veins when I could lean into my anger and my aggression rather than my need to be surrounded by the men I’ve fallen in love with.
My gaze meets three concerned Alphas as I drop the shirt and reach for the discarded pancake. I stuff half of it into my mouth, trying to focus on anything other than the looming position. My Omega can’t forget, though, and she’s terrified we won’t do it right. “I told you all I was going to be a terrible Omega, that I didn’t know how to be one.” I stuff the rest of the pancake into my mouth, every last thought running through my head. My cheeks puff out, Remi about to start giggling. He loves it when I go 'chipmunk' but this isn't the time. “How can I possibly be a good Luna?”
Lead a pack? How can I do that when my entire existence is focused on killing Silas, Calista, and Kylan? I’m sure Mateo knows I’m after his mother but I need them all dead. I need their heads on a stick to show everyone that my pack isn’t one to be messed with. I need to be there when they breathe their last to piece together a part of my broken heart. Hell, I even want to watch Pierson's blood spill across the snow.
Silence meets my question but I don’t need to hear my mates to know that they completely support me. Maverick gathers me off the floor and into his lap as River and Remi close in until I’m surrounded by their warmth. “You will be the most amazing Luna, kitten. I can feel it. But that’s a problem for later. Right now? You’re going to let us feed you and pamper you to your heart’s content.”
“Yeah?” I push out. I try not to focus on the fact that Silas is within my reach and instead on the three willing Alphas with heat in their eyes and hands caressing my bare skin.
Remi nods enthusiastically as he sets up a plate just for me and hands it to Maverick before sitting in front of us on the floor. “Be a good girl, sunshine, and then I’ll get my fill.” His eyes dip to my knees which are slightly parted as I spread myself across Maverick’s lap. A moan falls from my lips as slick gathers between my thighs.
So. Fucking. Inconvenient.
But if Remi is offering, who am I to say no? I open my mouth like a good little birdie, my three Alphas laughing in response. Hopefully, Asani will be bringing Silas back for me to play with after breakfast.
5
ASANI
I can’t get my wolf under control as I race across the thin layer of hard snow. Each step crunches into the icy white floor as I head toward the sound. A growl sits at the edge of my throat, rumbling through my entire body, taking over my rational mind. Silas’ call wasn’t anything like I’ve ever heard. I’ve submitted to Ilsa’s call before and I’ve felt the pull from Mateo’s but not the absolute need to respond.
With Silas, it was immediate and involuntary. What my mates don’t know is that I didn’t feel the call to join Silas. No, that feeling was a need to rip him limb from limb. The howl from that wolf felt demonic, unreal. It feels like everything that's wrong with the pack lands and one of many reasons that the magic has stayed away from the wolves.
It felt like a fuck up of epic proportions on my part because the only reason that howl was so powerful was because of something I helped make.
I can’t even imagine what kind of wolf Silas has become but it can’t be anything other than a devil.
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I know as much and I would never rip that opportunity from my Omega’s hands. I will, however, be having words with Silas. With my teeth. Hopefully, I can add to the scars that Nepheline put along his back when she caught him last.
Unfortunately, the clearing doesn’t yield Mateo’s brother. The stillness of the early morning air is anything but welcoming, the stench of death looming reaching my nose. I creep forward, looking for the culprit when my gaze falls on a lone wolf resting a few paces away. Moonlight reflects off its silver coat, the same wolf that Maverick mentioned, and is most likely Nepheline’s Beta.
The uncertainty that surrounds this wolf makes me want to bar him from ever meeting our Omega but she would have our asses if anything happened to him. The smile she gave us when she mentioned him was more beautiful than I’ve ever seen. She may not know it but Nepheline is in love with that Beta in her memory. If this is the same wolf, I will do everything to protect him, regardless of the consequences. If he’s a trap, we’ll figure it out.
Each step closer brings a soft, sweet scent to my nose. The wolf is much smaller than I would have expected, nearly the size of Nepheline’s but it’s the large gashes across his stomach and his snout that draw my attention. Tattered clothes surround the wolf as if he shifted to protect himself, to keep from falling apart. Silas’ work is all over this but why he would have attacked a Sapphire wolf and left it here for us to find is beyond me.
The idea that Silas might be trying to ruin every single pack he can get his hands on is a dark one so I don’t dwell on it. I shift and fall to my knees beside the wolf, the Beta immediately groaning when my fingers sift into the fur by his ear. I expect pushback or a snarl but he leans into the touch, settling as he picks up my scent. I expect that he’s picking up Nepheline’s scent more than anything but it’s the way his entire body relaxes that tells me he’s not a threat.
Mateo shifts as well, both of us staring at the beginning of a war we’re not sure how to win. “What is my brother getting at? More carnage and destruction? I can’t see how attacking another pack would go well for him.” His jaw is clenched, arms tightly wound across his bare chest. He’s still partially shifted, his beast pressing against the edge of his consciousness. “I will deliver Silas to Nepheline myself at this point.”
I just shake my head, continuing to pet the wolf on the earth floor. We need to transport him to the clinic I’ve set up in the main house to assess his wounds. Depending on how deep the gashes are, we might need him to shift to get him to a hospital. They know about wolves but I’m not sure they’d be able to treat one.
My plans are ruined when additional footsteps meet my ears. I set myself in front of the Beta wolf, baring my teeth at the intruders only to find Calista and Pierson, Remi’s father, approaching. Their hands are clasped behind them as if they run the pack, their power fierce and unyielding. I stand to receive them, Mateo’s arm pressed against mine. It’s a testament that we stand together rather than I stand behind him.
“Shifting every time there is a problem is not the smartest thing, boys,” Calista drawls as she steps closer. She’s dressed in a full winter coat and boots as if she had been prepared for this moment. The point is to protect our pack lands and she waltzed out here like she had had all the time in the world, as if there was no threat at all. I don’t trust her. Calista steps around me, placing a hand on my arm. “Did you feel the call? From the pack of the Forbidden? Is that why you rushed out here, to return to those who you belong to?”
My lips turn up in a scowl at her insinuation but Mateo shields me from his mother’s traitorous words. “He’s part of our pack, mother. That doesn’t change regardless of your hatred for my father or any of the other multitude of people you’ve killed. No, we’re not playing that game anymore where you pretend you’re innocent of all this. Asani has pledged his loyalty to this pack, to me and you will respect that.”
Pierson snorts. “I doubt that. Who shifted first? Whose idea was it to rush out here before deliberating with the council?”
I keep silent, refusing to say anything. With Mateo here, it’s not my place to speak but it’s obvious who shifted first. As far as I know, though, we didn’t need to drag the council or the elders into this decision. The pack Alpha stands beside me as a testament of my choice but neither Pierson nor Calista will accept that.