Page 6 of Omega's Salvation
I try to rein in my emotions as Calista bends down to inspect the wolf. She nudges it with her foot, a small smile playing on her lips. “No doubt a trap. We’ll hold him in the room off where the council meets.”
“He needs a doctor,” I spit out, furious that Calista would refuse him medical attention just to drag answers out of the wolf
“And you rushed out here without any backup, dragging the pack Alpha with you for your own personal reasons.” Calista holds a hand up. “I don’t need to know what they are. All I know is that if left in your hands, this wolf might endanger our pack.”
I bite my tongue before I say anything else, knowing that Calista has every right to transport the wolf for questioning. We’ve done worse with those we don’t trust and I’ve watched Mateo rip apart someone trespassing on the pack lands. However, knowing who this Beta wolf is, I can’t allow Calista to take him.
I also don’t have the power to stop her.
Once Nepheline finds out, I won’t have to do anything, though. Her determination is stronger than any of ours and I’d bet on our Omega for what she’ll do to Calista if the Beta is harmed.
Pierson moves to the other side of the wolf, nodding to Calista when they hoist the Beta up into their arms. “He’ll be held in the cell until after we meet in a few hours. I’ll make sure that all of the council members and Elders are there. Make sure your guards attend.”
Mateo chews on his bottom lip, watching his mother struggle to grip the Beta just right. “You will not disrespect the pack’s Luna by barring her entrance to the council meeting. You may not like her or the Alphas she has chosen but she has a right to sit beside me.” Anger wavers in his voice but he does well to temper it even if his eyes glow a deep red and then return to their natural brown. Mateo huffs out a disappointed sigh before halting his mother's exit. "You will also allow Asani to assess his wounds."
His mother snorts. "That little clinic is in your house. Where your Omega is. You really want me to step inside there?"
Just the thought of this woman anywhere near our Omega makes my wolf rage. I shoot Mateo a cursory glance before stepping toward the silver wolf and running my hand along the open gash in his side. Energy flows through me as I inspect his fur in the dim light, confused at how superficial the claw marks truly are. Without having the wolf shift, I won't truly know the extent of the damage but it seems that he'll be okay until we make it to the council meeting. "His breathing is shallow but being in this form is healing his wounds."
Calista's brows furrow as if she's disappointed by that revelation before they leave, carrying the wolf, sunlight starting to spread through the clearing. We don’t have long before we have to attend that council meeting, Nepheline’s first as the pack Luna. I can’t see it going well. What I don’t understand is why Mateo didn’t step in, why he didn’t overrule his mother. “Mateo-”
His shoulders fall as his gaze follows his mother and Pierson disappearing into the dim morning light. “If I put my foot down and brought that wolf back to the house, my mother and the council would twist my intentions until the entire pack believes I am following in my brother’s footsteps. As much as I want to deliver him to our Omega, it would ruin everything. I pray that he can hold on for just a little while longer.” His brows furrow as his hands fist at his side, the power of his wolf surrounding us. It feels like a blanket of adrenaline rushing through me as Mateo turns to meet my gaze. “He’ll survive for that long, won’t he?”
“The gashes weren’t that deep.”
“Then I hope my Omega can forgive me for letting my mother take the wolf.”
Putting the pack above his Omega’s desires can’t be easy but Nepheline’s position as a Luna would require her to do the same. Immediately claiming the unknown wolf left by the pack of the Forbidden would have had alarm bells ringing in the council’s head. A council that I hope Mateo dismantles immediately. I understand the reasoning but that doesn’t make it any easier to digest.
Still, I shift back and grab a few of the tattered fabrics, Mateo doing the same before we race back to the house. There’s a different aura to Mateo’s wolf this time around, something fiercer and more animalistic. Just like his eyes, his fur shifts under the growing light with a streak of red that matches Nepheline’s. That will have to be a question for later as we reach the house and I shoot Mateo an apologetic gaze at the state of the door.
Nepheline stands in the open area, frowning at the both of us, her hands on her hips. She’s only in River’s shirt but that doesn’t offset the confusion pouring from her scent. “Precious, what are you-” She ignores me, eyes falling to the tattered remnants of the Beta’s clothing. I’m not entirely sure why I brought them back but her focus is firmly there.
All of us freeze, waiting for her to do something when she steps up to me and raises on her tiptoes to press her lips against mine. “Thank you,” Nepheline whispers before slipping the clothes from my hand and disappearing into the living room. My brows furrow in confusion as I look to the three who’ve been here with her but they are just as confused as I am.
We move into the living room to see Nepheline stuffing the bloodied clothing into the edge of her makeshift nest. She’s smiling as she does it, her gaze slightly unfocused. I’ve never seen our Omega truly lean into her instincts outside of her heat but she’s absolutely gorgeous, resituating her nest and then growling in frustration when it doesn’t sit the way she wants it.
“Sweetie, we can get you something else. Those clothes are dirty.” River moves forward but Maverick stops him, the newest Alpha enjoying this moment. Remi jumps in to help, slowly sliding a pillow from Nepheline’s hand before setting it to the right. Her eyes light up as he takes over, our Omega content to sit in the middle. She’s holding one of my shirts to her nose and a piece of the Beta’s tattered clothes as well.
She doesn’t mind the smears of blood now coating her hands and shirt, just the added scent that the Beta brings. I can’t blame her because it fits so well with us. We just have to find a way to pry the Beta from Calista’s claws after the council meeting. I also decide that I won’t be the one telling Nepheline who has her Beta. Mateo can suffer that. Or make it Maverick. She’s very sweet on him.
6
NEPHELINE
Mateo stole me into his lap after breakfast, content to stay in the middle of my nest where I demanded. It’s an involuntary reaction, an absolute need to remain in this little space. I have all the scents I need even if I don’t understand why. While my Alphas have been talking, I’ve been trying to fight through a haze. Their words sound like I’m underwater, unable to swim to the surface.
My heart is beating in my ears and my entire body feels like it’s on fire.
“Princess, where do you keep going?” Mateo breathes in my ear as one of his hands settles on my thigh. The other splays across my stomach beneath my shirt, his heated touch drawing a moan from my lips. This needy Omega shit is not helpful when I’m supposed to be leading a pack. I wiggle in his lap, avoiding the loaded stares from my Alphas but their boosted scents are making it harder for me to concentrate. “Nepheline, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t fucking focus. You guys came back and I… his scent. It’s my Beta, isn’t it? Where is he?” That’s when everything clicks. The memory I couldn’t quite get a hold of, the boy in my dreams, and the absolute need to have the tattered, bloodied clothes Asani and Mateo brought back into my nest. Tears glaze over my eyes as I stare at the Beta’s shirt, remembering the man I fell in love with. Even then, I knew he would be my forever.
I had hoped so.
And then, somehow, things changed and Flynn became the Beta I remembered. He always told me we would be forever; that I was his but the feelings weren’t the same. I don’t regret killing that bastard, although I want to bring him back to life and kill him again for not telling me about the one I truly loved.
“Where is he?” I ask again. Their silence doesn’t sit well with me. “Is he-”