Page 4 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)

Stone

T he door to the dingy apartment I’m staying at for the time being slams shut behind me. I click the lock and slide the chain shut before collapsing on the couch.

Fuck. Tonight was crazy.

I’ve never been a big fan of rain. I hate driving in it, and I don’t like the way it soaks into my shoes when I walk.

But for some reason, I wish it were raining.

Not for some reason. I know exactly why. Because of her .

Raine.

I’ve read some of the basic reports from other guys who have done undercover work in the Southside. It wasn’t surprising that there are omegas here that aren’t registered with the North.

It wasn’t even the first time an omega had approached me at The Warehouse. There was another one who tried talking to me before. I don’t even remember her name.

She doesn’t hold a candle to Raine.

There was just something about her. Something intoxicating about her scent, even though it was different from a lot of the sweeter omega scents I’ve been around in the Northside. Something charming about the way she spoke to me.

Then I saw that fucker’s hands on her. Saw the way no one else did anything to help her.

And fuck. Those nasty bruises around her neck, underneath that smudged makeup. The look of fear and disgust she had when she looked at me, looked at the blood on my hands.

Anyone with eyeballs could see she’s been through some shit. Or rather, actively going through shit. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it.

She did say she needed money. Maybe she’s in some sort of trouble. Is there anything I can do about it? I’m a fucking police officer from the Northside, I should be able to do something, even if I’m undercover.

I pull my phone out of the duffel bag I carry to The Warehouse and groan.

A dozen text messages and a couple of missed calls.

I guess my pack was worried about me.

I video call Milo, knowing he’s probably still up, even though it’s three-thirty in the morning.

He picks up on the second ring.

“Thank god you called,” Milo huffs, the bags under his amber eyes made obvious by how pale his skin is.

I hear the usual click of his keyboard in the background.

“Theo was freaking out, and Killian was about to order someone else in to check on you. The only reason why they didn’t was because I was able to hack into The Warehouse’s security camera system, and we saw you were fighting in the ring on schedule. ”

“Damn, really?”

“Yeah, dude, you just stopped responding in the middle of a conversation. We thought something happened.”

“Oh.”

“Is oh really all you have to say, Stone?” Killian growls, coming into the video feed.

He narrows his piercing green eyes, his normally perfectly quaffed and slicked-back hair falling haphazardly in his face.

He’s shirtless, like Milo just messaged him when he was already ready for bed.

“Oh? That’s fucking it? What the hell happened! ”

“Yeah, man,” Theo says, yawning, leaning over Milo’s other shoulder. “We were worried about you.”

I scrub a hand down my face, wincing at the pain in my jaw from where Razor got a couple good hits in. It’s gonna bruise up real nice and good tomorrow.

The thought of bruises reminds me of Raine’s and my expression darkens.

“Oh damn, did something bad happen?” Theo asks, his brows drawn down over his dark-colored eyes.

“Sort of? Not really. Well, it wasn’t bad at first.”

“Spit it out,” Killian sighs.

“There was an omega. There. Tonight. She talked to me,” I say, struggling to figure out a way to explain Raine and what happened between us tonight.

“The omega you jumped over the wall of the cage to save?” Milo asks, his voice monotone and his expression unchanging.

“You saw that part?”

“I did,” Milo shrugs. “The others didn’t.”

“You did what?” Killian scrubs a hand down his face. “I’m getting tired of asking you what you did, Stone, just spit it out already. We can’t help you if we don’t know what the fuck is going on.”

I sigh, leaning back into the couch cushions.

“Okay, fine, sorry. There was an omega. A Southside omega. She came to my locker room before the fight. That’s why I had to put away my phone. She—she was—I don’t know how to put it. She was ethereal. And fiery. Like something out of a dream.”

“So you met a girl?” Theo asks, his voice curious. “And you like her?”

I groan, letting my phone fall to my side and giving them a view of the popcorn ceiling.

“Yes—I don’t know, it’s complicated. She’s complicated.

But basically, she told me she’d get money if I won, so she wanted to make sure I was going to win, and kind of implied someone sent her there to make sure I won as some sort of party favor, but I didn’t take her up on the offer ‘cause that would be wrong.”

Fuck. I’m rambling.

I pick up my phone again and look at my three packmates, who are all glancing at each other.

“I mean, from the way you basically can’t stop talking about her, I’d say that’s a pretty clear indication you like her,” Theo says. “So what do you want to do about it? We know she’s clearly a Southside omega working as a ring girl at one of the underground fighting rings under investigation.”

My jaw clenches at the memory of what that sleazy beta said after he grabbed Raine.

“Come on, a girl like you is for sale, ain’t ya?”

“Like you could afford a girl like me. You know Dominic keeps his price sky high.”

Not a denial. She even gave a name. A name for a pimp?

“I don’t…think she’s just a ring girl,” I say slowly.

“What do you mean?” Killian asks.

“I think she—” I swallow hard, remembering the bruises on her neck. “Milo, I need you to look into something for me. See if you can find something out about a man named Dominic being a pimp. And if you can find any connection to an omega named Raine.”

“You think she’s being pimped out?” Killian’s gaze sharpens at my comment.

“Yeah, I do. She made a comment about a guy named Dominic ‘keeping her price sky high’,” I say, using my other hand to make air quotes.

“I’ll look into it,” Milo nods. “This could give us more information into omega trafficking circles. Do you think she’s being forced?”

“I don’t know. It didn’t seem like she was being kept hostage at The Warehouse, but—” My hand clenches into a fist by my side. “She had bruises on her neck. So I don’t know.”

“You did rescue her from another guy who was choking her,” Milo says.

“These were old. Been there for probably a week. She purposely covered them with makeup,” I say, my jaw ticking. “It was that stupid beta grabbing her around the neck after I won the fight that smudged it.”

“You need to be careful, Stone” Killian says, narrowing his eyes. “We still need more information. You can’t just blow your cover as Obsidian. This operation is bigger than just a single omega. There’s a lot at stake here.”

I stare up at my ceiling again. He’s right. I know it. Doesn’t make it any easier to hear, though.

“I mean, just because Stone has to keep his cover doesn’t mean we can’t figure out who this omega is and how we can help her,” Theo suggests.

“What’re you thinking, Theo?” I ask, my expression probably giving away how hopeful I am at the thought that I’m not the only one interested in helping Raine.

“I mean if she’s really being sold by a pimp, and Milo figures out where,” Theo starts, slowly. “I could go down and pretend to be a buyer. From the looks and sound of the situation so far, it really seems like Northside Alphas play a big part in the Southside omega trafficking rings as customers.”

“So you’re suggesting you go undercover too?” Killian asks, his brows drawn down. “I don’t know how I feel about that. You’re a lawyer, you’re not trained in undercover work like Stone is.”

“I don’t need to go completely undercover,” Theo says.

“I don’t need to make up a big backstory or move down there temporarily.

I honestly think it’d be weirder for her to get a client who had Northside Alpha money suddenly move down to the Southside.

We were thinking of sending me in as a pretend John anyway, right? ”

“Yes, but that was supposed to come after we pulled Stone out from his operation,” Killian sighs. “But fine, if Milo can find where this omega is being sold and determines it’s safe enough for you to go in, fine.”

“So we have a plan?” I ask, perking up.

“We have a plan,” Killian nods. “But Stone: keep your cover. Don’t do anything stupid.”

I give him a nod. The last thing I’d want to do is jeopardize this mission. The omega trafficking rings here in the Southside need to be taken down.

“You got it.”