Page 60 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)

Killian

I 'm furious. So furious I want to scream from the top of my lungs, but I feel frozen in my own body.

The only thing keeping me grounded is the feel of Reyna in my arms. After hearing that scream, coming out and seeing all this fucking blood and chaos, my alpha instincts are roaring at me to tear apart any possible threats around us.

But I need to know what happened before I lose my shit. Because I know that the moment I let myself do so, there's no turning back.

My vision is hazy around the edges as I fight to rein in my emotions. I can feel my pulse throbbing in my temple as I clench my jaw so hard it creaks.

"What happened?" Reyna repeats, glancing over her shoulder.

I nod, not trusting myself to let out another word.

She swallows hard, her gaze shifting away from me in a way that tears my heart out.

She doesn't want to look at me.

Who can blame her?

I was the one who got her into this fucking situation. I knew this dinner with my stupid family wasn't a good idea, and I still brought her. I still put her and my packmate in danger.

I've never seen Milo angry enough to hurt a fly, let alone tear another guy's ear off with his teeth. What in the world did my brother do?

Something bad.

Something real fucking bad.

I can feel it in my bones.

Milo squeezes her hand and offers Reyna his best attempt at a reassuring smile. It looks a bit crazy, considering he's still covered in blood and dirt, but it seems to help Reyna.

"I'll—I'll keep this short, 'cause to be honest, I want to get the hell out of here, but I know your brother.

From before. I guess you could call him one of my regulars," Reyna says.

She glances up at Stone, whose gaze is darting back and forth from Reyna to everyone else on the other side of the balcony, keeping guard.

"Remember those bruises I had on my neck?

The ones you saw the first night I was your ring girl? "

"I do," Stone says, his voice a low growl.

All three of us stiffen. It's not hard to connect the dots.

Milo doesn't look very surprised, which means Reyna must've told him earlier. He does wear a steely expression that shifts into a look of disgust when he hears Max whining behind us.

I brace myself for what Reyna's about to say next. Because I know whatever she says will irreversibly change my relationship with my family forever.

I know they treat me like shit. I know I'll never be smart enough, accomplished enough, or important enough to fit into their warped worldview, but I've never made a stand against them. Never defended myself. Never defended something I believe in or care about.

That's going to change.

"Well, Max over there likes to cause pain," Reyna says through gritted teeth. "I told Milo this earlier, but he fucked me and choked me so hard I passed out. He liked it a whole lot more when I thought I was going to die. Then he tossed a pile of crumpled bills on my naked body and left me."

I can feel the slight tremble in her body as she speaks. She's a strong omega. Undeniably the strongest I've ever met. But she's still here, trembling in my arms, recounting what my brother, my flesh and blood, did to her.

"Five hundred dollars, just like the first tip you left me," she says, flashing a strained smile at Theo. "Except you were a lot nicer about it."

"And what happened tonight?" I say, my voice barely a whisper. My throat feels so tight, I'm surprised I can even get those words out.

"He called me a whore, said a bunch of shit about me knowing my place in the world, but—" She glances back at Milo and squeezes his hand. "When Milo told him to shut the fuck up, he barked at Milo to get out of the way so he could—so he could?—"

Her voice breaks, and her head falls to her chest.

"Rape her," Milo croaks, his voice still gravely. He cuts his gaze to me, his amber eyes intense. "He wanted to rape her so you'd see."

My blood runs cold. The world around me slows. It fades away, so the only thing that exists is this balcony, with one spotlight above us and the other spotlight over my fucking family. Over my violent rapist of a brother.

"That motherfucker," Stone growls, his hands clenched into fists by his side.

"I'm going to kill him," Theo snarls.

"Milo fought the bark. It was impressive as hell," Reyna says, smiling at Milo. "He snapped out of it by head-butting Max, pretty sure that fucker's nose is broken. He tried to get me to run, but I came back when I heard that scream, slammed a pot over Max's head, and kicked him off of Milo."

She wipes her free hand on her dress, like she's trying to wipe away the grime of this conversation.

"And that's what happened," she says, glancing warily over her shoulder at me.

I run my hand up the bare skin of her arm, reminding myself that she's fine. That she's safe, in my arms right now.

Then I stand.

I nod at Theo, who quickly shifts so he's sitting beside Reyna, offering her his physical presence for comfort. Traumatic experiences like this can fuck with an omega's health. That's the last thing we want, considering all she's already been through.

"Thank you, Reyna," I say.

My voice sounds strange, like I'm listening to a recording of myself speaking. The world around me doesn't feel real.

Stone opens his mouth as I pass him. "Where are you?—"

I stalk towards my brother like I'm stalking my prey.

He's still sprawled on his ass, surrounded by our parents and that bitch of a date he brought, I'm sure more for show than anything.

Even though his nose looks broken, there isn't nearly enough damage to warrant the amount of whining that's coming out of his fucking mouth right now.

I'm going to change that.

He flashes me a lazy grin as I tower above him.

"Killian! Apologize now, look what that stupid Southside whore and that wimpy alpha did to your brother!" My mother snaps, running her hands through Maximus's hair as she stands behind him.

"Fuck off," I spit, my lips curling up into a snarl.

My mother looks like I just slapped her. I've never spoken to her that way. Ever.

There's a first time for everything.

"Don't you dare speak to your mother that way," My dad yells, narrowing his eyes at me. "We are your parents!"

"If you both still choose to stand behind a violent rapist, then you're no parents of mine," I say, returning their glares with one of my own.

It's funny. I've spent years using this look to bend people to my will in every single business meeting I've ever done.

It was always modeled after the glares my parents would shoot at me, when I supposedly fucked up.

I guess I've gotten good at making that look my own, based on the way they flinch under my gaze.

But still, the two of them continue to stand behind Maximus.

Figures.

"He's not a rapist!" Angie says, jumping to my brother's defense, her shrill voice instantly making my headache worse. "You think he'd even touch a Southside bitch like her with a ten-foot pole? She's—she's ugly!"

I ignore her, my sharp glare cutting down to my brother.

"I think you're just jealous I got to her first, little brother," Maximus sneers.

Angie lets out a horrified gasp of surprise. "You—you had sex with her!?" She screeches.

My brother ignores her, the same way I have.

"Like always, the only thing you deserve are my sloppy seconds."

My fist crashes into his face.

Angie and my mother scream as I grab my brother by the collar of his designer suit jacket and haul him up to his feet. He lets out a strangled cry of surprise as his eyes go wide.

Even though I give him an opportunity to gain his bearings, he doesn't do anything to defend himself other than throw a couple of weak punches in my general direction. It's like he expects me to stop.

Too bad for him.

I want to rip him limb from fucking limb. Until he bleeds out on this marble balcony.

He manages to land a couple of punches back on me, but I barely feel them. I can barely feel anything, other than the ice-cold rage that's been building for years.

I let it all out. All the resentment from taking the beatings he would dish out when we were kids. From him being the favorite, no matter how hard I tried. From him wanting to take away the one precious thing in my life.

I feel him tremble underneath me as he sobs like a sniveling baby, begging for mercy.

He didn't give me mercy. He didn't give Reyna mercy. He deserves none from me now.

"Killian, stop!" I feel someone grip the back of my collar and tear me away from my brother's prone and near-lifeless form.

My wild gaze swings behind me and I stare into Stone's eyes. His brows are drawn down in concern as he grips my shoulders, keeping me from turning back around to beat my brother to death.

"You can't kill him," Stone murmurs. "I know you want to. Hell, I fucking want to. But you can't. Don't let yourself get taken away from Reyna, not when she needs all four of us."

His words snap me out of my violent fog. I inhale a shuddering breath, the smell of blood thick in the air around us.

"You're right," I nod.

"You're fucking insane!" Angie shrieks behind me. The world has gone back to moving incredibly slowly again. In my peripheral vision, I see her hand raised like she's going to slap me.

Which is so ridiculously absurd I don't think I even process what's going on.

Then I see a blur of crimson fabric, and Reyna is standing in front of me.

"Oh no you don't, you fucking bitch," she says, catching Angie's extended arm.

"Let go of me!" Angie screams, swinging her other arm.

The crack of her palm against Reyna's skin makes my alpha instincts roar to life.

Before I know it, I'm moving, and Stone isn't holding me back anymore because he's moving too.

"I'm okay," Reyna says, glancing over her shoulder at us. Her lips tug up into a small grin, despite the redness of her cheek and the welt from one of Angie's rings. "I've got this. It's self-defense now, right? If I hit her back?"

Stone nods, his jaw falling a little slack. "Y—yeah."

"Perfect."