Page 72 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)

Reyna

T he bailiff is crumpled on the floor of the narrow hallway, bleeding from some sort of headwound. He's out cold. There's no way he can help me in his condition.

I'm in this alone.

"Don't scream," the alpha in front of me barks, his dominance exploding out of him.

I feel the impact of his words instantly. It's like my throat closes up without my permission.

Panic flares through my body, and I can feel the tendrils of concern flowing back through the bond. God, I wish this bond could send more than feelings. With the way my heart is beating out of my chest, I can't focus on the bond well enough for me to gauge what any of them are feeling.

"Who are you?" I ask. I've been ordered not to scream, but I can still talk. I can still try and figure out what in the world is going on. "What do you want from me?"

"You're going to come with me," the alpha says, gesturing down the hall with the gun that's still directed at me.

He looks normal enough, just a douchebag Northside alpha. Cropped dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, expensive suit, around six two, two hundred and twenty pounds. I try and take into account everything about this man that I can.

The fact that he's not even pretending to hide his face makes alarm bells go off in my brain.

"And why would I do that?" I ask, fighting the urge to wipe my clammy hands on my slacks. Like hell am I going to show him just how nervous I am. My scent is probably telegraphing that well enough, with how sour and bitter it is right now.

"Seriously?" He huffs. "I have a gun pointed at you, that's why."

"The moment you shoot that, people are going to come running. And I've got a feeling that you need me alive."

I'm totally bluffing. I have no clue whether the Sorel family wants me back alive or not. Based on the text messages they sent when they burned down my family's old home, I get the impression that if they had their way, I'd end up dead anyway.

"Fine," the alpha grumbles, rolling his eyes. "Maximus said this was gonna happen, but I didn't believe him. You'd think a tiny fucking omega with a gun pointed at her would have some common sense, but no."

Maximus? Killian's brother? What the hell does he have to do with this?

The alpha in front of me pulls out his phone and plays a video for me. A video of Killian beating the shit out of Max.

My heart races as I watch the blood splatter across the marble floor as Killian throws a brutal punch.

"If you don't come with me, this video will be sent out to all the major Riverwell news outlets. It'll be on air within the next hour. I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen, right?"

A chill runs down my spine as I shake my head.

"Thought so. Now get walking."

I feel the barrel of the gun pushing against my back as I'm marched down empty back hallways. My mind races as I try and figure out how the hell to get out of this.

I left my phone in the waiting room before I testified. Witnesses aren't allowed to have them in the courtroom. There's no way to tell any of my guys what's happening.

"Where are you taking me? Is Max the one you're working for?"

"I'm getting you out of the courthouse. That was my only job, no idea where you're going after. I'm doing Max a favor, the guy waved around a lot of cash."

I see an exit sign pop up as we turn the corner and my steps falter. The letters of the sign flicker red. Such an ominous sign.

"Keep moving," the alpha growls.

I push the door open to reveal a back parking lot area of the courthouse. A black SUV with tinted windows waits in front of us.I can't see anything inside because of the tinted windows.

"Get in the car," the alpha says, nodding his head towards the passenger side door.

"You're not coming?"

"Nope," he shrugs. "Told you, my job was getting you out of the courthouse."

I glance around, trying to see if there's any way I can make a run for it.

I could try and get the gun away from the guy, but my chances of being able to do that successfully are slim to none, considering the sheer size difference between us.

The parking lot area is flat, if I were to make a run for it, there would be nowhere for me to hide.

The decision is taken out of my hands when the passenger side door swings open from the inside.

"You better come in without making a fuss, Raine."

Every single muscle in my body locks up when I hear the all-too-familiar voice.

"Fancy ass car you got there, Dom," I hiss.

I shouldn't get in that car. I can't.

I know for a fact that Dom was working with the Sorel family. And God only knows what they're going to do to me.

I whirl around and immediately start sprinting, my arms and legs pumping as fast as they can. My toes crunch into the pointed tips of my pumps as I run for my life.

"Fucking hell!" The first alpha with the gun curses. I hear his footsteps pounding on the pavement behind me. He's closing in.

There's no way I can outrun him.

The wind is knocked out of me as I'm tackled to the ground. My hands burn as they scrape against the concrete, but even though I try to brace myself, my chin still slams into the ground underneath the weight of the alpha on top of me.

The world is fucking spinning.

I can't scream either, because of the barked command earlier. To be honest, I'm not sure how much screaming I would've been able to do without that, considering the fact that I can't breathe.

My arms are wrenched behind my back and I hear the click of metal handcuffs around my wrists. As I'm hauled up to my feet, my vision blurs as I look down at the blood dripping down onto the concrete in front of me.

Oh. I'm bleeding.

I glance down at myself and watch as blood drips down onto my white blouse, staining the fabric.

Dom's familiar cigar scent floods my nostrils as he steps up in front of me.

"You're fucking stupid, you know that?" Dom growls. He grips my cheeks and forces me to look up at him as he stares at the wound on my chin. "Dammit, you just had to go and fuck up your face, didn't you?"

I can taste blood in my mouth. I must've bitten something when I was going down. Or my teeth must've cut the inside of my mouth when I slammed into the ground.

I spit into Dom's face, baring my teeth in my own snarl.

"Fuck off," I hiss.

He narrows his eyes at me before nodding at the alpha behind me. "I got this. Get lost."

Dom grips my shoulder as the other alpha lets go of his hold on my arms. No chance of escaping now.

"What about the money? I was told there was gonna be money?—"

"Oh, yeah, that," Dom says, reaching his hand into his pocket.

My blood runs cold. He's not reaching for money right now. I can tell. I've known this man for years.

I don't have time to brace myself before my ears ring. I flinch as the metallic, smoky smell of gunpowder hits my nostrils.

"Don't look behind you," Dom mutters, tucking his gun away. "I know you've got a thing about blood on concrete and shit."

There's no other way to describe the dread that I feel as I'm dragged towards the SUV. It's like my insides are trembling.

I've gotten so used to the luxury of the Northside, the luxury of having alphas as safe as my guys, that I've forgotten where I came from.

This is the world I came from.

A world where omegas are helpless pawns. Where death is commonplace. Where your value is determined by what you can offer those in power.

I'm hit with a steely sort of determination. I survived my time there. I just have to survive it long enough to make it back to my guys.

The door slams behind Dom, leaving the two of us enclosed in the backseat.

"You can get going now," he says to the driver. He's a bald, massive alpha with dark sunglasses and an expensive suit.

"I didn't know you worked with Northsiders," I huff, trying to find a comfortable position as far away from Dom as possible. It's hard with my arms handcuffed behind my back. I can feel the metal digging into my wrists.

"I could say the same fucking thing about you," Dom growls, narrowing his eyes at me. "You ran away with an entire God damn pack full of 'em! You couldn't even keep your fucking head down, either! You had to go and be stupid and testify for the biggest fucking case of the decade!"

I jerk my head back in surprise. Why does he sound more pissed about me testifying than he does about me running away with my pack?

"What's... what's going on here?"

Dom's jaw clenches and he darts his gaze to the driver we have.

"Just keep your mouth shut and your head down till we get where we're going, got that?" He pulls his phone out and starts rapidly typing away.

I want nothing more than to rage and scream, to spit in Dom's face again and throw myself out of this car, but I don't have a death wish.

If this shitshow just included Dom, I may take my chances and try and run again, but it doesn't. This whole situation screams Northsider involvement.

I thought the Sorel Family was a Southside-based crime family, but maybe I was wrong. It wasn't like I purposely stuck my nose in their business. I spent years trying to stay away from them and whatever dirty ways they were filling their pockets.

Instead, I stare out the window, trying to track exactly where we're going. To absolutely no one's surprise, we're driving straight for the outskirts of the Southside. I've never been to this part of town. I never had a reason to, and as an omega, I tended to stick to places I had reason to be.

We drive down a terribly paved side street that probably hasn't seen maintenance work since the concrete was first poured decades ago.

My wrists ache as my arms are jostled between my torso and the leather seats.

We're surrounded by huge warehouses that have been equally as unmaintained as the road.

"So this is where the Sorel Family does their dirty work," I mutter under my breath as the bald man in the suit parks the car.

The bald man's head jerks towards me. Because of his shades, I can't see what he's looking at, but I can see the scowl on his face.

"No, you stupid bitch, this is just where we're doing a transfer," Dom hisses, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"Thought you said you could keep her under control," the bald man huffs.

Dom stiffens beside me. "Sorry, yeah, I know the boss doesn't like 'em mouthy."

"Knock her out."

My blood runs cold as Dom sighs and starts shifting his weight towards me.

"What the fuck're you doing?" I hiss.

"Don't fight, you brought this on yourself. I told you to keep that big mouth of yours shut."

I kick out at him, my head and arms slamming against the passenger side door as I fight to get as much distance in the backseat as I can. It's futile, though. I'm no match for an alpha's strength, even if my hands weren't tied behind my back.

"Stop fucking fighting," Dom growls, grabbing my neck and the base of my jaw with one of his large, meaty hands. My cheek presses against the window, my panted breaths fogging up the glass.

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a needle.

"Don't do this," I whisper. If they knock me out, there's no way I'll be able to know where they're taking me. My chances of escape get a lot fucking lower then. I should've just kept my fucking mouth shut. I'm so stupid.

"You brought this on yourself," Dom sighs.

There's a sharp prick at my neck. My veins start to feel like ice as whatever drug he just injected into me pumps its way through my system.

I slump backwards, my control over my body being the first thing to go. I fight the darkness trying to drag me under for as long as I fucking can.

"What the hell?" Dom hisses. I feel hands tugging at the collar of my blouse. "Fuck. She has bondmarks."

"That wasn't in the report," the bald man says.

"No, it fucking wasn't."

That's the last thing I hear before I pass out.