Page 81 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)

REYNA

THREE MONTHS LATER

M y heels click along the tile floor of the Council building.

They’re stylish black kitten heels. Very different than the sky high platform shoes I used to dance in, before my life was turned upside down.

I stop at the door at the end of the hallway. The plaque mounted on the wall is new.

Killian Graylock: Head Councilman .

It’s a recent edition after Killian was elected in the chaos following my kidnapping.

Because Killian had originally spearheaded this whole operation, trying to oust the corruption and involvement of Northsiders in the omega trafficking rings, everyone not involved in the Novacure Pharmaceuticals scandal have been incredibly supportive.

Even the ones who have never been fans of Killian in the past are changing their tune because they don’t want to be scrutinized. Not when so many new positions are being filled as all the people involved are being arrested for their crimes over the past decade and a half.

I take a second to close my eyes and take a breath, the golden light of the sunset shining past my closed lids.

I try and shake off the exhaustion that I haven’t been able to shake, no matter how much therapy I go to or how many different medications I take.

I’ve been plagued by nightmares since I was rescued. It’s a struggle to not see all the blood, brain matter, and shards of bone splattered all over me and that room when I close my eyes.

The one saving grace I have is that all four of my mates have taken to sleeping with me every night. They say they don’t mind when I wake them up with a strangled cry in a pool of my own sweat.

I’m too selfish to feel guilty. Their scents, their strong arms, their soft words of reassurance are the only things that help me even get a wink of sleep at night.

And I definitely need my sleep.

Killian wasn’t the only one with a new job title.

After a few weeks of recovery, which was more mental and emotional than physical, I started my new position at the Omega Center.

With the new influx of traumatized, terrified omegas, some of which have absolutely no memory outside of the drug facilities they were raised in because of the so-called “treatments” they endured, the Omega Center needed more staff to help the girls readjust to normal life.

Especially staff that got what they were going through more than the other omegas who work there that’ve been raised in luxury.

Luna is only one person and she couldn’t handle everything on her own.

I raise my hand and knock softly at Killian’s office door.

“Come in, Princess,” I hear through the door.

“Do you call everyone who comes knocking at your door, Princess?” I huff, rolling my eyes playfully as I step into Killian’s office.

“No, only you. But you forget that I’ve memorized everything about you,” Killian murmurs, standing up from behind his desk.

Stone stands straight from where he was leaning against the windowsill and makes his way over to me, too.

Killian gets there first and plants a passionate kiss against my lips. His hand comes up and rests against the back of my neck, angling my head just the way he likes it.

“God, I’ve been waiting all day to do that,” Killian growls as he pulls away. “I’ve missed you.”

“It’s literally only been eight hours since we’ve seen each other.”

“Eight hours too long,” Stone murmurs, tugging me into his arms and pressing his lips against mine.

I cling to his duty belt as he sweeps me away with his lips, too. When we finally break the kiss, I grin up at him, my eyes twinkling.

“Good to see you, Chief,” I say, poking at his new badge.

Like I said, Killian wasn’t the only one with a new job title.

Stone was officially appointed the position of chief of police a little while ago.

From what I know of the situation, he was practically a shoe in for the position.

He was basically doing all of the work required for the position, just without the official title, since the arrest of the previous chief.

Stone takes my hand and lifts it up, pressing a kiss against the back of it.

“Good to see you, too, Wildflower.” There’s something in his expression that makes my brows draw down in concern. Something in the blue depths that makes me think he’s not telling me something.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” I murmur softly.

Stone opens his mouth to answer, but he’s not able to say anything before we’re interrupted.

“Looks like there’s a party in here!”

I glance over my shoulder to see Theo waltzing into Killian’s office with Milo following behind him.

“What’re you doing here?” I ask, resting my hand against my hip. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the law firm?”

Theo’s schedule has also gotten much busier, considering the scale of the case him and his firm were working on has expanded so much. There are going to be a lot more convictions than just a couple of council members.

“Shhhh,” Theo says, lifting his fingers against his lips. “Today’s Friday. You know the rule: Fridays are pack night. No one works on Friday nights.”

A grin tugs at my lips. It was a rule I requested—more like demanded, if we’re being honest here—because the last thing I wanted to happen was for all of us to get completely sucked into our very important, but also very busy jobs.

My guys were workaholics when I first met them, and I don’t think that core part of all of them will ever go away, but I refuse to let our lives just pass us by.

So Friday nights are pack night. We all get off work at five on the dot and go home to spend the entire night together.

“You messaged the group chat and said you were stopping by Killian’s office, so Theo and I thought we’d tag along and all meet up,” Milo says, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he pushes his glasses further up his nose.

“Well then, maybe after Stone tells me what he wants to say, we could break in the office,” I say, flashing my mates a teasing wink.

Killian lets out a growl that vibrates through my chest as he tugs me closer to him.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Princess,” he murmurs, dragging his nose along the column of my neck, scent-marking me.

“Who says I didn’t mean it,” I gasp.

“You should probably wait until you hear what I have to say,” Stone says, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck.

I freeze in Killian’s arms and purse my lips together.

“Spill it, then. What’s wrong?”

Milo and Theo gravitate towards me automatically. They can probably sense my alarm through our bond.

“The police force raided one of the Feral Alpha stables and fighting rings. It was the one we’re pretty sure your friend, Mirabelle was sold to.”

I grip Killian’s arm, my fingers curling around the expensive fabric.

“Did you find her?” I ask softly.

I know the answer before the question even fully leaves my mouth. I can read his expression. I can feel his regret and sadness through the bond.

“No, we didn’t,” Stone sighs, running a hand through his hair.

I nod slowly, closing my eyes and taking a breath.

The guilt that haunts me whenever I think about Mira is almost as bad as the flashbacks of all the blood. Mira was a ray of sunshine that was sent away because of me. Because she wasn’t willing to tell the guards what she actually did, that she undid my cuffs because I asked her to.

So when the police were starting to close in on the lab’s location, they’d assumed she’d done something to tell my mates what happened.

“That’s fine,” I sigh. “That just means we have to keep looking.”

I’m not going to stop looking for her until she’s safe and sound.

“We will,” Stone nods.

“I have algorithms constantly looking for any mentions of her online,” Milo murmurs.

“Thank you, Milo,” I say, reaching out a hand and lacing my fingers with his.

He’s been working tirelessly over the past few months to try and find where all the other labs and underground feral alpha fighting rings are located so that Stone and the police force can go in and squash them.

We’re all doing our part.

But in moments like these, where we’re at yet another dead end, it feels like we’re fighting a hydra. You cut off one head and two more pop up somewhere else.

We’re probably going to be busy for a very long time.

“Well then,” I huff. “We’re probably going to have to save the christening of Killian’s new office for another time. I want to go home.”

Regardless of how busy we are, we’ll have pack night. We’ll have each other.

And that’s all I need.

Because they’re my fated mates. They’re my forever.

The End