Page 32 of Cost of Courting (When it Raines Omegaverse #6)

Chapter thirty

Selene

POP!

POP! POP! POP!

I jerk upright, my heart pounding, but I’ve no sooner gotten up than Bailey throws his entire self across me and slams us to the floor. My cheek is pressed to the carpet. The loud growl of Bailey’s breathing is in my ear.

He has me blanketed, and I can’t move, so I lie there and wait. And wait. I lie there listening to more pops coming from everywhere! Frustrated tears burn in my eyes.

Fucking Benson. That piece of shit, of course, he would target this neighbourhood. He would never fight an honest fight.

I hear the laughing catcalls of his disciples and struggle to get free of Bailey.

“Let me go!”

“No fucking way!” Bailey hisses. “You don’t know when a stray bullet will fly through and take you away from us. You stay here with me.”

I still struggle, but Bailey wraps his arms more securely around me and holds me in a way that I am not escaping from.

I can hear Mael cursing, and I know the other two are here somewhere. I twist my head around and find Shade under the bed. He lets out a deep and unsettled meow.

“It’s all right, Shade. It’s almost over.”

Another loud pop, and glass shatters somewhere in the house. Shade bolts.

“NO!”

Bailey’s quicker than I am and catches the cat with one arm. He tows him into us and holds perfectly still.

The cars drive away, the revs of their engines disappearing into the night. But the sound keeps pulsing in my ears, I keep hearing it. Who is hurt? Is anyone dead?

Oh, my god, what have I done?

Bailey eases off me, and I jump up, rushing through the house. I grab my jumper and a pair of jeans and drag them on before I rush out onto the street.

“Is everyone all right?” I shout out.

A door five houses down bursts open, and a teenage girl runs towards me. I open my arms and catch her as she bursts into noisy tears.

“Mum’s at work. I didn’t know what to do, so I just hid and waited!”

“I know, Mercedes. You did so good. You are so brave,” I murmur and stroke her back.

Without me asking, Mael, Edric, Kingston, and Bailey fan out and start walking from house to house, checking on everyone inside.

Dot comes rushing out of my house, a backpack in hand. “Is anyone hurt?”

Cindy, Evie, and Peta jog from the end of the street. They’ve got a group of kids with them.

“Tiffany is opening up the community centre. We’re taking the kids there. It will be safer,” Cindy says.

I nod and hand Mercedes to Cindy. “You go with them. Tiffany will kick anyone’s butt who tries to hurt you.”

“What if they come back while we’re walking?” Mercedes almost shrieks.

I realise she’s losing it, barely holding it together, and cup her cheeks, lowering my head until we’re eye-to-eye .

“If they do, you will hear them, and Peta, Cindy, and Evie will get you safe and hidden. We’re not going to leave you.”

Her eyes fill with tears, and, once again, I’m left frustrated and hurting because I can’t stop this shit from happening. All I can do is clean it up and try to give them the best lives I can.

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you safe, warm, and back into a bed at the community centre.”

“What about Mum? She won’t know where I am!”

I stroke her cheeks with my thumbs. “Of course, she will. Everyone here is going to make sure she knows.”

I let go, and she turns and throws herself at Peta. I give them a terse nod. Despite everything, I want them inside and off the streets as soon as possible.

I spin, and, up the other end of the street, I see a figure stagger on the road. I take off running, calling for Dot.

I manage to get to him just before he falls, but I’m not strong enough to support his weight. All I can do is protect his head when he goes down.

“Match?” I whisper. He’s breathing hard, and his whole body is trembling. He gasps, and I realise his head is wet. I know it’s blood. I can smell it.

“DOT!”

She’s almost beside me when I whip my head around. She drops her bag and helps ease him off my lap and flat on the road. A second later, she’s got a head torch on and is checking his vitals and talking softly to him.

“His head is bleeding!”

“Just a laceration. Not huge, but it’s bleeding a bit.” She cleans it up and puts a bandage on the wound.

He’s in shock, but I think so am I.

“Selene!” The shout has me jumping almost out of my skin.

I spot two other people supporting each other as they limp towards us.

“Go! Jo will help me move him,” Dot says without taking her eyes off Match.

Jo kneels beside me, and I register his presence for the first time. He scoops up Match as easily as if he were a child.

“Okay, call me if you need,” I say hastily.

“Go!”

I rush off down the street and find Mathew and Trey limping towards me. As soon as they get in the light, I see they’ve been beaten up. This was on purpose. What the fuck?

They’re just kids. Twelve years old. What the fuck?

I check them over quickly and ascertain that it’s mostly just superficial wounds that will hurt a lot. Movement over Trey’s shoulder brings me face-to-face with Bailey, who is carrying an unconscious Trisha.

“She tried to protect us, Selene. They came out of nowhere. Just started laying into us, but, Trisha, she yelled at them and helped get us away, but they found her and started hitting her. They wouldn’t stop.” Trey stops gulping air and then bursts into tears. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”

He’s shaking badly.

Shock. They’re all in shock.

“Come on, this way. Dot’s over here. You’re in shock. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

They follow me back, and I help where I can, checking over my people and aching for them. For hours, we help people get safe and fixed up, treating those with shock and injuries, while people patch up windows and check on the missing .

Dawn will be here soon, and everyone is an exhausted, frightened mess. But that’s when Kent shows up, bringing sandwiches and drinks. He’s got a station wagon that he opens, revealing huge trays of sandwiches and drinks.

I walk up to him and hug him tight. “I knew you loved me.”

He snorts a laugh. “Most unreliable worker ever.”

“You were always telling me I needed to work less!”

“Did I? I don’t believe you! Get your ass back to work!”

I snort a laugh as he slaps a can into my hand and a sandwich.

“Thank you, Kent.”

“You’re welcome, Selene. I’ve already been and seen Tiff. She’s all stocked up. You don’t need to worry about food or drink for the kids, that’s all handled.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

I grab another couple of drinks and sandwiches and walk back down the street, handing them out to people.

Mael appears, leading a group of people who tiredly walk to the food van and disappear into Jen’s house.

“No one wants to stay alone tonight. So I figured we can just all crash here.”

My throat tightens. I nod and gesture towards my house. “We can find room for people. Anyone here who wants to open up their house can raise their-”

Everyone of my neighbours lifts their hand. I’m speechless and so very proud of us.

Mael leads his flock up the street to Kent, but I stop and look back. Where are Kingston and Edric?

My phone rings, and I answer it without thinking.

“Hell-”

I lose my ability to speak as I listen to a woman crying out. The repetitive sloppy thunk of skin slapping and a man’s deep grunting paints a picture I do not want.

I almost hang up when I hear him.

“You feel so good, that’s it. Cry for me, little whore. You dirty little slut. Tell me you want my knot, Luna. Tell me you’ll give me everything and no one else matters!”

“I’ll give you anything. No one else matters. Please give me your knot!” she cries out and then lets out a squeal.

“So fucking tight, Lulu. I wonder if your sister is this tight. Do you want to watch me fuck her, too?”

Luna is too lost in the knot. She moans like she’s in heaven, crying out, but not answering him. It’s okay, he’s not talking to her, he’s talking to me.

“Mmm, I can’t stop thinking about breaking you on my knot, Omega.”

She cries out. I shudder violently .

“Come to me, and it will all stop. All of it. You just need to come and kneel for your alpha.”

“Yes!” Luna cries.

I pull the phone from my ear, hanging up the call so his deeply disturbing chuckle is cut off, but I can still hear it. That revolting piece of shit.

“Selene?”

I jerk, startled and find Edric staring at the phone in my hand. Tell me he didn’t hear any of that. Please don’t let him have heard anything.

“I was worried about you,” I say honestly.

His expression softens, and he wraps his arms around me, dragging me into a hug I desperately need.

“Everyone is fine. We went house to house, boarded up some broken windows, but everything is fine.”

My breath catches, and he growls.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I wasn’t thinking-”

“Liar.”

I close my eyes and turn my face so I’m pressed against him. “Okay, so maybe it feels like it’s my fault. I was just having a moment. Can’t you let me?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“Have you seen Kingston?”

“Worried about me, love?”

I jerk around and spring at him. He catches me and spins me around.

“I’m here. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

I bury my face in his neck.

“What do you need, Omega?”

“I need my pack, and I want to go home.”

“Okay, everything is quieting down now. Let’s go and take care of you,” Edric murmurs.

Kingston lifts me easily into his arms, refusing to let me go. We walk back to the house where I hear Edric talking to people quietly, and then Mael and Bailey are there, and we’re sitting on the couch. No one is talking.

But we don’t need to.

All I need is them.