Page 1 of Dream Mates (Into The Parallel Omegaverse #2)

Chapter One

Wes

“ G race!” I took off down the street as the strange, black, unmarked car drove away.

They were taking her. I didn’t know who or why, just that someone was taking my Grace, my mate , away from me. Fear shot through me as I ran after the car, chest shaking.

No. I’d just gotten her back. They wouldn’t take her away from me. They couldn’t. I wasn’t about to fail to protect her again.

The car disappeared from my sight. Shit. I stopped, putting my hands on my thighs, bending over to catch my breath. My heart shattered. Grace.

No. That was okay. Obviously, I wasn’t as fast as a car. But I’d find her. This time I’d fucking find her and get her back. I wouldn’t abandon her to some awful fate again.

Fumbling for my phone, I opened the tracking app and watched as her location disappeared.

Shit. Did they take her phone?

Grace’s panic shot through our bond along with nausea.

Then…

Nothing?

Nothing.

Just emptiness where she’d been just a moment before.

Shit.

“No.” A growl ripped from my throat as I sank to the ground in defeat. No location. No bond.

Not again. Bile rose in my throat.

Evan caught up to me, face contorted in pain. “I… I can’t feel her. She was so scared and suddenly, she wasn’t there. She’s not…”

It came out like a sob as panic and dread shot through our bond, his lemonade scent going burnt with fear.

The bottom dropped out of my belly. Oh, I hoped not.

Our bond wasn’t strong. That was it. It had to be. She wasn’t gone; our bond was still weak because of Grace’s concussion. Yeah, I’d go with that.

Still, I couldn’t bear that Evan, my omega, my mate, was in pain. I wrapped my arms around his giant form, pulling him to me.

“What the fuck is going on? That car had no plates.” Brennan joined us, panting from exertion. His blue eyes gleamed with worry and confusion as he brushed his black hair back with his hand.

“Grace.” My voice broke as I held onto Evan like he was a lifeline.

Grace. Grace was gone with some unnamed guy in a dark suit. One thing the movies had taught me was that nothing good ever came from unnamed guys in dark suits.

A sob ripped from Evan’s throat, defeat radiating off him. For a moment we stood there, holding each other in the middle of the road.

Grace.

“Let’s go back to the house. I need to know what just happened.” Brennan put his arms around both of us, voice low, but alpha-firm. His pine scent filled with concern.

“Back to the house? I… I can’t feel her. She’s gone from my phone. We have to get her. I can’t…” Panic gripped my chest.

Didn’t he understand? I couldn’t let her face some awful fate alone again like when her mother sent her to that horrible wilderness camp when she was a teenager.

“Hold it together, Wes. You’re an alpha. Hold it to-fucking-gether. Let’s go back to the house and re-group. For fuck’s sake, you’re not even wearing shoes,” Brennan growled, the slightest bit of alpha dominance in his voice.

True.

The three of us walked back to the house, Evan sobbing. Wave after wave of anguish rolled off my sweet, giant, omega mate.

When we got home, Riley stood in the living room, laptop open, yelling at Spencer.

“Agent Asshole said that he’d bring her back. They’ll realize she’s innocent and bring her back. And in the meantime, I will fucking find them.” Her light brown hands sat on her hips, as her heavily-lined brown eyes squinted at him.

“Ri, I am sorry to say this, but they’re not going to bring her back. Jett, get off the phone. Calling the police isn’t going to help.” Spencer paced the living room, one olive hand raking his dark hair, which held a hint of grey.

“Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on? Who took Grace and what do you mean they’re not bringing her back?” Brennan demanded, turning on the air filter on the wall. The air was bitter with the smell of burnt leather and sour anise.

I froze at Spencer’s words, because if anyone knew what was happening it would be our resident mad-genius.

“They’re not bringing her back? Spence, what do you fucking know? I can’t feel her. She’s not dead, right? Just unconscious?” My voice shook.

“Is this the whole Omega Protection Program thing? Are they throwing her back in?” Jett joined us, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. He got out his phone.

“What are you talking about?” I clawed at my chest as if doing so would make me feel her. It was like I was nineteen again, when I finally realized that she was never coming back to my dreams.

“I need to know what just fucking happened.” Evan returned to the living room, pushing the entire bar cart.

Spencer took a deep breath, leaning against the back of one of the chairs.

“That man was clearly from what I always thought of as the Temporal Police. I’m guessing they took her because she’s not supposed to be here.

That’s what they do–ensure that the ban on interdimensional travel is enforced.

She’s gone from our phones because they probably went to whatever parallel world that they take people to. That could be why you don’t feel her.”

“Oh fuck. The people running the simulation? You knew they’d take her and didn’t tell us ?” Riley punched Spencer in the arm, scowling.

“No. I just knew it was a possibility. Especially since we still have no idea how she got here.” Spencer bowed his head, his brown and gray eyes filling with sadness, scent turning salty.

“Ri, you know that she’s from another world?” Evan handed me a glass of bourbon.

She knew? I’d thought only Evan, Spencer, and I knew about Grace’s interdimensional-traveler status.

“Um, yeah.” Riley rolled her brown eyes.

“How do you even know who they are? Since I’m guessing they’re some super-secret agency?

How could you do this to us? You’re an alpha; you’re supposed to protect her.

I thought you cared about her.” She started punching Spencer again, tears streaming down her face, smearing her makeup.

“You knew someone would come and take her ?” I stared at my packmate, my friend, my boss, too angry and upset to move.

Spencer gently took her pummeling fists and held them, pulling her to his chest. “I do care about her. So very much. I didn’t know if they’d come and if they did, there’s nothing we can do to stop them.”

“Wes, she told us this. That was why he didn’t want her to research how to get home or any of her old theories.” Evan nestled into my arms, sadness coming through the bond.

“I didn’t want Grace to draw attention to herself. Those theories are dangerous.” Spencer shook his head.

“I didn’t realize that there’s some actual agency that could come and take her. How do you even know this?” I countered, holding my omega tighter so that I didn’t punch my packmate.

“What the fuck is going on?” Brennan roared with enough dominance that we all stopped. His pine scent flared with anger as alpha pheromones filled the room.

Spencer sighed and sat on the couch with Riley.

“We know about Grace’s fake identity,” Jett started, holding on to his husband. “Bren had a PI investigate her. Why was she in the Omega Protection Program–was it because of her mom? But why would they take her back now ? Who do I need to call? I’ll pull in every favor I can.”

While that was nice, it wasn't going to help. An agency. There was some actual agency keeping parallel world travel a secret. Grace had mentioned it, but I just brushed it off.

Mostly because I wanted her to stay here with me. So, I didn’t listen. And they took her.

I turned to Brennan, anger rising inside me. “You had her investigated?”

“I have to protect the pack. It’s literally my job as head alpha.

She was hiding something. I needed to know what.

Once we were told she was part of the Omega Protection Program, we let it go.

We figured that if she didn’t tell us in her own time, we’d broach it eventually.

” Brennan took a long drink of bourbon, hand shaking slightly.

“Of course she’s hiding something, you asshole.” Riley glared. “You’re all assholes. Wait, someone knows my records are fake? Evan, I thought you made calls? Fucking shit, I need to protect myself because I’m not going to prison because Bren has trust issues.”

“Riley made the records?” I knew Riley was good but…

“Um, yeah, because I’m the best.” She bent over her laptop, her black-polished fingers starting to type at a rapid pace.

“Shit. Part of me wants to be mad because you’re not supposed to break the law anymore, but part of me is really proud that you can create government records. That’s some skill right there,” I admitted, draining my bourbon. While I could easily hack the government, I wasn’t sure I could do that.

“I did make calls,” Evan replied. “That’s why there’s Omega Protection Program fingerprints all over Grace’s files. I was trying to make it as real as possible, especially with everyone poking around and us needing to legitimize her so that she could have a life here with us.”

“Ri, you can make fake government records?” Brennan asked, brow furrowing.

“Be proud, fucker.” Riley didn’t look up from her laptop.

“Grace isn’t part of the Omega Protection Program.

We created her record because she didn’t have one, then I looped it in to cover our asses.

That’s why the Eastside station and the Center couldn’t find her initially.

It wasn’t the glitch; it’s because she doesn’t exist here.

The glitch just worked to our advantage and bought me time.

” Evan sighed and buried his face in my shoulder.

My arms wrapped around him. “Grace isn’t from here. We needed to make her exist so that she could stay. Shit, how do I even tell this story?”

It sounded weird when I said it out loud.