Page 32 of Lost Wolf (Exiled Omegas #2)

Thirty-Two

Ollie

Clay pulls me over to one of the kennels and tosses me inside, slamming the door shut. He grabs a padlock to slide into the latch, then walks over to join Wanda in front of a large metal cabinet sitting against the wall.

She crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at her son. “You could have screwed everything up.”

“I did exactly what you told me to,” he says. “I secured—”

“You didn’t secure shit,” she snaps, gesturing first to me and then toward the door. “If we’d been two minutes later, they both would have been gone and then where would we be?”

“Why does it matter anymore? Aren’t you Alpha now?”

“Yeah, but just because Earl’s dead, that don’t mean there doesn’t have to be an heir.”

Earl’s dead? I stare at the two of them, eyes widening. Does that mean Wanda expects me to give Clay an alpha child? Does it even work that way between betas and omegas?

Clay rolls his eyes. “But we have time now. Can’t we wait till I’m not stuck with my brother’s leftovers? I’d rather find a mate of my own.”

“You don’t need to take him as a mate to breed him,” she replies as she unlocks the cabinet and swings the doors open.

Inside, there are three rows of metal hooks. The top two rows hold slim silver collars, like the one Taylor wears, and crude, two-inch wide metal bands take up most of the bottom row.

“Any preference?” asks Wanda, gesturing toward the contents of the cabinet.

“Well, I’m not fucking a wolf.” Clay grabs one of the smaller collars and heads in my direction.

I back into the corner of the kennel. If he wants to put that thing on me, he’s going to have to unlock the door and come to get me.

“You lay one finger on me and you’re as good as dead,” I say. “Luke will kill you.” If I don’t manage it first.

Wanda lets out a harsh laugh. “That boy is as good as dead. He might last for a few rounds, but none of them last more than six months.”

“A few rounds of what?”

She smirks. “Fighting other alphas.”

My stomach drops, body going cold. I knew humans had taken Luke, but I assumed they were taking him to the lab, unpleasant but survivable. But Wanda’s talking about…

“A dog fighting ring,” I whisper, horror filling me.

Wanda taps her index finger against the tip of her nose. “Got it in one.”

“Look, Oliver,” says Clay from the other side of the chain link. “You might as well give in and accept your fate. You’re not getting out of here.”

“Fuck you.” I bare my teeth at him. “I’ve already ‘accepted my fate.’ Luke isn’t just my mate, he’s my fated mate. That means even if you manage to get me pregnant—and I’ll fight you every step of the way—Luke and I are tied together by fate. What do you think happens to me if he dies?”

Clay blinks, clearly confused, then glances at Wanda. “What happens?”

The smug look on Wanda’s face drops away and her nostrils flare as she focuses in on me. “You’re lying.”

“Nope,” I say, straightening my shoulders. “And we completed the bond the night before we came here.”

Her expression darkens, a flare of anger in her eyes. “Then you’re fucking worthless and I might as well just kill you now.” She advances toward the kennel, Clay stepping to the side to get out of her way. “The question is: how much should I make it hurt?”

There’s a loud clatter from somewhere outside, and Wanda’s head swivels toward the noise. Her eyes narrow as she cocks her head to the side. A distant howl fills the air, the sound sending a flare of hope through me. I concentrate on the feeling of the bond, only now realizing that stretched out sensation is gradually lessening.

Luke is coming.

I just have to hold on a little while longer.

Wanda frowns, then glances at Clay. “Make sure our guest doesn’t go anywhere. I need to go check that out.”

Clay gives her a stiff nod as Wanda runs out the door. He waits a beat, then walks over to sit on the bench next to the cabinet, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall.

No more noises come from outside, not even from Wanda, and I relax slightly against the back of the kennel. The edge of the doggie door presses against my spine and my gaze darts to Clay. He probably couldn’t get over here quick enough to stop me from getting through it, but I doubt I’d be able to avoid running into Wanda outside.

As I debate, the doggie door in the last kennel inches open so slowly that, for a moment, I think the movement is only wishful thinking. Someone peeks inside and catches my gaze. Taylor . He raises his brows in question, and I pointedly look in Clay’s direction. I’m not sure if Clay has a good view of all of the kennels from where he is, but it’s not worth the risk.

The doggie door falls closed again and Taylor disappears. A moment later, I hear Macy’s voice from outside. “Hey, asshole, you might want to check on your mommy. She’s no match for my Alpha.”

Clay lifts his head and scowls. He appears to debate for a second, then he gets to his feet and starts walking toward the doorway. As soon as his back is turned, Taylor peeks through the doggie door again, and I nod.

Taylor climbs the rest of the way through the doggie door. He jumps to his feet, quickly opening the kennel he arrived in and rushing to mine. He eyes the padlock, then glances at the doorway before darting across the room to the metal cabinet where he lifts a set of keys from a hook in the corner. Returning to me, he takes care of the padlock and swings the kennel door open.

The two of us jog outside. Clay and Wanda are nowhere to be seen, but Macy is still leaning up against the side of the building. I crouch next to Macy, gesturing Taylor over.

“Help me get her inside,” I say.

Macy coughs into her hand, her palm coming away wet with blood. “I’ll be fine. Luke’s here somewhere, but now it’s two against one. Help him.”

“Stay with her,” I tell Taylor. “I’m going to go find my mate.”

Taylor nods and crouches beside Macy as I sprint toward the faint sound of growls and snarls. Two minutes later, I find Luke and Wanda engaged in a brutal fight. They’re both in wolf form, biting and scratching at each other, but Luke’s wearing a heavy metal collar that Wanda uses to her advantage. She clamps her teeth around the collar and throws Luke sideways, then jumps on top of him.

Hovering off to the side in human form, Clay pulls a black remote from his pocket and pushes the button. On the ground, Luke seizes, muscles locking up and leaving him completely vulnerable. Wanda goes for his throat, but the collar is in the way of her teeth.

It won’t take long for her to figure out a way around that, though. I need to do something about that remote. I need to do something about Clay .

I shift, shaking off the clothes that don’t rip away on their own, leaping at Clay from the side and catching his wrist in my jaw. Blood fills my mouth as I bite down, followed by the sharp crack of breaking bone. The remote falls from Clay’s hand and he holds his bloody wrist up by his chest, staring down at me in shock.

I snarl and jump at him again, this time aiming for his throat. My weight knocks him backward and he stumbles, falling onto his back. He manages to hold me off, using his already injured limb to block my snapping teeth. From his neck anyway. My fangs sink into his forearm, deep enough that I might nick the bone. I shake my head, violently whipping it back and forth and tearing away a large chunk of flesh.

Clay screams in pain, cradling his injured arm against his chest and instinctively grabbing at the wound with his other hand. I don’t wait for him to recover. I lean down and wrap my jaw around his throat, biting down until I taste blood again. Clay struggles under me, but quickly grows weaker until finally going limp, his chest still.

Someone yelps behind me, and I spin around. Luke’s recovered from whatever that remote did to him and he has his jaw wrapped around one of Wanda’s forelegs. He bites down, and I hear the crack of bone. He releases her and she snarls, hopping backward on three legs. Luke darts forward, and Wanda tries to grab the collar again, but Luke sidesteps out of her reach.

Wanda charges, butting her head into Luke’s side and knocking him onto his side. He recovers quickly and jumps up to his feet. He rams his shoulder into Wanda’s side. Her injured foreleg is unable to support her and she tumbles over onto her back.

Before she can recover, Luke pounces, landing on top of her and wrapping his jaw around her neck. Her claws rake across his stomach, but that doesn’t stop him from ripping her throat out with one vicious jerk of his head. Wanda goes limp, and Luke crawls off her, stumbling as he makes his way toward me.

I shift back and he lies down beside me, resting his head in my lap, his tongue lolling out as he pants with exhaustion. There’s blood on his muzzle and dirt is pretty much everywhere, but I don’t care. I stroke my hand over his fur and everything around me disappears, my entire focus on my mate.

At some point, someone finds the keys to unlock that ugly collar. I practically rip the damn thing off his neck and throw it off into the woods somewhere.

Head still in my lap, Luke shifts back to human form. He reaches up to cup my cheek and gives me a soft smile. “You’re safe.”

“I am,” I say. “You protected me.”

His gaze slides to Clay’s body. “You protected me too.”

“We protected each other.” I lean down to press a soft kiss against his lips.

“Where’s Earl?” he asks. “I was kind of expecting to be fighting him, not Wanda.”

“He’s dead,” I say. “Wanda killed him.”

Luke blinks at me. “So, that means… oh shit.” He groans, then tilts his head backward and blows out a breath. “Please tell me I didn’t just accidentally take over as Alpha for another pack.”