Page 27 of Match (Damselverse #1)

Chapter twenty-seven

Halle

A iden parks the truck right outside the abandoned country house. It looks as if Daryl’s directions have led us to some deserted woods.

I can tell the guys don’t want to let me go into that building, but I have to do this. Penn needs us, and my old pack may not let him go if I turn up with the guys.

I will pretend to hand myself over. Then they can get Penn free.

And then all three of them can swoop in and save me.

“The police should arrive soon, but I hope you know what you’re doing, Halle.” Aiden meets my eyes in the rearview mirror.

I suck in a breath and unbuckle my belt. “I will be fine, Aiden. It’s not as if I haven’t dealt with his pack before.”

His green eyes soften in the mirror, and I hate making him look like that. I not only spy the worry in his gaze but the regret, too.

He wishes that he bonded me when he still had the chance, but we still can bond. Just after we save Penn and return him home.

I just want him back safe. I sense him begging me not to come, but I hope he understands; I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to him.

My Omega is weeping her heart out for him, but now that he’s close by again, she relaxes a little.

Aiden unbuckles his belt next and then joins me on the backseat, climbing between the two front seats.

I meet his eager green eyes. Dane watches us curiously.

It's weird seeing Aiden out of his vet coat. Now he wears plain old jeans and a band teeshirt, his long blonde hair loose for once.

When he reaches across, pressing his palm over my cheek, my breath stutters. Then his eyes fall on my throat, on the empty space between Penn’s and Dane’s bondmarks.

“I promise, Halle. When you return and rescue Penn, I will give you my mark. Something I should have done weeks ago. I’m sorry.”

My lower lip wobbles as his words wrap around my heart. When tears fall from my eyes, he purrs, bringing my face closer so he can place a soft kiss on my cheek. His lips wash the tears away.

“Promise me you will make it out of there in one piece and bring back our brother. I’ve missed his broody face.”

“Hear, hear… You bring him back, Petal. And then we can all be reunited,” Dane announces now.

I close my eyes, nodding. “I promise.”

Aiden smiles, and he cups my cheeks as he kisses me at long last. My Omega detaches from my body as she’s floating in the high heavens now.

Her third and final Alpha accepts her.

“Now, go on. Go and save Penn,” he whispers against my lips. “We won’t be far behind you.”

I suck in a long, trembling breath and then nod my head, stepping out of the car. My legs are like gelatin as I make my way into the decrepit building, knowing that they are not too far behind.

Aiden and Dane will swoop in when I need them. All I have to do is send a distress call to Dane, and they’ll come.

The moment I step into the house, darkness descends upon me. I wind through several corridors, heart thumping as I recall Daryl’s exact instructions.

I’ve never been to this place. I think Kyle inherited it from a grandfather he hated, so the Pack used it often as a warehouse where they could store all their stolen contraband.

I don’t know what they use it for now, though. I don’t even want to know.

All I want is to find Penn.

It doesn’t take me long to sense him. He’s in pain.

I pick up the pace, following the sound of his growl until I finally stumble upon a drafty room. There’s no light, save for the harsh lamp that has been placed right before Penn, giving him a spotlight.

When I spy the bruises on his handsome face, I don’t think. I step into the room, reaching my arms out.“Penn!”

Unfortunately, a tall woman stops my progress, folding her arms across her fake breasts as she stands several feet taller than me.

Lucia.

She curves her full red lips, arching a brow as I sneer up at her face. “Move out of my way.”

Lucia laughs, a poisonous sound as she brushes aside her immaculate hair. “I don’t think so. You will watch as Daryl makes an example of your Alpha.”

I spit at her shoes, and the Beta gasps in disgust. “These are expensive!”

“I didn’t come here to talk to you, bitch. Where are they?”

The woman merely sneers, an immovable force. “Who?”

My fists ball. “Jason, Kyle, Ryan.”

Footsteps sound, and then my back goes rigid as those familiar scents reach me.

Bacon grease, infected wound, and rotten cardboard.

I never did like my Alpha’s scents, and now, when all three of them crowd me, my Omega cringes in disgust.

Jason reaches his hand out, placing it around my neck. His finger finds Penn’s mark as he presses down hard.

Penn snarls in his bound chair, making the hair rise on my neck. He sounds inhuman, his Alpha completely taking over.

“How we missed you, our little plaything,” Jason whispers, and I shudder when his bacon grease surrounds me.

Kyle steps closer on my right, filling my nose with the scent of an infected wound. My Omega’s eyes water, but then when Ryan takes up my left, I almost gag.

Lucia steps out of the way at last to give me a full view of Penn, and when I find the gray eyes of my Alpha, my soul splits apart.

His poor face… My Omega just wants to go over and mend all his wounds.

“Penn…” I whisper.

“Halle,” his voice cracks, and this is too much.

He is in pain, and my Omega can’t stand it. Daryl reaches his fist across, aiming for Penn’s right cheek, and I scream.

“Stop!”

“The choice is yours, Halle,” Jason sneers, keeping his talon-like grip around my neck. “Return to us, and we will let the Alpha go.”

He is not the Alpha. Penn is my Alpha.

I close my eyes, inhaling a trembling breath. “Okay, I will go with you. But you let him go first.”

Penn gasps. “Halle, no…”

Jason’s grip tightens at my neck, and my Omega stifles a squeak. The sound may be muffled, but Penn’s Alpha still hears it with no problem.

“Get your vile hand off her,” Penn sneers, his gray eyes burning silver.

Jason recoils at the sight of Penn on that chair. Even though Penn is bound, Jason still senses the threat.

Penn is a danger. His Omega is threatened, and his Alpha is acting accordingly.

“Well, this is quite the pickle,” Jason mutters. “How are we supposed to let the Alpha go now. If we do, he will only kill us.”

Kyle and Ryan pull out blades each, stepping toward Penn. Ryan shoves Daryl aside like the worthless pig he is, and now they take his place.

There’s no missing the hurt in Daryl’s eyes, and I would feel sorry for him if he wasn’t the piece of shit who hurt my Alpha.

He will pay.

Now, Kyle rips back Penn’s hair as Ryan places his blade at his throat. Penn barely fears for his own life. All he cares about is mine.

“You… you said you would let him go,” I stammer.

Jason shrugs. “Change of plan. He is too dangerous. If we let him out of those ropes, he will attack us.”

My heart thunders.

Jason continues. “So, if we deal with him right now, then we can assure our own safety. And then we can finally take you back home. How does that sound, plaything?”

The blood rushes through my head, and I finally send the distress call.

Dane!

Hopefully, they’ll get here before they hurt Penn.