Page 73 of Omega's Heart

Lysoonka. The Alpha and his Mate. I could smell it in their scent that something terrible had happened. “Come in,” I told them and stepped out of the way.

“Is Julius still awake?” Quin asked somberly.

“He’s in bed,” I said slowly, my heart sinking. “I’ll go get him up.”

Quin nodded and I escaped down the hall, my pulse racing and my thoughts going in useless circles. Carefully, I knocked on Julius’ door then opened it at his sleepy murmur. “Jules? The Alpha’s here to see you?”

Julius sat bolt upright in his bed, his eyes wide and shining with hope. “Is it Minnie?”

I shook my head. “Come out and talk to them.”

He threw me a suspicious look, then slid out of bed and padded over to the door, bare feet almost silent on the tile floor. I slipped down to the end of the hallway and got Cale up, then nearly ran back to the living room. I could hear the overly gentle tone of the Alpha’s voice as he slowly pieced out the information, giving Julius time to absorb it before moving on to the next part.

I wasn’t sure that was the best choice, but he was the Alpha.

“We’ve got a new date for your trial,” Quin told him, his voice as gentle as an alpha of his size could make it. “Next Thursday. They’ll send one of their vans to come pick you up.”

“But… But, I thought I had until October!” Julius’s voice went high and thin with fear.

“They had an opening. Holland and I are arranging to be there.”

“They’ve already decided, haven’t they? It’s just a… a… buckaroo court!” His eyes filled up with tears and he blinked rapidly to hold them back.

Holland smiled, his amusement tinged with worry. “I think you mean kangaroo court. Yes, probably. I hope we didn’t lead you to think that it was going to be anything but that. What we’re working for is for them to let you do your sentence here, in Mercy Hills. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

“No.” Julius sniffed and straightened his shoulders. “What about Minnie? Do you think they’ll do the same thing for her?”

“We don’t know. We’re certainly going to try.” He glanced up at his mate and something in that quick exchange made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I’d been right—something bad had happened.

It was Quin who took on the responsibility for passing this news on. “Minnie was moved to a different part of the prison the day before yesterday,” he explained. “A smaller section, with more supervision, but not solitary anymore.”

“Why?”

I saw the tremble start in Julius’ hands and reached out to take one, but he snatched it away, wrapping his arms around his ribs as if he wanted nothing to do with the bearers of this horrible news.

“They were afraid she’d go lunar. Humans are very afraid of that, and they don’t understand us very well, though they like to think they do. They don’t know how strong we are and they don’t understand that it’s not company we need, but pack. So they moved her someplace where she wouldn’t be all by herself all the time.”

“What did they do to her?” Julius asked, thick-voiced with the tears that were filling his eyes. “Is she beat-up again?”

“Sweetheart,” Holland said, so gently it was almost like a slap, because you could tell by the care and sorrow in it that what he was going to say was going to hurt. “We don’t know all the details, but she was stabbed by one of the other prisoners this afternoon and she’s in the hospital now.”

Julius stared at him, wide-eyed, then his entire face went grayish white and he folded up like a poorly made house of cards.

Holland rushed forward with a cry and caught him before he hit the floor, sinking down onto the tile with Julius in his lap. “Julius, it’s okay, it’ll be all right.” He checked Julius’s pulse at his neck, then tapped his cheeks a couple of times, but Julius simply lay there, limp and twitching slightly, the whites of his eyes showing as a thin sliver under his eyelids. “Damn it, damn it, damn it,” I heard Holland mutter and saw him brush his fingers through Julius’s hair. Then he snatched them away as if he’d been burned and pulled Julius up against his chest, humming and rocking the little omega like a child.

Cale bustled up from behind me, the facecloth in his hand dripping water on the floor. “Here,” he said, handing it over to Holland. “How bad is she?”

“She was in surgery this evening,” Quin said in a tired voice. “Garrick will let us know.”

“Laine’s at the hospital with her.” Holland’s voice was hoarse with emotion. “He’s making sure everything’s done the way it should be.” He looked back down at Julius’s still face. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

Quin crouched behind his mate and put a hand on each of his shoulders. “Let’s put him to bed. You can sit and be more comfortable. He can be more comfortable.”

Holland nodded and sniffed, but he let Quin gather Julius up in his arms and take him down the hall.

I scurried off ahead of him to turn on the light in the room and straighten the sheets. “I can sit with him,” I whispered.

“Thank you. I’m not sure yet what we’re going to do.” Quin laid Julius on the bed and stood frowning down at him. “Maybe we should get Adelaide.”