Page 125 of Puck My Life

Oh, God.

With my head reeling, I go to my room, her nest. I open the door, and it’s like my soul is ripped open.

The room is torn apart. All the material has been shredded, the bed’s been destroyed, all her nesting material is cut up and thrown on the floor, the pillows are in piles of fluff. The water feature is shattered, and her glass-mirrored chandelier is in pieces. Nothing remains of the peaceful nest we’d built together. This is an omega done, walking away, never to return.

I look at the time and rush out onto the porch to wait for Deacon and Mal. They arrive and climb out of the car, but I’m already rushing over. I shove Mal back into the side of the car.

He reacts by shoving me back and then stops.

“Raynor, what’s wrong? I can feel you through the bond, but you didn’t pick up your phone,” he says in annoyance.

“She’s gone!”

“What? What do you mean?” Mal laughs. “Good riddance to her.”

“She’s gone! Mal, she’s just fucking gone!” I howl the words, I scream the words.

Mal stiffens, his panic filling the bond as strong as mine.

I’m screaming, but I can’t calm down. She’s an omega who has just had her heat, but she’s my omega. She’s mine.

Oh, no…Vae is our scent match. Of course, she is.

“She’s ours. She’s meant to be ours. All this time, and we never realised. She’s our scent match! And she’s gone,” I roar, I drop to my knees in the driveway, doubling over.

Mal pulls me up.

“Tell me!” he shouts. “Tell me.”

“SHE’S GONE! Everything is gone, and her nest. The nest. Oh, God. Oh, my God, what have we done?”

Deacon shoves me back, and I realise I’ve been yelling into Mal’s face, and he’s gone a dangerous shade of pale.

“Stop, and calm down. Now how do you know she’s gone?”

“All her stuff is gone and the nest…oh, God, the nest.” I whimper the words, but I don’t feel good.

I take a step and collapse to my knees.

Deacon stares at me for a long minute and then runs for the house. He goes room to room and finally stops in the kitchen. Mal drags me in and shoves me into a chair. It’s never seemed so empty as it does now.

“Fine. That’s just fine. Well played, Vae.”

“What the fuck do you mean? We fucked up,” Mal hisses.

“Yeah, we did. But that just means we’ve got time.”

“Time?” Mal asks.

Deacon nods. “Yes, time.”

“To what?” I explode. “She’s gone. Her phone’s off; her socials are gone. We don’t know where she is.”

“But,” Deacon says calmly, “we know our Vae. We can use this time to get rid of Indy for good. Show Vae we are the alphas for her and get everything back so we can live as the pack we should always have been.”

“We’re going to find her?” I clarify.

“Of course, we’re going to find her. Vae belongs to us. She’s our scent match and our family, and no one is breaking us apart.”