Page 39

38

OLIVER

I would rather the car be filled with anything else but anxious energy. I'd prefer some sexual tension, but I'd settle for some uncomfortable awkwardness. There's too much unknown sucking the air out of the car, and being the only beta surrounded by four very obviously half feral alphas is not going well for me.

I've been doing my best to breathe through my mouth, but the stench of fear coats my tongue instead and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Three hours. Two to go.

I have to get through this, but I need some fucking relief. My hand sneaks out and I press my finger down on the window button. Sweet fresh air floods the SUV and I huff it down like an addict.

"Fucking HELL, OLIVER!" My brother shatters my peace with his roar and uses his driver’s side controls to roll my window up and turn the child locks on. "You KNOW it hurts our damn heads, you asshole."

"Then crack yours too!" Idiot. Obviously, I know only having a back window open makes the pressure do weird things, but it's a simple fix.

Sam scoffs, glaring daggers at me in the rearview mirror. "It's raining!"

I huff right back. "Sam, I can't stand the feral vibes. I'm so on edge I feel like I'm about to-to ooze."

"Ooze?" Paul murmurs from the back row behind me.

Emmett rears back a little in his captain chair next to me. "Ooze what ?" he asks a little louder than Amaya's dad.

Vincent is the only one who doesn't seem disgusted by my choice of words. Although, I don't think he's paying attention at all. That's probably for the best. Remy said to keep him relaxed and focused. Honestly, I'm not sure why he didn't just go with Remy and Lucas, but maybe being around his pack is helpful even if we are a wired ball of nerves.

"Just... take a nap,” Samuel mumbles, annoyed.

"Did you not hear what I said?" I smirk, unable to hold it in. "You're. Making. Me. Ooze. Sammy ."

Sam whips around, one hand on the steering wheel, the other fisting and punching the side of my thigh. "Motherfucker!" I roar, meeting his growl head on with my own annoyance.

"EYES ON THE ROAD!" Paul shouts, head popping between mine and Emmett's seats.

Sam glowers at the road, the leather steering wheel creaking under his frustrations.

"You're such a dick," I grumble at my brother. "That fucking hurt."

"Oliver, I swear to?—"

"Shut up! Goddamn, are they always like this?" Paul turns his exasperation on Emmett.

My alpha sighs and nods sadly. "Worse actually."

I gasp in mock horror with my hand pressed to my chest. "How dare you?"

Emmett smirks at me but resumes looking out the window a moment later, once again lost in his worries. I catch Vincent rubbing his temple and decide to quiet down. Just in time too. Samuel's phone rings through the Bluetooth in the car.

"Hello?" Sam answers.

Remy's voice filters through the speakers, hard and serious. "I have updates from the two other warehouses that the OPS raided today. If I tell you, can you keep calm? I want you to be prepared for what we might find."

"Sam, maybe you should pull over," Paul suggests.

"No! We have to keep going,” Vincent refuses with a panicked breath.

It's silent for a beat before Samuel replies to Remy. "Tell us."

"Both warehouses were north of Baltimore on the coast. My guess is we will be looking for a similar dirty shipping port tucked away from prying eyes like those two were."

"And?" I whisper, knowing Remy will hear me still.

"And..." Remy sighs, making us all stiffen. "It's not good guys. There's evidence that they weren't in time to save all the omegas."

"What kind of evidence?" Paul grits out, his grip testing the strength of my arm rest.

It's silent for a beat, but the alpha on the phone drops the bomb with no finesse. "Empty, bloody dog crates, not used for dogs since there were six other Omegas in the occupied cages."

"Six?! How many omegas have these monsters kidnapped?!" Sam shouts, bafflement and fear twisting his voice.

"These aren't just the omegas kidnapped this year, Sam. These are missing person cases spanning years and years. Some I bet from previous graduate classes at the academy too."

"Oh fuck," Sam breathes, head slamming into the back of the driver’s seat. "This is so fucked up."

"This is much bigger than we could have imagined. These are the omega traffickers. The ones the OPS has been hunting for longer than I've been alive."

My pulse thuds in my throat, my wrist, my cheeks, even my fucking ass cheeks. This can't be happening. How are we going to save Amaya from something as big as this?

"There's more," Remy continues, but doesn't wait for us to prepare ourselves. Not that any amount of time could have prepared me for what he says next. "The omegas were physically and psychologically tortured, guys."

"FUCK!"

The car jerks to the right with the force of Samuel's punch on the dash.

"PULL OVER! Right the fuck now!" Paul bellows, grappling for purchase on the bench seat he's not buckled into.

Samuel continues to curse as he shoves the car into park on the side of the highway. He's out and screaming into the pouring rain before I can even blink.

Tortured.

Baby girl, what have they done to you? Are you even still there?

"I'll drive," Paul murmurs, but it's a distant sound. Just like I barely notice Sam drenching my left leg as Amaya's dad forces him inside and between the seats.

Please let my omega be okay.

She doesn't even need to be okay. Amaya just needs to be alive. The rest I will walk through hell fire to make better.

Broken or shattered… Amaya is mine. Sharp edges and all.