Page 4 of Your Wild Omega (The Feral Actress #2)

Chapter three

Callisto

Once we’re back in the station’s main office, I spin around to face Leroy, my brain racing with all the possibilities.

To get this Zack guy released, someone needs to take responsibility for him.

“What’s required for alpha rehabilitation?

” I ask. Leroy mentioned the guardianship arrangement on our flight over but was light on details.

He purses his lips, eyes narrowing as he thinks it through.

“The alpha rehabilitation program is available to aggressive criminal alphas. A suitable alpha needs to become certified as a rehab coach, which is an extension of the physical restraining course all our agents undertake as part of their training.”

Leroy pauses, and his brow wrinkles as he scans me up and down.

“It’s usually available to OCB agents and ex-military—people who already have a foundation in suppression skills.

” That’s his gentle way of saying not lawyers in suits or delicate-looking alphas in corsets. But his warning doesn’t faze me.

I splay my hand across my chest. “I did judo when I was younger. How do I sign up?”

“Wait a minute,” McKenna sputters, tension coiling in his shoulders. “This alpha is a ward of the state. Only a judge can release him into anyone else’s guardianship.”

“And how’s all that care going for him?” I mutter rebelliously under my breath. Obviously not well if he was on the prison’s euthanasia list.

The guard hears me and his eyes flash with malice. At this point, I’m determined to take Zack home out of pure spite. The guard’s attitude reminds me of how the Omega Center tried to hold on to Red, but with none of their genuine concern for their charge.

“Back to the question you asked,” Leroy says, overlooking the verbal tussle and returning to the topic. “Sorry, but a rehab coach needs to be someone in the same house.”

“Not a problem,” I shoot back. “Since they’re both currently living with me.”

Leroy and the jackass stiffen. “What? Why?” asks the prison guard.

I ignore him and wait for Leroy to finish processing.

The senior agent hums in the back of his throat as he taps his chin. “Oh. Because of the warrant on Rickon’s ex-partner?”

“That’s right.” I nod. “It wasn’t a safe environment to bring an omega into, so they’re staying with me until they find a new place.”

Leroy strokes his goatee and hums in the back of his throat. “I see. I didn’t realize you were all so close. But if they’re going to be moving out, then Rickon should be the one—”

My pulse leaps. Here’s my chance to wind myself so tightly into the pack, Red will have to let me stay.

“I think I’m the best-suited person in the picture for handling aggressive alphas.

” Plus, I can’t picture Rickon manhandling a crazed man like Zack.

I shudder at the memory of dark bruising ringing my friend’s throat.

Leroy shrugs and sighs. “Okay, I can sign you up for the next course, but unfortunately, he won’t be able to live with you until there’s a certified person in the household. You’ll also need approved restraining facilities in your home, which means renovating.”

My heart pounds against my rib cage. He really said yes. I’m sure Judge Harmon would sign off on the guardianship transfer, or if it needs to be a judge based in Darinian, Leroy must have contacts through the OCB.

A thrill of excitement runs through me as I say, “I’ll do whatever’s necessary. Just tell me what’s required.” I mean, we already cut the bottom quarter of a door off, so what’s a few more modifications?

“Stop. I can’t allow this,” the Alpha Lodgings bastard cuts in, glaring daggers at me. He raises both hands in refusal and then he postures up, determination heightening his metallic scent. “Zazu belongs to the Darinian Alpha Lodgings. He isn’t going anywhere.”

I’ve had enough. I step in front of him, squaring my shoulders. “Look, pal, I get that an omega’s heist embarrasses your entire enterprise witless, but do you really think your ego is worth more than a man’s life?”

This riles up the guard, and a faint snarl emanates through his clenched teeth. “Man? He’s not fit for rehabilitation. Our psychologists already assessed—”

I sneer. “Why would I give a rat’s ass about what your Lodgings psychologists say? Because they haven’t been able to get that man to say a single word, have they?” I fling my hand out toward the closed door. “Meanwhile, my client’s been with him less than twenty-four hours and he’s talking.”

My alpha scent swirls heavily through the air as I take a deep breath, working hard to keep my temper in check.

Still, I can’t resist a few last digs. “So shelve your petty little temper, and start thinking with your forebrain. Let’s solve this instead of running backward, shall we?

A man’s life is at stake.” I lift my brows as a thought strikes me.

“You were planning to take him out of commission, so just let us have him without all the fuss. Won’t change your bottom line. ”

Words will serve me better than fists today, even though I feel like punching the jumped-up prison guard until he’s black and blue.

That’s been my policy for most of my life.

Well, except when it came to Rickon getting bullied and called al-mega in high school.

Then I used everything in my arsenal. I clamp my lips around the smirk threatening to break loose.

Without giving him a chance to reply, I swing back to Leroy and lift my brows.

Leroy rubs a hand across his mouth, and I get the suspicion he’s hiding a smile. “Well said. I know a judge in Darinian who I’m sure will look into the matter, but we’ll need to transfer the alpha, Zack, was it? He’ll move to the Laversham Alpha Lodgings, for now.”

The other agent crosses his arms, simmering with barely contained fury but I have bigger issues to worry about. This feral alpha won’t even release Red, and she seemed just as agitated about losing him.

I lick my parched mouth, scrambling for a solution.

Any way to keep them together. “How about you assign a qualified OCB agent to our household in the meantime?” I suggest to Leroy.

“Red Jones is at the center of our cases coming out of the trafficking ring. She needs to have the full support of her alphas if she’s testifying. ”

I feel like a shitty bastard for leaning into something Red clearly doesn’t want to do. I’ve already pressured her enough, but even if she never testifies, this arrangement will help her heal. Get the alpha she wants into her home. I hope.

The guard goes red in the face. “What? That’s clearly overstepping! Even if she’s involved in a case, she’s now a criminal herself, so—”

I shove my hand in front of his face. “ Alleged criminal,” I correct sternly.

He sputters and waves toward the doorway. “She’s in there, cuddling an escaped alpha. That’s clearly aiding and abetting!”

“ Alleged aiding and abetting,” I repeat. “She hasn’t been formally charged, let alone convicted in a court of law. And no one’s investigated the extenuating factors and accomplices yet.” I glare at him, letting my alpha dominance slip. “You do believe in the law, don’t you, McKenna?”

The man vibrates like he’s about to explode.

Leroy drops his hand on the guard’s shoulder. “The lawyer has a good point. Nothing’s been proven, and she has bail available.”

“This is abuse of power,” he yells, hands balling into fists.

Leroy tightens his grip on the man’s shoulder.

“Come again? You want to be very careful about your choice of words, officer McKenna. This is me following due process to protect at-risk individuals. If you prefer, perhaps I really will abuse my power to get you reassigned to federal interests in the Southern Isles.”

The prison guard’s eyes widen and I’m sure the same shudder running down my spine crawls through his body. The Isles are a mess with war going on—peacekeeping efforts send in lots of supplies and men, but mostly only body bags come out.

“I overstepped,” the guy confirms, hanging his head.

“Mm-hmm.” Leroy releases his grip. “The Laversham OCB will take over this case as of now. The Darinian Alpha Lodgings can address requests to me, Leroy Hanamack, at our head office.”

The harangued guy grits his teeth but nods reluctantly. “Fine. I’ll get started with the paperwork to release three persons of interest into your jurisdiction.”

“Three?” I ask.

He sighs. “We also arrested the man who drove the truck.”

I press fingers to my lips to hide a grin.

Can’t wait to hear the story about how Red roped him into this fiasco.

“I’d better see if he needs a lawyer,” I say, sucking on my cheeks to keep from laughing as the officer throws me a look dirty enough to soil a man’s soul.

Except he can’t touch mine. Everyone knows lawyers have black souls.

Leroy shakes his head. “Head back in if you need to,” he tells me. “It’ll take some time to get the judge to sign the transfer and arrange an escort to Laversham. We’ll have to go by road—can’t risk an incident with an insane alpha on a plane.”

My hair stands on end at the idea of an alpha going on a rampage in a tin can midair. Most of us are strong to begin with, but one feral trained to fight to the death, well, that would be tantamount to suicide.

“Agreed.” I nod and rest one hand in my pocket. “We’ll leave the arrangements to you, then.”

The OCB supervisor scratches his head. “Ah, I’d better also ring the big boss for authorization on your request for bodyguards. This will cost a pretty penny.”

“I can pay to hire your agents,” I tell him. We have enough obstacles without money being a problem.

“That will help.” Leroy clicks his tongue several times. “What a day. I need more coffee for this.”

We share an amused look. Then Leroy gets his phone and walks out through the front doors.

As I head back down the corridor, I check the distance by road from here to Laversham and also shoot off an update to Hale.

I’ll need to work all night to review case files my two assistant lawyers put together for the trafficking saga.

And now I need to add rehabilitation courses and urgent home renovations to my schedule.

A door slams somewhere in the police station behind me, and I flinch.

“You’re making a mistake,” the butt-hurt officer calls after me. “He’s not some pet you can play with. The man’s a killer, through and through. And don’t delude yourself into thinking he’ll share an omega. Someone’s going to get hurt, and my bet’s on the delicate little alpha in there.”

“Thanks for the advice.” I wave at him, letting the fingers around the middle one fall a little, as if by accident. Yeah, I’m not at my most professional today, but he really shouldn’t have referred to Red’s vagina. Or Rickon’s alphaness, for that matter.

Despite my flippant reply, the warning strikes a chord deep within.

Red’s a sassy one, but she’s still vulnerable.

And while Rickon’s an alpha, he has a slighter body frame than most, and that always makes a difference in a struggle.

I protected him through high school, but what about going toe-to-toe with an underworld fighter?

I walk back to the cells and study Rickon as he leans on the bars, talking to Red.

Her soft replies come through broken pants as Zack thrusts into her, and a question strikes me.

How did Red find him? Out of the dozens of prisons in the country, she flew to Darinian and planned a way to impersonate the OCB and break this one alpha out of prison.

And Zack, a man lacking the faculties to say more than a single word, initiated a bond right away.

Is this the power of scent matching? For that matter, the odds of Red bumping into me on the street outside the courthouse have to be one in a million.

I press one hand to my chest, my heartbeat thumping under my ribs.

I dismissed the reality of a soul bond because science can’t prove it, and yet some kind of evidence is sitting before my eyes right now.

Everything in my gut tells me it’s a terrible idea to bring a dangerous alpha into my home, let alone leave him with Red and Rickon.

But seeing how happy she is means more than all the warning bells going off in my head.

Something about their union feels . . . right.

I don’t know what it is, but a voice deep inside me says to trust this wild omega’s judgment.

The naked alpha sucks on her shoulder and Red cries out, writhing into him. His head turns ever so slightly until he can watch me from the corner of his eye. Wary.

Clearly, Zack has accepted Red as his own, but the same won’t automatically apply to the other alphas in her life. Myself included. Plus, we still don’t know if we can separate him from Red at all. How’s she going to be an actress if a feral alpha won’t let go of her?

He might be a part of our lives now, but he’s clearly going to bring disaster.