Saving My Alpha

Copyright © 2025 by Mishan Angel

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Prologue

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“I played your game, Dylan. I want what I’m owed.” Ebony Blackfell sat behind a desk that wasn’t hers. “Hand it over.”

“My game? I’m pretty sure you were all too happy to join in. I mean, look at this!” Dylan gestured to the room. “You’re here. You made him yours. That’s what you wanted. That’s what you came to me for.”

She snorted. “You needed me. That little blunder at the school put all eyes on you. You needed a scapegoat. You needed someone to play a bigger villain.” Ebony tossed her black hair over her shoulder. “I was amazing at that, by the way. I should have been an actress.”

“Overplayed, more like it.” I grumbled under my breath.

Dylan hit me in the chest, and I coughed. We were here to get what he wanted. I knew that. He told me to keep my mouth shut and play nice. Ebony Blackfell had an ego that one could argue was worse than Dylan’s. Except that she had the level and the family to back it up. One thing we were sorely lacking.

Over the past few years, I’d watch my best friend descend further and further into madness side of things. Originally, it really was only his odd obsession with Colton. It never made sense to me until Dylan explained why my little brother mattered so much. He explained that three generations ago, their family got their hands on a way to produce an Omega. They were waiting for someone like my mom, a level ten, to join the pack.

They convinced her to do IVF. Really, it was convincing my dad. Apparently, all it took to convince him was that he wouldn’t be financially responsible for whatever spawned from this experiment. Nine months later and Colton was born.

His designation results coming back as a Beta-1 disappointed everyone. He was a failure of the highest degree. The experiment used the entirety of what they had. There were no do overs and it should have been the end. However, despite my informing Dylan of Colton’s actions and their lack of connection to being an Omega, Dylan remained unconvinced.

He became more and more desperate when he realized he would not father a leadership Alpha. Between his fated mate and five different Omegas, Dylan had nine kids, not a single one a leadership Alpha. There was even a time he wouldn’t speak to me after Veronica found out ours was a level-8 Beta. Even though my family didn’t give me the chance to find my fated mate. They chose my mate for me before I finished middle school.

When Dylan found out that Colton was really an Omega, I saw him snap. I watched the descent turn into a free fall. I watched him take more risks against the Council, against the neutral zones, against other packs. I watched him lose his mind in his pursuit of my half-brother. The only one who could be his savior.

Except that he could be like every other Omega out there. He could be the same as all five of the Omegas that Dylan inevitably killed. Normally, I didn’t oppose him openly, but I voiced my concerns that Colton would be just like everyone else. It was the first time Dylan had ever attacked me, intending to kill me. That’s when I knew my best friend was truly gone. Now, an unhinged, desperate Alpha remained, seeking to control his own demise. To somehow change the outcome to the Genesis line would no longer be Alpha.

I brought it up to Dad, and it had been a while since he berated me that much. Especially as an adult. It boiled down to the fact that I was Beta. I was the Beta to my Alpha. It was a position I swore to uphold. The level of crazy that my Alpha exhibited didn’t matter. Whether or not Dylan continued as Alpha, our line would be Red Forest pack Betas.

So, here I was, standing next to my unbalanced Alpha as he traded money and poison for information to get ahold of my half-brother. Going so far as to not only believe someone from the panther pack the first time, but to come back to her for a second time.

“Ebony, my patience is thin. I’ve had to wait for what feels like an eternity. I helped you get everything you wanted. Your house, your mate, your witch, your family, and even the fucking Alford’s are heeling.” Dylan’s voice continued to rise. “Give me the locator!”

“It fell off while they were flying.”

I stepped out of the way as Dylan shifted. He attacked Ebony from across the desk. There was a roar, and the door slammed open. That was exactly the reason I stepped away. While Ebony had one of the Alford dragons on a leash, it didn’t mean he was any less powerful.

Colton really chose a hell of a mate. It took twice the dosage that normal shifters would take to bring him to heel. It was a concoction that Dylan had been working on with Colton in mind, to get him to heel and give himself over willingly. Now, we were using it on one of the most powerful dragons, to surprising success.

That mixed with the magic her little white mage friend was using. The Alfords never stood a chance. Neither did Colton, for that matter. Not against determined and deranged shifters.

The whole mall was a setup. The poison coming from our pack. If the idiots took two seconds to even look, they would have realized that Dylan’s paws were all over it. The Dark Night pack didn’t have the money to buy over the entire Council. No shade to them, but Ebony was the only thing holding that pack together. Goddess help them.

I winced as the dragon easily tossed Dylan at the wall, his back slamming into it and making a wolf-sized hole.

“Don’t you dare try to hurt him! Get out!”

Inhaling, I tried not to laugh. A slip of the tongue. I wondered if, when they had sex, he called out my half-brother’s name when he came. It must grind Ebony’s gears that even with everything she was doing, he still cared about Colton more. The situation would have been endearing without the interference of these two Alphas.

“Mar, my mate, it’s alright. Things got a little heated. He didn’t give me a chance to continue.” She petted the Alford dragon like a dog. “Why don’t you head out and start dinner?”

He glared at Dylan before kissing her on the head and leaving the room. Dylan shifted, and I dipped into my bag, throwing him one of the three pants I had brought for the occasion. I didn’t give him the one shirt yet because I didn’t think he was done. However, it wasn’t a pretty sight for anyone for him to be shirtless nowadays. Ebony even curled her lip before looking away.

“If you would let me finish, you would know my brothers are more resourceful that you think.”

“They better be because if you lost him, I will make sure the sweet mate out there kills you.”

She rolled her eyes. “While they could tag the dragon, they didn’t think she would dip in the water on the way. The ocean took the tracker off, but they took down as much info on the dragon.”

“So?”

Ebony sighed and rubbed her forehead. “You really are an idiot.”

I growled. “You would not be sitting where you are now, Blackfell, without our help. I suggest you can the attitude. It’s only going to mean we stay here longer, trying to pull the info out of you.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Rich coming from the brother of the one your Alpha is trying to rape, have kids with, and then murder so no one else can have him.”

My lips pursed into a thin line. She wasn’t wrong. I might not have been taking an active role in Colton’s capture, but I wasn’t stopping it. With Heather gone, I felt a weird sense of emptiness settle into me.

After Heather mated into her new pack in Idaho, there was nothing keeping Mom here. Mom moved back to the main Fisher compound within a week of her departure. Dad sure as hell wasn’t keeping her here. The two hated each other. The only thing they could agree on was that they needed Heather to mated, me to be Beta, and Colton gone. After that, there was nothing left. So, Mom left and Dad stayed here because this was his home pack. He was the previous Beta, like his father before him.

“Ebony.” Dylan snapped his fingers a few times. “Back to the issue at hand. The dragon…is…?”

“…is one of the Alford clan. Mated to Peter Alford, the youngest. She is in so much debt that I don’t think you even have enough money to bail her out. She got four different mafia or mob bosses after her. Eighteen credit cards maxed and collections chasing her down. If he wanted the most red-flag person to hitch a ride with, he found them.”

Dylan remained unimpressed. “Ebony, do you have their location or not?”

She opened a drawer in her desk and slammed the paper down on the desk. “I do, but you need to cough up what you owe me.”

I looked at Dylan, and eventually, he nodded. Stepping up, I pulled out a smaller bag from my messaged bag. Inside was a huge wad of cash, some vials, and pouches of powder. Her lips curled back, showing her teeth.

“This is half.”

“And you didn’t give me what I wanted. You gave me some bullshit roundabout answer.”

Ebony’s hand crinkled the side of the page she set down. “You wanted to stay out of this. The Council wasn’t going to let your shit slide anymore after the University wanted justice. You needed me. I didn’t have to do shit! You wanted Colton alone! You wanted him to feel like he had nothing and no one. I did that for you! You don’t get to shortchange me after all I’ve done!”

“You got your dragon…”

She slammed her fist into the table. “I didn’t! I got someone who fights me constantly! He still searches for Colton, and you told me he would be mine!”

“He is yours!”

“No, he isn’t! Your drug puts him in a dream-like state. What about his memory? Or the mate mark? You said we had a year to figure it out, but now we have to double the dose. That gives us six months! He isn’t mine! I still have to magic that house when his family came over because I technically haven’t secured him yet!! You haven’t held up your end, you barely Alpha! I should be asking for more!”

I wanted to roll my eyes. This argument was probably going to go on for fifteen minutes. The two of them would shift. The dragon would come in and it was starting the timer over again. Every damn time these two met, this was how it was.

“Fine!” Dylan surprised me by breaking first. “Samuel, the rest.”

Nodding, I pulled out the second pouch. This had less money, but more vials and powder. Ebony swiped it from my hand, looking through it for a moment before handing the paper over. Walking over to Dylan, I narrowed my eyes.

There was a blurry picture of what could be Colton on some grass in front of a house. There was an address and a QR code underneath.

“This is what you have?”

Dylan started to shake, but I put my hand on his wrist, stopping him. He growled at me, but I pulled out my phone, scanning the QR code. Ebony looked way too smug for this to be it. She was trying to send him up the wall on purpose.

Sure enough, there were way more. The address, geolocation, photos of the property, the blueprints, and even how to get onto the grounds. A note warned against approaching by air due to the security of the surrounding houses.

Showing Dylan, he swiped through the photos until there was one that was just Colton, standing out on the grass. His finger brushed my screen, and I felt like I needed to sanitize my phone. I wished I could say that Dylan’s obsession with Colton was only to produce his line, but I knew better. My family knew better after all we had witnessed over the years, but said nothing.

For so long, Colton was never family. My sister and I treated him the same way our parents did. Mother felt ashamed that she had somehow birthed such a low-level Beta. It actually hurt her standing in the family despite still being a level ten and having Heather and me. Dad refused to acknowledge Colton as anything other than an unwanted houseguest. Later, I think he felt more like Mom had cheated on him. Even though she didn’t. Who knows if that was the reason their relationship fell apart, but it didn’t help.

As Colton grew, though, I couldn’t really help but acknowledge him. He was smart, strong, and he stayed calm most of the time despite everything thrown at him. He got into college early with a full-scholarship, straight-A’s, and kept his head down. When we went searching for him, he was working two different jobs, one at the docks, which was impressive at the time for a Beta-1. Now? Even more impressive as an Omega.

“What are you going to do about the pup?” Ebony asked.

I stared down at the photograph. He wasn’t wearing as many layers as he had been in the past few months. You could see his pregnancy on full display. Dylan continued to stare at the photo, mesmerized by the sight of my brother and probably being within reach now.

“I’ll let him have it. Drop it off at the Alford’s. Use it as a way to make sure they never go after Colton again. He will always be mine.”

Well, if there was one thing these two could find common ground on, it was that. Wanting people who wanted nothing to do with them. In fact, the two of them were actively fighting to get away from them. Instead of taking the rejection like sane people, they turned into madmen. Madmen and madwomen.

“Just don’t drop it here. I want nothing to do with it.”

Dylan laughed. “You will have to birth some pups. If you want to make sure your pack has an Alpha leader.”

Ebony shrugged. “I could do surrogacy. My sister is open to that for me for a fee. I just am not cut out for that.”

I wonder why. Forcing myself not to roll my eyes was starting to hurt. It couldn’t be the fact that she was willing to drug and poison someone to get them to like her. Or that she was probably forcing herself on him. At least Ebony understood she shouldn’t be a parent. Who would want to be raised in that kind of environment with that kind of mother?

“The last thing I want is to raise someone else’s pups, too. It will either be off to the Alford’s or off to my sister’s. At this point, my sister’s might be better.”

Snorting, he nodded. “Considering that none of the Alford’s knew we took the little whelp. Not until one of them was called to pick him up.”

“I thought it was his mother who called?”

Dylan smirked. “No. One of my pack members has a knack for impersonations. We doctored the footage as well. We knew that little hacker of his might try to slip in. I’ve had to hire an entire team, but they have made it worth it. Considering the things they have been able to get into.”

One of his pack members. I wondered if he would call me that, too. If I’d been demoted to just another pack member like my mate had. He had basically forced her to make the call and have her sound like one of the Alford’s. She had looked at me for help, but there wasn’t anything I could have done. This was the plan. All I did was help execute it and help mitigate the innocent casualties along the way.

“So, you going to leave him alone until he has it? I did say that I wouldn’t tell you he was an Omega as part of our deal. If he comes back…because he thinks I broke the deal, wouldn’t that make it harder?”

“He left because of his worry for his pup. That worry is still valid. If he came back, knowing I knew, what could he do? Run to the Alford’s? He will know I’m watching. He would know he’s already mine. All I would need is a single moment. Or even using his mate as a threat…”

Ebony growled. “Mar is not his mate! He is mine! I will find a way to break the mark and I will secure him. No matter what.”

Dylan put his hands up in surrender. “Yeah, yeah. Slip of the tongue. He is yours and I’m also having others do some research for you on that side. I need to be able to mark Colton, too. They say marked pups are stronger. So it’s not just for your sake.”

Sighing, I wanted to shake my head. Leave it to these two to bicker and then find a common middle ground of evil. They were really something. Ebony nodded, leaning back in her chair and lacing her fingers together.

“Then I expect a phone call from you with good news. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear from you at all.”

“I could say the same about you.” Dylan motioned me to follow.

Opening the door, we walked out into the kitchen. Sure enough, the dragon was in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, making dinner as she had asked. Turning away from the sight, we continued out of the house and to the car. Without even a word, Dylan got into the passenger seat.

I walked around to the driver’s side and took a moment before the metal vehicle trapped me with him for the next few hours. Pulling out and onto the road, we headed back toward the city. Dylan glued himself to his phone, and I thought for a moment I might get a reprieve from him.

“I need the team to gather some drones. We need to check how defensible the air is. I want to make sure I have eyes on the house at all times. Maybe I’ll just snag him away now. He might have let his guard down by now.”

“Do you want him to know right away? Wouldn’t that be the issue that Ebony brought up?” I tapped on the steering wheel. “He could try to come back and fight.”

The quiet that followed was eerie. Glancing at him, Dylan was watching me with a frown on his face. I cocked my head to the side as I looked back at the road.

“What?”

“Are you against me, Beta?”

I sighed. “No, Alpha.”

“Are you trying to save your brother?”

“No, Alpha. He isn’t my brother. If you remember.”

He huffed and looked back down at his phone. “Then stay the fuck out of it. I give you an order, and you follow it. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I shut my mouth. Arguing with him was useless. Not when it came to Colton. He was beyond obsessed. What I needed to do was to make sure I had a backup plan. In case this all went to shit. The last thing I wanted was to be hauled in next to him in this crazy endeavor.

“He will be mine. He is mine. He will always be mine. No matter the time.” The softness in his voice sent shivers down my spine.

“After he gives you a pup or two, will you just kill him?”

Dylan hummed. “Why? Do you want him? I know your family intermixes sometimes. He is only half.”

“No. I was just wondering if you were going to keep him as a pet or kill him.” I kept the disgust out of my tone.

“Ah. Kill him. There is no need to keep him. The chance of him getting away is too high. He will be mine forever.”

He said it so flippantly. As though it were another walk in the park for him. I didn’t say anything else. When had he turned into this? Where had his obsession turned into this monster? Ebony, despite her obsession, hadn’t reached this level. It may work in her favor if they continued this relationship. Dylan could easily be manipulated if someone were to simply use Colton against him.

“I think I’ll have him realize he was mine all along. That leaving was hopeless.”

My lips pursed. He was talking to himself. I had to let it go. I needed to. Having a conscience in all of this would only get me and my family killed. Dylan wouldn’t hesitate to remove anyone in his way. Still, it felt wrong. Colton, despite saying that he wasn’t my brother, was my half-brother.

Focusing on the road, I had my mate to think about. I had another pup on the way to think about. We didn’t intend on telling Dylan and I was actually going to have her stay with my mother at the Fisher house. Dylan was too dangerous. To friends and foes alike.

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Chapter 1

Colton

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My hand ran over the marble countertop. It matched the color of the kitchen perfectly, even picking up the warm tones of the large dining table. The expansive windows looked out over the French Riviera. They constructed the entire wall of windows to maximize the view. A whistle sounded behind me, Laila coming up behind me.

“This place is incredible.”

I nodded absently. “The pictures definitely didn’t do it justice.”

Normally, I would be excited. This place was amazing. Mike had done an excellent job of finding it. This floor was technically the second floor, even though it was the main floor you walked into from the street. There was one below us, using the slanting mountainside to give each of the bedrooms below a balcony and space to sit out while allowing a huge outdoor area on this level as well.

Out of the kitchen, there was a long grassy area that stretched down the entire length of the house, with a garden area behind it. It’s where Laila had landed when we finally made the rest of the trip over here. She was running around in her dress, looking at all the different nooks and crannies of the place.

All it felt now was hollow. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I made my choice. For Marcus and for our little girl.

My hand rubbed my stomach. She had been extra active while we were flying, but she settled down now. Yesterday we had been flying, but I was now officially in my third trimester. There was no text from celebrating the milestone. There was no meeting with Eva. Nothing.

“Why don’t we get you settled? That flight took a little longer than I thought. I’m sorry I pooped out early.” Laila pulled open the refrigerator, closing it as though it hadn’t been full of food.

“You don’t need to stay with me, Laila. I can manage on my own.”

Her eyebrow rose. “Can you? Really? Ever tried picking something up off the floor? Or maybe tie your own shoes? Or how about seeing anything below your waist?”

“Okay, that is completely uncalled for.” I put my hand on my hip. “I can pick things up off the floor…for now. I also don’t have shoes I need to tie.”

“And your knees? You can see those?”

My lips pursed, and she threw her head back, laughing.

“I’ve got you, Colton. You’re part of the family now, right? You told me what happened. You’re still mated to my brother-in-law. I’m pretty sure the entire family might kill me if I left you now.”

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I shook my head. Laila wasn’t budging, and from everything everyone had told me, I wasn’t going to get anywhere arguing with her anyway. It was fine. Maybe with her company, it wouldn’t seem nearly as lonely.

“How many people are after you that you need to hide out with your brother-in-law’s pregnant Omega?”

Spinning on her heel, she smirked with a piece of fresh bread in her mouth. “A lot?”

Rolling my eyes, I walked over to her and hip-checked her away. “Go pick out your room and then pick out mine. If you don’t mind putting my bag on the bed in there, that would be great. I’ll start on dinner since you’re hungry.”

“Score! Done!”

Laila headed off, skipping as she did after grabbing my bag. Opening the fridge myself, I smiled as I saw all the foods I’d been making and craving in the fridge. No wonder Laila closed it almost immediately. Grabbing my phone from my back pocket, I sent a quick text to Mike.

Colton

I made it

Somehow

Thanks for getting all my craving foods

I didn’t expect an answer. It was six in the evening, but it would be the morning for them. Mike would either have classes or he might not be up at all. Grabbing a few ingredients, I pulled off my sweatshirt and placed it on the dining chair before washing my hands.

In the middle of cutting vegetables, Laila sauntered into the kitchen. “It really is incredible. The downstairs bedrooms are gorg. The view is something out of a magazine.”

“You know, if you got along with your mate, you might actually be able to have a place like this.” I raised my eyebrow at her.

“I don’t need a lecture now. Thank you very much. I am very much aware of my relationship with Peter.” She sat in one of the bar chairs, resting her chin on her arms as she pouted. “I know I messed up. It just got to be too much, and I didn’t want to have the Alford’s bail me out. Again.”

Taking the bowl of vegetables and throwing them into the pot, I stirred it a few times with a brand-new wooden spoon. I should get Mrs. Truman’s spoon that was in my bag, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I’d gone from two boxes to an entire house, and now I was down to a single bag. Shaking my head, I couldn’t fall apart. Not right now. I needed to hold on.

“If you are going to stay with me, then you need to reach out to him.”

“What?” Laila slammed her palms on the marble.

I pointed the wooden spoon at her. “No. You have been missing, Laila. Peter lost track of you and he was worried. He called Mar to see if you had reached out or if he could. He doesn’t know where you are. You will tell him you’re alright.”

Her face screwed up as if she’d sucked on a lemon. “What if I refuse?”

“Then no food for you, and you can get that fat earth-dragon butt out of my house.”

Laila’s mouth hung down in mock horror. “My butt is not fat!”

“Have you looked at yourself in dragon form?” I turned back to the soup I was making. “It’s large.”

“I’m a dragon! Of course I’m large!”

Shrugging, I didn’t answer, but I did smile when I heard her whine. She launched into the intricacies of dragons and how different they were between the types and the different locations each dragon was from. It was actually fascinating, but I was only half-listening.

“Colton?”

I pulled back to reality. “Sorry, did you ask me something?”

“No, you just had that far-off look. I was wondering if you were okay.”

Sighing, I shook my head. “No. I’m not okay. I don’t know if or when I’ll be okay again. I’m sorry. I’m going to be terrible company here.”

“It’s okay. I mean, considering what you’re going through, you’re holding up better than I think most would?”

Isn’t that how it always was. I was stronger than your average Omega. I was stronger than your average shifter. I could handle more. I could deal with everything thrown at me.

My eyes stared into the pot as if it had sung the words at me. Slowly, I stirred the liquid. I was tired, that’s what I was. Just because I could do it didn’t mean I wanted to. Even if I were strong enough, there was always a breaking point. I could feel mine; tied to the bond that felt like a ghost of what it had been.

Marcus.

I reached out through the mind-link into the darkness and the nothingness that made the loneliness that much worse. Usually, there was warmth. Sometimes Marcus’ dragon would brush against me, just to check on me while Marcus was teaching or working. There wasn’t a hint of a connection between us. Other than the fact that I could reach out at all. My fingers brushed the mark on my shoulder.

“Colton, you’re doing it again.”

Snorting, I rolled my eyes. “Stop calling me Colton. It’s weird. Everyone calls me Colt, save for my family, and if you met them, you would probably understand why I left.”

“Sorry. Gods.” Laila put her hands up. “If that’s the case, then call me Lai.”

“Because you are lying about speaking to Peter to get some food?”

She huffed. “How dare you. Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

“Well, do we have a deal?” I turned, my hand on my hip.

“Fine, fine. I’m not doing it now, though. Or tomorrow. I need some time.”

I nodded. “That’s fine. I’m not asking for right now. I just think if the two of us are going to be living together, only one of us should be out a mate.”

“Colt…”

Turning the burner off, I moved the pot over and searched through the cabinets for some bowls. “Sorry it’s so plain tonight. I didn’t really want to do too much.”

“It smells good, even though it’s vegetables.”

I turned my head towards her. “What are you, five?”

“No! I jut am an adult who doesn’t like vegetables. Is there a problem with that?”

Scoffing, I rolled my eyes. “No, none at all. I just didn’t realize I needed to buy a kiddie table for you. If you want, I can pour a sippy cup full of milk, and I’m sure I can make a bib out of something.”

“How does Marcus even deal with you? You’re so fucking snarky.”

“He isn’t a child. You act like a child, and I treat you like one.” Ladling soup into a bowl, I put it in front of her and sliced some thick pieces of bread from the one she had been snacking on. “Now eat before it gets cold.”

She started to give me some snarky reply, but I growled at her. Her head fell, and I ladled a smaller portion for myself. The last thing I had right now was an appetite. Still, both Marcus and Eva would kill me if I let everything we had fixed go to waste. On top of that, I had a feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.

Laila gasped as I took the seat next to her. It wasn’t exactly easy getting up on a chair this high anymore, but I wiggled myself into it. She looked from the soup to me.

“Why is this good?”

“I don’t know how to answer that.”

I spooned the thinner broth, sipping it quietly. It was nice and warm, and hearty. Everything was cooked right, and it came down to making sure each of the vegetables had the right time to cook. There were a few spices tossed in, but not too much. If I did it over again, and I wasn’t exhausted, I might add some cream, potatoes, and maybe some kind of sausage.

“I mean. It’s good. It’s got green stuff in it, and it’s good.”

“Lai…”

She eyed me suspiciously.

“Eat your damn dinner.”

Smiling, Laila nodded. Her gung-ho slurping noises made me smile, but I kept quiet. I was glad to have some company. She was silly and childish, but Laila wasn’t a bad person. Too many selfish decisions and it lead her down a path that she couldn’t turn back. At least not until someone extended their hand and plucked her out of the mud.

I finished my bowl, eating the soft bread after soaking up the leftover soup at the bottom of the bowl. My phone vibrated, but I had left it on the other side of the counter.

“I got it.” Laila walked around the kitchen and grabbed it, handing it to me.

“Thank you. It probably is Mike.”

Unlocking it, sure enough, it was Mike.

Mike

I’m glad you made it alright.

A little later than I thought you would make it.

Colton

I know. It’s a far way to fly if you’re not used to it

We just finished dinner here

Mike

I’m keeping an eye on everything.

You need sleep, though.

We can talk tomorrow.

My lips pursed. I wanted to talk now. We needed to plan something. I needed to have something to do. Otherwise, I felt like I was going to go crazy. My heart was breaking, and I kept second-guessing my decision. What if I had fought? What if I had managed to save Marcus? What if I went to the Alford’s instead of here?

They were eating at me, and I wanted to know if Mason got back home all right. I knew Mike would make sure he got back, but what would the Alford’s do? They could try to storm into the house and take Marcus back. Maybe even kill Ebony at the same time.

The soup wasn’t settling in my stomach, and I took a deep breath.

Colton

I need more than that Mike

Mike

I know you do.

We will talk.

But it will be tomorrow. After you get some rest and you can come at this with a level head.

I wanted to break my phone. Slamming it down on the counter, I slipped out of my seat and walked around with my bowl. Rinsing it off, I put it in the sink. I’d find where the dishwasher was hiding later.

“You okay?”

Nodding, I reached for her bowl and rinsed it out. “I’m tired.”

“I can show you which room you are getting! It’s so cool. The view is the best, I think.”

“Thanks, Lai.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Why do I feel like that wasn’t just about picking out a room for you?”

“It wasn’t. For flying me here. For staying. All of it. I’m probably going to be insufferable. So thank you.”

Laila shrugged. “You are family, Colt. I’m pretty insufferable myself. We can see who can out-stubborn each other.”

I chuckled. “Deal.”

---

Chapter 2

.

My eyes flew open as I stared up at a different ceiling. My breaths came out in panicked spurts as my brain caught up with where I was. It took some convincing to tell myself that I was safe, but once I did, my heart settled back down. Reaching out, I looked at my phone. It was three in the morning.

I didn’t remember the dream that woke me up, but there might have been a chance that it wasn’t mine. Either way, I didn’t think I was going to go back to sleep. Willing myself up, I threw on a shirt and made my way to the kitchen. The house felt so quiet, but it wasn’t dark. Laila and I kept the windows open, and so the light from the moon was casting a bright glow over the house.

There was a kettle here, and so I filled it with water before setting it on the stove. I searched around, finding a box of ginger tea in the cupboard. It was only identifiable by the picture on the front.

After pulling the water before the whistle started, I poured my tea and let it steep. I stared out of the window, my eyes glazing over.

Marcus?

I reached out again through the link. Even though it was still empty. My lip trembled as I got no reply, and my teeth sank into my bottom lip. Pulling the tea bag, I set it aside before stepping out onto the grass. It was cool, but nowhere near freezing. The grass felt damp, and my feet were cold. Holding the mug in my hands, the steam from it warmed my face.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I maneuvered my mug into one hand before pulling it out. Mike’s name popped up, and I answered it.

“What are you doing up?”

“Good morning to you.”

He huffed. “It’s three in the morning over there.”

“And it’s what...seven for you?”

“Yes. So again, why are you up?”

I shook my head, taking a sip of my tea. “I don’t know. A nightmare maybe? I don’t remember, but I woke up disoriented. Couldn’t sleep after that.”

“You should have tried.”

“You need to let me get through this how I can, Mike.” I walked over to the small garden wall, sitting on the edge. “I’m surprised I haven’t had an episode at this point.”

Mike let out a curse. “How about we not bring that into the mix right now? Yeah?”

“Can we talk now? You’re up and so am I.”

There was a moment of him typing on his computer. “I’ve managed to get back into the cameras in the house.”

“You got kicked out?”

“I did. Someone changed the password and then encrypted it. It was good, too. It took me a day to get back into it.”

I rolled my eyes. Even some of the best computer hackers would probably take a few days, and that would be fast. Mike was on a completely different level. My feet shifted, feeling the grass beneath them.

“So…?”

“Ebony’s got Marcus sedated, mostly. They are using some kind of poison. I don’t know what it is. It looks homemade. It makes him really weak. There also seems to be some sort of disorientation with it.”

Nodding, my hand tightened on the brick that made up the wall. “Is she…trying anything?”

“Not at the moment. It looks like she is just trying to get him to accept her. He’s fighting whatever the poison is. He’s trying, Colt. That at least is good.”

My lips pursed. “The Alford’s?”

“They tried to speak with her. Figured they would try to be civil first. Asking for Marcus to be released.” Mike snorted. “Mind you, I couldn’t see this. I didn’t get into the cameras yet. I just know from what Beau told me. She said they tried to reason with her.”

“It didn’t go well?”

His silence over the line was telling enough. “She threatened to kill him.”

“Wait…what? That would…defeat the purpose of everything. Of everything she did and everything she went through with Dylan.”

Mike hummed in agreement. “Apparently, she put on a good show of it, too. Stabbed him right there in front of them, and they watched him drop.”

I cursed. “Did they try again?”

“Not through her. They tried to request it through the Council.”

It was my turn to snort. “Let me guess, it got buried.”

“Not even. They said that Marcus needed to request the help himself. Since it was a domestic dispute.”

I read the message between the lines. “Dylan paid them off.”

“Exactly. Beau got ahold of me, and I told her as much. Their request got filed, but it was rejected without even going to the Council itself. They were waiting for it and immediately denied it. Not sending out someone to investigate or anything.”

“Of course not. Damn it all.”

Leaning back, I felt the plants behind me. The sky was dark, but you could see a scattering of stars. It was a bit bright, but nothing like the city. Everything felt clearer, but emptier as well.

“What am I supposed to do? What can I do?”

“Right now…”

I growled. “Don’t you dare say ‘nothing’, or something stupid like ‘take care of yourself’. I can’t…Mike, I can’t take this. I can’t just sit here idly, twiddling my thumbs. There has to be something I can do.”

“I’m sorry, Colt. Right now, I can’t give you anything. The Alford’s are being watched. Alpha Genesis has everything tapped, and I don’t know if he is watching it or if it’s Ebony. She’s going to a lot of lengths to keep whatever is happening quiet. I can watch them, but even then, certain cameras don’t have sound.”

“Is there something I can submit? I mean, I’m his actual mate. I can prove it. Plus, we can have our little girl DNA tested. Would that…?”

Mike let out a sigh. “It would expose you, Colt. You would be at the mercy of the Council. They wouldn’t even agree to you two being together to begin with. Don’t forget, you’re an Omega-10. Marcus is keeping you safe by being mated to you. If the Council found out, they might actually jump in and kill Marcus to have you.”

“He’s an Alpha-10!”

“Yes, but you’re more important, Colt. You literally would be the savior of the Omegas. The Council would not be your friend, even if you came out and told them. They might pretend to help you get Marcus back, but eventually, Dylan might perfect the bond-breaking drug, and the Council would use it against you anyway.”

Tears slipped down as I fought the frustration clawing at my throat. “I need…I need to do something. Please, Mike. I can’t just accept that there is nothing I can do.”

“You are going to hate me for it. It’s going to be sticking to your meal plan. You can’t skip meals. You need to take care of yourself until we find something. It’s only been a few days, Colt. We are working on it, as best we can.”

“And I’m just supposed to deal with it? What if…what if they…?” My voice broke, not voicing the fear of what would happen if Ebony broke him, even before they broke the bond.

Mike said nothing. What could he say when he knew it was a possibility. Leaning over, my bump blocked me from curling up completely. Instead, I moved off the wall and sat down on the grass, my back against the brick. I couldn’t just wait here and hope that something happened. Except that putting myself in the way was its own danger. Putting not just my life, but our little girl’s life at risk.

“Did I make the wrong decision?”

“Colt…”

I shook my head, my arm wrapping around my stomach. “I mean, what are the odds that Dylan already knows? That I’m an Omega. He knows so much already…what if…what if she was lying?”

“I don’t think Alpha Genesis would have let you go, Colt. I really don’t. Not from the pack to go to college. Not from the school when he came and attacked. He probably would have skinned Ebony alive if he found out she let you go.”

He wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t imagine how Dylan would react if I were out of his reach. Simply because Ebony wanted Marcus that badly. Though in order to break the bond, he would only need one of us. If Marcus were there, then they could break his side.

“Fuck.” The word left me before I could stop it.

“I know, Colt. I know. Just…bear with us a little longer. We will figure something out. Right now, Ebony might have him, but she also isn’t free to move. They can’t leave without someone noticing. Either I’m in the cameras or the Alford’s waiting for an opportunity to swoop in.”

That was easier said than done. No plan. No timeline. No real thought of being able to get Marcus back. My wolf let out a broken whine. One that I felt deep in my soul. Maybe if I could feel him, it would be better. Even if I couldn’t talk to him, anything was better than this.

“They will slip up, Colt. When they do, we will be there.”

“I need him, Mike. I thought…I thought I could do this without him, but I don’t think I can. I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”

Mike sighed. “You are. You will be for him and for her. I know you feel you couldn’t, but you are. Just take it a day at a time. I will check in with you every other day and ensure our calls remain encrypted.”

He was changing the subject, but it was fine. “Would it be alright if Laila called Peter? Is he being monitored?”

“No. I don’t believe so. As long as she calls from the phone. Once I can establish that the connection from his phone is secure, he can call as well. Before you call, send me a text and I can trace it.”

“Alright.”

We were quiet for a few minutes after that, except for Mike typing on the other side. It was strangely calming. The sound was something I’d listened to so often; it felt familiar. I didn’t expect it to ground me, but it did. Mike didn’t hang up either, just stayed on the line, typing.

“How is Rin?”

Snorting, Mike continued typing. “She’s angry and frustrated. She wants to just storm the house or just burn it to the ground.”

I laughed. “I mean, everyone would burn except for Marcus. He told me he would be fine. The only one that really hurts is Beau with her ice.”

“I’ll keep that in the back pocket then.”

Laughing even harder, I leaned my head back against the wall. “I blame you. I let him in and look at me now. I’m falling apart without him.”

“Oh, shut up.” Mike chuckled.

“If something happens, you’re taking responsibility.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “You know I always planned on that. She says she refuses, but I think if push came to shove, she would enjoy the harem.”

The snort that came out of me actually hurt. “Maybe both of you should come out here. We can just build our lives together in this house. There are enough rooms for everyone.”

“Too much natural light for me.”

“Isn’t there a bunker under this thing?”

Mike snorted. “I said what I said, Colt.”

“How Rin puts up with you, I don’t know. She brings so much sun all on her own.”

“Exactly. I don’t need anymore. Plus, you smile and it’s like a spotlight lights up the room.”

I rolled my eyes. “I hate you.”

“I love you too.”

“I guess I can just focus on trying to mend Laila’s relationship with Peter.”

The typing picked back up in the background. “Yeah, good luck with that. Those two are like oil and water from what I’ve seen. I can’t believe they are mates. They would never get along otherwise, I guess.”

“I think they both just have some growing up to do.”

“Both? Pretty sure that the one digging herself into financial ruin and being hunted by loan sharks is about as immature as you can get. Peter seems pretty put together.”

I shook my head. “He’s unwilling to bend. He wants everything his way, which is very Alpha of him. He’s used to people bowing, especially someone like Laila, who is a Beta. I can see where they butt heads, but I think Laila needs to pull her head out of her ass and then Peter needs to pull the pole out of his.”

“Maybe. Good luck with that, though.”

“I mean, it’s that or I’m attacking you for marking Rin, but making her stay in that fucking frat house with you still.”

Mike cleared his throat. “Yeah. Focus on Laila and Peter.”

Laughing, I shook my head. We said nothing for another minute. Mike surprised me when he cut in.

“Go inside and rest, Colt. You need it. Even if you don’t sleep, just lie down. It will help your body relax.”

“Not sure if I can get up off the grass at this point.” I looked up at the sky. “I was kind of joking with Laila, but I definitely am struggling with regular tasks now. I feel like a whale.”

Mike scoffed. “I hate to tell you this, Colt, but you are nowhere near how big you are going to get. You think it’s going to be rough now; give it a few weeks. If you make it to your due date, it’s only eight weeks. You are going to be so much bigger.”

“I am hanging up on you now.”

“It’s the truth! You…”

I hung up on him. That was not something I needed to be thinking about right now. I was going to die. Eva had mentioned the possibility of bed rest, but I couldn’t really wrap my head around how big I had to be for that.

Grimacing, I turned onto my side and put my hands on the wall. Pushing up, I grunted, but got myself up. Everything felt off balance and I stretched my back. The curve in my back to compensate for the weight was getting more severe. Sighing, I did as Mike said and padded my way past Laila’s room, where her snoring could have been mistaken for a chainsaw.

Lying down, I tried to get as comfortable as I could. My body relaxed and sank into the bed. I didn’t know how long I lay there without waking up, but the pain spiked, ever so slightly. My nerves also made every touch feel like tiny needles. Swallowing, I closed my eyes.

Not now. I couldn’t have an episode now. I wasn’t strong enough. Plus, I hadn’t really talked about them with Laila yet. Maybe I could just sleep it off. Maybe it was a false alarm.

The pain eventually settled down, and I was able to actually fall asleep.

---

Chapter 3

.

A spike of pain slammed into me, waking me up. I curled up, trying not to make a sound as I waited for the pain to subside. Breathing slowly, I turned over, glancing at what time it was. It has been four hours since I called Mike, slivers of light sneaking in between the closed blackout blinds. Frowning, I slowly sat up.

“Lai?” My voice called out to her, but she wasn’t in the room or in her bedroom, from the sound of it.

Slipping off the edge of the bed, I stepped into the bathroom. The phone was gone from the nightstand, and I figured Laila had grabbed it. Turning on the light, I saw dark circles and my face flushed. Yeah, this was going to be a bad episode.

Another wave hit me, and I gasped for breath, curling up as I braced against the counter. It ramped up worse, making me feel like I was being torn in half. I closed my eyes; it felt like I was about to see blood pouring out of a non-physical wound. My wolf whimpered, feeling the same pain.

It got to be too much, and I cried out, my knees sinking into the mat on the floor. My body was shaking, my nerves feeling like they were on fire, like I was on fire. That mixed with the pain had tears streaming down my cheeks. Everything I was feeling wasn’t physical. None of the pain from PCDHS ever was.

The door to the bedroom slammed open, and I barked out a laugh between my sharp inhales. Laila had gone flying, not even bothering to put on clothes when she landed. Shaking my head, I turned away from her.

“Clothes…Lai…”

“I could hear your cry from the other side of the house! I’ve got the phone. Mike didn’t pick up the first time. Bastard.”

Nodding, I leaned my forehead against the cabinets under the sink. “Shower…”

Laila was efficient. She had the water on and me dressed down within a minute. Slowly, she placed me in the shower, but I shook my head. Sinking to the floor, I wedged myself into the corner between the built-in wooden seat and the glass of the shower. She was freaking out, but doing her best to keep it stuffed down.

After making sure I was okay, she disappeared into the house. Laila came back with phone in hand, talking, and had even thrown on an oversized shirt and some bike shorts. Going down on her knees, she held out the phone.

“Colt?”

“Hey…Mike…”

He let out a growl. “You should have called me immediately, Colt.”

“Don’t…Mike…I just…” My eyes squeezed shut as another spike of pain slammed into me, and I groaned.

“Alright. We will talk about it afterwards.” He sighed. “Where are you right now?”

I couldn’t even laugh. We did this every time. Calculating and pooling as much data together as we could. It was great to have, but it was always horrible when I was mid-episode. The pain finally let me go after a moment, and I took a few gasping breaths.

“It’s…bad.”

“Colton.” His dad-voice came through the line, and even Laila seemed surprised.

Laila answered. “You sure you aren’t an Alpha? That was a pretty intense bark there.”

“Laila, now is not the time. He knows better.”

“Five minutes. Level twelve pain spikes, getting worse. Level nine continuous. Break of three to four minutes between.” I rattled off the numbers as quickly as I could. “Nerves on fire. All of body. Located central to my chest. Wolf was there, but they have curled up.”

Mike was typing on the computer. “When did it start?”

“Nerves hit a little after we spoke. I laid down, and the pain was sitting around a level seven when I fell asleep. A twelve-spike woke me up.”

I looked up and smiled at Laila. She was torn between being upset and angry. Flashing her a smile, I shook my head.

“I’m okay, Lai. This is normal. Well…not…” I shook my head again. “He was right to bark. I just hate doing this when it’s happening.”

After a moment, another pain spike seared through me. I cried out, unable to hold it in. The cold water felt as though it should turn into steam the moment it hit my skin. Not able to help it, my nails dug into my skin, trying to ground myself in something physical.

I felt myself start to pass out, my vision turning black. “Mike…I’m going…”

“Keep talking to me. So I can calculate the time.”

“I will…try to…keep talking but…”

My consciousness slipped as my body slumped against the glass. It felt like a single breath as I woke up again. The all-around pain was worse when I woke up, and I hissed, the burning feeling barely being helped by the ice-cold water. Laila was in more of a panic, but Mike was trying to talk her down.

“How long?” I finally croaked out.

“Forty-three seconds.”

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. Starting off that long wasn’t good. In my day to day, the pain was just a simple humming in my ear. I’d had it since I was sixteen, and it no longer bothered me. It wasn’t even something I thought about anymore.

I didn’t realize I had been too quiet for too long before Mike asked over the line, “Colt, are you doing okay?”

“You ask me that every time, and every time I say…”

The both of us spoke together, mocking each other. “I’m just peachy, captain obviously-asking-the-wrong-damn-questions.”

Chuckling, I focused on breathing as I closed my eyes against the water spraying down. As much as it hurt, there was also a familiarity with this process. Something normal. Something that I shouldn’t grasp onto like I was. My head got light again, and I felt the darkness creeping in.

“Another.”

“Keep talking to me.”

I snorted. “You always…ask…for the worst things…”

Slowly, I leaned over against the glass again for a moment while my eyes shut. My head popped back up and coughed, accidentally sucking in some water. Again, more pain. How was it still ramping up? This was going to be so bad if it kept going.

“Colton, that one was eighty-two seconds. You nearly doubled the time.” I could hear the worry behind his words.

“I’ll be…okay…”

I opened my mouth, but the only thing that came out was a strangled cry. Another wave hit me, and I felt my toes curl against the pain. This would not help. Laila was letting out her own sobs, begging Mike to give her something to do. Anything.

“Mike…I’m…” My head was swimming.

“Just count for me.”

Humming, I moved to lean against the wall so I didn’t fall against it again. “One…two…th-three…fo…”

The next time I woke up, I was in a different position. Laila was sitting behind me in the corner, and she had pulled me between her legs. She was still wearing the shirt and pants, now soaked under the cold rain pouring down from above us. Her arms wrapped around me, holding me up so my head wouldn’t fall when I passed out. I touched her arm and tightened around me.

“I’m scared.”

Smiling, I rubbed her skin. “I’m okay, Lai. I will be. One of these days, it might kill me, but it won’t right now. I promise.” My attention turned back to Mike, the phone somewhere in the bathroom now. “How long was that one?”

Mike huffed. “One hundred and six seconds.”

“Well, it didn’t double.” My words were breathy, and I was getting more tired. “How long…over all…?”

“Since you called, it’s been about an hour.”

My eyes shut for a moment, and I realized I could barely feel the water anymore. “How long was the worst time?”

“Six.”

I nodded. “Okay. The longest time unconscious?”

“Three minutes, I think. I’d have to pull that notebook.”

My head fell back, leaning against Laila’s shoulder. “Mike will help you count. I have a feeling...I’m going to get more of them…the longer I’m away from Marcus. I don’t want this to freak you out.”

“I’m already freaked out, Colt. I’m freaked out. I’m scared. I can’t help.”

“I mean, if it makes you feel better, you’re helping more than Marcus could.”

Her chest rose and fell with her laughter, jostling me a bit. “You’re right, that does make me feel better.”

“He wouldn’t be able to touch Colt. No Alpha can when he’s like this. Otherwise, his skin peels open. It’s horrifying to watch, really.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, setting my jaw as the pain ramped up again. “I hate you. Why are we even together?”

Mike barked out a laugh. “You wish we were together. I’ve got a completely normal mate.”

This time, even through the pain, I laughed. A full, genuine laugh. It felt like a release my body needed. I didn’t need to voice my thoughts. Laila and Mike were both laughing with me. Nothing about Sabrina was normal. None of us were. We were all absolutely insane.

Maybe that’s why Laila weaseled her way into our little threesome so well. Peter wouldn’t, much like Marcus didn’t. Laila, on the other hand, was just about as nutty as we were. All of us were running from something. Our immaturity showing in different ways.

“Colt?” Mike’s voice came through softer this time.

I hummed, making it through this wave without passing out.

“Nothing.”

Smiling, I inhaled and let it out slowly. He didn’t need to say it. I knew already. Mike loved me. So did Sabrina. There was also only so much they could do.

My eyes closed. As happy as I was accepting this little girl as mine, as ours, that didn’t mean I didn’t feel scorned. The old gods or goddess or whoever stuck me with being an Omega. If I had been anything else, my life would have been so much easier. Different, sure, but I could have moved through my life without everything that was happening right now. The bitterness settled like a stone in my stomach.

I hated being an Omega. I hated being the target. I hated the world turning Omegas into property. Maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad if society didn’t think of us as transactional. As possessions to be judged, bought, sold, fucked, and then discarded. Swiping the tears from my eyes, I let my muscles uncoil slightly, now that Laila was holding me up.

“Colt? You okay?” She felt the release of some of the tension.

“Yeah. I’m just tired. I wish…”

There was a lot I wished for. For the pain to end. For me not to be an Omega. For Ebony to trip and fall into a pit filled with a thousand spears. For Marcus to come to his senses. For my little girl to be safe. For so much that no words came out.

Her arms tightened around me. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll hold you through all of this.”

“You’re going to catch a cold. You aren’t a fire dragon. The water will get to you.”

Laila shook her head. “You’re warm. You always are.”

She wasn’t wrong. It was a byproduct of mating Marcus. A fire dragon, sharing some of his warmth with his mate. Sometimes it was unbearable, but apparently, it helped Laila not worry about the cold of the water.

So there we stayed, on the floor of the shower, for another three hours as I went in and out of consciousness from the pain. Mike stayed on the line the whole time, eventually joined by Sabrina. They talked, doing their best to distract me or force me to cough up how I was feeling. Laila was doing a good job as well, jumping in when she felt me pass out.

After a little while, I lost all the strength in my body. Exhaustion took over, and I was falling asleep rather than passing out. Mike instructed Laila to help me dry off, and I couldn’t even fight it. Instead, everything shifted; my eyes glazing over.

I was sitting on the counter back at the house. Marcus stood in front of me, frowning after he had set me down. Slowly, methodically, he was wiping me down. Every part of me. It was cold, so cold, and he refused to let me go to bed wet.

“You need to eat more.”

Smiling, I shrugged. “I am. You’re making sure I am. I’ve gained so much weight lately.”

“You also can’t be going to bed soaked!”

“It was one time!” I laughed, shaking my head.

He rolled his eyes. “One time you got caught. It’s freezing outside. It might be warm in here, but that doesn’t mean you won’t catch a chill. You’re so stubborn.”

Leaning in, I smirked. “Every shower.”

“You…little…” Marcus growled, grabbing my face. “Little Omega, you are asking for trouble. I’m not in the mood for your stubbornness.”

“I don’t care, Alpha.”

I knew the trouble I was getting into. Lately, I’d been more defiant. My hormones were all over the place, and my cravings were equally crazy. Marcus had been taking it in stride, but I didn’t want that. What I wanted was to watch my Alpha fall to pieces. To get angry, to throw something, to attack, and to sink his teeth into me.

“Colton Alford, you are headed in the wrong direction, my mate. I’m being patient. I’m trying, but even I have my limits.” Towel covering my head, he worked through my hair.

“Maybe I’ll just go live with Mike and Rin. They are far less controlling.”

The towel froze in my hair. I hit a button I knew he had. The smirk on my face was diabolical as I stared into the towel, waiting for Marcus to move or even breathe. When he did, smoke swirled around us. His hands grabbed my hips, except that it wasn’t his hands. They were shifted, claws barely stopping from making marks. It felt so good; I wanted to moan.

“Omega.”

His growl was deep, and I looked up just as the towel was pulled off my head. Marcus’ golden eyes greeted me, some of his face covered in his black scales. I sat there, watching him, defiant, challenging, and he was not having it. Hand creeping up, Marcus held my jaw tight, bordering on painful. It sent a wave of goosebumps over me, a thrill that I wanted and needed. He was breaking, and I needed him to break with me. I wanted to taste him out of control.

“Don’t…fucking…test…me…”

“Or what?” I raised my chin, staring him down. “What will you do to me, Alpha?”

Marcus’ jaw set, and I could see him battling his own instinct. We couldn’t have that. Instead, I let my ears and tail come out, my wolf coming forward. We were enjoying this. A bit of payback and a game we wanted to see through to the end.

He was winning, though, his hands leaving me as he put distance between us. Marcus was slowly breathing in and out as he tried to regain the patience he was losing. I leaned back, smirking. His eyes narrowed, and I shrugged.

“You can go, Mar. I don’t need you.”

“You’re being a brat. Eva said that you might do this. She said it was this, or you were going to start nesting more.” He let out a breath. “Of course you had to be a brat.”

I gasped, feigned hurt. “Me? A brat? Never. I’m just an Omega. Who’s willing to stay elsewhere when his Alpha is being a prick?”

Reaching out, I grabbed my phone and pressed Mike’s contact. The phone rang, and I switched it to speaker. My eyes were not leaving my mate. Every burst of air that came out was laced with smoke.

“Hey, Colt, what’s up?” Mike sounded far too cheerful.

Nothing left my mouth. Marcus strode forward, his hand grabbing my phone. It disintegrated, turning into a pile of ashes. His claws grabbed me roughly, yanking me to him. Kicking the door off the hinges, I landed on the bed.

He caged me in, eyes bright gold as he pulled out some silk ties from the nightstand drawer. Expertly, they wrapped around my wrists before the end of it was tied to something between the headboard and the mattress. Marcus growled before his teeth sank into my shoulder. The sheer intense pleasure that shot through me made me go from semi-soft to ejaculating all within a second.

Growling, his fingers wrapped around my dick. “I am going to make you beg for mercy, Little Omega. You are going to apologize for every bratty word and thought in that pretty little head of yours.”

“Make me.” I growled at him, my voice still breathless from the pleasure.

He smirked, a smirk that made me squirm under him, pulling against the ties around my wrists. “Oh, little one…you’re in for it now.”

The memory wavered, his form turning into smoke before I felt myself finally lose consciousness.

“Marcus…please…”

---

Chapter 4

.

After the episode, I was too weak to move. I stayed in bed, sleeping most of the time. Laila woke up every so often to eat, but I felt myself slipping away more and more. Mike was on the phone sometimes, trying to be soft as he tried to convince me I was safe. Nothing felt safe, though.

My bedroom remained on lockdown, but I knew Laila only put the house on lockdown at night. Finally, she got fed up after three days. Slipping her hands under me, Laila carried me through the house. Not outside, but in front of the window facing the water. It was sunny outside, and I felt warmer as it hit my skin.

“You need to come out into the light and take a breath.” Laila sat next to me, handing me some Parmesan cheese chips. “Otherwise you’re going to wither away like a pale skeleton.”

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes. She wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t live like this. This would affect my little girl. I was losing my grip, unable to get any decent sleep. The sun tingled against my skin, but it didn’t feel bad. It was about midday and a nice mild-seventy degrees with the breeze from the water.

“How can I distract you?”

“Mike said you can call Peter from the line. He will trace it and make sure it’s clear to allow Peter to call.”

She put her forehead on my shoulder. “Yeah, but…what if he’s mad? Or if…he just yells at me.”

I snorted. “You kind of deserve it.”

“Hey!”

“What? It’s true! Instead of talking things out, you just completely shut down and turned rebellious. You fought everything, and you’ve literally wasted years of your life. For what, Lai? To prove that you do actually suck at being an adult?”

I turned around and pulled her into a hug. “It’s time you took responsibility for your actions, Lai. Yes, he might be mad. Yes, he might yell at you. He will, however, be more relieved that you’re alive and you’re okay.”

“What do I tell him? I’m sure he is going to ask me where I am. Or tell me to go home.”

“The truth. You tell your mate the truth. Just don’t say you’re with me.”

Her nose wrinkled. “You know what? Fine. If it gets your mind off everything. I’ll do it. I’m not happy, but I’ll do it.”

Getting up, she disappeared for a moment before bringing the phone out with her. She sat on the chair next to mine, staring at the phone for a moment before letting out a long sigh. I tried to keep my smile from spreading too wide, but Laila noticed, sticking her tongue out at me.

Typing in a number, I raised an eyebrow at her. She chuckled and shrugged. So much for her not caring. Knowing Peter’s number by heart just drove home how much she still did care for him. I reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. My eyes shut, and I listened as the call connected.

“This is Peter Alford.”

Peter’s voice sounded very much as if he were working. Though the number we were calling from was probably coming up as unknown on his end. Glancing up at Laila, she froze, her eyes looking down at the phone. Sighing, I squeezed her hand and nudged her.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” He asked again.

“I…um…hi, Peter.”

He sucked in a breath on the other end, something banging in the background. “Laila?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” She sounded so small and bashful.

Again, I squeezed her shaking hand.

“What…where…?” He took another breath and paused for a moment. “Are you okay?”

“I am. I’m okay. I am…” She looked down at our hands clasped together. “I’m working for someone right now. I’m helping them with daily chores and stuff to help get be back on track. Um…just…I wanted to call to tell you I was okay.”

Peter let out a soft cry. “Laila, you have been missing for weeks. I couldn’t find you. You scared me to death. I’ve been searching everywhere. Where are you?”

“I’m safe. I’m being taken really good care of right now.” Laila squeezed my hand and smiled. “I’ve…paid off the debts I owed. I’m sorry, Peter. I know I messed up. I just…”

“I don’t care, Laila. Just hearing your voice, knowing you’re okay, that’s what I needed.” He sounded exhausted. “Will you come home? Please?”

She took a breath. “Not yet.”

“Laila!”

“No, Peter. I am responsible for helping someone. For protecting them. At least for a little while. I owe them a lot. So, I’m going to stay for a while.”

His growl came over the line. “Not long ago you could barely take care of yourself! How in the world are you taking care of anyone else? Look, Laila, I’m sure they would rather have someone qualified…”

“I will come home soon. I just need sometime. I’ve done…some thinking. Gotten more than a few lectures. I’m ready to come home and talk to you. Not yet. I will, I promise.”

“Where are you?”

She blew out a breath, frustrated with him. “France.”

“France? Again? Are you in Paris? Did you think you could hide going to another runway? Or trying to do something stupid?” He snapped back at her.

I squeezed her hand again, and she sighed. “Yeah. I guess I deserve that.”

“Laila…”

“No, no. I get it. I’m not in Paris. Or doing anything with fashion. I’m just helping a friend. They aren’t safe right now, and I can help. I might not be an Alpha, but I am still a dragon. I can help.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll call and check in more often now. I promised I would. Then, when I come back…we can talk about the future. What you want for us and all that.”

Peter was quiet for a moment. “Alright. But I swear, Laila…if this is some ploy.”

“I’m not asking for money! I’m not asking you to bail me out! Gods! I know I don’t have the best track record, but damn!” She huffed and shook her head. “You know what. Whatever. I shouldn’t have called. This was stupid.”

She started to hang up on him, and I reached out, stopping her. Laila looked at me before she rolled her eyes. Honestly, I expected Peter to blow up far more than this. I told her he would be worried more than anything. Her telling him she wasn’t coming back without giving a full reason would not end well.

I would know. I’ve tried it often enough with Marcus. Him exploding when I went to the appointment with Dr. Cardiff was one of the best cases in point. I was lucky I got to go anywhere after that. Peter had far more grounds than Marcus did. I might be pretty flighty, but Laila beat me in that regard. It came from years of knowing I might have to make a run for it, being an Omega. Going into hiding like I was now.

Sighing, I felt the heaviness weigh on me. Peter and her were barking at each other, but I didn’t listen. This was going to happen the first few times they spoke. Eventually, they would run out of things to bark at each other, and they would get down to their relationship. There was something soothing about it. Maybe because it reminded me of falling asleep while Mike and Sabrina were talking.

The nightmares lately had been worse. Alpha Genesis finding me, tearing me apart, and making me watch as Ebony took Marcus. I whimpered and curled up. It wouldn’t come to pass. We would save him. We would save him and be happy.

The sound made Laila look up at me, worried. Swallowing the pain, I shook my head. Her nose wrinkled, and I knew she wasn’t paying attention to anything Peter was saying.

“I have go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait! Laila! You can’t just interrupt me!”

She scoffed. “I’ll call again. I promised to call. I called and I’ll do it again. Just…chill. I’m still on the job right now.” Her wink lifted the pain just a little.

“I swear, Laila. You haven’t changed.”

Her face fell and laced my fingers between hers, shaking my head. She had changed. It just wasn’t going to be enough for Peter to accept when she wasn’t doing what he wanted. Laila seemed to understand that as well, but there was a sadness being it.

“Think what you want. If you don’t want me to call, then I won’t.”

Peter backtracked quickly. “Wait. Okay. Just…you need to call me every day…”

Laila barked out a laugh. “Not even! I’ll call you when I want. I’ll answer when I want. Don’t push me, Peter. Reaching out wasn’t my idea. I don’t mind going silent again for a while.”

“Fine.” The word was barely audible amidst the growl that came out of him.

She smiled. “Good. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good day.”

He started to talk again, but she hung up on him. I let out a laugh, and she joined me. However, I could see her hands shaking and the tears she held back. Her grip was tight on the phone.

“Well, that went well.”

I shrugged. “Honestly, I was expecting worse.”

“Maybe. Still. He’s such an asshole.”

“Help me up. I’ll make us some dinner.”

Laila wrinkled her nose. “I can make something for you. You’re still really weak.”

My lips pursed, and I sighed. “No. I’ll get up. I don’t want to waste the groceries we got.”

“My cooking isn’t that bad!”

I chuckled. “Yes, it is. Yesterday, I thought the sandwich was going to eat me, not the other way around.”

“I…but…it did not!”

Laila pouted, and I chuckled. Holding my hand out, she helped me get up from the chair. I leaned against her a little more than normal. Sighing, she shook her head.

“After you eat, you can go back to bed and sleep.”

“What did you think I was doing? You were the one who rudely interrupted me and told me to come out into the light.”

Rolling her eyes, Laila scoffed. “You were digging yourself into a hole in that brain of yours. Not resting. You need to lie down and actually sleep.”

I sighed and nodded. “I will. What did you want me to make?”

“Whatever you make, I’ll eat. You know that.”

Chuckling, I nodded. She wasn’t kidding. Laila couldn’t cook for the life of her, but she loved my cooking. More than even Marcus did. I didn’t know what she had been doing for the past few months, but she acted like she was a starving child. I knew dragons ate more than wolves normally did, but Laila would eat almost all the food and still ask if there was more.

The kitchen was still foreign to me. Sometimes finding pans or specific utensils had me searching through all the cabinets. Eventually, I would figure it out, but for now, I moved things around to make them easier to find or grab. Certain shelves were too high for me to reach. Or, much to Laila’s amusement, too low for me to reach without having to squat down. Which took effort to get back up.

“Do you want me to help?”

I pulled out some of the fresh zucchini, yellow squash, and ground sausage. “No. I’ll make something simple right now. Don’t worry.”

Making a triple portion, I mixed all the ingredients together in the skillet before topping with some Parmesan cheese and basil. Plating it up for both of us, I made sure that I had everything I thought I could eat in mine. Knowing I might not get a chance at having seconds if I left any back for myself.

Sure enough, Laila wolfed down the food. She shook her head, trying to speak with her mouth full, but I slapped the back of her head. Swallowing, she barked out a laugh and shook her head.

“Why does everything you make turn out like a restaurant made it?”

“When was the last time you’ve eaten in a restaurant? My food is passable at best. I’ve cooked for myself for a long time. You and Marcus both don’t understand that my cooking is nothing special.”

Laila frowned. “Yeah, well, fuck him.”

“Lai…”

“What? Since you somehow aren’t mad at him, I’ll be mad at him for you! After pulling that shit and putting you in that situation…”

I let out a sigh. “Don’t. Please. There is enough going on right now. You can’t be mad at all the Alfords. Stick to being sassy with Peter.”

She laughed. “Fine. For now.”

---

Chapter 5

.

I woke up late on Thursday. My internal clock was still out of whack. I kept waking up either too early or too late. My body was rejecting food more and more, even if I was the one who cooked it. Grabbing my phone, I smiled at the text message from Mike.

Mike

29 weeks - the size of a head of cauliflower.

Major symptoms: Constipation, heartburn, pregnancy brain, migraines, hemorrhoids, and nails growing faster than normal.

There is a chance of feeling Braxton Hicks?

Will research more into them later for you.

Chuckling, it felt so normal to get this message from him. Laila peaked her head in the door. With an eyebrow raised, she pushed the door open further.

“Mike is sending me an update.”

“For?”

I held out the phone to her. “My pregnancy. Today I’m week twenty-nine.”

“You’re kidding. You look so much…” Her mouth shut as she looked down at my face. “…small. You look so small.”

“You’re such a liar.”

Laila barked out a laugh. “I’m sorry. You’re enormous. I’ve seen dragon pregnancies, but never on someone as small as you. It’s actually kind of hilarious.”

“I’m not making you anything today.” I pouted, my arms crossing over my chest.

“Look, you can be upset all you want, but if you can call my butt fat, then I get to call your bump huge.”

Grabbing the pillow next to me, I threw it at her. She tried to catch it, but wasn’t ready for the force I had thrown it with. It smacked into her face, and she stumbled back a step. Growling, I waited for her to throw the pillow back.

Laila was fighting the urge and crushed the pillow in her hands before throwing it onto the bed. “I hate I can’t fight back! Ugh! You suck!”

I chuckled. “I’ll get up and make us a huge ass meal. It’s fine.”

She laughed as well. “How dare you.”

“Help me up if you’re going to stand there.”

Moving to the edge of the bed, I put my hand in hers as she lifted me up. I swayed for a moment, my head spinning, before I balanced myself. She raised her eyebrow at me again, and I slapped her arm.

“Not. A. Word.”

Laila cackled as I walked around and pulled clothes out of my bag. We really needed to go shopping. I had just been putting it off. None of this seemed real. I was still waiting to be called back. That the Alfords had stolen Marcus away.

“So, is this all the information you need? Or do we need to look up more information for you?”

She walked with me through the house. Even with her question, I could see her searching pregnancy sites and what it meant to be twenty-nine weeks. Laila shooed me to the stool, and I smiled as she put on the kettle first.

“Eva gave me some pointers. It was mostly for the third trimester. Not necessarily week by week.”

“Did you know you can’t have eggs?”

I rolled my eyes. “I can, but they need to be cooked through.”

Humming, she looked from the phone to the fridge and back down. “There are a few things you’re supposed to eat.”

“Don’t worry about that right now. I honestly just need to keep stuff down right now. I had this problem most of my pregnancy, but it’s ramping up again.”

“Probably from the stress?” She looked back at me. “Did I see you trying to go to school from the phone the other night?”

My lips pursed into a thin line. “I’m not done with the winter term. I submitted a leave of absence for a couple of weeks, but I’m still trying to keep up with everything.”

“Colt, seriously? I mean, why not just…?”

“Don’t even say it. Don’t even think it. Some of us actually care about our schooling. I want to get my degree, Lai. I already have to take a semester off. That puts my scholarship in jeopardy. If I miss another one…I might as well give up.”

She snorted. “You? Give up? Please. Even just from the week we’ve been together, I know you could never.”

I leaned forward, the stool moving back to make room between the counter and my stomach. “Has it really only been a week?”

Laila flashed me a smile. “A little over now. It seems kind of crazy.”

“It does.”

The ingredients she pulled out made me wrinkle my nose. I waited a few minutes to watch what she was doing with them before I gave up. Getting off the stool, I hip-checked her out of the way. She growled, but I washed my hands and took over the prep. Laila hovered, and then after I did something, I gave it back to her.

If anything, she was a quick learner. She started chopping the ingredients as I had and I moved onto something else. I just didn’t trust her with the heat or mixing sauces. We made another ‘fancy sandwich’ as she called it before we sat outside to eat.

“Do you know what you are going to name her?” Laila looked at me as she took a bite.

I nodded. “Marcus already named her. It was a name he loved. I just…I don’t know. She’s still just our little girl. I think it would be weird to call her by a name before she is born.”

“I can see that. Don’t they start off looking like sea monkeys?”

Barking out a laugh, I shook my head. “I was calling her my little bean for a long time. That was what the pictures online looked like starting out. It just…was weird as soon as we found out the gender.”

“I bet. Don’t get me wrong, I love kids. Kind of. But pregnancy is crazy. Like…you’re growing an entire person in your body?” Laila shook her head. “Then that person will grow up, have their own personalities, own lives. Like…what?”

“Is that why you ran?”

She stared down at her sandwich for a moment. “Yeah. I get that Peter is ready to have a family. I just…like…”

“For what it’s worth, I’m with you on that.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at me. “You’ve given me several lectures…”

“…and never once did I say anything about you needing to start a family immediately.” I smirked. “I told you to be a family with your mate and to not push your family away. I said nothing about pregnancy.”

Laila growled at me. “It was implied.”

“No, it wasn’t. Just because Peter thinks a family means you need to have pups doesn’t mean everyone does. I think it took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that dragons can live to be four hundred years old.”

“Most have hatchlings fairly early into finding their mates, though.”

I shrugged. “If you find your mate early, though, what makes you think you’re mature enough to have pups? I told Marcus that he’s in the same life span as a dragon as I was when I was fifteen.”

Her look turned horrified, and I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s the same look he gave me. Think about it. Society pushes wolf shifters to have children early because their biological clocks expire quickly. We hit forty, and it’s pretty much high risk after that. It happens, but any later and you’re putting yourself and your pup at risk.”

“We don’t…I think dragons just stop having kids when they are done. I’ve seen grandparents have kids at the same time as their grandkids.”

“Exactly. It’s a completely different timeline for dragons because of how long you live.” I rubbed my belly. “I can understand wanting a family. I do. For so long, I didn’t have one, and after coming to grips with being pregnant, I was happy to have someone else in my world. Still, if I had a choice? I would have absolutely waited.”

She snorted. “Can you please explain that to Peter? I mean, I’m only twenty-two. Peter is twenty-five. We have still barely established ourselves. I could have finished college by now, but then I’d just start pumping out hatchlings? Where is enjoying my career? Or us being able to be mates together? Sure, we met young, but I’d still like time with him. You know…hatching-less.”

“Did you guys ever discuss it?”

“Yes! Of course!”

I raised my eyebrow at her. “That didn’t start or end with you two yelling at each other?”

Her lips pursed, and I laughed again. “I don’t think either of us would say the right thing to each other.”

“Oh, I know. You don’t do it now either.”

“Hush. He’s just…angry.”

Shaking my head, I took a bite, chewing and swallowing before I spoke again. “He’s angry and you aren’t helping. At some point, I’ll just lock the two of you up in a room. You can yell at each other until you turn blue and then maybe actually have a proper conversation after that.”

“I’d rather just pass out.” Laila grumbled.

The sigh came out before I could stop it. She chuckled and shrugged. We finished eating our food, and I leaned back. Rubbing my stomach, Laila grabbed a mug and filled it with the forgotten boiled water from the kettle.

“So…what are we looking forward to for you?”

“What, like next week?”

She nodded.

I shrugged. “You look it up. Everything has to be taken with a grain of salt though, because it’s mostly for women. I’m an Omega, but there isn’t really much in the way of male Omegas. It’s been a long time since one has been around.”

Laila nodded absently. “Let’s see…thirty weeks? Um…it says they will be as big as a beet.”

“Aren’t beets small?” My brow furrowed.

She shrugged. “Apparently, they are around sixteen inches. Or three pounds.”

“I don’t think beets are three pounds, Lai.”

Her hand typed on the screen and turned it around. “I think we keep thinking they are radishes. It’s pretty big? I mean, the green part is huge.”

“You mean the stalk?”

“You need to stop fucking correcting me.”

I threw my head back and laughed. Laila huffed, going back to the phone. Her smile turned evil.

“According to this, you need to worry about stretch marks, tender breasts, fatigue, and heartburn.”

“Fatigue and tender breasts are already there. Thank you very much. I could see stretch marks coming.” My hands ran under my belly. “I’m getting to where I feel like my whole body feels stretched to capacity. Any more and I will have marks.”

Laila’s smirk dropped. “Swelling of the feet and ankles? Doesn’t that just mean you need to put your feet up?”

“Yeah, well. It’s not as easy as you think. Especially when you have someone who can’t cook.”

“You are so fucking sassy today. What side of the bed did you wake up on?”

Shrugging, I looked out over the water. Laila sat back with me before letting out an exasperated sigh. She got up before stripping off her clothes. My eyes widened for a moment before I slammed them shut and covered my face with my hands.

The next thing I felt was an enormous blast of air as she shifted and took off into the air. Shaking my head, I pulling my hands away. She had was already flying across the water. Then, suddenly, she dove into the water. I held my breath for a little while, but had to let it go. What felt like much longer than I thought was possible, Laila burst out of the water, completely vertical, flying into the clouds above while creating a shower of rain.

Luckily, there were no boats nearby, or they could have gotten tipped by the waves she made. It felt nice. Peaceful even. I smiled, happy to have Laila with me with the umpteenth time this week.

You would have a cow right now. Laila is a mess, just like the rest of us. Sorry, I’m not keeping up with my diet. I’m trying. I promise. It’s just…a lot right now.

I closed my eyes, trying to reach out to the bond.

Come back to me, Mar. Please. I need you here with me. I need you to give me that face when you’re disappointed in me. I need you to kiss me on the forehead when you’re fed up with me. I just…need you. Come home. Come back. Please.

---

Chapter 6

.

I rolled over, trying to ignore the buzzing on the nightstand. Whatever time it was, it was too early. I’d had another episode, and the last thing I wanted was to be awake enough to talk to Mike. It could have been Peter, but he had been pretty conscious of the time difference when calling.

Except the phone didn’t stop vibrating. I was pretty sure it was the third call when the phone buzzed its way onto the floor and continued its path on the floor. I took a breath, trying to close my ears.

“Oh my god. What the actual fuck?”

Laila threw open my door, and I curled up against the light. She stomped around the bed, picking up the phone that was now probably on the fifth call, and answered it.

“Look, you know what he went through last night. You really think…?”

“You need to leave! Now!” Mike’s voice nearly screamed through the line.

I pushed myself up weakly. “Mike…what’s going on?”

“I’ve been monitoring the house since I got back in. Alpha Genesis came over with your brother. They were talking to Ebony.” He was talking a mile a minute now, and I tried to listen to everything. “They set it all up. All of it. Alpha Genesis was behind the mall plan, paid off the Council not to intervene. Taking Marcus and poisoning him. Allowing you to leave.”

“What do you mean, allowed me to leave?” I cleared my throat. “Ebony said…”

Mike growled. “She lied, Colt! Alpha Genesis already knows you’re an Omega. He knows you’re pregnant too. They let you go because they have Marcus, but he knows where you are. Ebony tracked you to the house.”

My heart dropped in my chest, and I felt the blood leave my face. “He knows…”

“Your exact location. I don’t know how, Colt. She even said the tracker they used ended up failing off, but they found you. You need to get out! You aren’t safe!”

I looked down at my hands, my arms straining to hold me upright. “I can’t right now. I’m too weak. I wouldn’t be able to get up onto Lai.”

“Damn it! I don’t care how you leave, Colt! Steal a car! Take a boat! Fly! I don’t care! Alpha Dylan was just handed your coordinates and you need to fucking go!”

“Alright, Mike. We’ll figure something out.”

Nodding to Laila, she hung up the phone and then sat on my bed. Her eyes watched me, but I fell back down against the pillow. The phone rang again, but she silenced it. She reached out, rubbing my leg.

“Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “I know what he’s saying. I know, but…part of me wants to just give up. I’m so tired, Lai.”

“But Marcus…and your little girl…”

Tears filled my eyes, and I curled up more. “I know. I can’t even move right now.”

“Are you hungry? I can get you some food, and some of your ginger tea? Then we can talk about a plan? Cause there are options, like Mike said. It took us a while to get here. So even if they come straight over, we have a bit of time. We probably need to assume we are being monitored, though.”

Humming, I closed my eyes. “Thank you, Lai.”

She got up, but came to sit closer, her hands combing through my hair. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. That stupid Alpha of yours doesn’t scare me. I’ll squash him under my big fat earth-dragon butt.”

Laila got a chuckle out of me. “I thought you didn’t have a big butt.”

“Yeah, well, I might have seen my reflection in the windows the other night.”

Coughing, I continued to laugh. “Is that why you were so sad? And why the tub of ice cream suddenly disappeared?”

“Maybe.”

We were quietly chuckling, and I reached out and squeezed her hand. “I bet Peter is a butt guy.”

“You think?”

I shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

“I’m not asking him that!”

“No, but you could go home. Where you belong. Work with Peter and get your relationship back on track. Really, get you back on track.”

Laila growled at me. “I’m not leaving you here alone, Colt. Out of the question. So Alpha Genesis can just scoop you up when he wants? No way. Nice try.” She squeezed my side. “I’m making you some tea, and then we will figure this out.”

Her weight disappeared from the bed, and I sighed. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. I was genuinely worn out. Two episodes almost back to back were enough to strip me down. Days without Marcus, not even feeling him, and knowing that he was with Ebony. That there was a real possibly that I might actually lose him.

My hand rubbed my stomach absently, a motion that was starting to bring me comfort. She was okay. Our little girl was still kicking and rolling around. If anything, I needed to hold out for her. I wasn’t at the safe point yet for her to be born. We had weeks before she was ready, but the fear wormed its way into my heart.

What if we don’t get him back? What if I lost Marcus? Would I be able to survive her birth? Would I be able to live without Marcus?

Tears filled my eyes, and I buried my face in my pillow. It hurt to think about it. The doubts creeping in, despite Mike saying the Alford’s were working on it. It had been over a week. It had been over a week, and Ebony had been untouchable. Too many eyes, too many attackers, too close to Marcus. Mike just got back into the house security, but what did that do? Watch her break him with the poison she was injecting into him?

“Colt?”

I rubbed my tears away into the pillow before looking up at Laila. She had a mug in one hand, reaching out to help me sit up with the other. Taking the mug from her, I blew off the steam coming from it. Sitting down next to me, she rubbed my back.

“It’s okay to cry. I don’t mind.”

“It’s not. I chose to leave. I thought…I thought it would give us time.”

She frowned. “It did. It gave you time. Didn’t you say that Ebony was just being used by Dylan? She’s probably useful until she isn’t. His goal has always been you.”

I snorted, taking a sip of the weak ginger tea. “Everyone is disposable to him.”

“Plus, it wasn’t like you were making it freely. You were under…what’s that word? Dissect?”

“Duress, Lai.”

Laila rolled her eyes. “Alright, smartass. Whatever. You made it under duress. Marcus was in Ebony’s hands; you were being threatened, your little girl, and Mason. You did what you had to do to keep them safe. Now, we need to focus on keeping you safe.”

My lips trembled, but I took another sip of tea to cover it. “Where do we go? What chance do we have? If they already found us here… I can’t keep running.” I flashed her a smile. “I can’t even run at this point, and I’m pretty sure that it’s only going to get worse the longer I’m without Marcus.”

“What if we buy a small place in Mexico or something? We could also go back. Fight for Marcus. Ebony already broke the promise. Whether that asshole knew before or after, she fucking lied. You have no obligation to stay away now.”

I nodded absently. “Maybe. I don’t know if I want to be closer to Dylan though. I don’t know if that will be conducive to staying safe.”

“I mean, depends on where we go. We could go back to the Alford’s. Stay with Tyson and Candice. I’m sure they would be happy to house you.”

Frowning, I shook my head. “They are already dealing with Marcus…I’m not…”

“Don’t you dare finish that.” Laila snapped at me. “I know you mean more to them than that. I know you might think you don’t, but you do. Even Peter has said so. It’s an option, a safe one, Colt. Otherwise, where else are we going to go? I can’t take you to Dragon Isle or anything. We could go into the Middle Eastern countries. I know of a few flights over there.”

“I’m not a dragon, though. On top of that, my existence…” I rubbed my bump. “I can’t. She and I will both lose everything.”

Laila growled, falling back onto the seat. “We need to do something. As soon as you are strong enough, we need to leave. You can’t stay here.”

I agreed with her. I just didn’t know where. Part of me thought of going back with Mike and Sabrina, but it would be a mess. Maybe we could go on the offensive, attack the house directly. Try to drive them out and stay there.

My body let out a shiver. I don’t think I could stay there anymore. The thought made my stomach churn. It wasn’t a safe place anymore. Ebony having her paws all over it made it worse.

“I think…I’m going to take a shower.”

Laila shook her head. “Do you want me to help you in the shower?”

Slowly, I put my feet on the floor. It was a wobbly step, but strong enough to hold myself up. I shook my head. She nodded and watched me as I ran my hand along the wall to help, as I flicked on the lights to the bathroom. The warm water felt good. After every time I fell asleep, I woke up in a sweat, and it felt good to be clean.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I rubbed myself down with the towel and pulled on my usual sweats and sweatshirt. My nose wrinkled, pulling the sweatshirt down further. It wasn’t reaching all the way down today. Groaning, this was so much worse than a pants issue. This was Marcus’ sweatshirt. How was I too big to fit in this one?

Running my hand over the wall, steadying myself as I walked down the hall, I made my way to the kitchen. It was about three-thirty in the morning now. I thought Laila had gone to bed while I was taking a shower, but I saw her sitting in the chair, hunched over the phone. She was typing furiously on it. Peter and her started texting as well, and it was going about as well as their conversation had gone.

As I poured the hot water, Laila slammed the phone down on the counter before plopping onto the stool at the island. I raised my eyebrow at her and she huffed.

“I hate him.”

“You don’t actually hate him.”

She snorted. “I do! He’s worse than my mother! Or my father. Or my entire family combined!”

I bit back the fact that her family probably should have been stricter with her growing up. “He cares. He just wants you to…”

“Be an obedient little mate?” Laila growled.

“No. If he wanted that, Lai, he would have just brought you home without giving you the freedom to dig yourself into a hole.” I put my mug down, looking at her seriously. “I promise you that isn’t what he wants. He wants the best for you. The problem is that you don’t know what is best for you, and Peter is trying to figure it out too.”

I expected her to snap back at me, but she didn’t. Instead, her eyes glossed over, not looking at anything in particular. Smiling, I turned and pulled out a few different ingredients for a late-night snack.

“Hey, Colt?”

Humming, I put the baking tray into the oven.

“Why are you so mature?”

Closing the oven door, I turned around and put my hand on my hip. “Laila, I’m pregnant…at nineteen. I don’t think mature is the right word for it.”

“I mean, we all make decisions that aren’t always smart. Just…you come out of it like you…I don’t…like you’ve been through hell and back again. That no matter what, you have a level head.”

“I definitely don’t.” My hands pulled down on the sweatshirt. “I’ve just gotten really good at shrinking myself into the background. My entire life, I’ve been on a balance beam. Balancing between being too much and not enough. Because if I tipped either way, people would notice me. People would ask questions.”

Giving her a sad smile, I shrugged. “I got good at not letting anything out. Much to the chagrin of all my friends. Marcus especially hates it, but I think he realized it wasn’t just with him. So he backed off a little to give me room to fill the space slowly.”

Her lips pursed. “I don’t know if that’s true.”

“Then…let’s just say it’s easer to give advice than to take it.” I chuckled. “People on the outside have a different perspective of what you’re dealing with. For me, I’ve always looked at everything a little differently because one wrong move could mean life or death. So I tend to be a little harsher than others.”

“No kidding. That lecture you gave me coming in was downright mean.”

I stood up from my lean and pulled out a couple more ingredients for a dip. “Did you listen?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Had anyone else told it to you like that?”

“No.”

“Did you listen to anyone else?”

“No.”

“Then it did its job.”

Laila snorted. “You’re mean, Colt.”

“I never said I was nice.”

---

Chapter 7

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We had our snacks and ended up watching the sunrise together outside as we bounced ideas around. Right now, disappearing into the countryside somewhere seemed the best option. The problem was getting there. Laila could fly us, but there were restrictions on where she could fly, and it got worse around certain countries. Plus, she stood out a bit.

Most likely, we would need to land somewhere and find transportation for the rest of the way. It wasn’t ideal for me trying to hide, but we didn’t really have a choice. On top of that, we had no idea how Laila was being tracked, and that unknown made me worry about trying to grab a vehicle that could be tracked. Since Dylan already knew where we were.

It was getting to about eight in the morning when I leaned back, rubbing my face. The sun was bright, and it was a warm sixty degrees. Laila was searching through the phone, trying to find something we could easily rent. It looked like we would need to get a hotel first.

“What did Mike say?”

“He gave us a few options to narrow things down, but it’s not much help if we can’t find a fly-zone near them.” Her brows were pulling together, typing furiously.

I chuckled. “Maybe we should just…I don’t…let them come.”

“No.”

“At least we wouldn’t need to stress about it. Or hey, maybe he will leave me alone? They have Marcus. I’m not useful to him right now with being mated.”

Laila narrowed her eyes at me. “No. I’m not taking that chance, and neither is anyone else.”

She was about to say something else when the phone rang. Answering it on speaker, Laila growled before the caller said anything. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“I do not have time for you right now.”

“Seriously? You said we would talk today.” Peter’s voice came through the phone, and it made more sense.

I leaned in a little. “Hey, Peter.”

“Colton? What are you…wait, are you the one that Laila is taking care of?”

“I am. Sorry. We needed to keep it quiet for a little while. She’s been helping me here, and she’s honestly been keeping me together.”

Laila smiled up at me.

“How are you doing?”

“I could be better. A little stressed right now. If you need a couple of minutes with Lai, it’s fine.”

Laila growled at me this time. “No. We need to figure this out. The longer we wait, the more likely there are going to be issues. We aren’t doing that.”

“It’s fine. Talk to him for a few minutes. I’ll think about what we want to do.”

I leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes. She huffed, but stood up, walking over to the far side of the yard. It was going to be a few minutes until I would be able to hear her yelling, but for now, I didn’t hear their conversation.

Right now, landing near Amsterdam and heading into the northern part of the Netherlands seemed like the safest and most viable option at the moment. My lips pursed. We would need to rent something and, worse, the further out we went, the less likely we would be able to have help to give birth.

My panic attack was already starting. If I had to give birth away from home, if we weren’t able to get Marcus back before she was born, I would have to be alone. Giving birth without Marcus by my side was a nightmare that I never wanted to become a reality.

Opening my eyes, I looked up at the sky. Laila’s conversation had already gotten loud enough to hear, and I smirked. They were going to have such a long way to go. Still, they talked more and longer each time. Even if they were planning on tearing at each other’s throats by the end.

“No! I don’t know how many times I need to say it. No! No? No. Fucking no!”

I chortled, shaking my head. There were a couple of birds in the sky, and I watched them fly around, probably catching bugs. My eyes narrowed, and I sat up when I saw something else. It looked like a drone flying over the water.

There were boats out on the water today. It was a beautiful day, and it was probably the perfect day to fish. Someone could use a drone from the boat, but it felt a little odd. Something was making my wolf stir. They’d been quiet, but now I felt their fur ruffle, on high alert.

There were a few kids in the house next to us we had heard from time to time. However, this drone seemed too big to be theirs, and if I remembered correctly, there was also a no-fly zone over here. Privacy was a big thing in this area. Especially with the type of people who lived in some of these houses.

“Laila.” I called to her, watching the drone get closer.

She didn’t hear me, still yelling at Peter. I wanted to feel stupid and overly paranoid, but it had taken a sharp turn toward the house. Standing up, I took a couple of steps into the yard. My eyes narrowed, trying to see anything about it that would give it away. It could be Mike, but I didn’t think he had a contact this close. My heart rate was picking up, and I didn’t turn my head as I watched rise above the yard.

“Laila!” I shouted at her.

“What, Colt?” She snapped back at me.

We needed to get inside now. I didn’t know why, but this felt wrong. Turning, I reached out and held out my hand to her.

She looked from my hand to the drone flying at an incredible speed toward us. It whizzed past the house for a moment before it swung back around. Laila shouted something, and I knew she was running to me, but it was too late. I tried to move back, but the drone dropped something onto the lawn between us. It exploded into a cloud of blue smoke.

Immediately, I covered my mouth as I stumbled back to the window. Laila screamed my name, and I started to cough, my back slamming into the glass. It rattled, but I wasn’t near enough to the door to open it. Not able to hold my breath any longer, I inhaled the smoke. The sweetness stuck to the inside of my mouth, and my eyes widened.

It was powdered wolfsbane. It wouldn’t affect Laila, but I would. Suddenly, from the other side of the house, there was an explosion. The entire house shook, and debris exploded behind me. There were shouts, and I heard boots thundering against the floor. We were out of time. We had waited too long. They were here. This was it.

“Colton!” Laila screamed at me.

She was shifting; the ground shaking as she stepped forward in her dragon form. I tried to hold my breath, but my head was already swimming. Running into her leg, my arms were shaking, and the weakness was spreading through my body. Laila helped me with her front foot, hoisting me until I could reach for a spike, sliding myself into position.

Her rocky formations on her back had already made a perfect place for me to sit, though not comfortably. Not a second later, we were in the air, above the smoke. I gulped in the fresh air, but the damage had already been done.

Below, glass shattered before there was more yelling and barking out orders. My heart cracked. Everything I had grabbed, it was all gone. Holding onto Laila’s spikes, I let out a sob. A shiver wracked through me as she pushed higher into the air. I didn’t have a sweatshirt or even a blanket. My feet were bare and freezing against the wind.

My head swam, and I felt sick. The wolfsbane was circulating through my body. It wasn’t potent like this. Dried powered lost a lot of its potency, but it would be enough to weaken or knock out a wolf. Hands shaking, I blinked, but the world was spinning and becoming dark.

“Lai…I’m…wolfsbane…I’m not…you have to…get us…to safety.”

I slumped against her body, losing the ability to hold myself up. She roared, panicking, and a cloud of dust filled the air. Chuckling softly, I closed my eyes.

“I trust…you…find…something…you…can…”

* * *

The first thing I felt was my chest rising and falling. Blinking, I couldn’t see anything. Just darkness. My heart beat picked up when I realized I could hear beeping in the room. As though I was in a hospital. My fear spiking even more, I tried to move my body.

“Colt, sweetheart, it’s okay. It’s okay. You’re safe. Don’t get up.”

My eyes widened, surprised at the soft voice. “C-Candy?” It came out as a croak.

“That’s it, sweetheart. It’s me. You’re okay.” I felt her soft touch as she held my hand in both of hers. “We got you. You’re safe.”

The sob that broke out of me was ugly. I cried, barely able to tighten my hand to hold hers. Laila had flown us back to the Tyson’s. Part of me was mad because I told her we couldn’t put them in that position. Especially within the flight territory. I’d passed out, though, and was in no state to be complaining. This didn’t feel or smell like their house either.

“Colton, oh thank the gods.” Tyson, his voice sounding exhausted. “We were so worried.”

His hand rested on my head. I smiled, trying to soak in the warmth. Sighing, I relaxed into the bed again. Knowing they were here, I was no longer in danger. It would be okay here.

“Where am I?”

“The Archives.”

I sucked in a breath. “Seriously?”

Tyson chuckled. “Yes. Laila brought you here, then got in contact with the family. We got here as soon as we could. She was a mess. She didn’t know if you were alive or not.”

“She saved me. More times than I can count now.” I smiled. “She tried to kill me multiple times when she fed me some of her cooking, though.”

I heard her scoff as she threw open the door. “You…you fucking bastard!” Laila screamed at me before throwing herself on top of my legs. “I thought…I thought…you were limp and pale and I…” She sobbed, rubbing her face into the blankets.

“The blue smoke was wolfsbane. It was meant to weaken, but I was already too weak…” My voice hitched. “Our little girl?”

Candice rubbed my stomach. “She’s fine, Colt. She’s a dragon, not a wolf. The wolfsbane won’t hurt her, but…”

My relief caught in my throat. “But…?”

“You’re not doing well. Sweetheart, your body is shutting down. Both Eva and Dean have been working at your side trying to help stabilize you. If you don’t get stronger…quickly…”

Sighing, I knew what they were going to say. “I might not make it through her birth.”

Candice squeezed my hand. “We are going to get you stronger. Don’t you worry. You’re with your family now.”

“I can’t put you guys in that position.”

“You can and you will.” Tyson’s tone left no room for argument. “You are our son, Colt. We will not abandon you. Not now, not ever. Do you understand?”

As much as I wanted to fight it, I didn’t. All I did was nod. Deep down, I felt an incredible amount of relief. A happiness that I was in the hands of people who cared about me. To be out of reach of Ebony and Dylan.

We didn’t speak for a little while, them just holding me within the scents. A tear slipped down the side of my face and into my hair. Safe was a luxury I would trade everything in my possession for. Even with nothing, I finally felt safe. That was enough for me to fall into a comfortable sleep, no nightmares or dreams, just pure, exhausted sleep.

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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this preview of Saving My Alpha!

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