Omega Bound Chapter 277

Thane

Ayla swears she’s fine.

She can ‘totally help’ take care of the wounded.

But the minute I made her sit in the back of one of our SUVs, she passed out from exhaustion, which made it easier for me to lock her in there without an argument.

“Did you really just put ten guards on the SUV because she is sleeping in there?” Cyrus asks as we continue our search for Eric. Nikolai remains snarling within his shield and surrounded by guards in case it drops while Little Wolf is sleeping.

I hope it does.

“Yes,” I answer, thinking of all the drastic measures I am going to take once we return.

“Even though she killed everybody with her zombie mind control.”

“Yes. Don’t act like you aren’t going to act differently when we get back.” I grumble.

“Oh, I’m going to spank the shit out of fireball when we get back.”

“Stop air humping,” I growl, smacking him upside the head.

“Just say you're jealous, Thane. Oh, wait, you grew. Maybe you will finally measure up.” He laughs, slapping me on the shoulder.

“I’m going to tell her to bite your dick off if you don’t shut up.” I shove his arm off while the guards mind-link about the sections they are clearing.

“I’ll just have your new daddy heal power it back on.”

“He is certainly not my father.” I snarl.

“He may not be hers either. Better get a DNA test.” Cyrus suggests as if it hadn’t crossed my mind already.

“I already planned on it.”

Tyler is buried in the systems, trying to dig up whatever scraps of information he can on the experiments, networks, and anything Mikhail and Stevens left behind. Clarke’s pack storms the interior, their shouts echoing through the gutted compound as they sweep room by room with brutal efficiency.

But I don’t follow them, I want to. I want to see every cell, every dark corner, to know where they kept Ayla, to breathe the same air she suffered in. My chest locks tight at the thought, rage clawing up my throat, and my wolf presses harder against me. Since claiming the Alpha of Alphas, I haven’t shifted. If I set foot inside,  what they did to her… I won’t be able to hold it back. My wolf will rip free, and the compound won’t survive me. Neither will the shifters inside.

Ronan is very agitated right now. It could also be because we are away from Ayla.

So I search outside with Cryus while Raven helps guard Nikolai’s sphere. She actually refuses to take her eyes off him.

We also need to decide how to transport him.

Because I plan on making an example out of him before subjecting him to torture.

The world deserves to see the monster who scarred our people with his cruelty.

Ayla said she didn’t feel him inside the compound when she made shields or out in the battle. When her power exploded, it probably gave him a one-way ticket out of the compound, either sending him somewhere out in the wilderness or allowing him an escape.

Hopefully, it mangled him.

A guard breaks from the compound at a dead sprint, mud flying with every step. His chest heaves, eyes wide, and in his hand, he clutches a phone. “Alpha!” he shouts, nearly stumbling. “We got a hold of Damon, sir, it… It doesn’t sound good.” His voice cracks.

I rip the phone from his hands, “What’s going on?” I stop in my tracks with Cyrus hovering nearby.

“Word is Stevens is regrouping. Border Patrol killed guards from Pack Sonne. I don’t know who is in charge of it now. They could be working with Stevens to invade.” Damon sighs in exhaustion.

“Do you have anything good to tell me?” I groan. We are also all exhausted

“Triad Group submitted an Alpha challenge. One of them plans on fighting you for your title.” Damon laughs into the phone.

“Of course, they know we’re not there. They could automatically take the title...or give it away.” Maybe this was Eric’s plan. Get Ayla up here and let Triad Group hold his spot for him until he gets back. “I think they’re doing it for Eric. But they don’t know that I accepted my new seat.” I snarl into the phone.

“Anyway you look at it, if Stevens and Sonne’s old pack invade, we are outnumbered. Tirad Group doesn’t matter unless they bring others with them. Then I am really outnumbered.” Damon yells as I hear something crashing to the floor.

“That was the cupboard.”

“Noted. We are on our way.”  I hang onto the phone and mind-link my pack. Damon just came through. Pack Stevens and Pack Sonne are mobilizing, gearing up for an attack. At the same time, Triad is making a move to challenge for the Alpha role. I don’t know yet if the groups are connected, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we take Triad off the board first, then we roll Sonne and Stevens before they even know what hit them.

The link hums with responses—growls, curses, wolves firing back acknowledgment as they shift positions, weapons ready. My jaw clenches.

My gaze flicks back to where Ayla’s shield still blazes against the night, holding Nikolai trapped. On that note—someone find tranquilizers. Big ones. Ayla can’t keep that shield up for a sixteen-hour haul. We sedate Nikolai, keep him under the whole trip back. I don’t care what it takes, just make it happen.

The link buzzes with voices confirming, but I can still feel the edges of my own restraint fraying. Too many enemies. Too many threats are stacking up.

“We need to find...” before I can finish my sentence, Rhonda’s blue car pulls up.

“You said Damon was in trouble?!” Rhonda growled as Marla gathered weapons off dead bodies and tossed them into the back of the car.

“We need to get back there now, but that doesn’t mean that you need to join the fight.” I lean into the car, shaking my head in disbelief about this whole clusterfuck of a situation that happened.

Larry’s mom.

His sweet, weird, perverted mother.

I guess, considering her dead mate was one of my father’s best fighters, even at an older age, I shouldn’t be surprised she had it in her, but the others.....

I’m starting to think I don’t know my pack very well.

A nudge from Cyrus points my gaze to Mikhail. Perfect.

“Rhonda, I have an important job for you and your friends. I need you guys to guard Mikhail from the fight so they don’t get him back.”

“Ohhhhhhh, should we hide too?” Suki asks from the back as I open the car door.

“Yes,” I say, gesturing for Mihail to climb into the car. Hopefully, I don’t regret sending them away. They fought damn good fight.

“Where are we going?” Mikhail asks nervously between the two she-wolves in the back seat.

“You just stay quiet and do as you're told or you’ll butter your last biscuit,” Jill says, pointing at him.

“Damn it, Jill. What part of buttering a biscuit is dangerous?” Rhonda growls as she peels away, tires slinging mud all over us. We all look like we survived an apocalypse.

Or caused one.

“You know she doesn’t have a license?” Cyrus laughs, waving at the girls as they go. “And she will probably go straight to Damon’s if you didn’t catch that.”

“Damn it, I hope not.” I head back toward the SUV surrounded by guards, containing my life. “Time to drop a shield and start our next fight.”