Chapter Twenty-Five
Watching Josh and Ben fight was terrifying but thankfully short-lived, Ben easily besting the other Alpha. Once Josh was on the ground and it became clear the rest of the Pack weren’t going to interfere, Adam started to relax. Ben had staked his claim, finally. Adam would stay his.
But then the two Alphas were shaking hands and Adam saw what Josh’s other hand was doing. He called out a warning, but it was too late and ill-timed, only serving to distract Ben when he needed all his attention on Josh. He heard Ben’s sharp intake of breath as the knife drove home. Then Josh shoved him and Ben tumbled backward to the ground.
Adam knew Ben would heal, once he got the knife out, then he’d track Adam down, wherever they took him, and rescue him again. Adam knew he should run like Ben had told him too, but he couldn't tear himself away from the Alpha. He moved towards him only to find Josh blocking his path. The other Pack members moved forward, grabbing Ben’s arms and legs.
Josh stalked towards Adam as the Omega backed away towards the door. The Alpha was faster, pinning Adam against the wall. Adam slipped his hand into his pocket for the gun Ben had given him but as he withdrew it, his wrist was caught in a vice-like grip.
“What’s this? An Omega with some spirit?” The gun was pulled from his grasp and tossed away.
He heard Ben shout and looked over to see they were tying him to the cottage gate, his arms spread so he couldn’t pull out the knife which still sat lodged between his ribs at the level of his heart. His body half-lying in the snow, as he struggled against their hold.
“Stop, don’t,” Adam cried, pleading with Josh. “Take the knife out, let him heal. I’ll come with you willingly. I’ll bond with you. Please, just don’t let him die.”
Josh’s hand closed around his neck, silencing him. “I like hearing you beg. You’ll be doing a lot more of that before the day is out.” Gripping Adam’s arm, he dragged him across the yard, past Ben, and towards the waiting vehicle, ignoring Adam’s pleas and Ben’s shouts.
“No. Ben. Ben!”
Things got very quiet all of a sudden, Adam’s voice and the car’s engine fading into the distance. Ben was alone, a terrible pain spreading through his chest as his limbs grew numb. It didn’t look good for him. The knife had hit his heart or one of the bigger blood vessels. The beat of his heart sounded wrong, strange. He couldn’t heal with the knife in place but his body was trying.
“I’m sorry, Adam,” he whispered. He’d been stupid to assume Josh would play by the rules. Gathering his strength, he made another attempt to free his hands, putting as much pressure on the bonds as he could, yelling from the pain. But the bonds didn’t budge, the cable they'd tied him with holding fast, the bars of the gate bending under the pressure. He sank back to the ground, feeling the cold snow soak through his clothes and into his skin.
The pain sharpened again and his world blazed a brilliant white before fading to a dull gray, his eyes slipping closed.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, minutes or hours, before he heard an engine growing louder then die down, followed by footsteps approaching.
“Dammit, we missed the party.” He heard a voice say.
“Looks like we’ve got a live one here,” another voice commented.
Ben opened his eyes to see two dark figures staring down at him.
“What are you just standing around for?” a third voice called. “He won’t be alive much longer if all you’re going to do is stare at him.”
A figure loomed into view, a head taller than the first two with a distinct Alpha scent. He crouched next to Ben, who made a valiant attempt to get his feet under him.
“Hold on. Stay still. We’ll cut you free in a second. Graham, grab some cutters from the toolbox in the trunk.” They made short work of cutting the cable and freeing him from the bonds, then hands helped him sit up against the fence.
“Okay, so we have to get this knife out. I can hear that your heart isn’t beating properly around it and if we leave it in, you’ll die. Only problem is, we take it out, you might die any-”
Ben reached for the knife, numb fingers grasping the handle, and yanked it free, cursing loudly from the pain. The Alpha raised his eyebrows but otherwise didn’t react. The two men flanking him took a step back.
The Alpha did make a move when Ben tried to get to his feet.
“Hold on, where do you think you’re going?”
“They took my Omega. Have to find him,” Ben panted.
“You’re half dead. You won’t get five feet.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Ben grit his teeth and managed to get to his knees. “I promised him I’d keep him safe.”
“They were the guys who took off in the blue SUV?” the stranger asked.
“Yeah.” Ben stood, grunting as his head spun. The other man grabbed his arm when he swayed. “You’re not in any condition to go after them.”
“I have to. He’s my mate.”
He knew that now. Had known it since the moment Terrance and Josh had driven off with him the first time and it felt like someone had embedded a fish hook in his heart. But he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it. Hadn’t wanted all the trouble that came with it. None of that mattered now, all that mattered was Adam.
He stumbled a few steps towards his bike before he remembered Adam had the keys.
The Alpha still had a hold of his arm but he was making a call on a cell.
“Hey, are you still tailing them? Yeah, we found the Enforcer, injured but alive. I’ll leave him here with Graham and we’ll catch up with you.”
It took a moment for the words to filter through Ben’s head, which was immersed in primal thinking. He had to get to his mate.
“You… you’re…”
“We’ve got people following the car with your Omega in it. We’ll get him back for you, but you need to rest and give your body a chance to heal. An injury like that…”
“No. I’m going with you.”
The Alpha looked at his two companions, neither of whom spoke. Whatever went unsaid between them seemed to spur the Alpha’s actions.
“Fine. But you need to let us help you to the car and try and do something about that wound while we drive. Wouldn’t be much good if you got your Omega back and fell down dead in front of him, would it?”
He slung an arm around Ben’s shoulders and Ben walked with determined steps to their vehicle. The Alpha put him in the back seat and one of the other men sat next to him.
“I’m James,” the Alpha said, climbing into the driver’s seat. “That’s Andrew in the back with you. And Graham next to me. You’re Benjamin, right?”
“Right,” Ben agreed, as Andrew pulled bits and pieces from a first aid kit and tended to his wound.
James put the car into gear and they sped off.
“Who are you, what Pack?” he asked, trying to distance himself from the pain.
“We’re not a Pack. We’re an army. Fenrir’s Warriors,” Graham said.
Ben had heard of them but their reputation had clearly been minimized. Rogues 'getting organized in a haphazard manner’ was how the last Interpack meeting had characterized them. It had happened before, rogues banding together and making trouble. On each occasion, it had been stamped out quickly. But in every other instance Ben could recall, the rogues’ goals were basic. They wanted land to form their own Pack and wanted to be allowed to create their own Pack laws. He wasn’t sure how any of that would lead them to him.
“Why are you here?”
The wolves exchanged glances. “We have a keen interest in what Packs like Gray Valley and Eagle Creek are up to. And we heard about a dispute over an Omega. Care to fill us in?”
Ben, aware James had side-stepped his question, told him the story, though he stuck to the basics. Killing Harvey, finding Adam, Gray Valley taking him.
When Ben admitted to his confusion over his feelings for Adam, James laughed.
“That’s a story I’ve heard more than once, passed down
through the Packs. The Omega bond is a strange thing, not everyone recognizes it for what it is. You’re lucky, Ben.” Ben did not feel lucky right then, as blood continued to ooze from his wound.
“Why follow Gray Valley here?”
“You’ve heard of Fenrir’s Warriors?”
“Sure, the last Interpack meeting discussed rogues banding together. Like that trafficking ring.”
James scoffed. “We’re much more than rogues. And that trafficking ring had Eagle Creek’s fingerprints all over it.”
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
“Our goal is the restoration of Pack structure; Alpha lines, secondary lineages, Omega bonds, in accordance with Pack law. It used to be rogues were only those marginalized wolves who didn’t fit into any Pack. Now it’s any wolf who a Pack feels might be a challenge to an unstable leadership or who had a prior claim on an Alpha line. You and Samuel and the other Enforcers were lucky. So many more young wolves just get kicked out to fend for themselves, if they live that long.”
He held up a hand when Ben started to speak again. “I’m aware I still haven’t answered your question. The truth is this. We heard about Adam on the grapevine and we watched with interest to see how it played out. It used to be Omega bonds were all about true matings. Now that Omegas are returning to the world, it’s about who can pay the most. At first, when we heard you’d taken him, we assumed it was about power. But then you went to ground, didn’t try to stake a claim. The only reason you’d have done that is a true bond. So, when we heard Gray Valley had found you, we decided to help. Only we were a little late.”
Graham made another call. “They’re about ten minutes ahead of us. Gray Valley are traveling fast but they’re not breaking speed limits. We should be able to catch up.”
James accelerated, throwing Ben against the backseat with a groan. Ten minutes. Ten minutes to rescue Adam.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Adam was trapped in the backseat between Josh and another wolf, just like the first time. Josh’s hands were on him and it just felt wrong. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he thought about Ben and what they’d done to him. Was he dead? If not, he soon would be.
“You are going to pay for that little escape bid and all the trouble you’ve caused,” Josh threatened. His words barely registered. Adam’s heart hurt. He wanted, no, needed Ben. His Alpha.
“Josh?” the wolf driving the car spoke up.
“What?” the Alpha said.
“There’s a car, it’s been following us at a distance since just after we left the cottage but it’s gaining on us now.”
“A coincidence, I’m sure.” Josh brushed it off but Adam could hear the concern in the driver’s voice. “Keep to the speed limit, the last thing we want is to get pulled over.”
Adam, who up until that point had been focused on Ben and what had happened, found himself distracted by watching the road behind them through the mirrors. The car the driver had spoken of was right behind them, with an empty stretch of road behind it.
And then a second set of headlights became visible in the far distance, gradually getting brighter. Adam didn’t know too much about driving but he thought they must be going fast. As they neared he was distracted by the car behind them pulling out onto the other side of the road so they were neck on neck.
“Fuck. What they hell are they doing?” the driver shouted, as the car swung in front of them, forcing them to brake, hard. Headlights from behind alerted them to the fact that the other car had caught up and braked too, pulling around so it blocked their escape. They were sandwiched between the two cars and, from them, a large group of wolves spilled out. They were strangers, to Adam at least.
“Who the hell…” Josh began.
“The FW. Has to be,” the driver said.
“No, there’s no way those idiots would be stupid enough to take us on,” Josh argued.
“We’re outnumbered.” There was fear in the driver’s voice.
“Means nothing. They wouldn’t dare attack Gray Valley.”
“Unless they want him.” The wolf next to Adam nodded towards him.
“Well, he’s mine. So let’s go and make that clear to them,” Josh said.
Adam didn’t like the sound of this. Was he about to go from frying pan to fire again?
He was pulled from the car by his arm, flanked by the Gray Valley wolves as the strangers surrounded them, their scents unfamiliar, all except one. It couldn’t be.
His eyes lit upon the strong, dark haired Alpha. His Alpha. Ben only had eyes for him until his gaze tracked to Josh’s hand on his arm. There was hate in his eyes as he took in Gray Valley's Alpha successor.
“Not dead, Ben? There’s a surprise. I see you had more help than we’d anticipated. I hadn’t thought you were the kind to associate with rogues.”
The Alpha turned his attention to the strangers. “I’d think long and hard about your next move. If you act against Gray Valley, we will wipe you out.”
The stranger’s Alpha stepped forward.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take, Joshua. A risk my Warriors are willing to take. A risk Benjamin here has already taken. You could hand over the Omega. Spare all of us the bloodshed. But then you’d look weak in front of your Pack. And that wouldn’t look good for the eldest son of Terrance Porter.”
Josh growled low in his throat.
“Ben tried to make a fool out of Gray Valley. Out of me. No one does that and goes unpunished.” As he spoke, his hands tightened on Adam, forcing a cry from his throat.
Ben growled, his voice a balm for Adam’s aching soul.
“Take your hands off my Omega.”
The Warrior’s Alpha gave a signal and about half his men changed while the others moved forward defensively. Ben changed too, a few seconds behind the others, then leaped into the fray.
Josh’s men surrounded him while the Alpha shifted, letting go of Adam. The ground in front of Adam became a mass of brawling, scrapping wolves and humans. There were a handful of weapons in play, mostly by Gray Valley’s men. The driver of the car, who was standing next to Adam, pulled out a gun, aiming it at the Warrior’s Alpha wolf. Adam lunged sideways before he could think it through, knocking hard against the man.
The gun went off, the bullet firing wide into the empty air. The driver reacted, smacking Adam across the head with the gun. A second later one of the strangers was on the driver, wrestling the gun from his grip and tossing it away into the trees while Adam reeled from the blow, his head spinning.
A growl distracted him from the pain and he turned to see Ben and Josh circling one another. The other Alpha wolf circled outside them, keeping the others away, leaving Ben and Josh to fight it out. Whereas before Adam had been confident of Ben’s victory, this time was different. Ben was weak, injured. Adam could see it in the fast pant and slight whine on each breath, not to mention the smell of blood. Josh was the epitome of health and strength and he knew it.
But Adam wouldn’t underestimate Ben. Not again. The Alpha was his destined mate, their bond, though still growing, was strong. And what use was a bond if Adam couldn’t lend his strength to Ben? He focused on it, on the invisible tie between them, imagined energy and strength flowing from him to Ben. He knew it was silly, something Tobias would have laughed at him for thinking, but Ben’s eyes were suddenly looking right at him, right into him, and then he reared back, howled, and dived at Josh. The ensuing struggle was brief and Ben stood over the limp body of Josh, his muzzle smeared with blood. It put an end to the fighting, the other Gray Valley wolves slinking backward in submission.
The next few minutes were of frantic activity, changing back to human form, moving the dead and injured. There were two Gray Valley dead, including Josh. None of the Warrior’s had been killed, but one was badly injured. They threw him into the second car and sped off.
Grey Valley packed up their dead under the watchful eyes of the remaining Warrior’s and they left too, but not before the Warrior’s A
lpha, James, conveyed a message.
“Tell Terrance this isn’t the last he’ll hear of us. Ben and Adam are under our protection now. Act against them and he forfeits the lives of his other sons.”
Ben, back in human form, had stepped away into the woods to clean up, one of the Warriors by his side, handing him some clothes. They’d all been giving Adam a wide berth where he sat on the ground, one hand held to his aching head. James' eyes were watching him with curiosity.
When Ben returned, moving slowly, he went straight to Adam, pulling the Omega close.
“Are you okay, did they hurt you?”
He shook his head, wincing at the pain before burying his face against the Alpha’s neck. “I thought they’d killed you because of me.”
“It would take more than a knife through the heart to kill me,” the Alpha joked. “I’m okay. I’m right here. And it seems we’ve made some new friends.”
They turned as James approached.
“We’ll take you back to your house. You might need a medic to check over that wound. We don’t have one to hand but we’ll see what we can do.”
“Thanks,” Ben said, wrapping an arm around Adam’s shoulders. “We know a medic who might be able to help.” Adam guessed he meant Alicia.
“If it’s alright with you, I'll leave a few of my Warriors in the area to watch over things, make sure there aren’t reprisals. Ideally, you’d bed down with another Pack for a while until things die down.”
“If we’d had that option, we would never have been in this position in the first place.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” James said easily, not reacting to Ben’s sharp tone. “That was some impressive fighting. There aren’t too many who could best an Alpha like Joshua on a good day, let alone with a hole in their chest.”
“I guess you have to have the right kind of inducement,” Ben said, his eyes shifting to Adam as they walked to the car.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Fenrir’s Warriors didn’t stay long at the cottage, James insisting they had other places to be but affirming his promise to leave some of his people behind to watch out for them. Adam, uneasy with all the strangers, was glad when they took their leave and he could turn his full attention to Ben.
The Alpha's Choice: Lost Omegas Book Two: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 11