“Well, you probably know already that you weren’t the only omega they abducted like that. Some of those at the military compound have come forward and asked to be returned to their families.”
“What happened to them? Are they okay? Harrison won’t be happy that they’re trying to leave.”
“They’re not with the pack. Not since they spoke up.”
“But they’re not free like me, are they?”
“Not yet. But maybe you can help with that?”
“How?” Daniel seemed cautious but eager.
“There are some detectives investigating the abductions. If you could talk to them, tell them your story, that would go a long way.”
“Would I get into trouble?”
“Of course not. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
Daniel mused on that a little longer. “Why me? If more than one omega has the same story, why would hearing it again from me make a difference?”
Thorn paused awkwardly, trying to decide how to word it. He ran his hand up and down Daniel’s arm in comfort.
“Because your abduction was caught on camera. There’s video of them taking you.”
Daniel tensed in his arms, his voice dropping to a whisper. “But… but my family said the cops told them I’d run away. Are you saying they knew? All this time, and the police knew I’d been taken?”
Thorn hugged him tighter. “I don’t know all the facts, just that the video exists. Add your word to that, and it’s pretty damning testimony.”
“So those other omegas might get to be free too?”
“They may well be free either way. It doesn’t all hinge on you. So if you don’t want to, or if you want to wait until after the babies are born…”
“No. Now. Soon. As soon as I can.”
Thorn cupped the omega’s cheek, drawing his gaze to him.
“Daniel?”
“I know what’s it like to be trapped, to be caught. If there’s any chance telling my story can help free them, I’ll shout it from the rooftops. Please, Thorn. I want to help them.”
Thorn sighed and nodded. “That’s very brave of you. I’ll call Brax and let him know. With any luck, that’ll be the end of it.”
They could move on with their lives, focus on enjoying being together, on making a happy home for Sammy and their soon-to-be cubs.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Daniel hadn’t much enjoyed being pregnant the first time around. He’d been too scared of Harrison’s ever-changing moods through the nine months and had run away in the middle, only to be brought back. At first, he thought this time would be similar, only… shorter. Three months instead of nine sounded both heavenly and horrifying at the same time. He was showing by the end of the first month, loving the way every time he looked in the mirror, his gaze was drawn to his little bump.
He worried that Thorn would be like Harrison, disgusted with how his body changed. But, as Thorn had told him more than once, he was nothing like that bully of an alpha. Thorn liked nothing more than to hold Daniel in his arms with his hands pressed to Daniel’s stomach, feeling every tiny movement of the babies inside him.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable at night?” Thorn asked him as they cuddled after lunch one afternoon. “We could get you one of those pregnancy pillows. I know both Oliver and Josh used them. We could borrow theirs, if you don’t mind sharing.”
“I don’t need a pillow,” Daniel insisted. “I have you.”
“You say that now,” Thorn teased. “But in a month’s time, you’ll be saying that I’m all hard muscle and bone, and craving the softness of a pillow for all your aches.”
Daniel sighed as the alpha combed his fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. No pillow could give him the kind of comfort he got from Thorn.
“How is Kira doing?” he remembered to ask, feeling sleepy and warm. Her car had been forced off the road the previous day, thanks to an aggressive driver.
“She’s still a little shaken, but she’s doing better.”
“Did the sheriff find the driver?”
“Nope. Disappeared into thin air. Probably just someone passing through, deciding speed limits don’t apply to them.”
“I’m glad she’s okay.”
“Me, too,” Thorn said softly.
His hand moved from Daniel’s head to his neck, and Daniel moaned, relaxing fully against Thorn. He knew if the alpha kept it up, he’d go from relaxed to very turned on in a matter of minutes. But Thorn seemed to know what he needed, his broad hands moving lower to massage Daniel’s shoulders. He was more asleep than awake when Thorn’s phone rang a while later.
The alpha answered with a quiet hello, but his tone changed almost instantly. “What? Where?”
Daniel sought out Thorn’s face as he ended the call. “What is it?”
“It’s Zane. He was attacked in town. He’s been taken to the urgent care clinic, but he might need to be transferred to the nearest hospital.”
Daniel tried to sit up, Thorn helping him.
“You should go to him.”
“Brax and Cole are already on their way. I’m needed here. You and I are going to get Sammy and head over to the packhouse so I can keep an eye on things with Duke. It might just be a coincidence—Kira yesterday and Zane today—but let’s not take chances.”
All thoughts of sleep fled from Daniel’s mind as he got up and went to wake Sammy from his nap. He helped Thorn pack overnight bags for the three of them, knowing there was a good chance they wouldn’t return to the house that day, and followed the alpha outside.
A strange car pulled up as they stepped outside. A man and a woman got out, looking around curiously.
“Can I help you?” Thorn asked, moving to stand in front of Daniel and Sammy.
“We’re looking for Daniel Riley.”
“And you are?”
“We’re with Social Services. We’ve had some concerning reports.”
Daniel tightened his hold on Sammy and gripped Thorn’s shirt with his free hand. He wasn’t going to let anyone take his son from him. Never again.
Daniel sat in the packhouse kitchen, Sammy in his arms, as he listened to the sound of raised voices from the living room next door. Thorn had managed to convince the social workers to come to the packhouse with them, where Oliver and Kira were talking to them. Daniel didn’t know what they were saying exactly, only that things had gotten heated. That couldn’t be a good sign.
He pushed to his feet, murmuring to Sammy as he slipped out into the corridor and toward the front door. Thorn was with Duke, the two of them keeping an eye on the house’s exterior. They were worried about outside threats, but all Daniel could think of were the two people he was sure were there to take Sammy away.
As he neared the front door, he spotted a set of keys to one of the cars outside. He could run, couldn’t he? They couldn’t take Sammy from him if he wasn’t there to be taken. But he’d run before, run from Thorn, and it had been the wrong decision. Thorn called it a lack of trust. Did that still stand? Did he not trust Thorn to keep him and Sammy safe? He picked up the keys, staring at them for a long moment before putting them back. Instead, he made his way to the front door, intent on finding Thorn. He would share his fears about how the conversation between the others and the social workers was going. Thorn would know what to say, what to do.
Just as he got there, ready to step outside, he heard another car arrive. Maybe it was Brax and Cole back with Zane? He cracked open the door to see but didn’t recognize the car that pulled up outside. The doors opened and three people stepped out. Them he knew.
His heart thudding, he slammed the front door closed and retreated into the house. What was his family doing here? Were they there to take him home? Or send him back to Harrison again? Panic shouted far louder than reason in his ears as he looked desperately for somewhere to hide. He stumbled upon the entrance to the basement and raced down, closing the heavy door at the bottom that blocked out the rest of the world.
“Daddy?”
Sammy wasn’t happy about their dark, dank basement hiding place.
“Shh, I’m here. We’re just going to stay downstairs for a bit. Nice and quiet. We’re playing hide and seek, just like we used to.”
That was what he’d tell Sammy when Harrison locked them in the basement as punishment: that it was just a game. There was no need to be scared.
“Want Thorny, Daddy.”
“He’s playing too. He’d going to come and find us.”
He held Sammy close and curled up. He wouldn’t let anyone take him; he wouldn’t let anyone give them back to Harrison.
The time passed slowly, and Daniel couldn’t even see his watch to mark it. At one point, he thought he heard someone call his name, but the sound faded quickly. And then there were footsteps, heavy and loud, coming down the stairs toward them. He clutched Sammy closer, afraid of who was coming for them. Was it someone coming to take them?
“They can’t make us leave. This is our home, our pack, our—”
The heavy door pushed open, letting a meager beam of light inside. “Daniel, are you down here?”
The light found them, and so too did Thorn. He strode across the room and lifted Daniel to his feet, hugging him and Sammy tightly.
“Are they taking us away? Taking Sammy from me? Are we going back to Harrison?”
“No one is taking you anywhere,” Thorn said fiercely. “And you’ll never see Harrison again. Never.”
“But the social workers? And my family, I saw them…”
“The social workers have left, for now. They’re coming back in a few days to chat with us. Your family is gone too. It was hard to see them off, but Oliver can be very persuasive.”
“They’re gone?” Daniel asked, disbelieving what he was hearing.
“Yes.”
“And we don’t have to go with them?”
“No one is making you go anywhere. You’re home, Danny.”
“Oh.”
Suddenly he felt silly for hiding down in the basement.
“Come on. Let’s get you guys upstairs. The others are searching the house for you.” Thorn led the way, shouting, “I’ve got them,” as they headed up the stairs.
“What were you doing down in the basement?” Oliver asked, meeting them at the door.
“Out of sight, out of mind,” Thorn answered for him. “It was one unwelcome guest too many.”
“Speaking of unwelcome guests,” Oliver said. “We may be about to have some more, if Brax’s plan works.”
“What plan?” Daniel asked. “What’s going on?”
“Let’s go sit down, and we’ll explain,” Oliver said. “A lot’s been happening.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Thorn sat on the couch with an arm around Daniel. Brax and Cole had arrived back and helped a limping Zane upstairs. He had a few weeks of healing ahead of him, but he’d make a full recovery.
Brax joined them in the living room a few minutes later.
“So I think we’ve all noticed our run of bad luck lately. First, both Cole and Nathan’s cars are vandalized in town. Then Kira is run off the road. Then Zane is set upon by a group of alpha thugs. At the same time, Social Services get a flurry of false reports, mostly related to Sammy, but also a few about the rest of the cubs.”
“And someone tipped off Daniel’s family that he was here. They rode in, all guns blazing, to take him and Sammy away from the ‘bad influence’ of our pack,” Thorn added.
“You don’t think it’s a coincidence?” Daniel asked, echoing what Thorn was thinking.
“We’re being targeted. I’m guessing Harrison’s behind it,” Brax said.
Beside Thorn, Daniel tensed. “He can’t be. You said he was still locked up.”
“He is,” Thorn assured him. “That’s not going to change anytime soon.”
“Then how is he doing this?”
“He’s got friends in the outside world, I’m betting,” Thorn said, looking to Brax.
“Daniel would know better than we do. Harrison’s pack has allies, right?”
Daniel’s answer was hesitant. “They are friends with other packs. But there’s one they’re especially close with. Harrison has a lot of respect for their alpha leader, Jerrick. He’s ex-military too. I think they served together. Their packs go on hunts together a few times a year. Proper hunts, not… not for omegas. I don’t think the other alpha approved of that.”
“So how do we make these guys stop? Zane would have been seriously hurt if those passersby hadn’t intervened. Kira could have been badly injured too. It’s only a matter of time before someone is killed, if they keep escalating,” Thorn said. “I’m guessing you have an idea, Brax. Oliver said something about an unwelcome guest.”
Brax stood, drawing all eyes to him. “We can’t tackle this from the source. There’s no getting through to Harrison. So we talk to these guys instead, pack to pack.”
“They have no incentive to talk to us,” Cole pointed out.
Thorn got it then, figuring out Brax’s plan. “Then we give them one. Grab one of their people, bring them onto pack territory. They’ll have to talk to us then.”
Tricky, and potentially dangerous, but simple as far as plans went.
“What are we going to say to them?” Kira wondered. “How do we convince them to back off?”
“We’re not going to convince them,” Brax said. “Daniel is.”
All eyes turned to Thorn’s mate, who shrank back into his chair. Thorn considered for a moment before concluding that Brax was right. This fight was over Daniel. Who better to put an end to it than the omega himself?
“I’ll be right there with you the whole time,” Thorn promised him.
“But what will I say?”
“The truth. All you have to do is tell them the truth.”
Thinking it over, he turned back to Brax. “But we’ll need a fallback plan, something to make these guys think twice if they won’t be reasoned with.” And Thorn had just the thing.
They used Nathan and Alice as bait, sending them out to town to run an errand the next day. Thorn and Brax trailed them, keeping an eye out for faces they didn’t recognize. It wasn’t hard to spot who they were looking for.
“That’s them,” Thorn said. “The gray truck idling outside the florist.”
There were two occupants in the vehicle. They needed two for their plan to work: one to contact their leader, Jerrick, and the other to make an example of for Jerrick’s pack.
“How do you want to do this?” Brax said.
“Just like we planned. Tell Nathan and Alice to split up. She takes the car, he goes on foot. We’ll see if we can’t draw them out. They were bold enough to attack Zane in daylight yesterday, so I’m sure they’ll do the same again.”
Brax called them, explaining the plan while Thorn made another phone call, ensuring their backup was on the way. Alice and Nathan left the grocery store, Nathan handing his bags over to Alice, who returned to the car.
Thorn and Brax watched closely, waiting to see which of the two they’d choose to follow. Alice pulled away from the curb and drove off, but the truck started moving in the opposite direction. It slowly trailed Nathan, who was walking quickly down the street. Brax turned on the engine and prepared to go after them, leaving a gap so it wouldn’t be too obvious.
“They’re cowards, preying on ours betas like this.” They clearly knew who the pack’s alphas were, but it wasn’t them they were targeting.
“Does that surprise you?” Brax asked.
“Surprise? No. But… these guys are ex-military. Did they learn nothing when they served?”
“They learned how to be vicious,” Brax said. “I’ll give them that.”
Nathan turned off onto a quieter side street, and the gray truck parked, the two alphas getting out and going after him on foot. Brax pulled over. Thorn jumped out and ran to the corner, Brax right behind him. They’d stop this before it started.
The two alphas
they were trailing were quickly catching up to Nathan. The beta had given up on his pretense of not knowing he was being followed. He turned to face them, speaking calmly. “Why don’t we talk about whatever the problem is, guys?”
“We need to send a message to your alpha,” the first guy said.
“Sure, I’ll call him. I have my phone right here.”
Nathan sounded as reasonable and unflappable as he usually did when dealing with the day-to-day running of the pack.
“You are the message. Or at least you will be. What’s left of you.”
Brax and Thorn shared a look, and Brax nodded. He strode forward, raising his voice.
“We got your message loud and clear, gentlemen. I think it’s time you heard ours.”
Behind Nathan, Cole stepped into view, his arms crossed. Thorn took up a similar position behind Brax. Four against two.
The alphas looked around, sizing up their opponents. The taller one spoke. “If you think this is going to scare us, you’ll have to try harder.”
“Oh, we’re not trying to scare you. Just keeping you in one place until the cavalry arrives.”
“Cavalry? What cavalry is that?” the alpha demanded.
At that moment, two army trucks rounded the corner at either end of the street. Thorn had to hand it to Greggs. As much as he despised the guy, he had impeccable timing.
“The kind who’s itching to get their hands on your pack. Ready to live out your days as a science project?”
Greggs got out of the truck, backed by half a dozen soldiers.
“Which one?” he asked Brax.
“We’ll take the guy on the left. The other is all yours.”
There was a brief struggle from both alphas, but they were overpowered easily.
“Get the fuck off me,” one of them yelled as Greggs’s men dragged him away.
“You brought this on yourself,” Greggs said. “Attacking civilians? What were you thinking?”
Thorn helped Brax subdue their prisoner, and they hustled him into the back of their car.
“What the fuck is going on?” the alpha demanded. “You called that monster here? Are you crazy?”
Sentinel (The Lost Pack Book 3) Page 18