Page 146 of Unhinged Omega

I'm not his little bird, desperate for approval and affection he'd sooner die than give in full. I have someone who actually cares about me now. Even if he shows it in the most aggravating ways possible.

And I have my mate.

Even if she doesn't know it yet.

"This way," I call out, skidding around another corner. The maintenance shaft is just ahead, its rusty grate barely visible in the dim lighting.

But as we approach, I hear voices echoing from above. Familiar voices.

And a familiar scent. The same one that's been guiding me throughout this whole chaotic, suicidal quest.

My heart stops.

"That's her," I breathe, already changing course. "She's in Geo's office."

Nikolai freezes, his eyes narrowing. "That's impossible."

"You're telling me you don't smell moonlight?" I challenge. "That's her scent."

He hesitates, then his eyes go wide as he scents the air. "Fuck. What the hell is she doing here?"

"I don't know," I mutter, turning to head in the last direction weshouldbe going. But if Cosima is here, I'm not leaving without her.

And something tells me Nikolai won't, either.

Before I can even make it to the end of the hall, armed guards block the route and I have no choice but to halt in my tracks, fresh out of bullets. But despite Nikolai standing right beside me, none of them fire.

When the guards part to make room for the man who signs their checks, I realize why.

"Geo," I seethe.

He looks at me, then at Nikolai with a sneering twist of his mouth. Then he looks back to me. "So you slipped your cage. Should've known better than to send in a fucking alpha," he mutters with a sigh, dragging a hand down his face and shaking his head.

My heart nearly stops as Nikolai raises his gun, but I don't hesitate. I throw myself between him and Geo before he can pull the trigger. The cold metal of the barrel presses against my back as I spread my arms wide, making myself as big a target as possible so neither side can fire without going through me.

"Move," Nikolai snarls—almost a bark—but I can hear the strain in his voice. The slight tremor that tells me I was right. He won't shoot through me. Or bark. Interesting.

Guess that risk paid off.

"No," I say firmly, meeting Geo's eye over the sights of the guns trained on us. "I'm fucking done with this bullshit. All of it."

Geo's expression darkens. "Behave yourself," he growls. "Or you won't get your present."

I freeze, my heart skipping a beat. "Present?" The word comes out more hopeful than I intend. "Cosima?Youbrought her here?"

So my nose wasn't lying to me out of desperation.

"It's complicated," Geo says dryly. His remaining eye studies me with that infuriating mix of exasperation and fondness I know so well. "Do you want to see her or not?"

The gun barrel digs harder into my spine as Nikolai tenses behind me, but I feel the subtle click of the safety going back in place and hear him cursing softly in Vrissian.

"You know I do," I mutter. "Call off your dogs first."

Something in Geo's expression shifts. He stares at me for a few moments before heaving a beleaguered sigh. "Stand down," he orders his men. Then, to Nikolai, "You too, Vlakov. Take the gun off my boy, or this reunion's over before it starts."

My boy.

Even though I know he means it in the boring, non-kinky sense, it makes my spine go all tingly and for a moment, I almost forget how fucking enraged I am at him for collaring me and putting me in a cage.

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