Page 128 of Cost of Courting

Edric looks over his shoulder and then drags me through the house, pushing me outside.

The sun is too bright. Everything is going to slip away. I’m going to lose them all.

There’s only one thing I can do.

“I have to kill him.”

I sound calm and cool, but, inside, I’m anything but, and I can feel the whole pack starting to notice.

So I do what I learned to do under the torture, I pull all the pain into myself, and I imagine a wall between me and the bonds. It shuts them off as completely as if they weren’t ever there.

“Did he rape her?” I ask the question to whoever is standing near me.

“No, according to Selene, Benson doesn’t like second-rate pussy, and he’s always believed she’s a beta.”

I close my eyes in relief.

The simmering rage gets darker and more intense.

Bailey slips into our circle and stares up at me. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head.

“Well, you better spit it out because Selene is starting to smell like she’s going to go into her heat soon.”

I stiffen, almost seeing white. “We need to take care of this now. That asshole is going to take her, hurt her.”

Bailey’s scent flares, and he presses himself up against my chest. His eyes are dark and the pupils huge. He looks strange, but I can’t figure out why. “We do. We need to protect our omega.”

Edric gapes at us, looking between us with panic. I glower at him and stroke Bailey’s back.

“We need to keep her safe. That monster will come for her.”

“You’re not thinking clearly, Mael,” Edric snaps. “Just stop for five seconds, and calm down.”

“No, he’s here, and he’s been hurting them. I’m done waiting. Tonight, he dies.”

Kingston jogs back over to us. “I’ve got an address.”

I don’t feel right, but I don’t care either. All that matters is finding the monster who almost killed me and removing him from this planet before he hurts her.

Bailey bounces on his feet, his eyes glitter with icy rage.

“Let's do this.”

Chapter thirty-two

Edric

I don’t like theway our omega is egging his alpha on; I don’t like the way neither of them seems to be thinking clearly. With a tight chest, I briefly recognise the intense scent of Selene’s heat. It’s not even full-blown yet, and I’m losing my mind.

Why is it this strong? Surely, this isn’t normal?

I turn back to race into the house, hoping to find Selene to put reason in their heads, but when I get to the door, I catch the sharper notes in the blueberry cobbler scent, and I realise one thing with crystal clear clarity.

Our omega is really going into heat, and if we don’t finish this now, we might not be able to keep her safe through it. That thought is what sways me.

If they catch us helpless while we’re in the nest, it’s going to be all over.

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