Page 2 of His Bonded Omega Mate
So, I’d fled.
Once clear of Hayes’ pack lands, I’d called the council, praying for a progressive alpha and finding Councilman Ford. A man who had rescued me from punishment and given me a chance at redemption.
I’d taken the bottle as evidence for my trial, tossed what little I could stuff into a bag, and run.
For my shame, I’d never considered taking Kade. I’d rationalized it, thinking that once his heat had started, I could have gone into a rut and we would have ended up in the situation that we wanted to avoid.
Only later, when the council detailed the injuries that he had suffered, did the full force of my guilt crush me.
In his time of need, I hadn’t been there. I’d left and hadn’t looked back until I was safe from the reach of Rincoln. It was a shame that I would have to live with for the rest of my life, even if Kade and Jasper had both forgiven me.
When I’d been sent back to Rincoln’s side after my trial, sentence in place, I’d made up an excuse, the council had even faked a car accident, for missing Kade’s heat, my hatred for the man in front of me, the man I was, making me convincing enough that Rincoln had believed me.
Then I’d worked in the periphery of Kade’s rebuilt life to protect him from the man that was his father, while pretending that I, too, was looking for Rincoln’s missing son.
I’d happily balanced my guilt and duty to Kade, paying penance for my crimes without complaint, until I saw just how much the man I’d loved was fading.
Just as Rincoln arrived in Sweetwater, I’d been about to put in another request to the council. For years, I’d worked with Councilman Ford and had begged him repeatedly to allow me to reveal my presence.
Kade was struggling, with no one in his life he could really rely on. I’d requested permission to approach him, to write to him, anything, just to let him know he wasn’t alone.
Then he’d let in Dakota. Met Blake, his fated mate. And everything changed.
The pack was understandably wary of me for all of my history with the Hayes pack. For being the promised mate of their beloved Alpha Mate. They worshiped Blake, well, most of them did, and obviously wanted what was best for the young alpha. That was not the ex of their Alpha Mate spending all his time with him and the Alpha. Or being given a position of responsibility so soon after being accepted into the pack.
Not that Blake had asked their opinions when he and Kade had set me up as Kade’s assistant and guard. I’d just been happy to be accepted into Kade’s new pack, to be near my friend, so I’d gone along with it without complaint or objection.
I loved my job. No two days were ever the same. There were always fires to put out, metaphorically speaking, though with regular visits from witches, real ones were possible.
Being around Kade properly again was a gift. I was a free man. Pardoned by the council, I could go anywhere I wanted, start my own pack far from here, start fresh somewhere new, but I wanted to be with my best friend.
While I wasn’t in love with him anymore, I still loved him. He was the most important person to me, the only family that I had, and it broke my heart that he had to leave me behind. Even when it was for the best.
A week after Kade had left the compound, and I was running on fumes. Exhaustion weighed my limbs as I locked the door to my office in the minutes before midnight. The end of another stupidly long day. There were never enough hours to get it all done, to keep all the cogs in the machine that was the pack going in the alpha’s absence and all of our betas still in coma like states.
Every single one of them, on pack land or not, had fallen to the sickness and had been sleeping for the last week.
The remaining alphas and some of the willing omegas had stepped up to fill in working at the pack businesses. Since it was summer, the children didn’t have school and Georgia looked after some of them so that their parents could help out.
It wasn’t enough. So many things were being put off because we simply didn’t have the people to do the tasks.
Being left in charge of the office meant that all the mansion tasks were being left to me. Tasks and demands on my time pulling me in every direction from when I rose with the sun until I could crawl into my bed for a couple of hours’ rest.
All I’d done for every minute of every day for the last week had been ordering unwilling alphas and cajoling equally tired omegas into keeping everything sort of running.
Tempers were fraying, and I’d lost any sort of reluctant respect from the other alphas in the pack. They fought me on every decision I handed down, regardless of whether or not it had come from me. I was sick of the whole thing. Blake and Deke were aware of the situation and had been trying to help. Only that made things worse.
All too quickly, the subtle disdain and dislike had morphed into something akin to hatred. These alphas were wild and dangerous without Blake at the mansion to control them.
I trudged up the stairs towards my room at the end of the corridor near the family rooms of the alpha. I yawned, completely drained, my wolf silent as he tried to soothe my worries with just his presence.
They caught me completely off guard. Which was the reason for what came next. With a little warning, it likely wouldn’t have happened.
“Grab him!” came the shout, something muffling the voice, distorting it.
My reactions were far too slow as I tried to lurch out of reach of the hands that took told of me.
They clutched at me as I struggled to get away. We tussled on the steps until they took hold and dragged me to the ground. I rolled down stairs as they kicked at me, connecting with my legs, ribs, and head.
