Page 18 of Claiming the Omega
"We will follow you! Don't push me on this, man, don't fucking push me." Shane roared, and Daniel pulled him closer.Daniel felt his mate tremble with rage and realized then that he wasn't the only one suffering deeply at being kept apart.
Daniel spoke softly to him to calm him, knowing that his own anger was fueling Shane's. Thankfully, Edgar read the situation and didn't persist. He turned and started walking back to the Pack House, and they followed, several feet behind.
"I'm leaving this place, Daniel. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm leaving. I hate this fucking place." Shane said through gritted teeth. "I thought when I escaped from our last pack that finally, my life was my own, but no, now I belong to the Alpha Mate."
"Wherever you go, I will follow," Daniel answered. It wasn't a statement; it was a pledge. Shane slipped his arm around Daniel's waist as they completed their trek back to the Pack house. As they approached, Daniel could see the Alpha Mate and Cole, one of the other Betas, standing on the deck waiting for them.
Daniel stopped and turned to his mate. “I’ll leave you here, my presence will just make things worse, it always does.” He bent and placed a brief kiss on Shane's lips. "I love you." He said before turning left and walking away. He really missed the feel of Shane's hand on his cock.
CHAPTER THREE
Shane stood still for a moment and watched his mate walking away, and it broke his heart that they couldn't stand together arm in arm in front of his brother. Benjy was making his life a living nightmare. Before he became Alpha Mate, he was reasonable and fair, and not dictatorial in the least; however, now he thought he had the right to run Shane's life. It was going to end. Shane was taking control of his life.
“Shane, why did you run off?” Benjy demanded and took a step towards him as he mounted the deck. “Shane, talk to me.” He added when Shane ignored him and continued towards the door. Benjy managed to step in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Fuck off!" Shane yelled as fire danced in his eyes, and his hands were held in tight fists at his sides. "Fuck the hell off!" Shane tried to walk around him and into the house, but Benjy reached out to grab his arm.
Shane slapped his hand away, and before Benjy could stop him, Cole stepped in and grabbed Shane by the shirt and pinned him against the exterior wall of the house. "No one touches the Alpha Mate." He growled.
It all happened so fast at that point that no one was sure just what had happened. But they do know that it changed everything. In a split second, Cole went from manhandling Shane to lying flat on his back on the deck with a raging Daniel on his chest, choking the life out of him.
"I'm going to fucking kill you." His voice thundered to a shocked and growing crowd of people on the deck. It took Edgar, Alpha Victor, two Betas, and several bystanders to get Daniel off of Cole. He was still shouting and fighting to get away as he was hauled inside and down to one of the holding cells.
Shane was devastated and terrified for Daniel's safety. The sudden trauma and his inability to help his mate caused his mind to shut down, and he was thrust back to a time in his life of cruelty and bondage. The servitude and control of the Concord Pack came back to him, and he crashed.
In the grips of a flashback, he silently dropped to his knees and placed his hands behind his back and his forehead on the floor in front of him. It was a position of humiliating submission that had been demanded of Shane and Benjy by the hierarchy of their old Pack. Some things never changed. “Please don’t hurt him.” He mumbled over and over. Everyone left on the deck fell silent and stared at the young man in confusion and concern.
Benjy rushed towards him, but Alpha Victor stopped him. Benjy begged Victor to move aside. “He needs me.”
"He needs a sense of safety," Victor stated. "But he won't accept it from you. I'm sorry, but you can't help him." Victor stepped up to Shane and crouched down in front of him. Benjystayed a few steps back, clearly worried and upset that he was not allowed to care for his brother.
Victor reached out his hand and touched the side of Shane's throat, and held his hand there as he spoke. It was the Alpha touch of calm acceptance. Shane immediately fell silent but did not move. "No one will hurt Daniel; your mate is safe and so are you.” His words held honesty and authority. “He was defending you, his mate, and he will not be punished. Cole should have known better than to have touched you so roughly.”
“Shane, I’m sorry.” Benjy couldn’t stay silent any longer. Watching his brother’s anguish was just too much. Shane instantly tensed when Benjy spoke. Victor glanced at Benjy and shook his head, indicating for him to stay silent.
“He’s being held in a cell in the basement, just until he calms down. He is not in trouble, don’t worry. I will release him when he has control of himself. Do you understand?” Victor felt Shane relaxing under his touch.
Victor nodded at Edgar, and the man stepped forward. "Edgar will take you inside, where you can relax and collect yourself, and then he will take you to Daniel. Do you understand?" Victor repeated the question. This time, Shane indicated he heard by lifting his head and nodding slightly. He then turned and looked up at Edgar, who was standing next to him, and extended his hand. Shane accepted the hand and followed Edgar inside.
Shane and Edgar had developed a tentative friendship or understanding over the past few weeks, and Victor counted on that thin bond to be enough for Shane to follow his brother.Benjy rushed up next to Victor and grabbed his arm, his need to rush to his brother barely held in check.
"I should be the one with Shane; he's my brother, he needs me." Benjy again tried to push past Victor to get to Shane. Again, Victor held him with a hand on his arm.
"Shane will not be comforted by your presence. I'm sorry, my love, but you need to give your brother space." He pulled Benjy into his arms and held him close. "We'll work this out, it will be okay, I promise."
…
Daniel tore at the men hauling him downstairs, but he could not overpower all of them. They managed to push him into a cell and slam the door before he could prevent it. He leaped at the door over and over, intent on taking the damn thing down and getting back up to his mate. Shane was out there with people who could be hurting him, and Daniel was losing his shit. The red haze that shone bright in his eyes had not subsided since the moment he saw that animal attack his little, innocent mate.
"Daniel!" The Alpha's voice was the only thing that could penetrate the red haze of fury that continued to cloud his mind. Slowly, he was able to take a deep breath and focus on the man before him. Daniel held onto the bars of his cell, squeezing them so tight his knuckles turned white as he fought to regain control of his wolf.
“Yes, Alpha.” Daniel’s voice was thick with gravel as he reined in his fury and held his Alpha’s steady gaze.
Alpha Victor stepped up to the bars and placed his hand over Daniel’s. “Your mate is safe and well and being watchedover by Edgar. You are not being held in here as punishment. When you are calm enough, I will release you.” Victor watched as Daniel’s eyes lost their animalistic color. Daniel took another slow, deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it.
“You had every right to protect your mate, but the situation was a misunderstanding and was escalating out of control. That is why I had you brought here.” Victor continued to soothe him with his presence, touch, and tone.
Daniel finally released the bars of the cell and took a step back. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment and then took another deep breath, pulling his control back into place.
