Page 32 of Vallaverse: Noir
“You're sure?” Dana asks, leaning forward in her seat.
Beckett nods. “Yeah. She's new, I think. Or else she's really great at keeping to herself.”
Dana looks at me.
I look back. “I'll call for the car.”
Chapter Sixteen
Beckett
“Wait.” I hold up my hands. “Why are you looking for her? Is she in trouble?”
“No, nothing like that,” Dana says. “Her family is looking for her. She's been missing for some time and they're very worried.”
That sounds … I don't know. Something. “And they didn't know she was at CCOE?”
Dana shakes her head. “Her father didn't say anything about the center being a possibility. He only mentioned that she didn't want to go to the Selection and there was an argument, then she disappeared into the night.”
I'd be more skeptical if I hadn't seen for myself other Omegas running off in the night. Some went to be with Alphas their families didn't approve of or packs that they had no business being with. It happens. But for her family to hire an investigator to find her, only for her to be found at the center? That's a stretch. They have to know she's at the center. There's paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. I had to list about eightemergency contacts. I mean, after hearing Pierce talk about how corrupt and dangerous the center actually is, I understand why.
Pierce's phone chirps with a text. “The car is out front.”
“I need to freshen up before we go,” Dana says. “I'll only be a minute.”
She rushes off, leaving Pierce and I staring at the table between us. He breaks the awkward silence by sighing heavily and rolling his shoulders.
“What's the matter?” I ask.
He scrubs his jaw and drags his hand down his neck to rub at his chest. “I don't like going into the city. I've been there more in the past few days than I've been in years. There are too many variables. Too many unknowns. And now I have people to keep safe. I just,” he trails off, looking out the window into the trees, “hate it.”
I understand. I didn't grow up in the city. I grew up on the outskirts and I'm more comfortable when the houses are a little farther apart. Unfortunately, it seems like Dana thrives in the city. She has a life and connections. She needs to feed whatever the wharf boys are.
I'm still not sure if I should be worried or jealous about that.
“We won't be there for very long. The center has a large campus, but word travels fast. If she's there, someone will know. I'm sorry that you're going to be uncomfortable.”
He sighs again. “I'll be fine.”
“Okay,” Dana calls, leaning through the doorway. “Ready?”
She put her hair into a low ponytail, and she's wearing a long blazer with the sleeves folded up a few inches above her wrists. She looks like a detective. A sexy detective. I reach up to run my fingers across the mark she put on my neck. I shudder every time I touch it.
She smiles at me and walks over to step behind the chair I'm still sitting in. She puts one hand on my shoulder and usesthe other to tilt my head, completely exposing my neck before bending over and covering the mark with her mouth. My eyes roll back and I immediately form an erection that I can't do anything about.
She licks across the mark once more, then kisses my cheek as she straightens. “Better?”
I touch the skin just below the mark. “I'm not sure. Do you know how that makes me feel? What it does to me?”
“Yes,” she says, and walks back to the door. “Come on. It's already dark.”
It won't be too much of a problem for me to bring Dana onto the main campus. She's my Alpha. It's only natural for her to accompany me to tie up loose ends and things; and besides, she's an investigator. She would be given a guest pass and a guide anyway. Pierce, though, may be a problem.
Valla aren't really a regular occurrence in public society in general, and I can't think of a single time one has ever visited CCOE's general campus. If Pierce does business in the admin building, he must use a back entrance because I've never heard stories about a Valla roaming the grounds. Valla aren't known for their ability to make everyone feel safe and cozy. Word would spread like wildfire, and not in a positive way. Valla are dangerous. We've all been told stories of their brutal and sometimes violent tendencies when it comes to claiming Omegas. It's one of those things you think about, but that you don't really want to do.
That's not entirely true. There are Omegas who would leap at the chance to be with a Valla. They crave that level of obsession and possessiveness. I, myself, would shrivel up and die under the thumb of a Valla. Pierce is Dana's Valla. I don't know how that is going to affect me in the long-term, but she has made it clear that I am hers and hers alone. I remember bits of the conversation they had when I was in heat. I'm hers. Nothis. I'll just have to remind him that she's also mine. Probably frequently.
I was right. The car pulls into a discreet back entrance and parks in a small lot behind the admin building. The high security fence that surrounds the entirety of the CCOE looks like it cuts right through the building. When we walk inside, the rooms look completely different than the offices I've been in. They even smell different.
