Page 27 of Saving His Omega
Graham managed a quick smile. “Thanks.”
With a last glance at his mate, he turned and hurried back to the longhouse. Loathed as he was to disturb the alpha family at night, he had no choice. The problem couldn’t wait until morning. He stopped at the door of Elijah’s suite and knocked softly. It was hard not to do it again, and louder, but he knew better than to let his own jangled nerves get the better of him.
Eventually, the door opened and the alpha didn’t look pleased. “What’s the emergency?” The man’s tone was his usual even one with a slight edge to it.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. Here’s our problem.”
With the kind of brevity and directness that came with a beta mind, he recounted the basic facts of Tripp’s story.
Elijah sighed and shook his head. “I can’t say I’m surprised by this news.”
“Neither am I. Gods damn, I wish I’d pushed both of them more on this.”
“Knowing the truth certainly would have made things easier.” Elijah shrugged. “Now, we fix it. I’ll text Draco to see where they are and I’ll make sure he keeps them there until you arrive. I assume you’re going wolf?”
Graham nodded. “Yes, sir. I can cut through the woods faster than I can drive the roads. I don’t want Draco left with those fuckers on his own more than necessary.”
“Agreed. Take Leo and Chuck with you.”
Graham couldn’t keep the wry grimace off his face. “You don’t trust that I can handle myself with only Draco as back-up?”
“I trust that you can go head-to-head with one or two gammas, but four?” The alpha shook his head. “If there’s to be a fight, we must win it.”
“You’ll need to tighten security here, sir, and I don’t want to leave you short-handed.” Guilt flared. He ignored it. While he didn’t want to bring trouble to the pack, he couldn’t allow Blake to be punished for something he hadn’t done. The least he could do was to place as much risk on himself as possible.
“Don’t go doing my job for me, Beta. Go get the gammas and wait for me in the council room.”
Properly chastised, Graham forced himself to get in line and do as told.
Leo and Chuck were as excited as pups at the prospect of mixing it up with other shifters. They were contemporaries of Draco and Graham, so no surprise there. And they were well-trained. He had no doubt they could defeat the Low Country shifters in a fight. Graham just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Fighting of any kind, no matter the outcome, wasn’t good for the pack, which now included his mate and their pup, too. He wanted peace for their sakes as much as anyone else’s.
Elijah strode into the room and shoved his phone in Graham’s face. “Here’s their location. We lucked out. They stopped at a remote campsite. You’ll have no trouble reaching it from the woods, and Draco will make sure that the brand new SUV has trouble starting in the morning.”
Graham shook his head as he studied the location. “Humans don’t make things to last these days. A vehicle breakdown is always a risk.” He stepped away from the alpha. “We’ll leave as soon as I speak with my mate. I want to let him know what’s going on… with your permission, of course, Alpha.”
“Do as you think best. Wren wanted to know if Tripp is staying with your parents.”
“Yes, he is. I don’t want him left alone to stew. He’s very upset about everything, blaming himself.”
Elijah’s gaze narrowed. “There’s only one person to blame and that fucker’s already dead.” With that, he left, followed by the frisky gammas.
Certain of his duty, Graham hurried back to his parents’ house. He needed to reassure his mate as best he could that he’d return with his brother.
****
“Drink some more tea, dear.”
Tripp did as Carol directed. She and her mate were being so kind to him, a reassuring presence without pushing him too hard to go to bed. The least he could do was hydrate himself and the pup. The crying had left him hollowed out, feeling dry as dust. There was plenty of room for guilt and worry, however. Although he didn’t know what Graham was up to, he couldn’t help but fear that his mate was heading into trouble.
This is all my fault.He should have come clean from the start, except Blake had been adamant about not doing so. He’d always obeyed his brother, who seemed to know that Tripp was about to spill the truth before Blake was taken away. The look the sigma had given him, the tone of his voice, had cowed Tripp into silence. He hated himself for backing down. And he was so very sorry to have flung that sentiment onto his mate. Graham hadn’t deserved his fury. Lashing out at the man had been unforgivable. Yet, his mate hadn’t shown any anger. He’d simply treated Tripp as he’d always done as a caring and protective mate. It was that reaction as much as the renewed bond through mounting that had allowed him to cleanse himself of the lies he’d told.
Tripp’s wolf alerted him to Graham’s approach even before the door opened. He started to rise from the couch. His mate gestured for him to remain seated, and he didn’t hesitate to obey. From this point on, he didn’t want to be anything other than a dutiful omega.
Graham came over and went down on one knee. He plucked the cup of tea from Tripp’s grip and handed it over to his mother. The woman and her mate faded into the background.
“I’ve come to tell you that I’m leaving. A couple of gammas and I are going to get Blake and bring him back here.”
Relief vied with sudden worry to claim his attention. “You’ll be safe?”
