Page 4 of Feral
She frowned. “No. You move here.”
Beckett shook his head. “We met an Omega, Kitten. He’s agreed to be part of our Pack. We want you to be a part of that Pack too.”
She gasped like we’d slapped her. “You found someone else?” She paused. “Do they know about me?”
There was real fear in her voice now, under the note of pain. But we’d sworn, first to Lorso, and then later to Kitten herself, that we wouldn’t tell a soul about her. We wouldn’t break our word, but it burned to keep secrets from Darius and Cooper.
“No one knows. But they’d love you, Kitten, if you just gave them a chance.” I watched as she shut down, and began building the walls inside her to block us out.
Beckett made a low noise of pain in his throat. “Please, just think about it.Welove you.”
She looked between us, but was already shaking her head. “I love you too. Both of you. But I won’t go. I won’t be part of a Pack.” She stepped back into the cabin, which we’d been steadily improving over the years until it was actually comfortable, with a solid front door.
“Kitten…”
She shook her head furiously. “Leave. Don’t come back. It’s better for all of us.” Then she slammed the door in our faces. Beckett knocked, thudding against the oak wood repeatedly, until I grabbed his fist.
“Leave it, man. Let her think about it. We’ll talk to her again next week.”
I’d been so fucking wrong about that though. Next week, she hadn’t been home when we arrived. Or the week after. It was like she knew when we were coming, even when we mixed it up. Week after week, she wasn’t there, and if it wasn’t for the lack of supply boxes, or the subtle signs that the cabin was inhabited, I’d suspect that she’d left.
For a whole year, we went back every week. Then, we’d go back every month with supplies. We mated Darius, and cemented the Wiley-Fletcher-Reid Pack. We were happy, and our monthly trips became bi-monthly, until we eventually stopped going altogether.
But Kitten was a ghost that had left behind a wound which refused to heal.
BECKETT
Four years after that
There was a strange feeling in the air, a pulsing wildness that made the air in my lungs burn, and my Beast stir from the depths of my body. Darius, Corvin and Coop were at the Sanctum, and I felt the urge to go over there, just to make sure they were safe.
I chewed my bottom lip, and then nodded to myself. Better to be safe than sorry, and besides, shit around here had been weird lately. A new Alpha General had enacted all sorts of crazy change, and even though I liked Courtland, it was going to stir things up. Then Bonnie, who worked with Darius at the Sanctum, had collapsed into a coma from some mystery illness. Honestly, it was all too unsettled for my liking.
Just as I grabbed my keys, I heard Corvin’s ATV pull into the driveway. He was home early. Coop was staying at the Sanctum with Darius tonight, but normally we’d all hang around over there until after the kids had all gone to bed.
I looked out the living room window, and stiffened as I watched him run toward the house. I’d known Corvin my entire life; I knew when something was wrong. He looked more disheveled than normal, his strawberry blond hair mussed and wild.
I raced to meet him at the front door. When I wrenched it open, Corvin—the Alpha of our Alphas, I guess—was staring at me with wild blue eyes.
“Corvin, what's wrong? Is it Darius? Coop?”
I didn’t realize I’d reached out and grabbed him until he flexed beneath my hands, like he’d been electrocuted.
“Bonnie turned into an Omega. And so have the other unmated Betas.”
My heart stopped beating. “What?” That didn’t make sense, not even one little bit. You didn’t just change your designation. Bonnie was one hundred percent Beta. She was the best of them, really.
“I don’t fucking know, Beck. I ran into Radic taking an unconscious Bonnie into their Packhouse, and my nose doesn’t lie, man. She was Omega. Radic said that they were all turning Omega, and that the new Alpha General was predicting a frenzy.” He paused, staring me dead in the eye. “Because all the unmated Betas are turning into Omegas in heat.All of them.” He said the last bit slowly, and it finally dawned on me.
“Kitten,” I breathed, horror constricting my throat. I started peeling off my clothes, preparing to shift. She’d be alone out there, and the other Alphas would be in rut.
But when I got to my jeans, I slowed. We’d be in rut. What if we hurt her?
“Is it safe?”
Corvin looked more serious than usual. “I was around Bonnie and didn’t turn into a slavering animal, so I think so?”
We both knew there was a difference between Bonnie, our friend, and Kitten, the girl our Beasts had claimed as Pack all those years ago. But I’d rather take the risk than leave her out there defenseless.
