Page 63 of Feral
He must have taken my silence as an agreement, and I didn’t disabuse him of the idea. If he thought he was getting an Omega who blindly took orders, he was going to be sorely mistaken. But I didn’t want to hang around either. Not really.
We dropped Murphy off at the Legion building too. “I have to go and find Merrick and… Yeah. Kitten, I’d like to say it was a pleasure but honestly, it was an emotional rollercoaster.” He grinned at me. “If you ever want to leave this growly fuck…”
Corvin bared his teeth, and I swallowed down a laugh. Murphy tipped an imaginary hat, then ran off.
I sat there holding the box of memories, unsure if I should take it with me or not. Corvin took the decision from me, taking it and tucking it under his arm like it weighed nothing. He knew I wouldn’t want to leave it behind or lose it.
Tears welled in my eyes, and he pulled me close to his chest with his free hand. “I’m sorry I was snappy. I was worried.”
I sniffed softly. “I know. I’m sorry for worrying you.” I pulled back. “She’s dead. My mother. Murdered and stuffed into a trash bag.”
I saw his heart break for me, and eventually, I knew that’s how I would feel too. Once I had time to process that there was nothing else for me to find. No more answers out there, waiting for me to uncover them. No mother who’d wrap me in her arms and tell me she was sorry for abandoning me in a fucking forest.
Okay, there were some serious issues going on here, but I’d unpack it all later. I took the stairs three at a time, and the inside of the Legion building was a hive of people. Things were being moved around, people yelling on the walkie-talkies. Everyone was going nuts.
I walked quickly through to the Alpha General’s office, and found a slightly pale but calm Radic.
“Kitten! It’s good to see you safe.”
“How’s Rosa? Is she okay?”
Radic gave a worried nod. “Tanner says she’s fine, just a nasty concussion. Might have been a different story if you weren’t out there though.”
Courtland appeared in the doorway. “Indeed. We owe you a debt.”
I waved a hand. It had been my fault they were out there anyway. “Eris should get all the thanks. He was well on the way to rescuing her when we arrived.” I stepped closer to them both. “Alpha General, it’s my opinion that you evacuate the town now. Don’t wait. It’ll burn through hard and fast if the wind changes.”
Courtland let out a low growl that might have also been a sigh. “They are resistant to leaving. Most want to stay and defend the town.”
Corvin snorted. “We don’t have the resources for that. The reservoirs would only hold maybe two or three hours of firefighting.”
Courtland shrugged. “I can force the elderly, the children and those more susceptible to smoke inhalation. The half-bloods. I can make them all go. But there is very little I can do to persuade each and every Alpha to leave their home. By the time I got to the last one and used an Alpha command to make him go, the town would be up in flames anyway.” The frustration in his voice was searing. “It is better to live than defend some bricks and mortar, but they don’t see it like that.”
Corvin shook his head. “Most won’t. I won’t take a chance with my Pack though. We’ll be gone as soon as we get back to the Packhouse and collect everyone.”
Radic grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to me. On it was an address for somewhere called Moonburst, and the phone number of a person. The name didn’t look familiar, but then I didn’t know many people.
But apparently Corvin did. “Holy shit, Loren survived?” he gasped.
Who the hell was Loren?
Sensing my confusion, Courtland addressed me as well. “Loren is a witch and one of my oldest friends. He helped secure Maxton with me during both the Alpha fights, and we thought he’d fallen saving my Beta from an assassination attempt.” He looked over at Corvin. “My men found him eventually, though we thought we would be burying him. Instead, we found him convalescing with a coven of witches up near the border.” Courtland smirked. “He seemed… content.” His face lost all its mirth. “I called about our predicament, and he talked with the coven. They’ve offered us refuge for the time being, should we need it. Do you truly believe we’ll need it?” he asked me softly.
“Yes.”
I didn’t have an attachment to this town the way that the rest of my Pack did, or even Radic. But I was beginning to form attachments with some of the people here, not just my Pack. I really liked the De Léon Pack, especially Bonnie. I had a brother and nieces and nephews here now. I wanted everyone to be safe. And if that meant being a pessimist, then so be it. I would cry doomsday and either everyone would live, or it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“Okay, we’ll head to Moonburst now and coordinate from there.”
“Go with Dom, Pryce, Bonnie and the Sanctum kids. Dom knows what to do at the other end, and I’d appreciate any help with keeping everything calm and in order, Omega.”
Shit. I didn’t really know how to use my Omega vibes for anything other than crazy sex, but I guess there was no time like the present to learn. “I’ll do what I can, Alpha General.”
Corvin cleared his throat. “Be safe—we’re kind of used to you now. You aren’t a captain, and this isn’t a ship; you don't have to go down with it. If they won’t leave, you don’t have to stand guard over their stupidity.”
As another frantic-looking Manix burst in, Courtland just nodded to us both. “I’ll keep that in mind, Alpha. Now go.”
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