Page 105 of The Beta's Bargain

“They think I conspired with her, don’t they? Damn paranoid idiots,” I mutter. I shake my head and reach for the key because I can’t leave.

I’m going to stay for the last four days. I'm going to make sure they believe me. That they know I would never do that to them.

“Nyxie?” Silver says in a tiny voice. “What am I going to do?”

“You’re going to go to a cheap motel and stay there for four days. When I'm done, I’ll decide what we’re doing,” I snap at her.

“But, Onyx-”

“Don’t!” I cut in. “Just don’t. This time, I'm choosing me, Silver. This time, I'm doing something for my life. So sit in the hotel room and stay there until I’m done. I need to do this.”

Silver sobs, large, heavy, heartbroken sobs that we all ignore.

“I’ll book a hotel at the Smiths Inn. It’s an hour away on the road back to Silver Falls. I’ll organise a car and her bags and put it on the company’s dollar. No, don’t protest, if they have an issue with it, I’ll pay for it myself. I warned them about this one.” Simon casts a flinty glare at Silver. “Good luck with everything, Beta Davies. I hope you succeed.”

Moira and I watch them go. The four of us wait until Hazel gets a message from Simon saying that everything is prepared, and then we escort Silver to the car. She crawls in the back, looking small and scared. I have to harden my heart as I watch the car pull away.

Hazel wraps her arm around mine and drags me back into the hotel. I stay with her, ignoring everyone else long into the night, staring at the door, but my pack never appears.

twenty-nine

Silas

Ican still taste that bitch on my lips. I can feel her clutching fingers on my arms. With a shudder, I scrub my arm across my mouth, desperately trying to remove it. Through a gap between people, I watch as Silver smirks at me. It’s a knowing, evil smirk, and I wonder what her real motivation for doing this was. My mind is in panic, working up to a soundless scream deep inside me as I realise that history is repeating.

Dylan’s grip on my arm is tight, almost painful. He’s gone past rational thought and is deep in his instincts. I need to pull my shit together for him, but the smell of burnt caramel is driving my own alpha instincts to the front. The urge to destroy the omega who touched me, who hurt my omega, pulses stronger and stronger in my veins.

I strain to see past the people that have appeared, needing to see that omega so I can hunt her down, but when the man in front of me shifts his weight, I catch sight of Onyx. How did I forget about her, even for a moment? The rage stills and subsides. She looks back at us as if she’s in pain. The expression makes my stomach jolt. Why is she leaving? Where is she going?

Everything is so messy and confused. There are people everywhere. But Dylan doesn’t leave me. In fact, to my surprise, he growls possessively at anyone who comes close to me. I recognise people. Falcon, Grayson, Simon, Yvette, Elaine. Other employees. The Vore Pack holds back any of the crowd that tries to press through. I don’t know why they do us this boon, but I will remember it.

“Dylan,” I say at last as we’re alone inside the gold lift. Falcon and Gray will be right behind us. They just did what they needed to do and got us out. I get it, but I need them right now.

My omega turns, and his eyes are so dark and filled with pain that I flinch. He prowls angrily around.

“She chose someone else,” Dylan spits and slams his fist into the walls of the lift. I wince and reach out, pulling him into my arms.

What is he talking about? Onyx? Is he talking about Onyx?

“No, she-”

“She didn’t choose me,” Dylan growls again, and the sound of his pain tears me apart. “She was supposed to choose me. But she chose that woman. She betrayed me.”

Okay, there’s something else going on here. I think about her, the only her that could reduce my omega to tears, going off with Silver and try to see it from Dylan's point of view.

Bitter lemons fill the lift, vibrant and intense. The doors open, and Dylan goes to the couch and drops onto it, staring blindly into space. Time passes slowly as I fight to figure out what’s going on.

“Where is Onyx?” I ask Falcon when they stalk into the suite.

He looks at me and then at Dylan and shakes his head. I stand up and pace over to him. He tries to pull his tablet away from me, but I snatch it from his hands.

“Show me,” I growl.

“Fine, just go down there and watch,” Falcon hisses. He goes and sits on the couch, pulling Dylan into a hug.

Apprehensively, I go down the hallway and press play on the security feed.

In the camera, Onyx leans in and talks to my mother. I feel ill just watching it. I feel homicidal.

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