Page 6 of Shattered Omega

Dusk slipped from the bed in a moment and I opened my eyes, watching him vanish from the room as quietly as he could.

What was going on?

Whatever that had been, I didn’t like it.

I shifted beneath Ransom’s grip, not wanting to wake him. One of us should sleep tonight. It took a while, and I scent marked my pillow so he wouldn’t miss me.

I’d be back with him soon, but my instincts told me this was important.

When I was barely out of bed, I felt something shift in the bond. An unsettling upheaval, and with it came another flicker from Umbra.

I paused, examining it with a frown.

It felt like… like a giant, slowly lifting rooted feet after a long slumber… The shift was quiet, slow, but… now that I focused on it, it was almost dizzying in its power.

My breath caught, and forgetting even my dressing gown, I crossed the room in a rush. I didn’t know where they were, but only one place made sense.

Our apartment door was left open a crack and I tried not to look at the upturned home.

My home. Stolen…

Instead, I made for my nest, knowing they would be there.

When I reached the door, I halted. My heart clenched as I saw it again, breath catching like a void opening in my throat and making it impossible to even swallow.

My nest…

I shoved it down. That wasn’t why I was here.

Umbra was standing amidst the wreckage, tense, and still fully dressed as if he’d just got in. His gaze fixed on Dusk, who was sitting on the edge of my bed, frozen, yellow eyes narrowed. He looked strangely vulnerable, with a drawn expression, wearing a T-shirt, sweats, and socks amidst the chaos of my nest. Through the bond, I felt his worry and fear.

Something was wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on what because I didn’t yet know the distinctions of this bond enough to understand.

“Shatter?” Umbra’s sandstorm eyes snapped to me. My scent must have drifted in; behind me, Dusk’s bedroom door was open, and a breeze cooled my back from the broken window.

“What’s happening?” I asked, working to steady my voice.

“Nothing.” Umbra’s voice was strained.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s between me and Dusk.”

No… “I don’t…” I swallowed. I didn’t know what I was feeling, but this was important. “I don’t think it is.”

Was Umbra lying to me? That wasn’t like him. I warred with burning tears, my heart so fragile already.

But that didn’t matter. They came first, and something was wrong.

It took every ounce of my strength to step into the nest.

The dead nest.

The one stolen.

My chest tightened, but I pushed myself on, treading across the debris of what had been?—

No.

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