Page 88 of Shattered Omega

I lifted my hands before catching myself. I realised, as I stared down at my palms, what he was asking for. A low growl rose in his throat as his grip closed around my left wrist and he lifted it.

My ring…

It was still there, glinting in the dim sunlight that filtered through a few grimy windows. The diamonds and hexagons facing the wrong way. Now, those diamonds danced through tears as I braced, already knowing what was about to happen.

When he ripped it from my finger, he might as well have ripped my heart from my chest. The world blurred but I tried so hard not to cry.

“Done with that fucking pack taking shots,” he muttered, aura flaring as he crushed it in his fist. He looked ready to throw it, chest heaving, but then he shoved it in his pocket instead.

My pulse was thready, and I jumped violently as he grabbed me by the chin.

“Tell me why you’re crying over them if you’re ours,” he snarled.

I clutched his arm, whole body shaking as pain radiated from his grip. His aura was out and my instincts screamed danger. I couldn’t speak, low whines of terror slipping from me with every breath.

“What the hell are you doing?”

His grip was gone, and Eric’s furious green eyes focused behind me, where Mord’s growl had come from.

“Eric!” Flynn’s voice was sharp from the other direction. “What’s going on?”

“Tryna kill your fucking omega,” Mord snapped.

Eric shoved me out of the way. “We didn’t pay you to?—”

“You didn’t pay him at all!” Flynn caught Eric before he could launch at Mord. “Enough.” Flynn shoved Eric toward the room he’d just come from. He turned to Mord. “Give us a fucking minute.”

The door slammed, but I heard raised voices through the walls.

I was shivering, breath tight, terror still shooting through my veins. I flinched at the rustle of Mord’s movement, eyes finding him. He was leaning against the doorframe, eyes fixed down the hall in the direction of the Lincoln pack.

I blinked away more tears, pain shooting through my jaw as I swallowed, the ghost of Eric’s grip impossible to shake. This was harder than I’d thought it would be. A lot harder. Eric was terrifying. But… I’d already known that.

What if… if everything went wrong?

What if the study wasn’t what I needed it to be?

What if they bargained for Dusk and Umbra’s freedom, and it was my only choice?

Everything could still go wrong…

“It’ll be okay…”

I blinked, realising I’d whispered that out loud. I didn’t look at Mord, arms waving awkwardly as I fought the urge to hug myself. I don’t even know why I didn’t want him to see.

Dusk and Umbra.

Saving them from this pack mattered first. Everything else… it was up to the universe.

I glanced at Mord, but he hadn’t moved.

Finally, there was a bang on the door ahead which I think meant they were ready for me.

I didn’t move.

I tried to, but I couldn’t. Oddly, I didn’t want to be in that room without Mord which seemed… unreasonable.

To my relief, at my inaction, he stepped toward me, and hauled me into the room that was full of the Lincoln pack’s scents. When he let me go, giving me a shove toward my mates, I met his eyes for a moment, knowing how desperate I probably looked.

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