Page 17 of Savage Trap

“Kelly!” It’s Rory, swooping towards me with a wild light in his green eyes. “We were looking for you… Hey, hey!” Big thumbs sweep my cheeks, coming away wet. “What’s wrong, sweetness?”

“I-I-I…” My body shudders, broken words coating my tongue. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Let me see him,” Cam barks, almost prying me from Rory’s arms. “What happened, babe? Did you take something? Did someone touch you?”

“N-No.” I manage to spit out. “But we need to go. Where’s Angel?”

“Fuck!” Rory is throwing himself at the bar, clambering up without a glance in the direction of the startled staff. He stands with hands on his hips, peering around the dimly-lit club. “We thought she was with you, Sunshine.”

Cam is still checking me over, a frown on his face as he presses his fingers against my hammering pulse. “Sweetheart,” he says quietly in my ear. “We’ll leave, but if something bad happened, you need to tell me so I can treat it.”

I gnash my teeth, staring at him in a mix of frustration and fear. “I don’t…” I bite my lip hard enough to bleed. “I- I can’t talk about it, Cam.”

His big hand comes out to wrap around the back of my head, cradling me against his chest. And then his lips are on my brow. “We’ll fix it, sweetheart, Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

I want to melt into him, to soak up the certainty that is Cam. If he says he’s taking care of something, he’ll bend the world to his will to make it happen. For fuck’s sake, this guy changed his whole identity to walk into the Tower and have me beat the shit out of him in a fight ring while I was under an omega heat…

A shudder runs through my body, cramping every muscle as I think: omega heat. Is that what’s wrong with me?

“We need to go,” I whisper against his chest. “I think... I might be going into heat.”

He stiffens all over, a growl rattling under my ear. “Fuck. Then we go.” I feel him twist at the waist to whistle at Rory. “Get down here!”

There’s a thump as Rory jumps off the bar, and then his musky scent is filling my nose as he wraps himself around both of us. “Who do I need to go fuck up, Sunshine?” he croons, peppering me with kisses. “Nate’s already agreed to help me hide the body.”

Nate! I cringe, peeking past my mates at the poor beta who’s staring at me with wide eyes.

“It’s okay,” I tell him. “But do you know if there’s a back way out of here?”

I can’t even imagine walking all the way across the club, my heat bubbling under the surface.

“Of course,” Nate says, worry pinching his brow. “This way.”

He points in the direction of the restrooms and I shudder. I do not want to go that way. But Cam is already half carrying me and I cling to him. It’s only when Rory doesn’t fall into step behind us that I try to plant my feet. “Wait. Where’s Rory?”

“He’s getting Angel,” Cam says, rubbing my back. “They’ll come straight after, but the priority is getting you out of here.”

I want to protest, but Nate has pushed open an emergency door and we’re stepping into a side alley. There’s a black car at the curb and Nate opens the back door, biting his lip. “It’s one of ours,” he reassures me, then nods at Cam, who follows me inside. When we’re seated, Nate presses a business card into my hand. “I’ll stay until the others are together. Here’s my private number if you need anything.”

I stammer out my thanks, but we’re already pulling away from the curb, the Leon driver checking with Cam that he wants to go straight back to the hotel. While they talk about the best drop-off point, I feel something come barreling down my mate bond and wince.

Where are you, Kelly?

“Heading back to the hotel,” I say aloud, then shoot Cam a shrug. “It’s Link.”

Cam grunts. “Tell him to get the club feed. I need to know what the hell is going on, sweetheart.”

I frown, but Link is talking over him. They have a bond through Arben, since they’re not actually mated to each other in that way, but it’s weak, especially when our guardian is out of the picture. I bite my lip hard and focus on the black energy pulsing through my bond. Something happened at the club, Link. I’m not sure what, but I thought it was bringing on my heat…

The admission sounds so feeble when I put it like that, but Link becomes eerily calm. If you are, we’ll take care of you. There’s a pause and then he says, Are the others with you?

That uneasy feeling is back in my stomach. Just Cam. We got separated.

I don’t want to go into any more detail until we’re face-to-face, which takes less than ten minutes, since Cam has the driver drop us at the elevator door in the private parking lot. As soon as we enter the suite, Link steps away from the laptop and pulls me into his arms. I love Cam and trust him with my life, but Link is my home and always has been. My first love, my grumpy devil, the guy who would burn the world down if I asked him to.

“Shh,” he murmurs into my hair, rocking me, and I realize I’m whimpering. Fuck me. What the hell is going on with me right now? “I’ve got you, Kelly. Just breathe and let it go.”

He’s talking about my heat rage, but it feels like there’s something else burning inside me right now, and I slowly pull away. My skin feels… dirty, and I rub at my arms. “I need to.. I need to shower,” I tell him, already headed towards the bathroom. Link is right on my heels, but I pause at the door and look back at Cam. “Will you go back and help Rory?”

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