"How do you know this?" Elliott snaps, finally joining the conversation. He's one grind of his jaw from breaking a tooth.
Beckett rolls his eyes, but before he can come up with a retort, Nick murmurs, "They like to brag. Especially since it gets a rise out of us and ultimately affects Kate."
At that, we descend into silence. My mind is a jumbled mess of what the fuck, and rising worry for Ronan.
I don't know how long I've been swirling in scary thoughts, but I'm jolted out of them by the sound of the door slamming open. I'm immediately on my feet when Ronan is dragged through the door, snarling and foaming at the mouth like a rabid beast.
Ice surpasses the chill of the basement, freezing me in place when I catch sight of the purple and red bruising around teeth gouges in his neck.
Mated. They mated.
"Alright!" The grating voice of the asshole in charge booms through the room, only serving to make Ronan fling himself at the bars once he's locked away.
Feral. Ronan's feral.
Then the beta smirks. "Who's next?!"
Chapter Fifteen
FREYA
Alpha!
Alpha...
Ronan...
He's gone. They forced my mate away from me. I thought I couldn't need him more than the moment my heat swept me away, but now, in the aftermath of our bonding, I need him like I need air to breathe.
It wasn't easier when some of the heat haze returned to a softer pink and my omega receded a bit either. This may be the first time I feel something as keenly as my omega side does. It feels like half my soul is slowly but surely being ripped apart the longer Ronan is away from me.
Freya, the person, needs her mate as much as Freya the omega needs her alpha and I worry it's not an ache that will fade anytime soon.
Worry festers alongside the agony of our separation because I know he's feeling something similar. Even though our bond needs time to form and tending to in order to make it strong, I feel his rage and horror as if it's my own. Along the tether that connects us, he fizzles and snaps like embers and fire.
Ronan's emotions feed my own sorrow and anguish, making me snarl and lunge for the door. I hardly notice the pain in my wrists and ankles, more focused on killing whoever walks into this godforsaken room.
The drive to commit murder fizzles when the mouth-watering aroma of brown sugar and dark chocolate waft through the room. My uterus cramps and my pussy pulses before I even see him.
Elliott.
Alpha.
Mate.
Knot.
Bite.
Bite. Bite. BITE!
The familiar red haze closes in on me, forcing my vision to cloud with lust and determination.
I will have him. My alpha will be mine.
Chapter Sixteen
ELLIOTT