Page 50 of Fight

I go see her whenever I can, but sometimes I wonder if it does more harm than good.

Now, I have a series of broken promises in my wake, and my mind is reeling. I never expected to find my scent matches, and I know it won’t really be real until the alpha pheromone blocking spray wears off.

Only when I can scent my match will the bond snap into place, even though it won’t be official until we make it so.

My breaths get more and more shallow as I think about choices that I never thought possible being taken from me. I figured I’d keep Augustine for as long as possible until he found his match, because there’s not an omega alive that would want someone like me around him.

Augustine spoils me, protects me, and is the only person I would be happy about if he was mine. However, he isn’t good at keeping secrets, so he’d have told me if we were meant to be together, right?

I never thought that I would come full circle, shackled to a fucking bed the way my mother was. Recognizing the panic descending, I mewl as I tell myself to woman the hell up. I can’t help what’s happening to me right now, but I can try to get myself out of it. Pulling hard on the cuffs, I hiss as they bite into my wrists.

“I will never understand a handcuff kink,” I grunt. They’re hard, pinch, and really fucking hurt. My legs are still covered in a blanket, and I snarl, kicking it off my legs.

The damn thing is too scratchy, and I don’t plan on staying here for long. Those alphas should sleep with one eye open tonight, because I am not calm or submissive. I’ll fucking sing the Star Spangled Banner off key and badly all damn night if they think they’re going to leave me chained up here.

I am not an adorable, tiny, omega no matter what my size says. I’ll be their worst damn nightmare.

Chapter Twelve

GABRIEL

Ifeel like a damn spy right now. Auggie told me all about how Shaw, one of the members of the Minnesota Irish mafia, is now in Chicago under the guise of discussing border issues. Corbin, his boss, and Tommy have always had a good working relationship together, but Arthur’s stunt won’t reflect well on him.

“Augustine, please tell me you aren’t brewing an inter-mob war,” I mutter as I sit next to him in his truck.

Auggie snorts in amusement, though this could get really ugly very quickly. My man isn’t above fighting dirty for the people he loves, and after our conversation earlier with his knot deep in my ass, I’m willing to admit that it should always have been Cerenity, Augustine, and me.

I’m a stubborn dick, but at least I can admit it… eventually.

“Please don’t be dramatic, baby,” Augustine says as he drives to a restaurant that I know often acts as a front for the Irish. Tommy has his fingers in many different financial markets, and while the gym is a functional place for his fighters, he still does a lot of non-legitimate business through it.

This restaurant is also one of those places. His aunt runs the restaurant, makes a good living from it, but has zero issues closing the place down whenever Tommy needs it. Loyalty and family are important to us all.

Unfortunately, mine is conflicted because I owe so much to the Irish mafia, Tommy, and Jasper, but my heart is riding me hard today.

I exist outside of all the mafia shit, because I’m a fighter that works in the illegal rings, but I still manage to keep my ear to the ground. I know way more information than I should, so my continued health comes from the fact that I file it all away and keep my mouth shut.

I have no interest in selling out the family that gave me a chance at a better life, even if I am in this car to see if Tommy will lead us back to Cerenity. I only pay attention in case something bad is about to happen.

Or to keep my pulse on things when someone important disappears. Cere or my sister are probably the only ones I would do this for.

“Shaw is going to find out what Tommy is planning, while we bug his truck, so we can follow him home,” Augustine explains. “This shit ends today. The closer we get to Cere’s heat, the worse she’s going to feel. Her anxiety is going to be high as it is with all the shit going on.”

“I don’t think Cerenity is the only twitchy one,” I notice. “You two have been connected since the day you met, and you’re her safe place to land.”

“You know I’m losing my mind,” Auggie mutters, placing his hand on mine. “Cere had the shit show of last night, and now she’s somewhere she doesn’t know. Omegas need structure. The girl has a certain way she needs to do everything.”

Augustine always teases her about this, but it's true. Even the curtains in their apartment are open the same way so they all match, and the books in the bookcase are set up by author and size. Cerenity has a touch of obsessiveness that I don’t understand.

The reality is I don’t know her outside of my connection to Auggie.

I need to change that.

“I know you are,” I say, picking up the thread of the conversation again. I’m too damn stuck in my head right now. “I wish I understood why Tommy and Jasper are acting like this.”

“That’s exactly why I called Wren,” Augustine explains as he pulls into a busy parking lot across from the restaurant. His sun-kissed brown hair is sticking up a bit from how many times he has raked his hands through it, and it’s adorable. Unfortunately, it also speaks volumes about how jittery he is.

“What’s your endgame here, baby?” I ask him. “We follow them back after you figure out what they want with Cerenity, and then…”

---