Page 21 of The Alpha Warrior's Mate

“Let me take the lead,” King said, pushing back from the table, his chair scraping against the floor. “There’s no one at the compound missing me and worrying while I’m gone.”

Hammer clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll all go in together, but yeah, you take the lead. Everyone comes back alive and kicking. No excuses. Don’t make me hunt down one of you motherfuckers in the afterlife.”

I kissed Clay goodbye but, this time, he pulled me in, lips lingering longer usual.

“I want to come, too,” he breathed.

“No. It’s not safe,” I said with more force than maybe necessary. My mate’s eyebrow cocked, and he put his hands on his hips. If I wasn’t so angry about him wanting to go with us, it would’ve been damned adorable.

“Why can’t he come with us, Pop-Tart?” Jack asked. “See what we do. Be a part of the team.”

I huffed out a hot breath through my nostrils. “I…” I couldn’t come up with one reason other than he wouldn’t be safe.

Jack said, “You always fight for us, right? You’ll keep Clay safe.”

“Of course I would.”

“Good. Then I’m coming.”

Once we got to the outer perimeter of the property, we got out and, as I was about to shift, I looked back at Clay. My vision blurred at the thoughts of what my life would be if something happened to him.

“I can protect you better if you’re in the van, mate. Please. This time. Can you stay in the van? I don’t know what I’d do…”

Clay pressed his finger to my mouth. “I can stay here. Come back to me.”

I nodded. “Yes, omega.”

We shifted, managing to avoid alerting the guards. Once the truck arrived, we met it instead of their bosses.

We got the omegas into our vehicles while Jack and Sloan talked to them. I hoped one day Clay could find his niche in helping us as well. I had a feeling he didn’t want to be at a desk anymore.

Back in my human skin, I approached the van we drove in, eager to see my mate, but Jack was already there. His face was pale and swollen. Someone had punched him.

“What happened?” Aziz and I screamed at the same time.

“I tried to stop them. Jeremy. They grabbed him. Someone took Clay.”

Chapter Eighteen

Clay

I squirmed in my seat, squeezing my thighs together. “Come on, little one,” I whispered, pressing my hands against my belly. “Please stop kicking Daddy’s bladder. Please.”

The mission had begun less than a minute ago, and I was already getting to the point where I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to hold on. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to come with them. Maybe I should’ve stayed home. But my prideful bear kept nagging at me. I needed to stop feeling like I wasn’t being productive and the only way to do that was to become productive. And sure, my accounting was a job, but it took very little time once I got them organized, and it wasn’t directly helping people. I wanted to help.

When my mate saved me, I wasn’t even really there—my bear had taken over. He pushed me down, protected me from things as they unfolded. And why did he do that? Because I was scared and would have been even more frightened had I known all that was going to happen.

But I got over it. I’ve been surrounded by some of the strongest omegas and alphas I’d ever met. They gave me courage—strength.

I was strong.

I could do this.

Only, right now, all of that was a lie. I was being thwarted—by my fucking bladder. Ugg.

“What?” Jack whispered.

Crap. I’d been too loud. So much for hiding my needs for even a full minute.

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