Page 39 of Knot the Alphas' Feral Omega

Katrina wasn’t looking any worse than she had been. She seemed to be in some sort of holding pattern, and I couldn’t help thanking whoever watched over her for giving her this little bit of a reprieve while I went and got her daughter out of her own mental prison.

Lilah would never forgive me if I let her waste away long enough that she wouldn’t have time to say goodbye to her mother.

Oliver was quiet as we drove to the facility, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him fidgeting with the sleeves of his suit jacket over and over again. He was dressed to the nines, presenting the formidable image of a perfect Prime Alpha, as he always did. I had to admit that it was effective, especially compared to the T-shirt, jeans, and leather jacket I wore.

I didn’t need to be dressed up fancy. I would be stripping out of my clothes as soon as we got there to shift into my wolf and help Lilah return to human form. Emmett and I had decided it was probably the best way to get her to shift.

I was convinced that, at least in part, she wasn’t able to shift because the medication she was being drugged with was preventing it, but I had been assured by Director Marcus—multiple times, over a number of phone calls—that Lilah had slowly been weaned off whatever medication she had been on.

I was convinced that the only reason that he was going along with our plan was because I had scared the ever-loving shit out of him the last time I was there. Oliver also followed up with a phone call. He still hadn’t told me exactly what he had said during it, but the smug look of satisfaction on his face had told me that the Director had probably walked away from the interaction with a puddle of piss underneath his computer desk.

By the time we pulled in front of the facility, energy was humming under my skin, and I couldn’t wait to go inside and find our girl. I was desperate for it.

Oliver reached out and gently touched the back of my hand before I could pull the keys out of the car’s ignition, and he leveled me with a meaningful look as I cut the engine. “Hey,” he said quietly.

There was a sincerity to his voice that I hadn’t expected to hear, and it took me aback for a moment. “Hey,” I replied, equally quietly. “What’s up?”

If he were having second thoughts...

A small smile touched Oliver’s lips as if he could sense the direction of my thoughts, and he shook his head. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry,” he answered, still speaking quietly as if he didn’t want to spook me.

The apology surprised me, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning away from him a little bit, his scent bitter in the small cab of our car. True regret pulled at the corners of his mouth, and he let out a shaky sigh before running his hand through his hair, mussing the blond strands for a moment before smoothing them back into place.

“I made a bad call,” he finally admitted. “I should have spoken to you guys first.” He grimaced and continued, “I’m still not entirely sure she’s the right omega for our pack, but I shouldn’t have made that call without you. And I certainly shouldn’t have made that call when I was so emotional. I should have waited to get all of the facts. Even though...” He swallowed, his throat bobbing. “Even though she’s the daughter of the Slicer, that doesn’t mean that she’s guilty by association, and it was wrong of me to assume that she was.”

My jaw dropped momentarily before I snapped it shut again, and I jerked my head in a nod. It was exactly the apology I had wanted from him, but now that I had it, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

“Yes, well,” I finally said, shuffling a little in my chair. My stomach squirmed uncomfortably, and I was torn between the feelings of discomfort and camaraderie that were filling the air between Oliver and me and the desire to go into the building to get Lilah.

The latter desire won out, and I nodded at him, pulling the keys out of the ignition and tucking them into my pocket. “We can talk more about this after we go get our omega. She’s been in there long enough, don’t you think?”

Oliver’s expression hardened, and a truly feral smile spread across his face. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said.

We climbed out of the car and marched up the front steps of the facility, and the doors swung open before I even touched them. I couldn’t help but feel a little amused at the change in the atmosphere when we walked in, heading immediately for the front desk. The last time I was here, it had been almost painfullyquiet, uncomfortable in a way that had made me want to crawl out of my skin.

Now, though, there was a hum of energy, and I couldn’t deny that I was ready to rip out a couple of throats for getting in the way of me and my omega.

The same uncanny valley receptionist from before was sitting in the chair behind the desk, but instead of greeting us, the door to the right of her desk immediately swung open, and she gestured us forward. Director Marcus stood behind the door, his arms folded over his chest as if bracing himself for a battle. This time, he was wearing a perfectly tailored suit, his tie neat and snug at his throat.

“Mr. Vega,” Marcus said, addressing Oliver. He stepped up to him, sticking out his hand and shaking Oliver’s firmly, his expression almost painfully placid and agreeable. “Very nice to meet you. I’ve heard quite a bit about you from my associates.”

His eyes shifted over to me, and I could see the dislike in them, but I didn’t respond to it. I just offered him a wide, feral grin, cocking my head to the side and taking a tiny step forward.

“Yes, yes,” I said, my voice low and aggressive. “Enough of the pleasantries. Take me to Lilah. We’re here for her, not to gossip with you over tea.”

Oliver rolled his eyes at me slightly, but I was done. This man had initially kept Lilah away from us for more than a week, and then it had taken two days longer than I would have liked to get everything set up so we could come get her for real. She had spent far too long within these four walls, and I was fucking done.

Marcus grimaced a little, but he didn’t bite back or argue with me in any way. He merely jerked his chin in a nod and turned on his heel, starting to walk away. “Yes, of course. Follow me, if you will, gentleman.”

We followed him and finally reached the hallway where Lilah’s ward was. Immediately, her scent filled my nose, and I relaxed a little. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Oliver relaxing in a similar manner, and I felt a bunch of satisfaction in my chest at the physical proof of how wrong my Prime Alpha had been about Lilah.

Yes, I was still holding that over his head. And no, I wouldn’t forget it for quite a while. He would be lucky if I weren’t reminding him about the mistake he’d made about our scent-match ten years from now—and that would be getting off lightly.

Marcus pulled out the little card that opened the door at the end of the hallway as we drew level with it and held it up to the reader. The buzz of the door opening made both Oliver and I flinch. My ears seemed to be even more sensitive than usual, and Marcus didn’t say anything more before he stepped away, pushing the door open so I could step in.

The full strength of Lilah’s scent hit my nose, and I relaxed as I walked into the room. As promised, she was no longer bound and gagged, and her eyes were bright and alert as she looked at me from the spot she had taken up in the corner of the room. Her hackles were raised, and she let out a low growl as I approached her, but I couldn’t stop myself from grinning at the sight.

“Hey, baby girl,” I said, shrugging my jacket off my shoulders and dropping it onto the ground. A quick glance over one of my shoulders showed that Oliver had hung back, not entering thecell that Lilah had been kept in, though his eyes were glued to her shifted form with something akin to horror. I remembered the gut punch it had been when I saw Lilah for the first time here, and I couldn’t blame him for being overwhelmed by the sight of her in such a vulnerable position.

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