Page 14 of Ensnaring Their Rabbit

Reaper just shrugged and rested his thumbs in the waistband of his prison issue scrub pants. “Just that you two took extreme interest in the plaything for this hunt. That was odd enough since y’all barely participate. But then Smiley said he saw you take down Claw, and I heard the guards whisper that a wolf gutted Erikson.”

I was ready to choke this fucker, leader or not. But Reeve held me back. “What happens during the hunt stays in the hunt, you know that Reaper.”

“Agreed. Trust me, no one is crying over the loss. But it did get me curious. You know how I got cleaning duty up on the Warden’s floor?” We always asked why he didn’t get a cushier job like the library–he had enough pull to make it happen–but this was why. You didn’t get nearly as much information stuck in the library. “Well I heard Markel bitchin’ at him. Apparently he wanted y’all punished, but the warden saw the tapes and was pissed he clobbered the omega. In the fuckin’ face too. So Warden refused. He also wouldn’t let Markel see the omega. Claimed he was under his protection until they found a buyer.”

My mind reeled trying to figure out what to do with that information. The warden was a decent dude. He could be a hard ass, but he wasn’t cruel like some of the guards. I didn’t trust him, but there was some relief that he seemed to have Brynn. Except…

“Buyer for what?” Reeve asked, his voice tight.

Reaper raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “For that pretty little omega y’all seem so fond of.”

I was glad there were bars between us otherwise I probably wouldn’t be able to control what I did to Reaper. But he was only confirming what we already feared.

“But they don’t have a buyer yet?” I didn’t know how Reeve could sound so under control, even if I knew he was unraveling on the inside.

Reaper lifted on shoulder. “Don’t seem like it. My best guess, they’re waiting to see if a pup took before finding someone. Free pup or two and a proven breedable omega? Gotta imagine that raises the price.” We didn’t always get all the news from the outside world, but enough gossip entered these walls for us to understand how big a deal that was. Birth rates were down across the world and more and more omegas were struggling with fertility. It wasn’t enough to just be an omega for these fuckers anymore. They had to prove you could carry children. I wanted to vomit.

There was a lot going on, so it took me an embarrassingly long time to piece all the information together. They thought Brynn could be pregnant. With our pups.

“You think the omega’s pregnant?” Reeve echoed my thoughts.

Which…what the fuck? Pregnant? Did it really happen that quickly?

“I think the warden thinks it’s possible, which is why they didn’t dump the boy already. This place reeked of omega heat for days, and y’all were locked in that rut room with that little omega. I’m going to go out on a limb and figure you didn’t wrap your knot up, and it’s doubtful that skinny little thing could afford birth control…”

He trailed off, looking up at the fluorescent lights. I managed not to bark at him to finish his thoughts, but it was hard thing. But I knew Reaper well enough by now to know he was weighing whether he should tell us the next thing or not. Finally he met Reeve’s eyes, “I also know there’s been rumors goin’ around, that I’d be really fucking careful about.”

“What rumors?”

“Well, this ain’t the first omega we got in heat, but it’s the first you killed for. It’s the first you claimed. We might be the dregs of society, but I don’t think the Goddess discriminates like that. It would be one hell of a coincidence for y’all to find your fated mate in a place like this, wouldn’t it?”

I growled, reaching for him through the bars. Reaper didn’t even flinch. Not that I could get my hand around his throat like I wanted, because Reeve threw me back. I turned on him, but his eyes flashed, and I stopped in my tracks. He wasn’t acting as my twin now but as my alpha. My jaw ached from clenching it, but I tilted my head in submission.

“Stay over there and keep your shit together.” His expression reminded me that we didn’t need to make an enemy of Reaper. I glared at the ground but didn’t move from where Reeve put me. He turned back to Reaper.

“Even if that was true, what does that have to do with the warden and whatever plans they got?”

“That, I don’t know. But somethin’ is going on here. It’s fishy and I don’t like it. But I do like the two of you. I don’t want you to get caught in the middle of it.”

“We appreciate the warning, Reaper. Thanks.”

“Welcome. I know where to come if I ever need a favor.”

He started to turn around but Reeve stopped him. “Wait, Reap, one more thing?”

The older panther shifter turned to us, eyebrow raised. “Yeah?”

“You know where they’re keeping the omega?”

“I don’t. But the warden’s floor did smell extra sweet when I was up there. Like an omega who just ended his heat.”

Reaper turned and walked down the hall, leaving me fucking spiraling.

I didn’t know what to make of that information, but one thing was clear, our omega was still alive and probably still in this building. We just had to find him. Then somehow find a way to get him out safely. Fuck.

CHAPTER10

BRYNN

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