Page 228 of Unhinged Omega

Always fuckingAzarel.

The name sends a spike of something ugly through me, even in my half-conscious state. My mate is looking for another alpha. An alpha who's useless enough he letherslip through hisfingers. And I'm lying here, nearly as useless, while Raven helps her.

Because apparently, alphas aren't the only ones whose whims he's powerless against.

Cool fingers brush against my forehead. Too delicate to be Raven's. Cosima.

"His fever's getting worse," she says.

"I know. The doctor said to give the antibiotics time to work."

"What if they don't?"

I hear the concern in her voice and want to laugh. Since when does the ice princess give a shit if I live or die? But her fingers linger on my brow, gentle as a whisper, before they're gone.

Darkness pulls me under again. I'm sinking, drowning in heat and memory.

Then I'm back at the compound. Back in a time where my world still made sense and I was in absolute control of it.

All but one thing.

"RAVEN!"

My voice echoes off the metal walls of the hangar as I slam through the door, irritation prickling under my skin. This is the third time this month he's bailed on a job he was supposed to help coordinate. I've got seven crates of weapons sitting on the north perimeter without enough men to move them because half my crew is deployed on other jobs.

Lex stumbles out of a side corridor, buttoning her shirt with one hand, hair sticking up like she just rolled out of bed. She smells like cheap whiskey and an even cheaper female beta. Great. Always good to know where my people's priorities lie.

"What's wrong, boss?" she asks, clearing her throat.

"Where the fuck is Raven?"

Lex shifts uncomfortably. "Haven't seen him today."

"He was supposed to help manage the Belvast shipment. Now I'm short-handed and the contact is getting pissy about the delay."

"You want me to round up some bodies? Mikey and Reese should be back from patrol."

I wave her off. "Find them. And when you see that blond pain in my ass, tell him I want to see him. Now."

Lex nods and scurries off, probably grateful to escape my mood. I stalk through the compound, checking all of Raven's usual haunts. Not in the mess hall. Not in the training area. Not flirting with the new recruits like he thinks I don't notice.

He's been different lately. More erratic. Disappearing at odd hours. Blowing off responsibilities. It's not like him, not since the early days when he was still half-petrified and trying to figure out how to exist outside that hellhole of a brothel.

By the time I reach his quarters, my temper's at a slow boil. If he's off blowing some guard in a supply closet, I'm going to be pissed for more than one reason.

But no, they all know better than that. I made it crystal clear the day Raven joined up. If any of them so much as touched him, I'd kill them. Made a rather gruesome example of the one guard who tried, just to be sure the message stuck.

It's not jealousy. It's protection. Raven came to me broken—trained to obey any alpha command, conditioned to offer his body like it was nothing, unable to tell the difference between desire and coercion. Even years later, I don't trust him to protect himself.

Not with his... issues.

I pound on his door. "Raven! Open up!"

Nothing.

I pound harder, rattling the frame. "I know you're in there! Open the fucking door or I'm breaking it down!"

Still nothing. Concern starts to override anger. Raven's never silent. Even when he's pissed at me, he always has some smartass remark ready. The quiet is wrong.

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