Page 87 of This Fate That Guides Us
“Alright… if things get worse, promise you’ll tell me? I don’t care if I lose my job with the label. I'll be there if you need me.”
“I know you will. We’re ride-or-die besties. Supporting each other is what we do.”
The car turns and a streetlight passes by the window. Bea asks me where I’m going so I explain everything. Her worry only grows knowing I’ll be hidden away with no way to keep in touch with my loved ones but I promise her again I’ll reach out if I start to spiral.
I end the call when we pull into the parking lot of the DAU building where we’re meeting Donovan. They speak, making plans for the safe house and tracking my family’s movements. I tune them out. I can only do my best to try to fight against the crushing weight of the chemical rejection I’m experiencing. Everything else is out of my hands.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
NOW PLAYING: THENight Does Not Belong To God- Sleep Token
Coffee has never been my favorite but my lack of sleep calls for a well doctored cup to survive our day-long bus trip. I am in desperate need of a distraction from the chaos thrumming through all of our bonds. Omen’s truth shook our foundation. We’re running on fumes, the strain between us barreling toward a tipping point.
With several weeks to go on the West Coast portion of our tour, I can’t shake the worry my pack will fall apart soon.
Nexus stumbles out of the bedroom in a pair of low-slung sweatpants. A sight my lower half usually perks up seeing. With the days-old stubble and dark bruising beneath my alpha’s eyes, arousal can’t compete with concern. He’s taken Omen’s absencethe hardest. Even going so far as to close off his bond so we aren’t drowning in his grief and guilt.
“G’morning,” he mumbles, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. He grabs a mug from above my head and turns to pour himself a cup of coffee.
My eyes are wide when he turns to face the living room, showing me the scratches marring his back. None of us have felt up to being intimate since we learned Omen was Sarah Montgomery. So how–I reach out a finger, running along one of the thin lines and he freezes. He isn’t even breathing as I murmur his name. Confusion and pain fill my voice, my thoughts running rampant with ideas of where he could have gotten them. Of who could have given them to him.
Before I can ask him about them, the sound of Omen’s name from the television distracts us both. Nexus steps closer to where Titan is half asleep on the couch. I move to his side and watch in horror as a news story plays revealing the controversial discovery of Pastor Montgomery’s hidden omega daughter. A picture of Omen standing in the wings of the stage at our show in Boston is shown beside a picture of her as Sarah when she was several years younger.
My heart sinks realizing whoever drugged her at the festival most likely already knew who she was. They targeted her. But why use a heat inducer?
The screen changes and a growl rattles from Nebula’s throat when Grant Montgomery appears. “Pastor Montgomery, were you aware your daughter presented as an omega and was hiding under the alias Omen Powell?”
“Sarah ran away several years ago, tempted by the sin those in organizations like the Designation Underground promote. She has turned her back on God and on her family. It saddens us to learn her depravity has led her toward the arms of the devil. Had she stayed home she would have found grace in the sanctityof our church and a husband to help guide her away from the debauchery of pack life she seems to be chasing.” The Pastor somehow manages to imbue his voice with sorrow, but his bright green eyes hold the depth of his true feelings on the subject–hatred.
The news anchors stick to the topic for a few more minutes before turning to a strike outside of one of the country's biggest tech-developing firms. Nexus is practically vibrating beside me. His fear and anger leak down our bond even with his end closed off.
“Nex,” I murmur, placing my palm on his arm to try to comfort him. He shrugs me off and storms to the back of the bus.
“What the fuck happened to your back?” Nebula roars when he sees the scratches on our mate's skin.
Nexus stills, his head hung and his shoulders heaving with each heavy breath he takes. He’s out of control, his pheromones leaking into the air around him in crashing waves. We’re a ticking bomb in close quarters. I need to do something to de-escalate the situation before things turn violent.
“Unlike the three of you, I didn’t leave our omega to suffer alone through her heat.”
No one’s breathing. The weight of his words crushing on our chests as we realize he hadn’t just needed time to himself. He lied to us and went to Omen. Agony slices deep and quick through our bonds before Nebula growls long and low. “You fucked my sister’s murderer?”
I glance between the two of them, knowing even I cannot salvage the situation we’ve found ourselves in. When my eyes turn to Titan, I find him watching me. He doesn’t seem surprised, only resigned. “You knew?” I whisper. He nods. His expression turns pleading before he turns in shock to look at Nexus.
“Elizabeth wasn’t murdered! She committed suicide!” Nexus screams. With a single blink, Nebula dives across the coffee table. His hand wraps around Nexus’ throat, slamming him against the wall. Nebula stumbles back in shock when Nex’s fist slams into his cheek.
The beat of my heart accelerates, the rapid sound filling my ears with a whooshing noise. The same reaction I always have to shows of aggression. I have to stop them. I step closer, ready to intervene but Titan jumps from the couch and holds me back. “They need to work this out, Cal. If it goes too far I’ll step in.” I trust Tee to separate them, but I hate the idea of watching them fight. I turn my back and head toward the front of the bus. We need to find somewhere to pull over so they can cool off.
“Benjamin Montgomery rejected Liz and worsened her depression, but he didn’t kill her. She made that decision herself. My heart fucking aches for what you went through watching her succumb to her mental illness, Nebula, and I sincerely hope karma gives that asshole what he deserves, but Liz’s rejection? Her death? Omen had nothing to do with those decisions. She was fucking fifteen and living in a different state. She never even met your sister. So why the fuck are you blaming her for something completely outside of her control? You think she chose to be related to the Montgomerys? To have a psychopathic, anti-designation asshole of a father?”
“Every single member of that stupid fucking family is the same!” Nebula shouts back in Nexus’ face. Both alphas are quickly growing unstable, their anger edging them toward ferality.
A sigh of relief slips through my lips when I feel the bus begin to turn. Hopefully, we’re at a rest stop and can get these two away from each other for a bit.
“She fuckingranfrom them! Did you even stop to consider asking her why? Or are you too chicken shit to find out?”
Nebula’s fist connects with Nexus’ ribs. Furniture is pushed when they crash into it. Things clatter to the floor, but even the shattering of cups can’t drown out the sound of flesh slamming against bone. “Tee,” I beg, letting my eyes slip closed. My heart is breaking into pieces watching the two of them hurt each other.
I never wanted a life surrounded by violence, something they both know, and yet I’m forced to watch them fight. Everything feels numb, my thoughts slipping far away to avoid the scene before me. Tears soak my cheeks and my body wracks with violent shivers. There’s no escape when their pain radiates down our bond.
