Page 72 of These Bonds that Unite Us
Home? What the fuck is she talking about? The Feds took control of the church and every other asset belonging to the Montgomery family. They can try to take me back to New Hampshire if they want, all that will do is get them caught and charged with kidnapping.
The sound of an idling vehicle nearby renews my struggle, both physically and internally as I pull harder on my bonds. My vision is starting to swim with black dots, the lack of oxygengrowing dangerous. If I don’t find a way to loosen her grip I will pass out soon, and that won’t be good at all.
A door bangs open in the distance, sparking a flame of hope in my heart. I can sense my mates getting closer. Despite Jacquelyn’s adamant claim, they won’t be able to rescue me, they’re coming. Slapping my hands backward, I dig my nails into her cheek, clawing at her eyes. She stumbles, nearly dropping me.
I can feel the shift of attention seconds before anything happens. My mates are here. “Freeze!” Nebula’s sharp bark slices through the air like a whip, stalling my captors in their tracks. I can feel them both trying to fight against it, their limbs twitching violently, but they can’t overpower my pissed-off alpha.
I wrench myself free from their grasp, ignoring the pain shooting through my shoulder as I crash to the asphalt, I scramble to my feet and take off running. My lungs burn, and tears blur my vision, so I let my heart guide me.
Pounding footsteps come from behind me, but they’re drowned out by the shouts of my pack and their security staff ahead of me.
The acrid scent of vanilla and tobacco smoke reaches me seconds before I slam into a hard chest. Nebula’s arms wrap tight around me, holding me against him. My head knocks against his mask where it is still in place on his head, but neither of us tries to remove it. Right now, I need the safety of his arms more than I need to feel his cheek pressed to mine.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Now Playing: Animal I Have Become- Three Days Grace
Performing with Omen’s bond glowing in my chest is a heady experience. I feel settled and alert, alive. My body moves through every note, every moment of showmanship, while my mind stays focused on the left side of the stage, where she is watching us from the wings.
I’m glad my bass covers my junk otherwise the crowd would get to see exactly how hard I am. The pulses of joy and arousal flowing from our omega are spurring us into a frenzy. One our fans are eating up. I can’t wait until she’s ready to start working as our photographer again. Having her out here on the stage with us will be a hundred times better.
Nexus makes it to the chorus, preparing us for the first big breakdown of the night, when chaos brings the show to a halt. Anger and fear take over my body, bringing my instincts to life. As fans scream, running toward the exits or trying to climb the stage, I drop my bass and head to meet my omega.
A surge of fans breaking past the security staff at the front of the stage blocks my path. When Lincoln, our head of security, steps in my way it takes all of my control to not bark him out of my way. I track Omen as she’s jostled, a growl rattling up my chest when I watch the bodyguards we’d assigned to her get separated.
“Let’s go,” Lincoln demands. His hand grips my bicep, trying to steer me to the other side of the stage so we can escape out of an emergency exit. “Walker and Thompson will get your girl and meet us at the car.”
Trusting others to care for my omega isn’t something that comes naturally to any alpha, but I bite my cheek to stop from lashing out at him. This is an unfortunate part of our jobs, and it’s something I will have to adjust to the further we get into the limelight.
When we were on tour before it felt different. I trusted Lex to have her back, and he always did. Thompson and Walker are both good guys, but I don’t have the same trust in them as I did Lex. They don’t have the same single-minded focus her former bodyguard did.
Callisto steps beside me, his body shaking and his eyes wide. I feel shitty for being so focused on Omen and not realizing how difficult this must be for my beta. He doesn’t handle conflict well, and a full attack on one of our shows has to be hell on his anxiety. Wrapping my arm around his shoulders, I let a purr rattle to life in my chest to calm him in the only way I could. Once we are home, I will take better care of him.
“This way.” I follow Nexus and Titan down a back hallway, but my legs nearly collapse when a blast of pure panic shoots from Omen’s bond into me. Nexus feels it too, the strength of her fear makes him stumble.
Lincoln turns wide eyes to me when I let out a vicious growl. “Lead the way.”
I dodge his body, leaving Callisto to run behind me. Titan can take care of our other mates, right now my omega needs me. And I’m not going to let her down this time.
The string of Fate between us leads me through the back of the building to one of the exits. Ignoring Lincoln’s shout to wait, I burst out of the door and scan the parking lot.
There! She’s being carried by a man and a woman. Pride fills me as I watch her fight to escape their grips, but I can feel in her bond that she is starting to lose consciousness from the woman’s hold on her throat.
A grayed-out van idles several yards away from them. It all clicks, who these people are and why they targeted this show. What happened inside was a diversion so they could kidnap my girl. They chose the wrong fucking pack to mess with, though, because we aren’t giving up without a fight.
My bark stops them both in their tracks. The triumph I feel is overwhelmed by concern when Omen drops to the asphalt, her shoulder digging into the ground. Fuck, she has to be hurting after that. She doesn’t seem fazed since she’s instantly on her feet and bolting for us.
The van they were trying to take Omen to drives off as Lincoln and our other guards rush past us to apprehend her attempted kidnappers before they can shake my bark. I’m ready to follow them and dish out some of my own justice, but the overpowering scent of rotting sunflowers distracts me.
Omen nearly knocks me to my ass when she launches herself into my arms. Shock locks my muscles for several seconds before I wrap myself around her. She’s terrified and upset, and she came tomefor protection. I feel like I’m king of the fucking universe right now.
“Gorgeous,” Nexus murmurs softly, “are you okay?”
All three of my mates have their hands on her, gently soothing her while reassuring themselves that she isn’t injured.A few scrapes and bruises, but no lasting damage so far as I can tell.
“Y-yeah. Yes. I’m okay.” Omen’s voice is shaky and tight, still full of fear. This omega has been through too much in her short life. My chest aches with the longing to take away all the trauma she’s endured, but like my other mates I know sometimes trauma can be what shapes you.
“We called the police, they’re on their way,” Brady’s voice cuts in from beside us. Omen opens her eyes long enough to glance over and offer him a shaky smile. Our manager’s jaw is clenched tight with his own anger. He’s been protective of Omen since the day she joined our tour, even going so far as to put us through hell with our shows after she quit.
