Page 4 of Bound By Pain
Rounding my desk, I grip the back of his neck tight, putting pressure on the points I know will contain his Alpha if he loses control. With my free hand, I dial Bea’s number, but it goes unanswered. A furious growl rattles up my throat as I try again.
Slamming my foot into the corner of my desk, the wood cracks, but doesn’t fall apart. When the phone receiver creaks from my tight grip, I toss it to the desk and hit the intercom button.
“Yes, Mr. Acherley?”
“Get me in touch with someone at the Orbital Somatic show in Portland. Now!” My words bark from my throat, a sign of my impending loss of control. Feeling Bea’s pain, knowing she is out there somewhere suffering, cracks my carefully maintained facade of indifference.
I grit my teeth and catalog every ounce of her pain. Every point of pain embeds itself in my memory so I can ensure whoever is harming her experiences the same hurt, tenfold.
The phone rings, and I snatch it from my desk. “Speak.”
“Mr. Acherley? This is Caleb Michaels, from Orbital Somatic.”
“Where is your manager, Mr. Michaels?” I growl out the question through a clenched jaw, trying to hold back a bark to force his compliance.
“We don’t know,” he answers solemnly.
Releasing Orion’s neck, I pace across the room. My limbs are tense, fists clenched at my side. “What do you meanyou don’t know?”
Caleb’s voice is full of regret when he responds, causing nausea to churn violently in my stomach. “She wasn’t in her room when we went to check out, and no one has seen her since late last night. Hotel security said she never returned after our show.”
Anything else he has to say cuts off when the phone shatters in my grip, flinging pieces of plastic across the floor. A roar tears from my throat, rattling the glasses at the bar behind my desk. Distantly, I hear a squeak of alarm and panicked movements, but I’m too lost to my instincts to worry about anyone but my Omega.
Spinning on my heel, I cross to where Orion is still sobbing in his chair. I grip his arm and pull him to his feet. His eyes snap to mine when I shake his body roughly. “She?—“
“Bea is the Omega you’ve been seeing?”
Surprise fills his watery amber eyes, and he nods.
“She is my mate too,” I admit gruffly. His lips part, opening and closing several times. “We can discuss this more later. Right now, we need to find her.”
He sobers, getting a faraway look in his eyes that I recognize all too easily. “We will not assume the worst until we see her with our own eyes,” I demand, gripping his arms tighter. “She needs you focused on the here and now, Orion, not getting lost in what-ifs.”
“I won’t survive if she?—“
“Bea isn’t Ren. She’s still alive and hurting.We can still save her.”
Not giving him time to reply, I drag him from my office. The halls are empty, as is Jane’s desk. Unsurprising given the volatile pheromones clouding the air around me. Everyone knows better than to impede an Alpha on a rampage. I may be more in control than many other Alphas would be, but my restraint is threadbare and one inconvenience away from snapping.
“In the car,” I command. Leaving Orion behind is not an option, as frustrating as it is to have to handle him with kid gloves when my instincts are pushing me to act with urgency. He will spiral if I leave him to face this alone, and I cannot let that happen. Not only because he is like family to me, but because he is Bea’s mate.
I may not be able to share her, but I won’t stand by and allow one of her mates to wither when I can help.
We’re crossing into Massachusetts when my cell rings. An unknown number appears on the screen, and my stomach sinks. “Shiloh Acherley.”
“Where the fuck is my Omega?”
A growl rips from my chest, hearing the familiar voice screaming in my ear. Ridley Hale. Bea’s former bodyguard. Theman who left her behind for work. Another Alpha undeserving of her.
“Watch your tone!”
“Like fuck I will! She was supposed to be safe in New York with you!”
His accusation cuts deeply, highlighting the feeling of failure already plaguing my thoughts. If I hadn’t rushed Bea to leave my place, if I had checked in with her more often instead of avoiding her to placate my own feelings, maybe she would still be safe.
“Where is she, Shiloh?” Ridley asks again, his words edged with a bark. It’s ineffective, but I answer him anyway.
“Yesterday, Orbital Somatic played a show in Portland, Maine. She joined the band at a local nightclub after but left early. The hotel they were staying at has no record of her returning.”
