Page 25 of The Alpha: Part Two
She’s bleeding.
The squeaking is turning over and over and now it’s closer to a scream.
I came here to save her, but I was too late because there’s blood all down the front of her shirt, and Lopez has it on his hands.
“Seth!” Desir’ee is in front of me now. Shoving me back. Away from Lopez.
“Stop,” Devon whispers harshly. “Stay back.”
The only thing that breaks through the dark fog spinning around me is the look she gives Devon right before she rolls her eyes. “You be quiet,” she hisses. “Seth,” she calls sharply, firmly placing her palm against the center of my chest. “I’m alright. He’s not a threat.”
I look down at her and blink. “He’s not a threat,” I repeat. Devon’s words about trusting our omegas swing into the forefront.
“No,” she tries to smile, but winces when it hurts, “he isn’t. Are you?” She reaches up to smooth the snarl yanking at my mouth.
“Yes,” I answer, and close my eye, pulling in a breath before I open it again. “No.”
“Okay,” she says and steps into me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
I lean down and bury my nose into her hair. There are other scents, scents that offend my inner alpha, clinging to her, but they’re not important. All that matters is that I have her in front of me.
“Ernesto is upstairs,” Lopez says quietly. “I’m going to walk around you, Alpha Pratchett. I am not going to touch or look at Miss Romero. I don’t want you to misunderstand.”
“She said you weren’t a threat,” I murmur, and tip her head back so I can look at every detail of her face. “I trust my omega.”
Desir’ee’s breath hitches and she blinks up at me.
“Take us to him,” Devon says. “Alex, you stay here. I’ll yell if we need you.”
“Got it,” Alex answers. “This place smells like nothing and nowhere.”
“It isn’t a home,” Lopez answers the non-question as he walks past, giving as wide a berth as the room allows. “It was never going to be. Follow me, please.”
“You good?” Alex asks, coming fully into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator.
I nod. “Yes.”
“There’s nothing good in there,” Desir’ee says, seemingly not at all bothered by the things happening around us. Then she leans back into me, squeezing me a little tighter. “You came,” she whispers.
“I should have–” I start to say that I should have been here sooner, I should have never left, I should have done any number of things, but she stops me.
“You came for me,” she says, looking up at me.
I swallow around the tightness in my throat and kiss her forehead. “I did.”
She nods, then a fierceness overtakes her expression. “Now go get Ben and Michael.”
Chapter seventeen
Seth
“You sedated him,” Devon says, fighting hard against a smile.
“Fucking hogtied him,” Alex says, grinning.
“Well, not exactly hogtied,” Nathan corrects. “But he’s definitely secured. What did you use to keep him under for so long? A tranquilizer?”
Desir’ee shakes her head and presses tighter against my side. “Sedative. He’d still be able to move if I’d used a tranquilizer. I needed him to not move.” She shakes her head again. “I wanted to kill him, but I thought about his horrible operation. I thought Seth’s people might be able to get some information from him that would help.”
