Page 178 of Carmichael's Omega

"Si," I rasp out. "Are we ready to leave?"

"Yeah. We got what we came for."

The Beta's team takes Benito out into the streets and lame both his legs by cutting his Achilles' tendons. The man sobs and begs piteously as all the girls and two little boys are herded out of the brothel into the four-wheelers the Beta's team brought in. Neither of the boys looks like Nico or me. None of them are Bembe.

One of the Beta's males brings me Benito, dragging him over to us.

"You want the pleasure, Punk? I'm generous that way," he says.

Benito can't meet my eyes. For some reason, he seems more terrified of me than of the Beta.

"Si, Jefe." I signal my males, and they walk over, ringing us. He's shaking now, his legs going weak. When I grab his hair and fling him into Devel's fire, I hear the Beta grunt in satisfaction.

The bitch screams, trying to run to escape the flames. He heads for Holt, who shoves him back in. The flames catch, burning his skin, and he falls to the ground as the fire slowly consumes him.

Devel hums from behind me. "You're a sick fucker, Carm." The scarred male walks over to my side. "Find anything interesting?"

"Si," I croak. I hand him the black book. He raises an eyebrow at me but flips through the pages just like I did.

"Can I have this when you're done with it?" he asks.

"Take it," I tell him. I've already learned what I need to.

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45 - A Reyes Male

Carmichael

"Are any of them Bembe?" I hear Rique ask as he roughly stalks the lines of shattered wolves. Bembe isn't among any of them.

"One house left,Jefe.El grande, sí?" Diego, his eyes stark, hands trembling, points to a two-story house hanging off the fringes of the two-street shithole Carabona calls a town.

Not that I have any room to talk, but I push away thoughts about the future and providing for my mates and unborn pup. First, I need to find Bembe, and Devel needs to set some shit on fire. Not himself... this time.

"We have been here three days,cabrón," I tell Diego. "Too long to be without my mates. Where ismi hermano?"

Missing my omegas is like nails on a chalkboard, consistently scratching down the surface, over and over, until my alpha wolf's ears are bleeding. We hate leaving them behind. When this is over, we will stay in LoboGris with our mates, with our family. I look at Devel, stalking amongst the wolves with a look of disinterest. Cold, remote... he doesn't hide his hatred for wolves like these. Even his brother's wolves give the male wide berth.

"That's the last house," Diego replies quietly. "Many young wolves live there. We have no packhouse,sí?"

"Who pays for it?" Devel asks.

"Alicia paid," he says softly.

I look at the house. It's a plain, nondescript two-story stucco house. Nothing proclaims it as a bad place. Quiet. Maybe, in this mess, it's too quiet. Suspiciously quiet.

I approach the house, cutting a straight line toward it. Wolves fall out of my way, hurrying to get out of my path. I've ripped off the idiotic shirt and the stinky necklace, leaving me in just a pair of black leather pants. I still look like a douche.

I walk up to the door. It's painted a faded blue, with an older layer of orange still shining through in places where the blue paint has chipped off. Despite the piss-poor paint job, the house is well-kept and clean. It still gives me the creeps. There are no personal touches here. No flowers or plants or stupid little decorations that my Mattie likes to toss everywhere.

I recognize a transient, fucked-up halfway house when I see it.

I raise my hand to the doorknob and twist. It's unlocked. I push open the faded blue door, moving my body to one side to avoid any attackers from inside.

I feel the flash of pain and snarl, sending the ice-blue-eyed adolescent stumbling backward in tears. I surge forward through the doorway, my alpha-wolf furious.

Subduingmi hermanois easy. A clawed grip on his throat. A heartbeat, one, two, my shoulder burns. My heart aches worse.

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