CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Cal
Ankle monitors.
They’d put fucking ankle monitors on us like we were some kind of animals. Maybe we were deep down, and that’s why we were treated like royalty one minute and trash the next.
If alphas weren’t so motivated and ruthless when it came to being the best of the best, I was sure betas would have had us locked away by now. And who knew, maybe that would one day happen. They outnumbered us plain and simple.
I propped my foot on the coffee table and stared at the solid green light that let me know I was within the range they’d laid out. We were allowed within a twenty-mile radius of our house but couldn’t go anywhere near the academies or compounds here. Like we were interested in any omega other than Kara.
Alvaro came down the stairs, his own ankle accessory also glowing green, and sat next to me with a heavy sigh. “Avery’s playing video games.”
Thank fuck. I thought we were going to have to lock him in a room or tie his ass to a chair. He kept saying he was going to go find Kara, and we believed he would.
Avery was a mess and had been since we were detained the night before. We’d been questioned all night, gone through assessments all day, and now we were home after a short flight from Oregon.
The rest of our tour was canceled—not by choice—and so now we awaited our hearing in a few days to find out what the next steps were. For now, everyone thought we were sick, and in a way, we were, and hopefully it stayed that way.
That was really wishful thinking on my part.
“Do you think they’re going to put him in a facility? He doesn’t seem feral to me. More like... heartbroken.” I leaned my head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. “I think I’m going to go for a ride.”
Alvaro grumbled and leaned his head back too. “Now is not the time to go pick up women.”
I growled and sat up, smacking his chest with the back of my hand. “I would never do that. Not now. Not ever again. If we don’t get Kara back, I’ll... I’ll... cut off my dick and send it to her.”
Alvaro shut his eyes and sighed. “I don’t even feel like laughing at that.”
“I’m not joking. This dick is never touching another pussy, ass, or mouth again. As soon as I have the balls to do it, I’m tattooing her name down the side of it.” I sat back with a huff, knowing I was being a bit dramatic, but also not caring.
I was dealing the best way I knew how, just like the rest of them were dealing in their own ways.
Alvaro was holding himself together by a thread; I could see it in his eyes and the tension in his neck and shoulders. He’d been occupying himself with Avery and making sure he was settled.
Avery had woken up from being tranq’d with a growl so vicious I was half tempted to sedate him myself. I don’t know how the agents managed to interview him or do assessments, but they didn’t keep him, so he’d clearly snapped out of it. Besides muttering he needed to go get Kara, he’d been silent since they let us go.
As soon as we got home, Tate had gone straight out to the backyard and parked his ass in a lounge chair. He was usually rock solid, and it worried me he was retreating from us.
Alvaro’s phone rang, and he answered it on speaker. “Hey, man. How is she?”
I still could hardly believe that Anya had been shot pushing Kara out of the way. It made my blood boil that someone had a real gun out, not just around our omega but our beta and dog too.
“She’s doing really well. They are probably going to release her tomorrow and we’ll stay in a nearby hotel for a few days just to be on the safe side. How are you four doing?” Jonathan had a lot to deal with, and the last of his concerns should have been us.
“We’re hanging in there. Glad to be home but still processing everything that happened.” Alvaro rubbed his forehead like he had a headache. “I’m sorry you two got dragged into this.”
“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault a broken system can’t let you guys find your happiness. They interviewed me earlier today and I told them as much.” Jonathan must have been outside the hospital room, but now the beeping of machines could be heard. “Anya is awake. I’ll check in tomorrow when we’re released.”
“Sounds good. Love you, man. Tell Anya we love her.” Alvaro hung up, and we sat in silence for a few minutes.
Anya was going to be fine, but the bullet had come close to really messing her up. Luckily, they’d been able to get the bullet out.
“You know what?” I jumped up, wincing as the movement made the monitor pinch my skin. “You should all come with me to blow off some steam. It’s like ten miles away.”
“We don’t have motorcycles.”
“We’ll take a car instead. It’s where I go when I need to let my alpha out, and you just assume I’m fucking around.” I went to the sliding door and opened it. “Hey, we’re going to my top-secret spot. Want to come?”