Faith & the Dead End Devils (Sweet Omegaverse, #8)(42)

Not all of the Devils thought I was enough to be their brother. I wasn't enough to be more than a midnight secret to Ghost. But I would prove that I was enough for this omega, to be a man in her pack.





17. FAITH





I woke in the nest, already entirely aware that Bear had left, if only because if he'd been with me, we would've been wrapped around one another like we had been for the past couple days. I sat up, reaching for the dial that turned up the lights in the nest, squinting around me.

Bear had said when he left that Chance would join me, but I was alone on the bed.

"Cha—"

The door to the bedroom opened, and I stiffened at the quick and soft approach of light footsteps. I froze, curling in on myself as the curtain at the foot of the nest flipped up, but I recognized the pattern of tattoos on Chance's skin before I made a sound.

"Shh, Birdy. We got company."

I curled up on the mattress, blinking back at the beta. He was shockingly, breathtakingly handsome, clearer than ever, with beautifully sharp features I wanted to trace with my tongue. "Company?" I mouthed.

"Couple of guys. They're outside. I'm gonna deal with them. Do you wanna stay here, or can I find you a hiding spot where I can keep an eye on you?"

The idea of leaving my nest made me want to scratch and claw and shove Chance away from me, drawing up that instinctual beast that circled restlessly in my chest. But worse than that was the idea that Omikron might have found me.

"Suits?" I managed to ask.

Chance blinked those pale eyes, wavering in and out of focus in front of me. "Huh? No, no. These are some of the Wasted crew. They assume they can sniff around 'cause Bear and King are out and the rest of the Devils are on the ride. I'll set 'em straight."

Not Omikron. These were the men who'd bought me. I released a rough breath, oddly relieved. I reached out, and Chance's arm was tense under my hand, practically vibrating with the urge to chase off whoever was here on his territory. The Devils, he'd said. I wasn't sure about the other men, the ones out on the road, but I was growing partial to the two I'd spent time with.

And the jury is still out on King, I thought. His alpha scent made me ache, and I'd shivered in the desert sun's direct glare when he'd called me princess the day before, but I wasn't sure if I trusted him—although I'd caught some of what Chance and Bear had discussed, and was mulling it over in the back of my mind.

A pack. I shoved the question aside and forced myself to focus on the present.

Did I trust Chance to keep me safe?

Yes, the feral creature in me growled. I didn't want to hide in my nest without any idea of what was happening. "I want to come with you," I said.

His hand grasped my elbow, and I crawled out of the nest with his gentle tugging. I started toward his chest, and he stepped back.

"Believe me, Birdy, I wanna bundle you up in my arms and carry you down to hiding, but I don't want these guys to smell you on me. Can you walk?"

I nodded. Bear had fed me the medications Molly had prescribed at some hazy point this morning before he'd left, but my vision was still a crisscrossed double layer, and everything spun a bit around me as I stood. Still, I would do whatever Chance said.

"Good girl," he whispered. "Come with me."

He took my hand and guided it to his back, allowing me to steady myself as he led the way out of Bear's room. I held my breath as we walked down the hall. The scents in the clubhouse were growing stale, but it still left me raw and irritated to be surrounded by so many unfamiliar and abrasive smells. Chance paused at the top of the stairs, picking up a shiny can, and I caught my breath as he started to spray us both.

It was chemical and sterile, and I tugged myself away, gagging, before I realized what it was. Scent-canceling.

"Sorry," Chance whispered, catching me again. "Gotta be safe."

I closed my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut, nodding, ignoring that clawing sensation in my chest again and the immediate urge to rub myself all over Chance, to mark him up as mine again.

"When we get to the bottom of the stairs, you duck behind the motel desk into the office. There's a two-way mirror in the room so you can watch. Under the carpet, there's a trapdoor. If anyone makes it past me to the front doors, you go down the trapdoor and you lock it behind you, 'kay?"

No! I wanted to scream. Adam and I had done everything together, every step of the way. Then again, that hadn't stopped an Omikron thug from grabbing me from behind, dragging me away with a fist over my mouth before I could scream for my brother. I didn't blame Adam for my choices to fight at his side, but I was tired, I couldn't see straight, and I didn't want to end up captured by anyone who had anything to do with Omikron.

"Okay," I whispered.

Chance yanked me closer, kissing me squarely on the forehead. He paused at the edge of the stairs, leaning to look around the corner, his hand wrapped around my wrist where I was still braced against his back.

"Okay, go now, birdy!"

I scurried out around his side, dashing for the motel desk, fumbling my hand to keep track of the space, ignoring the churn of anxiety and nausea in my stomach. Chance paced out with determined steps as I ducked out of sight and through the partially opened door.

"Close it," he hissed, and I did so as gently as I could.