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

King sucked in a deep breath and let out a low growl, rolling his head on his neck and grimacing at the tired cracks.

"You're not making a persuasive argument to me about why we should keep her longer than we have to," King muttered.

Bear and I glanced at one another. Maybe I was a safe bet to watch the omega, because in a single moment of wondering if our prez would send a young woman back into the hands of the traffickers who had caged and sold her, I knew how wrong that sat with me.

"I've got a few contacts I can consider," King said slowly, tracing a pattern of wood grain on the long table as he thought. "We may need to think about sending the crew out on a pleasure cruise if this is going to take more than a few days. Scared feral or not, an omega is going to get noticed around here. I'll talk to Ghost."

"And Rider," I said quickly. "Better to get him out, away from temptation."

Bear rumbled with a growl that suited his road name. "I need to get back to her, get her some food. Chance, I'm gonna make a run for stuff she'll want tomorrow."

I nodded. Arguing was pointless and truth be told, the more I thought about it, the more I preferred the idea of being the little omega's guard than anyone else in the crew. The other betas had loyalties to alphas I didn't trust, and I couldn't imagine any of the alphas but King and Bear resisting the urge to knot an omega. Not if they were offered the invitation, at least.

"I'm only conceding under the terms that she does leave, Bear," King said.

Bear nodded, but he didn't meet the prez's eyes.

"We're not a pack. We're not taking an omega. It's only going to fuck up the crew," King added.

Bear nodded again, but when he looked up there was no sheepish apology on his hard face. "It's her staying here for the time, or me taking some leave while I figure out where to place her."

"We need you here," King said, frowning, reluctant acceptance of the corner Bear had gently backed him into.

I headed for the door as the pair of them rose from their seats.

She was staying. The huddled bruised creature from the van. The omega. I stepped out of the meeting room into the hall that bridged between the club bunk house and the bar. The clubhouse was an old motel King had bought and closed for the crew's use when the old club house I'd grown up in burnt down. It was a little run-down, pretty filthy, but still a far cry better than the death trap of my childhood.

The party hadn't waited for our prez. Music was already blaring from amps, a round of pool was brewing a minor argument between two prospects, and one of the club girls was serving shots topless, letting the guys suck salt from her tits.

I told myself not to, but my eyes had already started their search, the destination too familiar by now.

Ghost was in a corner booth with Rider and Skid. Lilah was on his lap, facing him, pressed so close to his crotch I couldn't tell if they were already fucking or not. They'd get there soon. Lilah was Ghost's flavor of the week, but I could tell by the way his green gaze was drifting through the room her time was running out.

And I knew where he'd wander when his interest for her ran dry. The interlude between one woman and the next. Ghost's dirty little secret.

I hoped it took Bear and King a nice long time to find that omega a decent pack. I hoped Ghost rode out with the club and I got a break from watching him laugh half-heartedly at my brother's filthy jokes and fuck every pretty girl his aimless gaze landed on.

I hoped he didn't find his way back to my bed before they left.

But if he did, I knew exactly what I would do to him.

When that lazy gaze drifted in my direction, I turned away, heading toward my own room. I was up on the second floor, nearly across from Bear's corner room, and I passed my own door to stand in front of his, pausing to listen.

Bear's mellow, almost bland scent was there on the doorframe, where his shoulders brushed, and there was no hint of the burning perfume I'd caught from the omega. I waited for a shuffle of steps, or a whine of warning, but it was silent within.

I walked back to my own door. Bear would be back soon to keep an eye on her and I'd hear anyone coming down the hall in the meantime. Babysitting duty could start tomorrow.





4. FAITH





I woke, breathing deeply, sighing with relief at the homey, safe fragrance surrounding me. There was a growling sound—no, just deep, heavy snores from outside of my nest, and I listened with my eyes closed to the sleeping alpha.

Bear.

Safe, my brain reminded me as I started to tense. I shifted, sitting up, and realized how sticky my skin was. Sweaty. I was twisted up in blankets and sheets, surrounded by pillows. Was the alpha sleeping on a nearly bare mattress? The room was dark, and my obscured vision left me practically blind, just a few smudges of shadows as a map.

But darkness in Omikron's compound meant I was alone, left in peace, and it'd gone from being frightening to comforting. I wasn't alone now, but Bear was asleep, snoring like his namesake. My head was clearer in this moment than it had been in weeks or even longer.

There were voices nearby, a feminine cry of pleasure rising up from the floor below, a dull and distant thump of music far off, a few shouts and laughs.

No crying, no whines, and no whimpers. No other omegas in distress.

I was safe now. Bear was safe. I needed Bear.