His eyes widened, fear showing through for a mere second. Time seemed to freeze there, and I observed his reactions to a female alpha aura threatening him.
First it was that fear, blowing his pupils wide. Then, a tic in his jaw. It was clenching and tightening, his eyes narrowing in irritation—I imagined because he couldn’t be what I was. He couldn’t have the strength that I had, so he treated alphas like animals to make himself feel better.
Tobias was able to overcome the compelling force of my aura when his rage overtook him.
He reached out to grab the purse, pulling it towards himself and yanking me over with it. I cursed and stumbled, unable to untangle the purse from me and not really wanting to. He couldn’t get my phone, because if he texted Kiara instructions I was worried what she could do with them.
My omega wasn’t the most rational when it came to the people she loved or the things she wanted.
I couldn’t stop him from taking it. He fished it out of my purse and let the small leather bag fall back against me.
“That intimidation tactic doesn’t work on me, bitch,” Tobias said. He lost his cool, glaring as he backed from the room. “I bet Kiara will be thrilled to hear from you.”
The door slammed behind him, multiple locks sliding home. I could barely hear anything from outside this small space, even when I tried to enhance my senses with my aura.
I was alone and bound, in near silence.
All that was left was my bond with Kiara, so I held onto it for dear life and sat down on the mattress, trying to devise a way out of this mess.
FIFTY-FOUR
MERCURY
Kiara’s refusal of help was tearing Dash and Ambrose apart. Ambrose, especially. My lover was anxiously watching the door to the bedroom, waiting for the omega to come out.
She wasn’t going to.
For once, I understood her better than the others did. Ambrose had said she tossed our things from the nest—he’d taken it as a rejection. I’d taken it as a sign she was perfect for us, after all.
Any doubts I’d had fled into the night when I realized that she was refusing to accept help with her heat.
Because right now wasn’t the time. With Leighton gone, fucking her would leave us all a mess. The moment wouldn’t be right without the woman who’d brought us all together. We’d have poor memories of it for the rest of our lives.
I didn’t want that. Neither did Kiara. Ambrose and Dash didn’t either, but they hadn’t realized yet that she was doing all of us an immense favour.
Regardless, it was difficult to listen to her sobbing and screaming out in pain. If she hadn’t been the one to put a stop to it, I would have gone to her in an instant to take away her discomfort.
“Let me get this straight.” Liberty was on the phone with me, sounds of scuffling in the background. “She’s been kidnapped? Like, full kidnapped by Tobias Connolly?”
“That is what I said,” I confirmed flatly.
I figured if anyone needed to know immediately that Leighton was missing, it was her best friend. Calling Liberty was a hell of a lot better than calling next of kin, too.
If Marlowe needed to know about this, Liberty could call him. I wasn’t about to open that can of worms myself right now. Besides, she was kidnapped, not dead.
We would get her back.
“Well, fuck.” Liberty sighed. “I don’t know if she would agree, but I’m pretty sure this warrants bringing out the emergency documents. Unless you assholes know how you’re going to save her on your own?”
I arched an eyebrow. “We’re working on something.”
Our pack wasn’t exactly the guns blazing type. Dash was friends with people who were, though. The pack lead had locked himself into the office and was neck deep in his contacts, trying to find someone who could either find Leighton or save her. Or both.
I was trying to find a more reasonable solution. Like the police. She had been kidnapped from a public place, after all. Restaurant security cameras should show her not going willingly.
Along with Liberty’s snort, my phone pinged with an incoming email from her. “That’s not going to be fast enough, but this might be. I’m going to work on some things from my own angle, but you guys can have fun with Soren. He’s your best shot.”
I stiffened. “Soren?”
