“Crescent,” I whispered. “I have a plan. I need you to hold on, okay? Anything you can do to hide it.”
I could see the fear in her eyes as she looked at me, but there was something else, too—trust. Trust I didn't know I deserved as she bit her lip and nodded.
I wanted to pick her up and carry her.
I wanted to let her sink into my arms, taken care of and sure she was safe. But I couldn’t offer her that. Instead, I squeezed her fingers in mine, letting her get her feet under her, and led her.
No one could know.
She was so strong.
I know she’d done this before—survived this pain for hours, or days. That was far more than I could say.
Her grip was deathly tight in mine, but she stayed straight as I led her down the next hallway. The shouts and bangs of anarchy echoed around us.
It didn't take long to get to the Wakefield pack's cell. It wasn’t my first choice, but they were the only allies we had that frequently left their door open at night.
The alphas who’d attacked us were from Holden’s pack, and I knew they’d still be on the hunt, so I didn’t have time to figure out other options.
To my relief, the door was hanging half open.
I banged on it, trying to see inside.
“Sin?” I spun at the sound of a familiar voice. Sterling, the Wakefield pack lead, was walking down the hall towards us, a frown on his face.
“What’s going on?” His eyes jumped between us as he neared, and I caught the faint trace of that stale iron scent from the braided, blood-stained cord he wore around his neck. “Are you in trouble? Not used to seeing you without your alphas.”
Crescent hung back, still clutching me. Both our scents were hidden, but he knew we were omegas, and I had a feeling he knew exactly what was happening.
“Why did you leave it unlocked?” I knew it wasn’t unusual for them, but suspicion was warring with desperation, alarm bells ringing in my head. And it didn’t seem like any of their alphas were inside.
He shrugged. “You know Ben gets up early—likes to work out in peace. Not like we have anything of value in there.”
My jaw clenched as I glanced into the room, mind trying to work out if that sounded right. “Calling in a favour.”
Lucian and Finnian—Sterling’s packmates—came around the corner, catching up to him.
“I thought you said it was Ben that works out in the morning, not you guys?” I asked, glancing between them, eyes snagging on the familiar paint stains always marring Finnian’s arms as if I was searching for something suspicious. My instincts were on edge.
Alphas prowling by for hours…
All night, their footsteps passed us by. So close…
“Yeah. Not long until the cells open,” Sterling said, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t like a busy breakfast.”
Ihadto stop being so paranoid. We were out of options.
“I need a safe place to wait, and I need you to find my pack.”
“Why don’t you come with us, then we can protect you while?—”
“We’re staying here.”
Sterling snorted. “That’s not a good?—”
“We’re staying.” I was tense, alarm bells still going off.
Sterling’s eyes flicked down to where my hand lingered, as if he knew I had my gun in my waistband. He looked calculating for a moment, then shrugged. “Alright.” He glanced between us again, then nodded. “Is this what I think it is?”