“We can try to pick the lock. There has to be a way in,” Siren says, not sounding convinced of their own plan.
“It’s designed to be secure, to keep the drugs in there from getting stolen when we’re not here,” Cross counters.
“Drugs? Do you think…”
Everyone turns and looks at Joker as he trails off speaking. There’s no color in his face, and he’s lost his normally rock solid control over our bond, allowing his fear and despair to trickle down toward me and Cross.
“No, she can’t. Even with the door lock, there’s still a lock on the cabinet. And that needs a special key and a code only I know,” Cross counters quickly, not that it soothes our omega.
Turning back to the door, I take a step back, done with waiting. My boot connects with the door right above the lock, the impact radiating up my leg for a moment, but it doesn’t matter. Not when I see the cracking in the frame. Another kick, and then one more, and then with a fourth and final kick, the door gives way, swinging into the darkness med bay and crashing into the wall behind it.
“Delilah!” Joker calls out, rushing in first, looking around wildly.
Cross flicks on the lights, and my brow pulls down over my eyes. Nothing looks disturbed or out of place, and there aren’t any windows in here that she could have escaped through. I can still smell her, but there’s so much of her scent in the small space that I can’t really tell where it’s coming from.
“Honey, you’re okay. It’s just us. Come out for me,” Cross says, tone gentle.
I turn in place as the others fan out, searching the room. But then my eyes lock on a cabinet, and the door that’s slightly ajar.
“Turn off the lights,” I mutter to Phantom, the one closest to them.
Without question, my second in command obeys, and I approach the cabinet slowly, signaling to the others to keep back even as I crouch down low. As I get closer, I can hear the quietest breaths, erratic and muffled, but still there.
“Omega, I know you’re in there,” I start, trying for gentle but flinching at the half-growl painting them despite my best efforts.
A tiny squeak from behind the doors is the only response I get, and I let out a sigh. This close, the smell of her fear nearly chokes me, but I’ve endured much worse for less important reasons. I try to center myself, to push aside my own distress and find the purely alpha part of me that’s been clawing up my throat. A low rumble spills from my chest, my alpha purr stuttering at first from disuse, but the longer I go, the steadier it gets.
“Come out for me, please. Can you do that for me?” I try again, hands twitching at my sides.
The world seems to hold its breath for a heartbeat before the cabinet door slowly swings open. If the circumstances were different, I’d almost be impressed with how small Delilah managed to make herself to fit into the bottom of thecabinet. I pull the door open a little wider, heart in my throat as I reach a hand down and rest it gently on her back.
Delilah yelps like I hit her at the first brush of my fingers, somehow shrinking even smaller and shivering like a leaf in a storm. I swallow my growl, focusing even harder on purring as I manage to get enough of a grip on her to pull her out of the cabinet and gather her in my arms as I shift to sit cross-legged on the floor.
“Baby girl, what happened?” Phantom asks, hiking his jeans up his thighs before crouching down beside me.
Delilah doesn’t answer, at least not with words. She lets out an almost animalistic whine, a noise that sends a chill down my spine and makes my arms tighten around her before I even make the conscious choice to move.
“She’s…I don’t think she’s really with us right now,” Cross says tentatively.
“What do you mean?” Siren asks alarmed.
Cross sighs and pauses, but I don’t look up, focused entirely on the omega in my arms. Her little whimpers are calling to my instincts in a way I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. I’m more alert somehow, my senses waking up enough for me to hear the wind in the trees outside, Joker’s slightly labored breathing, the subtle shift in Phantom’s scent as he settles beside me, purring like crazy.
“It’s almost like…dissociation, I guess. I’ve only read about this, and that was years ago. I don’t—”
“The point, Silas. Find it,” I snap, teeth rattling with my purr.
“Right, sorry,” Cross replies, clearing his throat. “From what I remember, omegas in distress can sometimes dissociate so badly that they lose themselves in their instincts.”
“Like when we go into heat and it’s all just base needs,” Joker adds.
“Exactly like that, yes. But in this case, it’s not hormones making her like this. It’s fear. That’s why…”
“That’s why her scent is so strong,” Siren picks up when Cross trails off. “She’s trying to signal for help, or soothe whatever’s attacking her.”
I lean down to nuzzle Delilah, but then pause, exhaling sharply as I realize my mask is still on. “Teddy, help,” I call softly, glancing up for only a moment to lock eyes with Joker.
He nods and moves forward, helping me out of my mask before kneeling on my other side. I take a deep breath, fully inhaling Delilah’s scent before leaning down to brush my cheek against her hair.