Getting Close to the Omega (30 page)

drugged or unconscious. He fell to the floor, overcome with

grief.

Some long minutes later, after he heard a long wolf howl,

which he presumed was Kane calling back the pack, Matthew

felt Shawn by his side.

“Can you still reach Dean with your mind link?” Shawn asked

softly. Matthew shook his head.

“Why did you let him go?” Kane said, striding in, his voice tight

with anger. “We could have taken a half a dozen fucking birds.”

“The Brennus aren’t birds, and they can’t be killed. They were

created by demons and magic, and can only be called in rare

situations,” Matthew said fiercely. “Do you think I would have

let my mate go, for a pack of fucking birds? They are meat

eaters, killers, created by the purest of evil. There is nothing

alive that can take the Brennus down. Every man in that

fucking forest would have died if Dean hadn’t told me to let him

go with them. How the fuck do you think that makes me feel? I

had no choice but to let him go!”

“Who betrayed us?” Damien said, and as Matthew stood up he

saw that the room was full of men again. Angry men, who

understood the sacrifice that Dean had made, and who wanted

nothing more than to get him back. That made Matthew feel a

little bit better.

“Sam, one of Claude’s enforcers,” Kane snarled. Claude snarled

in return and it was clear that Sam’s lifeline had just been

drastically shortened.

“There is no point in focusing on one man who had a moment

of weakness,” Shaman Paulo said calmly, moving through the

men and standing in front of Matthew. “Your focus should be

on how you can challenge the Alpha of the Jefferson City pack,

without having to take over the pack. Your place is here with

Dean and the Cloverleah pack, but the Alpha must be

challenged and it must be you that does it.”

“You,” the Shaman said to Shawn, “Need to find the source of

the witch’s magic and find a way to cut her off from her power.

Use Jax to help you.”

“And you Kane, you need to focus on pulling together with the

other Alpha’s here, to find your Omega, before it is too late. If

he dies because he can no longer be with his mate, then the

Fates will never allow another to be born. The entire future of

the wolf shifter population rests on getting Dean back where he

belongs.”

“You have seen this Shaman? The Fates have given you a

vision?” Shawn asked respectfully.

“It has been in the stars for a while now,” the Shaman said

cryptically. “Dean was sent as the Fate’s hope for the future of

wolf shifters. A way to bring the concepts of family and

togetherness that are part of a wild wolf’s nature back into wolf

shifter packs. Too many Alphas are becoming unstable,

especially if they don’t have the power of loving family bonds

behind them. If Dean dies, then the Fates will abandon the wolf

shifters to their demise and I have had visions of pack wars

and harsh exposure to humans. None of that is good for any of

us. Because of his rough start in life, Dean was granted a mate

with strength and a wealth of understanding and compassion,

who he could live a very long and happy life with. But to do

that, he has to be with Matthew. Dean won’t last a week

without him. So you men need to make your plans and move

fast.”

Dean was getting used to waking and not knowing where the

fuck he was. The last few weeks had ensured that. He made

sure that he didn’t open his eyes, or change his breathing

pattern while he carefully sniffed the air. Memories flooded

through him as he recognized the stench of the cell that had

haunted his teenage years. Surprisingly, the fact that he knew

where he was, and it was where he expected to end up, was a

comfort, rather than inducing the panic he had anticipated

feeling. He was at the Jefferson City pack, underneath the

Alpha’s house. Matthew would know where to find him.

Matthew. Dean ached as he thought of the last sight he had of

his mate. The proud man brought to his knees by the sheer

horror of what the redheaded witch was promising. Dean had

never heard of the Brennus, but he figured they must be really

horrible if Matthew had looked so upset. Dean was pleased that

Matthew had stopped his attack – he knew he would not have

been able to live with himself if he had been responsible for the

deaths of all of those men in the forest. They might have

stood up and all claimed they would die for him, but in Dean’s

head it was up to him to make sure that didn’t happen.

Noting that for now he was alone, Dean tentatively tried to

reach Matthew through their mind link.

Matthew.

I’m on my way, little one. Are you okay?

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Dean tried to sit up and could

tell immediately that he was once again chained to a bed. His

bed, he thought wryly. Checking out his muscles, he didn’t feel

any pain apart from where the chain was chaffing his neck.

Damn, if only his ex-Alpha would invest in another collar – he

would be almost comfortable. Not.

Yes. Naked. Chained to a bed. Under the Alpha house. Same

old. Same old.

They haven’t…you haven’t been…

Dean smiled in the darkness. His big, confident mate could be

so old-fashioned and almost coy sometimes.

No, Matthew. But…
Dean stopped. He didn’t quite know how to

tell his mate that being raped was a real possibility in his

current situation, and there really wasn’t anything he could do

about it, if it happened. He could shift, but that…Wait. He was

immune to Alpha power. Not magic, but at least the Alpha

couldn’t compel him like he used to.

I will do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen.

We’re on our way. You just have to stay strong a while longer.

Do I want to know what you plan to do?

No little one, it’s best if you don’t. But my only goal is to have

you in my arms again.

That’s the only place I want to be.
Dean thought of it longingly.

Then he heard the lock turn in the door to his cell.

Gotta go. People here. Be safe. I love you.

Dean heard Matthew’s echo of love before he resolutely

blocked his mind. Whatever he had to go through, he wasn’t

going to subject Matthew to it, when the man wasn’t in a

position to do anything about it.

The door opened and for the first time in over six years, Dean

was face to face with the man who plagued his nightmares.

Ron Collett was like most wolf shifters in that he was around

six foot tall and muscled, although Dean noticed a rib of fat

lodged around the man’s middle that hadn’t been there before.

Dark, long hair tied at the base of his neck, small mean eyes

that glinted at the sight of Dean naked on the bed. Not a lot

about the man had changed, but the same couldn’t be said for

Dean.

When Dean had been in this same room last time he had been

a scared seventeen year old. Thin to the point of emaciation,

dirty and broken in more ways than he could count. His

psyche, worn down with the endless taunts and insults was just

as shattered as his body, and all Dean used to live for, in those

days, was death. A quick and preferably pain free death.

Now though he was more solid – still thin, but muscled from his

years of shifting and running as a wolf. He was taller, only just,

but in Dean’s head every inch counted for something. Older,

and more importantly, Dean knew he was loved. It might be

hard for him to accept at times, but that didn’t stop the

knowledge seeping into his pores and reminding him he was a

man of worth.

For the first time in six years, Dean looked at his ex-Alpha and

felt no fear. In fact, despite his lack of clothes, he felt a

confidence he had never had before. He sat up straighter,

crossed his legs in front of him and simply looked at Ron. After

all, it wasn’t as though he had anything to say. This was Ron’s

game and Dean wasn’t even going to try and play it, until he

knew the rules of engagement.

“Oh Dean, you have no idea how I have missed seeing you

here, chained for my use. To see you here now is a positive

delight.”

“I’m not a lot of use to you now,” Dean said, quietly pleased he

could speak so calmly. “I have found my mate, and if I’m not

returned to him, I will die. You have about a week to enjoy the

pleasure of my company, if that’s what your sick mind can call

it.”

Ron’s eyes narrowed and he came closer. It was then that

Dean noticed the redheaded witch was behind Ron, and as Ron

moved closer to Dean, she came into the room. There was a

greedy look in her eye, which caused a bout of nausea to churn

his gut. Dean knew instinctively that if he did die by anyone’s

hand, she would be right in the thick of it, looking for gore. And

if she couldn’t find any – well the witch would probably create

some – purely for kicks.

“A man claimed you?” Ron’s lip curled in disgust. “You?”

“Yes,” Dean said fighting to hang onto his calm. “True mates.

Now mated. Fully claimed. My wolf can’t be away from him and

we will die if I am not returned to him. Your witch here knew

all about it, so I’m surprised you didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before, Gretchen?” Ron turned and

glared at the redhead.

“A claimed Omega has more power, and we need the extra

power,” Gretchen purred, apparently unfazed by Ron’s anger.

“A claimed Omega can’t live without his mate, you stupid cow.

No wolf shifter can live without their mate. The boy’s right. He

will be dead in a week if his mate’s not around.”

“Then you should be more careful about how you talk to me,”

Gretchen said, coming over and running a red nailed finger

around Ron’s ear. “I would have no problem leaving you.”

Dean was stunned. Gretchen was Ron’s mate? What were the

Fates thinking?

“No disrespect intended, Gretchen,” Dean said quietly. “But if

you have been bitten, and carry a mating scar, then you will

die without your mate – whether you are a wolf shifter or not.

Did he not tell you that?”

This time it was Gretchen’s turn to glare at Ron. “You meant to

tie me to you, permanently? Fucking permanently? I never

signed on, or agreed to that, you meddlesome man. You were

only meant to be a diversion – a way to dabble in shifter

power, not a fucking life sentence, with you.” Okay, when this

woman got mad her voice turned into a horrible screech and

Dean had to guess that Ron didn’t like it any more than he did.

Dean idly wondered if Gretchen would turn Ron into a toad or

something. He would pay to see that.

“Focus, Gretchen,” Ron said firmly, and Dean could tell he was

trying to use his Alpha power on his mate. Like that would

work. It was like watching dumb and dumber working together

– neither one of them knowing what they had done.

“You have to find the mate,” Ron said urgently. “He has to be

brought here, or we lose the Omega.”

“He’ll be here,” Dean said, longing to lean on the wall because

his back was getting sore, but unwilling to open up more of his

body for Ron’s perusal. The man might be mated, and

hallelujah for that because it meant his dick wouldn’t be

coming near Dean’s ass anytime soon, but Ron’s stare made

Dean’s skin crawl.

“He’s coming, here?” Ron looked worried for a moment, but

then Dean figured he would worry even more if he actually

knew who his mate was. Matthew’s Alpha power far exceeded

Ron’s.

“Well what did you expect?” Dean said, as though Ron was the

idiot in the room. Which in Dean’s opinion, he was. “You took

his mate. What would you do if someone took your mate?”

“Pay them double to keep her away,” Ron said darkly, throwing

another glare at his mate.

“My mate loves me, and will come to take me back home. I

don’t know how, I don’t know when, but I know he will come,”

Dean said firmly.

“Your home is here with me,” Ron said. “You were born into

this pack, you were raised in this pack. Your powers belong to

this pack and to me as your Alpha.”

“I was born into this pack – you’ve got that right. You killed my