I'll Make You Scream pt 2

I made my way through the ballroom, whiskey in hand, as I watched the wolves present mingling and exchanging small talk. I hated every minute I was wasting here, but in order to get Kayla and Seren out of this pack, I had to play the part of the unmated Alpha searching for his mate.

“Alpha Duncan,” I heard from behind me. Turning around, I came face to face with the smarmy little heir of the pack, Tobias. I’m still reeling from my earlier vision, and it’s taking everything in me not to attack him right here in the middle of the party.

“Tobias.” I greeted.

“I have to say, I was surprised when we received your RSVP, and even more so when you actually showed up. We don’t typically see you attending mating balls,” he said.

“Well, I am getting older. My parents are pushing me to find a luna for our pack so that they can fully retire, so I thought, ‘Why not go?’ when the invitation came through,” I told him. It was a valid excuse, and something a fool like him would take at face value.

“Of course, of course. So, have you had any luck? I’m sure there are some beauties here that you’d be able to take home as a chosen without too much trouble,” he smirked.

“None as yet.”

“Ah well. You brought quite a few warriors with you, I see.” He was trying to be subtle, but he was about as successful as a brick to the face would have been. It just didn’t work for him.

Time to play his game, then. “Yes, well. I called for volunteers from my unmated warriors. After all, a pack is stronger when the warriors and ranked are mated.”

“No omegas? From what I’ve heard of your pack, I would have thought you’d put the call out to everyone,” he sneered.

“Not everything you hear is true, Tobias. An upcoming alpha should know that.” The prevarication is necessary, but the words still taste like ash. Omegas are the backbone of the pack and should be treated with respect, but that’s not something I can say to this buffoon.

“Hm, I’m aware, but still. Rumors must start from somewhere.” Goddess, he’s grating on my nerves. I just want to punch him in his smug little face. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm Conn and myself before I make this a bigger issue than a frustrating conversation at a ball and tip our hand.

“One day, little alpha, you’ll learn to parse the truth from rumor. Until then, I suggest you don’t speak about things you’re not fully aware of. I see my beta signaling me for something. I’m afraid I must go.” I turn and leave him behind without a second glance, though I can feel his rage building and his glare on my back. Good. Let the little boy seethe. It suits me perfectly right now.

I headed over to Julian, not that he was actually signaling me. But we do need to get things moving so that we can do what we came here for. We stood with our backs to the wall so that we could keep an eye on those around us. Lucian was on the other side of the ballroom, chatting with some of our warriors, but he glanced over at us.

I opened a link with both Julian and Lucian. ‘Were you able to touch base with Kayla? Was she able to see Seren?’

‘I spoke to her briefly in the hallway. She hasn’t been able to, but she spoke with her mother. She reassigned Kayla to help in the kitchens tonight, so they’re both in there now.’

‘I’ve briefed the warriors that we’ll be leaving shortly. No one has found their mate so far, other than Julian, so they’re already ready to go. The general consensus I get from them is that every omega they’ve seen is unusually submissive and quiet, but they haven’t seen anything specific that we can act on. We have good warriors, though. Several of them have linked me privately asking if there’s anything we can do because something is clearly off in this pack.’ Lucian said.

‘We’ll call the Royal Pack and let them know as soon as we get back to Crescent Moon. This is too big for us to handle today, and we need to focus on getting Kayla and Seren out.’

Just then, I saw Kayla peek her head around the servant’s entrance to the ballroom. I tapped Julian on his shoulder and jerked my head in her direction. She was clearly looking for us. He nodded and then sauntered over in her direction. I headed over to Lucian.

‘Let us know what she says.’ He nodded imperceptibly, then, after glancing around to make sure he wasn’t being watched, he slipped through the door.

After a few minutes, he reached out again. ‘Seren is unconscious. She can’t tell if she’s eaten or drunk any of the food and water she brought her this morning. It’s looking pretty critical.’

‘We move tonight, then, so we can get her the help she needs. Lucian, alert our warriors. They need to quietly exit the ball over the next hour, pack their things and be ready to make their way to the vehicles. Have one or two of them grab your things as well. Let them know we’ll be leaving tonight and they need to move when we signal. Julian, Lucian. You need to coordinate with Kayla and Louise, get the guards in the kitchen out of the way. I’ll make excuses to Alpha James, then join you. I dropped my bag in the vehicle earlier. I had a gut feeling about this. We’ll get the girls and sneak them out.’

“Yes, Alpha.” They both replied. Lucian turned back to the warriors standing with us. Most had noticed us mindlinking and were just chatting away. I looked around and spotted Alpha James. “Here we go,” I muttered, then headed his way.