Chapter Twenty-Seven
The journey to Timmy’s pack took all night, the little boy asleep in Noah’s arms. Noah was very quiet, and Ronan worried about what was going through his mate’s head.
There were people waiting at the entrance to Timmy’s pack, and Noah roused the little boy.
“You’re home,” the omega told him. The little boy rubbed his eyes and looked around as Ronan got out and crossed around to the passenger side, opening the door. The shifters waiting for them moved forward, one of them calling a greeting which Ronan returned.
When Noah climbed out of the car with Timmy in his arms, a cry of relief and happiness came from the crowd.
“Timmy!” Two men came forward, and Timmy squirmed out of Noah’s arms to the ground before running toward them.
“Daddy!”
One of the men, an omega, caught Timmy in his arms, lifting him up and hugging him tightly. An alpha stepped up beside them, wrapping his arms around them both. A family reunited.
The pack’s alpha came to talk to them.
“Ronan, is it? I was speaking to Griffin, he said you’d bring Timmy home. How did you find him?”
Mindful that Noah’s attention was almost fully on Timmy and his parents, Ronan did his best to answer without giving too much away.
“We had a contract for Dominic, the alpha who took him. When we found Dominic, we found Timmy. Griffin heard about Timmy’s disappearance and put it together. It looks like we got there in time. He isn’t hurt.”
The alpha nodded, relieved. “We’re very grateful to you. Indebted. We can pay—”
Ronan waved him off. They weren’t a well-off pack.
“We’re just happy we were in a position to help.”
Timmy’s parents came to thank them, his omega father hugging Noah and bursting into tears. His alpha father clapped Ronan on the shoulder and did his best to calm both his mate and Timmy.
“We should be going, we have a long journey ahead of us,” Ronan said.
“Please, have some breakfast before you go, or a cup of coffee at least. You both look exhausted.”
They stayed another hour, treated to some excellent home cooking and as much coffee as they could drink.
When they finally got back on the road, it looked like they’d made friends for life, and Ronan made a mental note to let Griffin know in case they ever had a job in these parts.
Back in the car, the silence between them was awkward.
“Noah? Are you hanging in there okay?”
“I… I think so.” The omega twisted in his seat until he was facing Ronan.
“Who was the contract from?”
“What contract?”
“The one for… for Dominic. Who took the contract out, and why?”
“Noah…” Ronan had rehearsed his explanation a hundred times and yet words failed him.
“I… I just can’t believe it was him. That he was there. And we were there. I was there. What are the chances?”
Ronan tried again. “Noah… there was no contract.”
He waited a minute for that to sink in.
“No. Griffin said… you said… I don’t understand.”
Ronan pulled over, wanting to have this conversation with his full attention on Noah. He’d hoped to get home before they got to this point, but he could see that wasn’t going to happen.
“As soon as you told me what happened to you, I shared your story with Griffin, and we started trying to track the alpha who’d scarred you.”
Noah went pale, shaking his head. “No, but that means…”
The omega scrambled for the door, pushing it open and spilling out of the car. Ronan got out and went to him, finding the omega on his knees, retching.
He looked up at Ronan, his eyes brimming with tears. “You knew. You knew he’d be there. And you brought me there anyway and put me back within his reach.”
Ronan crouched down next to him, desperate to make Noah understand.
“And he fell into our trap. Now he’s dead, and Timmy is safe, thanks to you. And you’re safe.”
“Why, Ronan? Was this about me proving myself to you?” There was anger beneath the omega’s tears.
Ronan pulled the omega into his arms. “This was about us, about our pack, proving our worth to you. Showing you that no-one hurts a member of our pack and gets away with it. And yeah, you’ve proved yourself to us, too. I’ve never seen someone so brave.”
Noah tried to pull away, but Ronan didn’t let go. This was make or break it time, and he wasn’t about to let what they had fall apart.
His mate finally gave in, hugging him back.
“I get why you did it,” he said, his voice muffled. “But your methods suck.”
“If we’d told you, you’d never have gone within miles of the place. But you’d always be scared, somewhere in the back of your mind, that Dominic was coming back for you. Now you know he’ll never touch you again.”
Noah made a sound of acknowledgment and huddled closer to Ronan.
“Let’s go home,” Ronan said, standing and lifting Noah with him, nudging the omega back toward the car.
“When we get home, we’re having a serious talk about honesty and openness in this relationship,” Noah said grumpily, reaching for the car door. “And that’s the last job I’m doing with you until we set some ground rules.”
Ronan caught Noah by the shoulders, spinning him around and pinning him against the side of the car. He leaned in close, scenting Noah’s neck and letting one hand drift down to press against the omega’s stomach.
“Speaking of honesty and openness,” he said quietly. “Is there anything you want to tell me.”
Noah squirmed a little before his eyes dropped down to look at Ronan’s hand.
“I’m not sure,” he said softly. “I didn’t want to tell you until I was.”
“Then let’s be sure,” he replied, kissing Noah’s cheek. “And no more high-risk jobs for you for a while if you are.”
They got back into the car and continued their journey home. It was dark by the time they got there but people were waiting up for them.
When Noah saw Griffin he went tense, and the alpha tightened his hold on his mate, a little concerned the omega would take his anger out on their leader.
“Welcome home,” Griffin said. “And well done on a successful job.”
“That wasn’t a job,” Noah said hotly. “You lied. There was no client.”
“I was the client. You’re a member of my pack now. We’re your family, and we will always have your back. No one gets to hurt you like that and just walk away.”
Ronan could see Noah was torn. The omega was angry and hurt, but behind that, he could almost see the thoughts flittering through his head.
“You really weren’t testing me, were you? It’s like Ronan said. You were… proving yourselves.”
“Did we pass?” Griffin asked, a soft smile on his face. Sometimes it was hard for Ronan to remember that Griffin was the same age as him. Their omega leader had lived a lifetime before they’d even met, and sometimes it showed.
“You guys are crazy,” Noah concluded. “But there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“And now that that’s decided, some of us need to catch up on sleep. Goodnight, guys.”
Ronan hustled Noah out of the room and upstairs.
“Does Griffin know? About the maybe-baby,” Noah said with a yawn as they reached their rooms.
“We’ll tell him when we’re ready,” Ronan replied, pulling off his T-shirt. “We do get to have some secrets, you and me.”
Noah glanced down at his stomach. “It won’t be a secret for very long.”
Despite how tired they both were, Ronan got them into the shower before they slept, knowing neither of them wanted to wake with that bastard alpha’s scent on them.
“Tomorrow,” Noah said sleepily as they finally lay down. “I want to go see Darcy.”
“Sure. You and he can chill with some tea.”
“No, not that,” he replied, snuggling closer to Ronan. “I think it’s about time I made these mine.”
He took Ronan’s hand and placed it across the back of his neck. Ronan could feel the scarred skin beneath his fingers. It wasn’t hard to picture the tattoos. He could see it now, brambles and thorns winding their way up Noah’s back, the omega’s tattoos mirroring his, tangling them together.
“You’re right,” he said simply. “I think it’s time.”