Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ronan led Noah to Griffin’s study. There had been something in Finn’s voice when he’d asked them to come, and it had him feeling a little on edge. Something was about to happen, probably something he wasn’t going to like.
They sat down opposite Griffin’s desk.
“How’s the morning sickness, Noah?” Griffin asked.
Noah was almost five months along, and he was showing.
“It’s almost gone,” his mate replied. “But I’ve had some weird cravings.”
Ronan snorted at that. He knew all about Noah’s cravings, having gone on more than one late night trip to find something the omega’s body suddenly decided it needed.
“I’m glad you’re feeling more yourself.” Griffin set his hands down on the desk. “The job I’m going to tell you about stays between the three of us. Understood?”
Ronan nodded readily. Noah was more hesitant, glancing at him first before agreeing.
Griffin had a tablet computer open, and he turned it around so they could see the screen.
“There’s a fight taking place in three days’ time, here. It’s run by a group of upper-class packs. Tickets were near impossible to come by, but they were looking for people to work it. That’s where we come in. Ronan, you’ve been vetted as a security guard. All their servers are omegas, so Noah, that’s where you and I come in.”
“What’s the job?” Noah asked, beating Ronan to the question.
“We’re looking for a fighter.”
Ronan didn’t have to ask any more questions. This wasn’t the first quest of its kind that he’d gone on with Griffin. Noah, however, was in the dark, and it didn’t look like Griffin had plans to fill him in anytime soon.
“Which fighter? Why are you looking for them?”
“The why isn’t important. The who is… complicated. I know some details about the shifter we’re searching for, like his age, hair color, eye color, pack of origin, but it won’t make him easy to identify by sight.”
“Then how are we supposed to find this guy?” Noah asked.
“Word of mouth. I’ll try to get one or both of us stationed down with the fighters instead of upstairs with the guests. If that doesn’t work, they usually let a few of the winners upstairs after, so we can try to talk to them then.”
“And if we find this fighter?”
“We just need a name and the pack or fighting club he’s with, that’s all we’re looking for. Even if he happens to be there, even if one of us runs right into him, there isn’t any more we can do than just learn enough to find him again.”
“Why, are you thinking of recruiting him?” Noah asked.
Griffin managed a distracted smile. “Something like that.”
Noah looked himself up and down in the bathroom mirror. The clothes were a little unforgiving to his bump, but there wasn’t much he could do about that.
“Ready?” Griffin asked, standing by the door. He was wearing the same dark pants and white shirt that Noah had on.
“Ready,” Noah agreed.
He followed him out, over to where the rest of the servers for the evening were gathered. The event manager looked them all up and down with a critical eye, then started to divide them up. Griffin was put into the downstairs group. A moment later, Noah was as well, crossing to the other side of the room.
“Wait a moment,” a voice called after him. He paused and turned, seeing the assistant manager’s gaze lingering on his belly.
“That one’s pregnant,” the assistant said to the manager. The manager was suddenly staring at Noah’s stomach too. Noah had to resist the urge to hide his bump behind his hands.
“Lady Isabelle loves the pregnant ones. You,” he said to Noah, “join the upstairs group.”
Noah threw Griffin an apologetic glance. They’d make more headway with both of them downstairs than with him stuck upstairs being fawned over like a doll by rich alphas’ mates.
They put him to work carrying drinks around the floor. It wasn’t Noah’s first time doing a job like this, but it was his first time at a party hosted by an upper-class pack. The room was huge, there were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and everything glinted, from the furniture to the jewelry the guests wore.
Noah gave himself one hundred percent over to his role, aiming to be invisible, unnoticed, and light on his feet while he listened in to the conversations around him. He learned bits and pieces while he worked as the guests talked about the alphas who would be fighting that evening.
In packs like the one he came from, when someone mentioned a fight with another pack, it was a rough and ready bout between one shifter from each pack. In the upper-class packs, things were very different. It often wasn’t their own alphas fighting but alphas they’d purchased, whose training they’d paid for, and who now fought in the pack’s name. When he was a kid, their pack had an alpha who’d been around his brother Stephen’s age. Two shifters from a well-off pack came to see him, and Gregory had sold him off, just like that. Their pack had been desperate for the money or so Gregory maintained. Noah wasn’t sure that was a good enough reason to sell off a child to that kind of fate.
“Oh my goodness. Look at you, you’re glowing.”
Noah’s cloak of invisibility suddenly wore off as a woman stopped and stared down at his belly.
“May I?” she asked, not waiting for a reply before she pressed both her hands to Noah’s stomach. The baby kicked and she oohed and aahed, drawing the attention of two other women. Noah found himself suddenly surrounded and had to deal with being the center of attention in that corner of the room.
“So strong,” the first woman was saying. “Your alpha must be so proud, honey. Does he take good care of you?”
Before he could answer, another woman butted in. “Isabelle, you’re such a romantic. He can’t take much care if the poor thing is working here.”
Noah played on their concerns a little, but wouldn’t vilify Ronan if he didn’t have to.
“My alpha works hard, for both of us, but our pack has a lot of mouths to feed. I’d like to do my part while I still can before I’m too busy doing other things.” He pressed a hand to his stomach, and the three women sighed compassionately.
“Such strength,” Isabelle said with a soft sigh as the baby kicked again. “I think that’s a little alpha you’ve got growing in there. Tell me, your alpha, can he fight?”
“He can. He’s strong and brave, but… not like the alphas downstairs.”
Isabelle waved that off. “They’re trained. Fighting is their whole life. For alphas like yours and mine, their whole lives are us.” She patted his belly one last time. “If the pup is an alpha, I’m sure my mate, Marcus, would be very interested. Other packs train fighters from seven or eight years old, but he prefers to get them younger, he thinks it has better results. The money would go a long way in a pack like yours.”
Noah swallowed his horror and resisted again the urge to wrap his hands protectively around his stomach.
“Thank you. My alpha and I will keep that in mind.”
The ladies moved away to speak to another shifter, and he made a grateful escape to the other side of the room, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. It was then that the first of the alpha victors came inside. He quickly realized he was unlikely to get anywhere near them, let alone have a chance to talk to one of them. There was a constant crowd around the alpha, talking about him, squeezing his muscles, treating him like he was a prized possession and not a person. Nearby, the alpha ‘sponsor’, nothing more than a glorified slave owner in Noah’s eyes, stood proudly, fielding questions and even offers to purchase the fighter.
“Sick, isn’t it?” a voice said in his ear.
He turned to see another one of the servers next to him.
“He was from my pack. We grew up together. They sent him off when he was nine, promised him the world would be his. Instead, he spends his life fighting and training to fight. He’s got what, maybe two or three good years left? Then they start selling him. He goes from owner to owner until someone less reputable gets their hands on him and he dies in some illegal death fight.”
“There’s no way to get him out?”
“Some packs try and buy their people back.”
“But not yours?”
“Our alpha is too busy eyeing the next kid to sell. This omega, that alpha. Which will be the money earner this time around? And these guys,” he said, gesturing around the room, “they drive the whole market, create the demand, throw money around like it’s nothing. But it’s not their alphas in the fighting rings. It’s not their omegas being offered up to entertain the guests. Like I said, it’s sick.”
“Do you know any other fighters?” Noah asked, taking the opportunity to ask the questions Griffin wanted to know. The other omega knew a few fighters that fit the description partially but none that seemed to be their guy.
One of the head servers had spotted them talking and was coming their way, so they both moved, circling opposite sides of the room offering drinks.
“Well, now.” Another unexpected voice in his ear almost had him jumping. “So you’re the little beauty that caught my Isabelle’s eye earlier.”
Noah turned slowly, glancing upward to see an alpha staring down at him. It was Isabelle’s mate, Marcus.
“Would you like a drink, sir?” he offered. The alpha took the tray from his hands and set it aside.
“Who needs alcohol when your scent is in the air.” Marcus’ smile was predatory.
Noah took a step backward. “I should get back to work before they notice I’m not out on the floor.”
The alpha caught hold of his arm, stilling him. “Actually, I have a job for you. I have some beautiful chardonnay in the parlor. Excellent vintage. I’ll show you, and you can bring it out and serve it.”
That wasn’t exactly in Noah’s job description, but it was hard to argue with the alpha host.
“Of course, sir.”
Following him across the room to a side door, he tried to get the attention of one of the other servers, hoping someone would come to his aid. He sensed Marcus had things other than alcohol on his mind.
He instincts were proved right as soon as they were out of the room and into the corridor, the door closed firmly behind them.
Noah found himself backed up against the door, the alpha’s hands pressed either side of him.
“Aren’t you just a breath of fresh air.”
“Sir, I really need…”
“You’re here at my behest. I’m paying you. You need to be quiet and do what you’re told. You pregnant ones are always so feisty. I like that.”
“My alpha…”
“Oh, we both know that alpha is long gone. You wouldn’t be here otherwise. No alpha would let an omega like you wander about, alone and pregnant, among all these people. So, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to take you upstairs and show you a good time. You’ll be more than reimbursed. Tomorrow, I’ll find you an easy little job to do in the house, down in our kitchens maybe, and you’ll work until the baby comes. If they’re an alpha or omega, you’ll be compensated handsomely. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll give you a great reference and help you find a good job elsewhere.”
The urge to panic was there and almost overwhelming. But he knew that wouldn’t help him. His training would. Between Griffin and Ronan’s teachings, Noah had a whole arsenal of skills to use.
“You’re very kind and generous, Alpha,” he said softly, looking up at the shifter from under his eyelashes.
Marcus took that as compliance, moving a step back, taking Noah’s hand, and tugging him away from the door. Noah went with the movement, walking two steps forward before stopping.
“But I’m afraid my alpha is just downstairs, working security for the evening. He has plans for us tonight, after the party. I wouldn’t dare disappoint him. I hope you understand.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, turning lightning quick toward the door, opening it, and slipping back inside, getting lost among the crowd while he made a beeline for his tray. Halfway there, he changed his mind, turning toward the main door. His safety came first, that’s what Griffin and Ronan always said when it came to jobs. He had a predatory alpha on his heels, one that seemingly had designs on both him and their baby. He wasn’t taking chances.
Slipping outside into the corridor, he hurried for the stairs and made his way down. Once he reached the bottom, he wasn’t sure which way to go, looking left and right before picking a direction and walking. He found himself in what seemed like a maze of corridors, the sounds of cheering and fighting growing distant. Wrong way. He turned around and backtracked, passing the stairs again and making his way to the next corridor. Just as he got there, a hand grabbed his arm, and he found himself turned and shoved against the wall.
“An omega in flight,” Marcus said with a grin. “Naughty boy. Where do you think you’re going, hmm?”
“My… my alpha,” Noah said breathlessly, forcing himself not to struggle against the alpha’s grip. He could see it in Marcus’ eyes. It would only excite him.
“We both know that’s a lie. I’ve met omegas like you. You turn some alpha’s head, it’s a whirlwind romance, you mate, even though you didn’t mean to, and suddenly there’s a baby on the way. The alpha, he didn’t plan for any of this, he just wanted a good fuck. Then he’s got a mate and a child, like a ball and chain. So what does he do? He takes off, goes back to the single life, leaving you struggling on your own, trying to make ends meet, with the stigma of being abandoned by your mate.”
“No,” Noah said. “That’s not me.”
“Oh?” Marcus asked. “Then where is he? Where’s this alpha of yours?”
“He’s right here,” a voice growled from nearby.
They both turned to see Ronan standing there, drawn up to his full height, a look of fury on his face. “Get your hands off my mate.”
The alpha let Noah go, jerking backward. “You’re… you…”
He glanced at Noah again, and regained his composure, giving Ronan an easy smile. “Let’s chalk this down to a miscommunication. You’re both free to leave. You’ll be paid for the full night.”
Ronan stalked forward, grabbed Noah’s arm by the sleeve of his shirt, and tugged him behind him. Marcus backed slowly away from them down the corridor, before turning and striding away.
“I came to find you,” Noah managed to say. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Ronan didn’t turn his attention to Noah until the alpha was long gone, his footsteps fading on the stairs.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, scanning his mate from head to toe.
“No,” Noah said. “I’m okay.” He took a shaky breath and Ronan could tell he was close to tears.
“Hey.” Crowding him against the wall, Ronan tugged Noah’s head to his neck, letting the omega take in his scent to calm him. “Are you sure you’re alright? What about the baby?”
Ronan let his hands slide down to rest against Noah’s stomach. He could feel the baby shift beneath his palms, then a sudden flurry of kicks against him.
“Kicking up a storm, huh?”
“He’s okay,” Noah said. “We’re both okay. That alpha, Marcus, he just kept ignoring what I said, saying I didn’t have an alpha and he was going to take the baby and give me money and horrible stuff like that.”
Ronan felt his alpha instinct rise and pulled Noah more tightly against him.
“He is never laying a hand on our baby or you, I promise you that.”
“I just… if he’d got me up to his room…”
“You’d have surprised him, fought him off and slipped away, just like we trained. Just like Griffin taught you. But you know what? You did one better, you didn’t let it get that far. I am so proud of you.”
“What do we do now?”
“Find Griffin, give him a heads-up, and get out of here before this turns into something.”
Ronan led Noah back to where he’d last seen the other omega. There was no sign of him. Ronan, reluctant to leave Noah alone, left a message with one of the other omegas and took Noah out to their vehicle. They’d wait for Griffin there.
They’d taken the truck in lieu of a car, keeping up their persona as members of an impoverished rural pack. It meant Noah was able to sit right up against him, his face buried in Ronan’s neck, inhaling deeply.
“Did you find out anything?” Noah asked him once he was calmer.
“Not what we were looking for. You?”
“The same. Whoever this alpha fighter is, it doesn’t seem like he was here.”
It was another two hours before Griffin appeared, the omega walking quickly to the car, getting inside, and slamming the door closed.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said.
Ronan put the truck into gear and drove off. It was clear Griffin was angry, tension radiating off of him.
“Did you have any luck?” Ronan asked him.
The omega balled his hand into a fist and slammed it into the door, leaving a dent.
“What happened to you two?” Griffin asked finally. “Why did you leave so early?”
Noah explained about the alpha, tacking on an apology at the end that Griffin interrupted with a wave of his hand.
“No, Noah. Your safety comes first, always. You did exactly what you were supposed to do.”
Griffin returned to staring out the window. His demeanor worried Ronan.
“Finn?” he asked. “What did you find out?”
“I was too late,” Griffin said eventually, dropping his gaze to his lap. “I’m always too late.”
Ronan shared a look with Noah. He knew his mate was confused, given he didn’t know the reasoning behind what they were doing. But it wasn’t Ronan’s story to tell, and he didn’t feel comfortable breaking Griffin’s confidence, not with something so personal.
Noah must have read the concern in Ronan’s eyes because he turned back to Griffin, reaching out and laying his hand on the omega’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything, just held on as Griffin cried silent tears. Finally, Griffin’s hand came up, covering Noah’s and holding on tight. Ronan gave a sigh of relief at seeing the omega take some comfort for once. He’d be okay, they all would. They had each other.