Chapter Four

Da- I mean uh Bridger ^

Bridger's POV

"What the fuck was that?" I ask as soon as I step into Arron's office.

He holds his face in his hands while shaking his head. His fingers dig through his hair that's a mess on his head. He mumbles to himself before shaking his head and mumbling more.

"Arron!" I bark, "why the fuck did you think it was a good idea to try to assault that omega?"

He looks up at me, annoyance written all over his face.

"I'm mated to a fucking male omega," he snaps as if it's a bad thing. "A male omega, Bridger. Do you think I'm in the mood to talk about him?"

"Just because you're mated to him doesn't give you the right to try to assault him. Hell, the fact that you're mated to him should have stopped you. He and his friends have been through enough, Arron. Did you see them? They're so..." I sigh and stuff my eyes into my pockets, "I'm trying to gain their trust and you burst into their room and do that?"

I scoff at him. "You need to start thinking about your actions, Arron."

I don't let him respond, knowing whatever he had to say would be bullshit he pulled out of his ass. I leave his office, closing the door loud enough so he knows I'm pissed at him but not loud enough for him to get offended and throw a tantrum. I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes for a brief second. He doesn't think, he never does and in the rare moment when his brain does work, he's always concerned about himself. Being his beta is so, incredibly tiresome. There are times when I wonder if I should have rejected his request and moved to another pack. I'd be much less stressed out for sure.

I leave the pack house, deciding to not let my alpha's thoughtless behaviour get to me. I have other business to tend to anyway and getting tied up with a moody alpha won't get things done.

I make my way towards the Warrior's Lounge where I need to meet with one of our kappas and discuss the whereabouts of the two other omegas/unconfirmed children that have escaped from the group. We know they couldn't have gotten far and our lambdas are beyond skilled in the sport of hunting and though I don't like the idea of "hunting" omegas like prey, it's important we find them.

I enter the training room, silently avoiding walking through the middle of a class that's going on. One of our zetas yells out commands at young etas in training and can only imagine how long they've been training. It reeks of sweat in here. The zeta doesn't acknowledge me and I don't acknowledge him as I swiftly exit the room and make my way towards the elevator to head to the second floor.

The Warrior's Lounge is, in my opinion, more complicated than the pack house which is much bigger. First of all, the Warrior's Lounge isn't just for zetas and etas - who it's named after, but also for kappas, lambdas, upsilons, and epsilons. Secondly, it's built so that if we were to ever be attacked by an enemy, those who come in will have a harder time coming out. So elevators dont lead to all the floors, some hallways don't end, and the fifth floor isn't even a floor as much as it is a tiny room. I can't count on one hand how many times I've gotten lost in this place. The name is very misleading as it's not a lounge at all and one could even argue it's the second packhouse. It's been around for years, maybe a generation or two before my father, so we've never sought to change it, but instead, add to it.

I step out of the elevator, shouldering past a group of teens and not bothering to ask why they're not at school since I couldn't care less. After elementary school, our pups have to attend human middle and high schools. It's a law The Council of Elders passed some years ago for "conflict" reasons as they've put it. The Supernatural Board have been trying to make peace between all species with recent rules and stuff, we only follow because The Elders want themselves to appear better than they really are.

I digress.

I head down a hallway brightly lit by the numerous windows lining the wall to my right. I head straight to the office suite and down a smaller hallway before stopping in front of a black door with the name Kappa Isaac Holten on a plaque.

I don't bother knocking.

The large man behind the desk hardly acknowledges my presence as I walk in and take a seat in front of his desk. He holds his phone up to his ear, a small playing on his usually stoic face. I can hear a small, high-pitched voice coming from his phone, no doubt his daughter who had just recently turned two. Kappas usually refrain from having families, their job is dangerous and they are usually the first ones to be hit by intruders. But Arron's father loosened the requirements for Kappas and their Lambdas when he became Alpha.

I don't have time to wait around so I clear my throat.

"Kappa," I say, grabbing his attention. The smile on his lips falls and his eyes narrow at me as he tells his pup he has to go.

"A knock would have been nice," he says, "I wouldn't go barging into your office."

"How's the progress?" I ask, ignoring his whining.

"They're good at running and hiding," Isaac says, "they're still close to the pack but they're moving steadily as the days go by. We just haven't had luck catching them yet. We almost caught one of the young ones - the boy must be fourteen...sixteen at most. He slipped right through our hands -- paws I guess I should say -- and I have no idea where he went. Goddess knows how fast those omegas are.

"They are Her chosen ones after all," I say with a chuckle, "they keep eluding your efforts, so try harder. The three we've got currently are nervous and I believe keeping them together will ease their nerves. Anyway, I say alert the pack they seem to be headed to, we can maybe see if the nymphs can capture them."

His eyebrow quirks as a smirk crawls onto his face. "Nymphs? If those girls capture one of those omegas, we'd never get them back. You know how they are."

Nymphs, as lovely, kind, and shy as they are, are very mischievous. I know that if I ask the Quiver living on our land to help in getting the omegas, they'll play more games than getting the actual job done. I'd also be risking the omegas since nymphs are known for their ...odd ways of showing infatuation.

"Is Arron trying to keep them?" Isaac asks.

I shake my head. "Certainly not, especially the boys. The girl has a chance, but you know how he is."

Isaac hums in agreement. I don't tell him that one of them is Arron's mate. He's already triggered by the fact his mate is a male omega, so I know that that one will not be allowed to stay. As much as it upsets me, because Goddess, he's gorgeous. Had he not been mated to an asshole who I have to call my alpha, I'd advocate for his stay to get to know him more.

Isaac doesn't notice my change in mood. "Where are you sending them then?"

I shrug. "I want to find them a safe pack. They want to leave, I don't know where they're trying to go, but a pack is what they need. I have reason to assume their old pack was abusive towards them so I'll do my research, find them an omega-friendly place to go and send them there."

"By themselves?"

"No, I'll figure out the details though. I'd like it if you'd also communicate with some Kappas from other packs, put in a word about homeless omegas. Be wary though, I want them to be safe."

Isaac nods. "Of course."

While Isaac isn't as passionate about the way the world is as I am, he and I share similar views. He is nothing but kind to omegas and we share the same belief. He also can't stand Arron and that's a good sign of a sensible person.

He runs his head through his brown hair and looks up at me. This is his way of telling me to leave so I do, wishing him luck with the finding of the two other omegas. Rogues aren't as bad as they were last year, but I worry that if our hunters can't capture them, then a rogue will. And I don't want to be wandering through the woods only to stumble upon a half-eaten omega.

But I can't worry about them at the moment. The three we currently have are my priority. So with that in mind, I head back towards my office so I can begin my search for a pack that needs omegas. This will require me to get information about all packs within this country alone that have been visited and inspected by The Elders. Then I'll have to contact them individually, make appointments, and determine whether or not they're faking to get their hands on new omegas.

The entire plan is a mess.

'That I can agree with' Jace chimes in, 'but all these precautions are necessary'

Hopefully, it all works out and we find the other two.

_____ _____ _____ _____

I walk into Jenna's room and see the pretty blonde and his angry friend sitting close to her. The brunette is in the middle of a sentence when I walk in and the gorgeous blonde had been brushing Jenna's long, black hair. He catches my gaze first and he quickly stands from his seat, his eyes growing wide as if I just caught him doing something he shouldn't. His friend looks over to me and I see a trace of fear in his own eyes before it's quickly replaced with a hardened scowl as he slowly moves away from Jenna's bed.

They must have been told not to come into the room.

"Don't worry," I say as I sit down at the chair furthest from them.

My eyes travel over Jenna who looks much better than before. Her jet-black hair looks softer now thanks to the brushing. It settles over her small shoulders and shapes her round face well. Her skin glows a bit and she seems much more calm than she was before.

"I was searching for you two," I say, pointing at the two guys, "I need to ask you some questions."

They don't answer so I take that as an indication to keep going.

"I've got Jenna's name: Jenna Carthy. So it won't do you any harm to give me yours. I need your ages as well."

They share glances but neither makes the first move to speak. Jenna speaks up, taking the blonde's hand in hers.

"It's okay," she says, "if they wanted to hurt us, do you think we'd be receiving such good care?"

I watch the way she rubs her thumb against the blonde's hands. She looks between the two guys standing on either end, a smile on her lips as she nods for them to talk. The blonde bites his lip and I watch as his tooth plunges into the soft, pink flesh. I lick my lips and quickly avert my gaze.

"Kian," the blonde says, "...C-Carter."

"Is that your surname?" I know it's intrusive of me to ask, but I'm also aware of how things work in their pack thanks to Jenna.

She had explained that if a person of a higher rank takes ownership of an omega, usually their surname is changed to that person. I figured it was a way to elude The Elder's biannual inspectors; they cover it up as adoption or marriage. In Jenna's case, it had been marriage and she explained in very minor detail how she'd been stuck with the brother of the beta ever since she was sixteen - she's twenty-one now.

Had the inspectors truly cared, they would have pried deeper into these practices because I know their pack isn't the only pack that does this. However, The Elders don't care and neither do their inspectors. Had they cared, the torturing, raping, and killing of omegas would have ended decades ago.

I take a deep breath to rid my mind of it before my mood drops enough for them to notice. Omegas are sensitive to mood swings, more so than our most trained therapists.

Kian stares at his shoes that were given to him by the nurses. His small hands twist the hem of his shirt.

"I...um...I d-don't know my surname."

I stifle a sigh and nod.

'Goddess, how old was he when he was taken?'

"I-I'm twenty."

I write it down and look over at his friend, expectantly. He's much more reluctant and I can hear his heart slamming against his chest. I don't use my pheromones to make him do what I want, I wait patiently. After a minute goes by he finally speaks up.

"Peyton Holly," he says, "that's my surname."

"Thank you," I say sincerely, knowing how hard it must have been. "And your age?"

"Twenty-two."

They were all so young. I can't imagine the shit they've been through at such young ages.

"Can you tell me the name and ages of your friends who escaped?"

Kian's big green eyes widen a bit and he looks over at Peyton. "What if they don't find them?"

Peyton doesn't answer him or me.

"Katie and Mika. I don't know their last names. Mika is fifteen and Katie, twenty."

My heart constricts. I knew the boy is young but I had hoped for at least sixteen. He is barely a teenager and I can't fathom the fear he's feeling now as he's being hunted down by people he knows can hurt him. I almost want to call off the search but I know the faster we find them, the faster they'll find peace.

"Well," I say as I stand up, "thank you so much for complying with me. Kian, Peyton, an omega will be in the room you've been staying in shortly to take you to the house where they stay. Please be there to meet her."

Kian nods but Peyton just stares at the ground. With that being said, I leave the room, quietly closing the door behind me.

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Word Count: 2423