Annie Nicholas: Omegas In Love

She cried out his name one last time as loud as she could. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he’d come for her.

The floor rocked under Tyler while he tried to sleep. Cracking his eyelid open, pain roared as the light speared through his pupil. A miniature marching band paraded inside his head, going round and round. Every inch of his body ached as if Daedalus, his vampire trainer, had used him like a punching bag.

Damn, it was Eric’s bachelor party all over again. Maybe he was recovering from his own party?

No.

He’d never asked Katrina to marry him. Why not? His stomach somersaulted when he made a sharp turn. Rolling onto his side, his lunch came up in a heaving never-ending wave. It didn’t taste any good the second time around. He coughed and cleared his burning throat. “Gross.” Someone patted his back, but he didn’t recognize the voice. “Let it all out, man.” The stranger gagged. “Open the windows, Aaron, before I die back here.”

Wiping his chin, Tyler looked around. White metallic walls that had seen better days surrounded him. A worn burgundy carpet covered the floor with a brand new puke stain next to him. “Where am I?” Blinking, he tried to clear his vision.

“It’s okay. We’re taking you home. You should heal by tomorrow.” A double-headed man knelt by him.

Heal? So, not a hangover after all. Had he been hit by a car? He sure felt like road kill. “Who are you?” He tried to sit up, but his back protested. With a groan, he slumped back down. Rubbing his forehead, he found a lump the size of a baseball.

The man hovered over his face, appearing younger than he sounded. “I’m Tony. Aaron and I saw the whole thing. Dude, that was un-freaking-believable.”

Apparently, he’d done something impressive.

“We came to help with the fight, but they ran off. Did they ever lay into you.”

Help? He sniffed and recognized Vasi shifter in Tony. “I was in a fight?” As soon as he asked, he remembered. “Kat!” He sat bolt upright and fought the vertigo. “We need to go back. They took my mate.”

Tony slipped an arm under his shoulder as he wavered. “She’s gone. We chased them to a truck, which took off.”

Gone. The pain cleared Tyler’s head. “You let them go?”

“We couldn’t leave you bleeding on the street with the cops on the way.” Tony frowned. “And we’re not exactly built to take on trucks.” He gestured to his thin Asian body.

Tyler glanced at the driver, Aaron, and identified him as one of the Vasi omegas who followed Robert, his roommate, around. His close friend had started a support program for them.

Tony was new to him, though.

The van accelerated around a corner. A high pitched squeal accompanied them. Tyler slapped his hands over his ears so his drums wouldn’t burst. It drilled into his sore brain.

The Asian shifter shrugged and offered an apologetic smile. “The fan belt needs to be changed.”

“Where are you taking me?” Tyler leaned on Tony. The world had stopped spinning, but Aaron’s driving didn’t help the nausea or pain.

“Home, I said.” His packmate stroked his back as shifters did for comfort. “The alpha will find her.”

Their alpha, Eric, would help him tear apart the city to find Katrina. They were more than pack. He and Eric were part of small family, living together in the brownstone. However, where did they start searching for his mate?

The truck carrying Katrina could be anywhere. His heart shriveled and the hollow space in his chest echoed with her loss. Nothing but her return would ever fill it.

“Hey.” Tony shook him. “Don’t give up, dude. I’ve seen those assholes before.”

Tyler winced and grabbed his wrist. “Where?”

“They came to Chinatown last night and took the back room at the restaurant where I bus tables, but I never got close enough to get shifter vibes. Wish I had, now.”

“You didn’t know.” Tyler groaned as he got to his knees and glanced out the windshield between the two front seats. They were close to home. “I need some clothes.” He’d exploded out of his suit when he shifted into beast form. Ah, shit. Squeezing his eyes shut, he punched the back of the passenger seat gently. The ring had been in his pocket.

It didn’t matter, not with Katrina missing. He’d buy her another. First, he needed to get her back. The sound of a zipper drew his attention.

Tony pulled clothes out of a sports bag. “They’re my workout clothes.” He held out the wrinkled pile. “Better than nothing.”

Glancing at his pale skin and lean body, Tyler resisted the urge to cross his legs and arms over his nudity. Better to wear second-hand, stinking garments than walk from the van naked. The last thing he needed was to be arrested by the police for indecent exposure.

Unlike humans, the shifter community couldn’t depend on law enforcement. Even if he called in Katrina’s abduction, they’d make all the right noises and fill out all the right forms, however, he’d probably never see her again. The case would get chalked up as shifter politics, a don’t-get-involved zone.

Tyler yanked on the outfit, embracing the pain. Without it, grief would drown him.

The van stopped with a jerk, flinging him to the floor. Moaning, he untangled his arms and legs from Tony’s.

“Oh my God.” Fear filled Aaron’s words and sent a shiver down Tyler’s back.

He rose to his feet and squeezed between the front seats to get a better view.

An ambulance was parked in front of the brownstone. The front door hung askew as if kicked in.

Tyler stepped out of the van, clinging to the passenger door to stay on his feet. His stomach dropped as if on a bungee cord. Someone had attacked their home. Clutching his side, he shuffled along the sidewalk, past the human neighbors who whispered at the sight of him. He couldn’t give a shit.

Police tape blocked his way while paramedics carried out someone. He wanted to throw up again. A small figure lay flat, strapped to the stretcher, a stiff collar around her neck, and a tube coming from her mouth. The medical professional compressed a bag to help her breathe. Blond curls sprung at odd angles off the victim’s head.

Dearest Virgin Mary, he didn’t seem capable of speech. He wanted to wake from this nightmare. If not for Tony’s support, he would have fallen.

The paramedics hurried to the ambulance, shouting out medical terms to each other.

Sam, another of his roommates, dashed out the front door. “I’m going with her,” he shouted at the paramedics, then spotted Tyler at the edge of the crowd. “What happened?” He paused in front of Tyler, eyeing him head to toe.

“I’m okay. Take care of Sugar.” He tried to keep breathing. Sugar was their token human. She owned the brownstone. She wouldn’t have stood a chance in a shifter fight.

Sam glanced at the ambulance, then back at him. He nodded and climbed into the passenger seat of the vehicle.

“Are you sure that was Sugar?” Aaron’s young voice shook.

“Yeah, Spice is our alpha. You would have sensed her presence. Her twin is only human.” The remaining Vasi, who lived in the brownstone, were escorted out wearing very little, which meant they had shifted rapidly through their clothes. Most bore scratches and bites. Daedalus, their vampire trainer and Sugar’s fiance, wasn’t among them, since the daylight confined him. Tyler hoped the locks Daedalus placed on the inside of his coffin had kept him safe during the attack. The pack had enough tragedy for one day.

Cringing, Tyler didn’t want to be around when they told the ancient vampire what had happened to Sugar. She was the center of his universe and he’d been trying to convince her for the past year to cross over. She wouldn’t be so injured if she’d taken his offer. This would only cement Daedalus’s resolve.