Annie Nicholas: Omegas In Love

The truth hurt more then he’d thought possible.

Resting a hand on his shoulder, Eric squeezed. “It couldn’t have been a true mating if she ran from him, Tyler.”

“Why didn’t either of you mention this possible threat?” A visible tick twitched on Daedulus’s cheek. Three werewolves should be able to contain one vampire if he lost it, but he wasn’t a run-of-the-mill bloodsucker. Nosferatu warriors could do some serious damage on a supernatural level.

“I didn’t know until today.” His voice cracked from the strain of not yelling as he faced off with the Nosferatu who could mash him into pudding if he wanted. “You’re not the only one who wants to find these bastards.” Rage erupted inside Tyler, almost tearing him to pieces.

God help those shifters when Tyler found them. He would tear out that alpha’s heart and swallow it whole. The wish surprised him. Daedalus, Eric, and Robert were the warriors. Tyler was…well, he was a real estate agent.

Eric pressed between them and drew Tyler away. “No death wishes tonight.” He whispered as they retreated from the pissed-off Nosferatu.

A gentle knock on the door broke off their conversation. The woman entering wore a white lab coat. “I’m Dr. Jotan. I’m taking care of Sugar. Which of you is Daedalus Pal Robi?” She glanced at each of them.

The vampire offered his hand.

To her credit, Dr. Jotan didn’t flinch at shaking it. She acted as if bald, incredibly pale vampires strolled through the hospital nightly.

Maybe they did? They were legal citizens. Who’s to say that some of the night staff couldn’t be undead?

“She’s been seriously injured. Whoever attacked her crushed her chest and broke several of her ribs, bruising her heart.” She led Daedalus to a chair and with a gentle hand guided him to sit. The vampire sank like an anchor. “Sugar’s lucky to have survived the trip to the hospital. At this point, with such a crushing trauma, nothing surgical can be done. We have to wait and see, support her lungs, and let the medicines work.”

“Will she live? That’s all I need to know.” Daedalus rubbed his chest where his heart didn’t beat.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, and I’ll keep you updated with any changes.” She turned to leave.

“Wait. I have a question.” Tyler stepped forward. “Has anyone tested her–” He glanced at Daedalus then at the doctor. “I mean, was she bitten or scratched by the attacking shifters?”

The vampire’s eyes narrowed while the armrests he held squealed in protest.

“There are no signs of the lycanthrope virus in her system. She’s still human.” She rested her hand on Daedalus’s shoulder. “If Sugar has any family, they should be called to come to see her.”

All the warmth vanished from the room. Just the steady beep of the monitor made any noise.

Rubbing his temples didn’t relieve the growing ache in Tyler’s head. He wanted to hit something, tear things apart, and howl at the sky.

They were good people. They helped the weak, guarded the humans of Chicago from predators, and lived full lives. What happened to karma? Where were the fairy godmothers to make things right?

He glanced at Daedalus. The emotional explosion hadn’t happened.

The Nosferatu pulled his cell phone from his back pocket of his jeans. He scrolled through a screen. “I have a few calls to make.” With those words, he left.

From the blank expressions on Eric’s and Sam’s faces, Tyler wasn’t the only one surprised.

“Who the hell could he be calling?” Sam pushed off the chair and paced the room. “He should be staying by her side.”

Eric scrubbed his hands through his hair. He looked like he shared the same stylist as Albert Einstein. “Not everyone deals with things the same way. Maybe he’s calling another doctor?”

A phone rang and they all checked their cells. Eric had the call. He spoke quietly, then hung up. “Robert’s with Tony. Someone gave them an address to check out.”

Hope heralded through Tyler’s body like a wave of warm water. “Let’s go.” He crossed the room and heard Eric tell Sam to stay with Sugar.

“Where are you going?” Eric caught him at the elevator.

“I can’t stay here. I’m going with you.” The doors opened and they rode to the lobby.

Eric leaned against the wall, his head hung low and his shoulders bent. “There’s going to be fighting.”

“I know.” He couldn’t meet his gaze. The sting of the comment too sharp on his battered soul. Over the past two years, Eric had matured from super geek to ultra alpha. Tyler gazed down at his own slight frame. Nothing had changed. Why did Katrina want him?

“You haven’t trained much, Tyler. I don’t want to rescue the girls and lose you in the process. Let me, Robert, and Esther go.”

All those chances to learn to fight and he’d blown them off, always thinking that there’d be other options besides violence. Now, all he wanted to do was tear Chen’s head off with his bare hands. “I’m going. I’ll stay back, even in the car if you insist, but I need to be there.”

Eric shook his head and sighed. “All right, but you let us take the lead. And listen to what we tell you.”

“How do you stay so calm? I feel like I’m going to lose control any second.” Tyler stormed out of the elevator when it opened, and exited through the front entrance of the hospital. “Every second that passes, I can’t help but wonder what he’s doing to her. What if he’s hurting her or worse–”

“Enough.” Eric grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him. “Don’t you think I’m wondering the same?”

Yanking his arm out of his alpha’s grasp, Tyler rounded on him. The ability to control his beast cracked and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men wouldn’t be able to stuff his beast back inside of him again.

Sensing the change about to take hold, Tyler scanned for a hiding spot. They stood in the open parking lot right in front of the hospital, with humans entering and leaving the building.

Eric dragged him kissing-close. “Easy, Tyler. Look at me, I’m your alpha.”

All he could manage was a nod.

“Don’t shift. Breathe. Deep and slow. In…and…out.” The calm words seeped into Tyler’s bones. His beast recognized Eric. His will was law. Only a true alpha could command his pack with his spirit. Humans couldn’t understand this power. The ingrained need to obey went marrow-deep.

Tyler released a shaky breath through clenched teeth and clutched at Eric. Sweat drenched his t-shirt.

“Good. Breathe again. We’ll find her. We’ll get her back.”

Taking another breath with stiff lungs, Tyler struggled with comforting his beast. It didn’t believe they would. He sobbed once–he didn’t believe either.

Eric gripped him harder, the intensity of his wrath barely contained in his body. “When we find those bastards, we’ll let our beasts out to feast.”

His alpha’s promise soothed Tyler’s turmoil more than the commands. The beast backed off and curled up to watch. Until today, it had been years since he’d lost it in public. He leaned his forehead on Eric’s.

“Get a room.” Someone shouted from a group of college boys strolling through the parking lot.

Tyler met the stranger’s gaze. “Jealous?” He raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t help it, habit took over, and he laughed even if it wasn’t heartfelt.

“Shit, Tyler.” Eric pushed him away. “Let’s go before I leave you here with Sam.”

They drove in Eric’s new white pick-up truck. Nothing more could be said about their misery, so they stayed quiet.

Tyler slouched in his seat, his knees bent against the dash. He stared outside at the dark city.

The GPS led them to a neighborhood close to Chinatown. All the old remodeled brick buildings were split into homes, industrial posh for the middle class. They passed the house slowly and parked farther down the street.