"He's gone rogue."
Ariadne slumps over, losing strength in her legs as she slides down the kitchen wall.
Her eyes skitter about, unable to focus, pupils so wide that the blue appears black. Victor's there with her, holding her hands tightly, trying to ground the Omega.
"Ariadne, talk to me," Victor whispers frantically, trying to connect but not able to reach. "Whatever you need."
The Omega's eyes slide shut as she exhales shakily.
Every breath seems to dissipate the emotions that storm inside her. "We can't go after Edward, Victor."
That wasn't the reply that the Alpha expected. "What are you saying, baby?"
Shouldn't they be planning Edward's quick and precise recapture?
Ariadne shakes her head, swallowing audibly. "If we split our resources, then it'll slow us down. We might not find either of them."
Victor gently starts rubbing Ariadne's shoulders, thumbs pressing into her neck, massaging out the tension.
Nathan sheepishly scratches at the back of his head. "You can if you want, but I-well, Felix gave us an access point, but the whole thing is encrypted now. It's like Arthur knows he's been crossed."Getting their hands on Arthur's files could be a meaningful breakthrough."Let me see," Ariadne says as if possessed. Nathan leads the way to the desk in the corner."I tried last night, but it was impossible, and..." Nathan sighed. "I don't know how much longer we have. Arthur's probably going to move the data if we-""It's okay," Ariadne says, cracking her knuckles. "I'm an expert at bread trails."Harry stares at Victor, a devil's smile on his face. "I feel like this is a good time for us to talk shop, Alpha Victor."Victor would be in a much more entertaining mood if Harry weren't so openly infatuated with Ariadne.It'd been a day.But to be perfectly fair, Ariadne is just that captivating."Business can wait," Victor say
Alpha Victor's gaze lingers on Waylon one moment longer before turning to the doors.Ariadne takes his hand, and the two go back down the staircase, through the tattoo parlor, back to their car. Ariadne's pensively silent."Baby?""You lost everything. It's all my fault. I'm like a tornado, and I uprooted everything. Just kick me to the curb; I wouldn't even blame you.""I can find a new First Beta," Victor says. "I already know who. It's-It's manageable."Ariadne gasps overwhelmed with emotion. She's still driving steadily, but it makes Victor worried."I'm ruining you. I'm destroying you. I don't want to, I just- I'm so sorry, Victor. I can leave if-"Victor chooses his following words carefully. "If you go, I'd die."That's just short of acknowledging Ariadne as his mate. The Omega knows it.Ariadne takes a few steadying breaths. "I'll do what I can to make things right. We'll find them. We'll make Arthur pay."
Victor raises his eyebrow before pulling on a shirt. "Do you want to fill me in there?" "Chester's hiding out in a safe house, swarming with muscle and hired guns," Ariadne says. "Dustin wants to meet up tomorrow to run over schematics." That would be the logical answer, only it's not what the Alpha is looking for. "Not that," Victor elaborates. "I want to know why Chester deserves to be castrated via gunshot wound." A light dims in the Omega's eyes. "I don't want to talk about it," Ariadne says, squirming away, turning over in the bed. Victor reaches forward, hand grazing along the Omega's shoulder. Ariadne immediately shrugs him off and shuffles out from in between the sheets. "I need a shower," she huffs, bathroom door slamming behind her. The water starts running a moment later. Victor pushes back the feeling of how disappointed he is. When Ariadne smells like him, he likes it, but the Omega has other plans.
"I'm leaving," Victor spits before Ariadne catches his sleeve. "Let's at least get the blueprints on the place," the Omega suggests. Victor sighs, knowing that Ariadne's right. "Fine." The Alpha steps through the hall to the faithless knights of the roundtable. Nathan stands, looking whitened from stress. "Victor, you came." "I didn't know you'd be here," Victor hisses. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have come." It becomes evident that Dustin has illustrated an elaborate ruse to get them in the same place. "I-I had to," Alpha Dustin defends himself. "I know what you already think of me. I have nothing left to lose anyway." "Just your life," Victor replies, venom dripping from his tongue. Dustin stands, eyes glowing. "Threaten me if you want; I'm used to it. I'm trying to correct things here. I've been playing it your way, with the trades and honor, but that's f*cking bullshit. I'm branded as a rat from the get-go, so f*ck the O
Alcina steps forward as if possessed. "Did- Did Edward do this?" Edward? Chester lets out a pitiful cry. "He's a demon." "That Omega killed all these people," Waylon gasps with surprise. "He did this to you? You can't be serious." Ariadne crouches down so that she's at eye level with Chester. "Tell me where Arthur and Clavin are." Chester laughs, spitting up blood. "I already told him, that monster. Not that he's getting anywhere near Arthur." Ariadne shrugs. "Then you're dead anyway. Arthur executes talkers, you know that." "Will you let me go after? Untie me if I talk," Chester asks, hopeful. "You're kidding, right," Ariadne frowns. "After what you did to me." Chester whispers darkly. "Putting on a show for your Alpha, Aria? You know you liked it. I've never seen an Omega whine and beg so much." The spot between Victor's eyes starts boiling. He's never wanted to kill someone this badly.
Ariadne blinks the crust from her eyes.Her cheeks feel raw from the salt of her tears. Her mind is hazy, as though she'd been sleeping in a tomb.Victor's red irises glimmer in the darkness, watching over her, a dark god.It's night, crickets chirping, lunar light streaming through a tall, thin window."How long have I been out?" Ariadne whispers, consistently like gravel.Victor's fingertips trail around the strands of her hair gently."A few hours," Victor coos. "You have time. We're not hitting Arthur's hideout until tonight. You don't even have to come if-""I want to," Ariadne says undoubtedly. "I want to be there and watch him die."There's no other way to make sure."Like how you did with Chester," Victor whispers, holding her tighter, which Ariadne finds suffocating.The Omega wriggles out of it, pulling the covers over herself as a barrier to Victor's touch.The Alpha sighs. "It hurt you. Watching
Ariadne watches Victor unbelievingly. Victor continues, "I wanted to be with you."Why is it so hard to explain to her?Blush fire runs through the entirety of Ariadne's skin, and she finds that she can't continue.But Ariadne knows the difference, so inherent and prominent. Arthur wanted to own her. Victor just wanted to be with her, know her, be her friend and confidant.And now, the Alpha is more to her than any single title, friend, lover, partner."You'd be surprised at how little I think of you," Ariadne spits, a tremor jolting along her spine at the complete blatancy of that lie.Victor laughs in a sweet, good-natured way, scarlet irises glittering in the dark. He sighs, studying Ariadne with intent. "You didn't tell me everything.""I barely told you anything," Ariadne agrees."I want to hear about why you don't want to be mated," Victor says. "But-Ariadne's stomach sinks."-I know you're not ready yet."
Victor wakes up from a dream he can't remember. All he knows is that he has this burning desire to hold Ariadne in his arms as tightly as possible.Only the Omega isn't there, where she'd been last night, still safely tucked under Victor's embrace.The Alpha swallows the soul-crushing ache and quickly swipes away the tears that are drizzled on his cheeks.What did he dream about?Victor spies a red leather chair, with buttons sewn into the divots and golden painted appendages.Ariadne sits there, a distance away, only half-lit in the gloom of the dawn.She's a ghost, vaporous as the tiny dust fibers swim carelessly through the air.