THE ALPHA'S UNWANTED OMEGA

CHAPTER 13. RUTHLESS PROMISE

Ava

"Is mom safe out there? Do you think she will experience the same thing that happened to Aunt Leila?" Jamie enquired.

Logan gave his brothers an even closer hug and said, "Our mother is a very strong woman. I know no one will be able to capture her."

"Logan, do you think she'll come to our rescue?" Noah enquired.

Gazing into his brother's puffy eyes, he answered, "I know she will. I'm sure Mom is searching everywhere for us right now."

Noah smiled, then Kyler murmured, "I'm hungry."

Although Logan felt bad about it, there was nothing more he could do.

In the face of the anguish that lay ahead, he remained silent since he was at a loss for words with his brother. Silence fell over the room as the brothers in the corner got more dejected. Logan became aware of how keen his senses had grown. Dim noises from outside the room could be heard by him. A bird soon began to sing, and the intensity of the wind caused the leaves to rustle. The boy heard what seemed to be the sound of a stream.

"Do you guys hear this?" he enquired, amazed.

"I hear nothing, Logan," Jamie answered. "What are you hearing?"

With a cheeky smirk, the child answered, "I think I have an idea where we are. There is a river close by, and we are in the heart of the forest. Mom will soon locate us."

It was a cold night with biting winds. Rae drove back to the pack while I shivered in the car. He observed me, my lips dry and complexion pallid, and he extended his arm towards the rear seat. He reached for a blanket and extended it towards me. The light seemed to make the yellow fabric sparkle in a way that was almost captivating. I stared at him but I decided not to say anything. I dozed off as the warmth the blanket provided slowly enveloped me.

The sudden stop of the car startled me, waking me up. I was back at the pack. Apart from Kyle, who was conversing with Rae while standing in front of the car, the streets were deserted.

I peered up into Kyle's eyes and saw that he was staring at me coldly. Why he detested me so much would always elude me.

Clad in the blanket that Rae had given me, I got out of the car. Both men fell silent at once. While Kyle averted his face in contempt, Rae turned to face me.

Then Rae said, "Kyle will be in charge of your stay here."

"What? No! I'd rather be captured by those humans than be in his company."

"We're on the same page for once, you pipsqueak." Kyle said, drawing Rae's attention.

I cast a disgusted glance at him. Kyle had caused me nothing but pain all my life. For reasons I couldn't fathom, he was always determined to harm me.

"Ava, you can't be alone anymore because of what happened today. Kyle is the beta of the pack," Rae exclaimed.

"Well, I'm sorry, Rae," I said, feeling the weight of the risk but determined to speak my mind, "but this time I have to defy you."

I started to move forward, taking two steps, but Rae grabbed one of my arms and pulled me back.

With his face very close to mine, he replied, "I'm equally sorry, but I'd have to disagree with your disobedience."

"You can't leave me in Kyle's care Rae. It's even worse than being captured by humans. I'm not going anywhere with him."

Kyle chuckled, prompting a disapproving look from Rae. There was a misunderstanding between the two of us that Rae had never realized.

"What is going on here, really?" Rae asked, looking quite concerned.

"You should ask your beta, I'm sure he has the answer to that question." I replied sarcastically.

I took a step back again, uninterrupted by Rae this time. I was seated a few meters away on a bench in the center of the square, so I couldn't hear what they were saying. It didn't seem to bother me though. I felt a brief regret for coming here in the first place to seek Rae's assistance. I believed that by now he ought to have located my kids or found concrete leads. We continued to go in circles, and we had gone home without seeing the quads. My chest erupted with the agony of having to spend another day apart from my kids.

Rae stood with Kyle and began to ask him a few questions.

"I had no idea there was an issue between you and Ava," he said, his face uncertain. "Why Kyle?"

"Why do you care, Rae? She's no longer a part of this pack."

"Because she's back to being a part of this pack," Rae replied.

Kyle chuckled once again, and Rae found his mocking sense of humor to be very annoying. "Did you do something to her?"

"Are you seriously asking me that? I can't believe you, Rae," the sarcastic grin vanished. "I've never been in support of you mating with her, maybe she hates me because of that."

"Ava is someone I know very well," Rae said, with a doubtful expression.

Kyle replied quickly, "More than you know me? I've been by your side longer than she has ever been. I have never betrayed you and have always been devoted to you."

Rae watched intently for Kyle's response, and his doubts intensified.

"Ava comes back to claim that you're the father of her kids after running away from the pack like a coward," he said, forcing himself to swallow hard and trying to watch his words and manner of speaking with the Alpha. "As our alpha, you should never have allowed her to step foot on these lands. Ever."

"Ava f*cking stays," Rae said, turning to look at me and observing me closely. "If that disturbs you so much, I'll take responsibility for keeping her safe."

Kyle wanted to yell, to be furious, to stop Rae from doing something he thought was stupid.

He refrained from displaying his rage, saying instead, "As your second, I say without fear of being mistaken, you're making a tremendous mistake. What do you think your people will say when they see the alpha king accepting someone who abandoned their own origins? And even going out of the pack to search for kids that you're not even sure are yours."

He drew back when Rae growled at him and even almost reached up to seize his neck and stop his damn mouth.

Rae thought Kyle was acting strangely, but he didn't have time to look into it deeply. Kyle on the other hand was taken aback. Rae could feel the anger pulsing through him, even though he had been quiet the entire time. He turned his head but avoided looking Kyle in the eyes. "Find Ava a place to sleep in the main building, and have two hunters guard the building all night."

"Yes, sir," Kyle said with clenched teeth.

"Kyle, don't hesitate to do what I just said," Rae cautioned. He looked at me and added, "You'll see the other side of me if anything happens to her tonight."

Kyle was so angry for the first time in a long time that he was on the verge of punching the car's glass window as Rae turned to leave him. Observing me conversing with Annie, he made a self-promise to banish me from the pack once more; but this time, permanently.