The Lost Omega

Chapter Five

On the subsequent flight down, he found Rebic waiting in front of a door, knocking on it with his hand ready. He had a strong feeling that it was Karin's door. It didn't really come as a surprise to him that Rebic would try to find another way to get even with Cassie for making him run away from the situation. The other wolf stiffened and dropped his arm as Levi scuffed his boot on the stairs. Levi watched the other wolf.

Levi informed him that Karin was absent from the house. "And causing her harm is not a prudent course of action."

Levi pondered whether he should just end it all right now, but he was conscious of the fact that his father could not allow him to ruin his reputation. He did not kill anyone other than those who had broken the Marock's rules, and he did not do so until it was established that they were guilty.

Cassie had told his father that Rebic was the wolf who had changed Alan Kenzie Friezer against his will, but given that there were so many things wrong in this pack, there may have been mitigating circumstances. Cassie had been a werewolf for three years, but despite this, she was under the impression that she was unable to have children. If Cassie knew so little, then it was highly likely that this wolf didn't know the rules either, since Cassie knew so little herself.

Levi wanted to kill the wolf, regardless of whether or not the wolf was aware of the wrongdoing he had committed. Levi let his beast peer out of his eyes when Rebic turned around to face him, and he watched the other wolf turn pale and start walking back down the stairs.

Levi advised, "You ought to locate Jason and communicate the message to him." This time, he let Rebic know that he was following him, and he made him experience, even if only momentarily, what it was like to be the prey of a larger predator.

This Rebic was a tough individual. He kept turning around to confront Levi, but every time they locked eyes, he was pushed away and forced to retreat. The pursuit aroused his wolf, and because Levi was harboring resentment toward Rebic for the way he had mistreated Cassie, he gave the wolf a little more freedom than he ought to have. It was a struggle to get the guards to stop at the door leading outside and let Rebic go free. The hunt that had been planned for the wolf had turned out to be much, much too brief.

Cassie's terrified expression had made the Wolf uncomfortable as well. He had established his claim, and it had taken all of Levi's self-control to refrain from simply murdering Rebic in Cassie's apartment. He had staked his claim. He was only able to remain seated until he was absolutely certain that he could exercise self-control because he had a strong intuition that she would resume being afraid of him.

The fact that he had to ascend four flights of stairs should have afforded him sufficient time to subdue the wolf. It very well could have, if not for the fact that Cassie was waiting for him on the landing below her apartment with a rolling pin in her hand.

When he stopped halfway up the stairs, she turned around without saying a word and faced him again. He followed her back to her apartment and into the kitchen area, where she had placed the rolling pin on its stand right next to a small pot that held a number of knives. He crept up behind her as she moved through the apartment.

He asked with a voice that was strained from the need to take immediate action, "Why the rolling pin and not a knife?"

Since she had last seen his face on the stairs, she cast her gaze in his direction for the very first time. Even a knife wouldn't be enough to slow him down, but broken bones take a while to recover from.

That was to his liking. Who would have thought that a woman wielding a rolling pin could arouse his s****l interest? He responded with "All right." "You're good to go."

He made a sharp turn and left her while she was still standing in front of the counter, because he knew that if he hadn't done so, he would have taken her and seduced her. They were unable to walk around the apartment freely or get much space between themselves because it was too small. Her scent, which contained elements of both dread and desire, was menacing. He required a diversion in order to focus.

He rotated one of the chairs so that it faced him and sat down on it, leaning back until it was balanced on its two legs. He folded his arms behind his head and adopted a deliberately relaxed posture before saying, "I want you to tell me about your change," while partially closing his eyes. As he watched her flinch slightly, he realized that he hadn't overlooked any of the hints. There was something inherently flawed about the manner in which she had been changed. He zeroed in on that aspect.

Still high on the adrenaline rush from Rebic's visit, he imagined, she confronted him with the question "Why?" and posed a challenge to him. She was able to regain control of herself and turn away, cringing as if she expected him to blow up at any moment.

He completely shut both of his eyes. In just a few more seconds, he was going to throw out all of the lessons on proper conduct that his father had taught him and take her whether she wanted it or not. Oh, he thought, that would teach her to not be afraid of him anymore after that!

He told her in a patient tone, "I need to know how Jason's pack is run," despite the fact that at the time he couldn't have cared less about the topic. "I'd much rather do that by listening to your thoughts first, and then I'll ask you some questions after that. This will provide me with a deeper understanding of what he is doing and why he is doing it."

Cassie cast a wary glance his way, but he showed no sign of moving at all. Even after Rebic had left, she could still detect a trace of rage in the atmosphere, but it was possible that it was just a hangover from when he had been there. She found herself responding to the fact that Levi was aroused despite the fact that she was aware that this was a common result of successful confrontations between males. Levi was aroused. Because he was disregarding it, she could do the same.

She inhaled deeply, and the aroma of him flooded her lungs as she did so.

She swallowed, then cleared her throat and began searching for the beginning of her story. "When I first met Rebic, I was working at a record store in the Loop area of Jersey. He informed me that he was a guitarist just like me, and he started coming in a few times a week to make purchases of strings, music, and other items with low price tags. He was very chatty and playful." She gave an exasperated huff about her foolishness. "I had a good impression of him as a gentleman. Therefore, when he asked me out for lunch, I responded with a positive answer."

She turned her gaze to Levi, who appeared to be dozing off despite her best efforts to awaken him. He was breathing easily and slowly, which contributed to the relaxation of the muscles in his shoulders.

"We went out on a few dates together. He took me to this quaint restaurant that was located close to a forest preserve as well as a park. After we had finished talking, he took me for a stroll through the forest. "So you can gaze upon the moon," he explained to me. "Even now, after the night had passed for many hours, she could still hear the strain in her voice. "He requested that I hold on for a moment and assured me that he would be right back."

She recalled that he had been excited, to the point of being almost frantic with his pent-up feelings. After searching his pockets, he claimed that he had forgotten something in his vehicle. It was a source of concern for her that he had gone out to purchase a wedding ring. While she waited, she had been practicing polite ways to decline the offer. They shared very few interests and did not have any chemistry at all. In spite of the fact that he appeared to be nice enough, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something just a little bit off about him, and her gut told her that she needed to end the relationship.

It took longer than a minute, and I had almost reached the point where I could walk back to the car when I heard something in the bushes. Fear had the same effect on the skin of her face as it had on that previous evening.

"He's a werewolf? You didn't know that, did you?" The sound of Levi's voice served as a helpful reminder to her that she was perfectly secure in her apartment.

"No. I was under the impression that werewolves only existed in stories."

"Tell me about what happened after the attack," she said.

She didn't have to tell him that Rebic had followed her around for an hour, herding her back from the edge of the preserve every time she came close to escaping it. He already knew. He was solely interested in learning about Jason's pack. Cassie attempted to suppress her sigh of relief.

"I woke up in Jason's house. At first, he was very enthusiastic. There is only one other female in his pack. After that, they learned exactly what I am."

"And you, Cassie, are what exactly?" She had the impression that his voice was like smoke; it was light and airy.

She referred to him as "submissive." "As low as it gets," as the saying goes. She followed that up by saying, "Utterly pointless," as he continued to keep his eyes closed.

He asked the question with some reflection, "Is that what they told you?"

"That is absolutely correct." The wolves that didn't despise her treated her with pity, so she ought to be more upset about it than she is at this point. However, she did not want to be the dominant one, as that would require her to fight and hurt other people.

She proceeded with her account, endeavoring to provide him with as many specifics as she was able to recall while he remained silent. He asked some questions:

Who assisted you in taming the wolf and gaining control? (No one, she'd done that on her own; they'd told her it was another black mark against her that demonstrated she wasn't dominant.)

Who is it that provided you with the Marock's contact information? (Loyd Hamillton, the third in Jason's line.)

When and why is it needed? (Just before Jason's mate intervened and stopped him from handing Cassie off to whichever male he wanted to reward, he was in the process of passing Cassie around to the other males. Cassie made an effort to stay away from the higher-ranking wolves; however, she had no idea why he'd given her that number, and she had no desire to inquire about it.

"Since you joined the group, how many new people have joined the pack?" (There were three of them, and they were all male; however, two of them were unable to control themselves and needed to be killed.)

"How many individuals make up the pack?" (Twenty-six.)

When she had finally come to a complete stop, she found herself sitting on the floor across the room from Levi with her back against the wall. She was almost taken aback by the situation. Levi eased back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched it slowly descend to the ground. After letting out a deep sigh, he finally turned his attention to her in a manner that was direct for the first time since she had begun speaking.

She took a deep breath as she gazed into the brilliant gold of his eyes. Even though she could read it in his eyes, she couldn't read it in his body or his scent because he had managed to mask it from her. He was very close to a change that was being forced on him by some powerful emotion.

"There is a set of standards. The first rule is that no one can be forced to undergo the Change against their will. The second requirement is that in order to undergo the Change, a person must first receive guidance from an advisor and prove, through successful completion of a straightforward examination, that they are aware of what it entails."

She was at a loss for words, but she did manage to tear her gaze away from his intense gaze before she could think of anything to say.

He walked over to her refrigerator and looked at the check that was there.

"They will deduct money from your paycheck. What percentage of your money do they give you back?" His voice was low and rumbling, and you could feel the intensity of the transition behind it.

The answer is sixty percent.

"Ah." He once more covered his eyes and took in several deep breaths. She was able to detect the acrid aroma of his rage now, despite the fact that his shoulders appeared to be at ease.

She mumbled in a low voice, "When are you going to stop talking?" "Is there something that I can do to assist you in any way? What would you prefer—for me to leave, for us to talk, or for you to play some music?" She did not own a television, but she did keep her old stereo system.

His eyes remained closed, but . "Normally, I have a better handle on things than this."

He only said one thing, which was, "There is something odd going on in Jason's pack." "By tonight, I should know the answer to that question." He gave a smirk that was nothing more than a twitch of his lips.

"How?"

He responded to her by saying, "I'll ask them." "They should know better than to think they can lie to me, and refusing to answer my questions or meeting with me is the same thing as admitting guilt,"

She appeared to be perplexed. "Why didn't they have the gall to lie to you?"

He gently tapped her nose with his finger. "It's pretty easy to sniff out a lie, unless you're dealing with someone who is incapable of differentiating between the truth and a lie, but there are other ways to detect them."

Her stomach rumbled in protest.