Chapter 34: Theodore - Marked By Love

Despite not needing it, he consented to Royce carrying him. It felt good to be close to the alpha, to scent him, to have the warmth of his body radiating through him as his heart thudded rhythmically in time with Theodore’s own. Theodore hadn’t realized how anxious being apart from the alpha had made him. But now he couldn’t deny it, ignoring his mate was starting to affect him too.

Omegas weren’t impacted by the presence of their fated mates the same way alphas were, or at least that’s what people said. Now he was experiencing it himself, Theodore thought they were full of it. He didn’t feel surges of protective violence the way Royce clearly had, but he felt wrong being away from him.

It was more than the helplessness of being kidnapped by traffickers and having his life threatened. It was empty and hollow when Royce was gone. It was bone-deep desperation that the concept of never seeing Royce’s face again had wrought upon his bleeding heart.

Royce carried him over the piles of alphas he and Buford left in their wake. Gage and one other had survived. Based on the carnage in the cabin, Theodore assumed that couldn’t be said for the others. The survivors were carted off by Elk Cove enforcers and the North American Union SWAT team.

Royce set Theodore down in the back of an ambulance. Someone started fussing over him immediately: a blood pressure cuff squeezed his arm and someone else ran cold swabs across his forehead stinging where it contacted his open skin. When Theodore tried to convince them to give Royce a once-over, his alpha simply growled in response.

“How do we know Gage was taken by someone who wasn’t working for him?” Theodore asked

“Because I made sure of it.” Argus came up with another alpha Theodore didn’t recognize. “Theodore, this is Kendle. She’s in charge of the North American Union trafficking division. She’s been hunting Gage for a long time.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Theodore.” The woman stuck her hand out to shake. When Royce growled, she dropped it with a smile. “In addition to looking for Gage, my office has been trying to locate you as well. You’re a hard person to find.”

“Lo-looking for me?”

“Yes. We’ve been trying to get enough evidence on Gage Prescot to put him away. An informant in Seerinoga dropped your father’s name, but he was already gone, and you’d disappeared before we could find you.”

“I was meeting with her when we got the call that something had happened,” Argus explained.

“Talk about timing,” Kendle said. “You’re one lucky omega.”

Theodore frowned. He’d never once thought of himself as lucky. His gaze shifted from Kendle to Royce, dirty, bloody, and standing there staring at him as if the only thing that mattered in the world was that Theodore had lived. Maybe Theodore would have to change his mindset on the topic of his luck.

“There were others,” Theodore said. “That were working with Gage, governing officials. You may have stopped Gage, but this operation is far from crippled.”

Kendle nodded. “We’re hoping what’s on your flash drive will be enough to put some of them away too. If not, it will at least get the ball rolling. But I don’t want you to worry about that anymore. We’ll be in contact for interviews and testimonials later, when you’ve had time to recover. But this isn’t your responsibility anymore, Theodore. We’ll take it from here.”

The alpha looked so confident, so sure of herself, that Theodore almost believed her words.

He turned from the alpha, Kendle. Across the way, he recognized another alpha, he’d come into the clinic with his omega daughter when her guinea pigs needed routine checkups and nail trims. He caught Theodore’s eye and nodded. Another alpha from Elk Cove, Theodore recognized him; their mate was helping with the cat colony, and he’d been driving one of the trucks of trapped cats. He also nodded at Theodore.

Theodore had always assumed the people he saw at the clinic left and never gave the omega veterinarian a second thought, and yet here was all of Elk Cove, in the middle of the forest, to rescue him. And it was all because of this beautiful, naked, and dirty alpha standing at his side.

Maybe, just maybe, he could trust Kendle. Trust her and her resources to fight the monsters while Theodore settled into a new home, a real home, and let the past be the past. Besides, Royce would be there if Theodore needed help again. He’d always be there.

There was a commotion as the omega witch was brought to the ambulance parked next to the one Theodore was sitting in. She was trying to fight the paramedics; when her punches fell short, she resorted to clawing at them. However, her thin arms started to shake, and her body swayed dangerously close to collapsing. All the while, Buford stood vigil over her, trying to unwind the copper and offer her promises of safety.

He sniffed, blinking hard. He’d been kidnapped. The traffickers had found him … they were going to sell him. Everything crashed into Theodore at once. While he thought he’d held his composure flawlessly throughout it all, he was now unraveling at the seams.

His chest tightened, and he choked on a sob, then a second. In no time, he was dissolved into a hiccupping, snotting mess. He vaguely heard Royce say something to the others before he pulled Theodore into his chest. His warm arms held him fast as he kissed Theodore’s hair, whispering reassurances to him.

When his crying showed no signs of ebbing, Royce asked, “Do you want to leave now? I can schedule something with Argus for later.”

“You’re hurt.” Leaning back, Theodore wiped a hand across his face. “You should let the paramedics look at you.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re covered in blood.”

“That’s not my blood, Theo.”

“Oh.” He didn’t know what else to say.

The witch next to him screamed, taking both of their attentions for a moment.

“That reminds me,” Royce said. “Do you know how they found you?”

“They used the witch,” Theodore said. “They’d had her captive for years. When I went off the alpha birth control, she was able to find my scent. Then they hacked into the automated message system the veterinary clinic uses. That’s how they knew my schedule and when I’d be there …” Theodore gasped, suddenly remembering. “Mutt! Oh no, is Mutt okay? I didn’t see what happened to her; they didn’t, did they?”

“Mutt is fine,” Royce said, wiping Theo’s cheeks. “I found her hiding at the cabin and set her up with Margarette and Gerald before leaving to get you.”

Theodore leaned forward, resting his forehead against Royce’s bare chest.

“I think we both need a shower,” he said, sniffing. “Well, mostly you.”

Royce laughed. “I’ll see what I can do about getting us a ride home.”

Royce disappeared into the crowd of flashing lights, vehicles, and alphas surrounding the cabin. Much to the displeasure of the paramedic working on him, Theodore hopped off the ambulance and stumbled blindly to the one next to him. He really needed his glasses before he tripped over a rock and chipped a tooth.

“Can I talk to her? Alone?” he said to the team of people surrounding the witch. They’d only just removed the last piece of copper wrapped around her. Her sallow skin was covered in giant black and purple welts.

None of them looked happy about his request, but seeing as this was the first time the witch stopped screaming and fighting them, they decided it was okay. Buford took more convincing, but after a glare and a hiss from the witch in question, he stepped back.

“Thank you,” Theodore said when they were alone. Her dark brows knit together, and her bloodshot eyes narrowed. “I, um, I know that probably sounds stupid to say, but you jumping on Gage is what allowed us to get out of there alive.”

“I did it for me.”

“That’s okay.” Theodore nodded. “What’s your name?”

“Belzora,” she bit out. Over her shoulder, Buford noticeably perked up.

“Nice to meet you, Belzora.” Theodore tried to smile at her. She simply glared at him. “Hey, so listen, I live in Elk Cove with most of these people. They’re good. You know more than most how long I’ve been on the run and what I’ve dealt with, so when I say Elk Cove is good, I hope you believe me. And Buford, he helped take care of me when I was sick. But still, Elk Cove has a really good doctor and an omega house. Just something to keep in mind.”

“Theo,” Royce hollered his name above the din. He was standing with another enforcer who had pants on and was holding car keys.

“I hope to see you around.” Theodore left the witch and was pleased to see she wasn’t fighting the paramedics as violently when they returned to her side.

“Theo, this is Scott. He’s going to give us a ride home.”

Bless the fates, Scott handed Theodore his glasses. He eagerly shoved them onto his face, and the world came into focus.

“And Freddy.” Scott beamed as Royce turned to glare at him.

“You brought your mate to a sting op?”

“Don’t forget, Freddy was also taken by these goons.” Scott glowered. “He thought he might be able to help identify some of them or assist any omegas they might have had captive.”

“Right, sorry, was he able to confirm anything?”

“Two of the dead ones, he recognized them from when he was transported to the—anyway, he told Kendle; she wrote down all his information, and she said she’d be in touch.” Scott looked over Theodore’s shoulder. “Does Buford need a ride too?”

“He’ll most likely want to go to the hospital with his mate,” Royce said.

Scott’s mouth fell open. “No!”

“Oh yeah. From the looks of it, he’s got it cut out for him.” Royce rubbed the back of his neck and led Theodore to Scott’s car.

“Hello.” A small blonde omega got out of the vehicle, a large box in one hand and a bag over one arm. “Do you need any water or snacks? I don’t have much, but I was able to grab some before we left.”

“I’d love a water, thank you.” Theodore took a bottle. “Actually though, the other omega over there, she could use some food too. I’m pretty sure they were starving her.”

Freddy nodded. “They don’t feed the ones that fight.”

Royce held out the car door for Theodore. Scott stopped him when he tried to slide in.

“No offense, man, but your naked ass and ball sack is going to ruin the upholstery.” He shoved a pair of pants at Royce.

Royce grumbled about modesty and priorities but put the pants on anyway. He settled into the back with Theodore. Resting his head against the back of the seat, he pulled Theodore until he was practically sitting in Royce’s lap. His eyes closed as he rested his dirty cheek against the top of Theodore’s head.

Theodore leaned into Royce’s touch. He thought he’d never get to see him again, and here they were, safe together in the back of a car, going home. Home … A home that was warm and cozy, that he shared with his mate.

He’d been a fool. A blind, stubborn fool.

Royce, his fated mate, kind, considerate, and adoring, had been there this entire time. Nursing Theodore when he was sick, fighting to keep him safe from Gage, fighting to give Theodore anything he needed. And what had Theodore done in return? He’d pushed him away. Rejected this adoring man at every turn. Not anymore.

Freddy’s door opened and closed.

“She take the food?” Theodore asked.

“She did after a bit of convincing. But I noticed her eyeing the shortbread cookies. It wasn’t too hard to win her over after that. Poor thing looks like a walking skeleton.” Freddy buckled his seatbelt, and Scott started the car.

“Did she say if she was coming back to Elk Cove?”

“Yeah, I think she’s going to the omega house. I told her that’s where I stayed when the Elk Cove enforcers rescued me from these pricks.” Freddy gave Scott a sappy smile.

“Good, I’m sure that will make her feel better, knowing there are other omegas that feel safe there.”

The car ride stretched into silence as Scott navigated winding roads through the woods back to town.

“Would you keep your eyes on the road,” Royce’s voice shattered the silence. “I promise I’m not that interesting to look at, Scott.”

“It’s just, well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile before,” Scott said. “I like seeing my friends happy.”

“I don’t have friends,” Royce grumbled under his breath as his arm flexed around Theodore.

“Yes, you do. I’m your bestie, and you know it.”

Warmth spread through Theodore’s chest.

It was over.

And he was going home with his mate.