The Rebellious Omega

King Braedon POV

I disliked the idea of letting Blair head towards the cottages by herself while I headed towards the pack house, but the idea of her confronting her mother and sister was also distasteful. I let her take the majority of the warriors with her as well as Alpha Johnathon, with the premise that I would t*****e the bastard if he so much as made a wrong move that resulted in Blair being harmed.

James and I headed towards the pack house. We were unchallenged by patrol and other pack members, who had abandoned the grounds. We shifted to human form as we reached the house and I tried the door, surprised to find that it was unlocked and that it smoothly opened. I raised an eyebrow at James.

"Maybe one of the omegas or pack members left it open for us" he whispered, shrugging.

I slammed the door open and barged in, announcing our arrival, and strode in. Silence. I sniffed, but there were too many scents to be able to discern whether Luna Bianca and her daughter were present. I gave a frustrated growl and headed to the kitchen. A few timid omegas stood there.

"Where is Luna Bianca and her daughter?" I snarled.

They flinched. The oldest of the three stepped forward, bowing her head respectfully, her hair covering her face. "We don't know Your Highness," she said quietly "They have not been seen for the last few hours. I'm afraid they might have left the pack without telling anyone."

I scowled. James stepped closer and examined the omegas who avoided our eyes. There was a look of suspicion on his face "What about your Alpha? Ashton?" he queried.

The omegas glanced at each other, a look of fear on their faces. The oldest swallowed hard, a look of misery on her face. "He's dead your highness" she answered respectfully. "Dead," I said confused "was he killed in an attack?" I asked.

She shook her head "Poisoned by Luna Bianca."

Poisoned? Had Ashton had second thoughts about the breeding program? Or been prepared to go against his mate and her mother and pay the ultimate price for it? "Where is his body?" I demanded.

"In the dungeon. We put him down there for now until we could take care of it properly."

I turned and looked hard at James. "Check the rest of the house, take some warriors with you" I instructed darkly "You" I pointed at the omega who was trembling but straightened her shoulders at my command "Will show me, Ashton. I want to see for myself."

James turned on his heel and immediately began to do a thorough sweep of the pack house, while the omega timidly led me towards the basement and the dungeon. My thoughts were chaotic. I hadn't liked Ashton from the beginning, I had considered him weak and pathetic, but to die from poison was not only unjust but a death that nobody deserved. I felt a tiny pang of sympathy for him.

We went down the stairs and the omega led me to the last cell, the door standing open. I glanced through it and saw Ashton's prone form lying there. His whole body was stiff from rigor mortis. It was clear he had been dead for several hours before we had arrived. His eyes were blankly staring and there was the tiniest bit of froth at his mouth. He could have died in his sleep, that was how peaceful he looked. The omega gestured to him "Luna Bianca made us move his body" she whispered in a trembling voice "She made us clean up like it was nothing. I think he was going to do something she didn't like and she made sure he wouldn't. I hope you find her" she said a little louder "we all do. The other omegas have all gone missing and we" she paused, fighting back tears "we knew that it was only a matter of time until we were next."

I gritted my teeth and turned my back on Ashton. There was nothing to be done for the young man now. I stormed back upstairs and was promptly met with an equally frustrated and angry James. "No sign of either Luna Bianca or Brynn," he said with annoyance "We checked every single room and every nook and damn cranny. We even checked for secret tunnels and rooms. They are not anywhere in this pack house. Where do you suppose they could have gone?"

I growled "They must have gone running the instant they realized that Alpha Johnathon had slipped through their fingers. They are smarter than we give them credit for. Both know the ramifications of what they have been doing. They even took out Ashton so he wouldn't betray them" I said shaking my head.

James clenched his jaw. "You don't think there's a possibility that they might have gone to the cottages?" he asked shrewdly.

"I doubt it," I said thoughtfully "They hardly want to be caught red-handed in the midst of illegal activities. But we should go help them and prepare this pack to be merged with our own. I'm not going to put anyone in charge here, I think it's best that they are all brought to my own."

"I agree," James said gravely nodding.

We walked outside and shifted, heading towards the direction in which I could already smell Blair's scent. I was not surprised in the slightest to see that she was in the thick of things, fighting alongside my warriors to take out the men and the security and I quickly dispatched several of them as I joined in the fighting with James, until eventually they were all dead, their bodies littered on the ground, leaving only the occupants that remained in the cottage.

I shifted as did Blair. She made her way into one of the cottages and came back with a woman, Deidre. Slowly, the two of them made their way into each and every one of those cottages, bringing out a woman from each one. My chest tightened and fury enveloped me. Each woman was littered with bruises. Some were disorientated, having been sedated to keep them meek and pliable. They were malnourished, some were so pale that it was evident that it had been a long time since they had been outside. I clenched my hands into fists, fighting the urge to go and punch something, anything, to release the anger sweeping through me, James's own eyes filled with pure rage as he took in the condition of the women.