Vonn: The Boundarylands Omegaverse: M/F Alpha Omega Romance, Callie Rhodes [english novels for beginners .txt] 📗

suddenly stopped growling and rocked back on his heels, much of his anger draining away. "Look, Vonn, I know you've been through a rough patch, but I didn't know you were still taking it this hard. You're going to have to let it go, brother. What you're saying is delusional. That piece of shit soldier is not an omega."

Vonn's response was swift and violent. He grabbed Gray by the shoulders and yanked him forward, brutally head butting him before releasing him.

"Don't talk about my woman that way," Vonn said menacingly as Gray stumbled backward. Then he turned and addressed the silent crowd. "That's a warning for everyone. Next time I won't be so forgiving."

Stacy was too shocked to react to his words. If that was what passed for forgiveness, her end was going to be even more brutal than she'd feared.

Gray quickly recovered and seemed poised to throw a punch, but then his snarl died on his lips, and he shook his head pityingly. "Look, Vonn, you've been through a lot, but you know this woman isn't really an omega. It's obvious to everyone here."

"It's not something I believe," Vonn shot back, making it clear he wasn't about to be reasoned with. "She is. I can feel it in my blood."

Gray still wouldn't let it rest. "Wanting something to be true doesn't make it so. Look at the facts, brother. She's been here for a while now. She's been moving among us, drinking with us, doing business with us. By now, she's probably touched half a dozen alphas, and she hasn't changed. You just had your hands all over her and—nothing."

Stacy bristled. Holding onto her hand was hardly being "all over her"—she'd never allow such a thing to happen. She'd sooner bite down on the cyanide tablet that she'd insisted Fulmer include in her supplies—the one that was unfortunately still in her rucksack back in her tent—than be taken by one of these beasts.

"Who knows?" Vonn shrugged in frustration. "Maybe they've modified her somehow. They could have altered her genetically or maybe performed some sort of surgery. Or maybe they've developed some chemical agent, just like they developed the scent blockers."

"That's a hell of a lot of maybes. Don't you—"

Vonn cut him off. "The point is I won't be able to figure it out until I can get her talking."

Gray shook his head doubtfully. "Why would you think you could get it out of her if she's really some sort of elite soldier?"

"She had a whole lot to say until you showed up."

Shit—he was right. Stacy had been saying all kinds of things, grasping at straws, and trying to talk her way out of the tense situation. Well, no more. These bastards wouldn't get one more thing out of her.

Gray gave her a murderous look. "What do you have to say about all this?"

Stacy lifted her chin. "Sergeant Stacy Clarke, United States Army, Fort Blanchard."

The disgust in the older alpha's eyes made it clear that he hated her kind every bit as much as she hated his. "Fine. Go ahead and take her, Vonn. I'll give you a week to see what you can get out of her."

"You'll 'give me' a week?" Vonn demanded. "You think you're my boss all of a sudden? My dad?"

"I think you're willing to endanger all of us, is what I think. So yeah. Have your fun, but if you haven't come to your senses by next Friday, I won't be the only one prepared to do what needs to be done."

"Just admit I might be right," Vonn said stubbornly. "If you were really sure, she'd already be dead."

Stacy winced. But she knew it was the truth.

"You've got it wrong, brother. The only sense you've made all day was when you said we need to figure out what the hell she's doing here. And you're the only one of us who seems to be able to suppress the urge to rip her to pieces long enough to do it."

Vonn's only response was to turn his back on Gray and the others and start walking deeper into the beta camp. "Come with me," he snapped over his shoulder. "We need to clear out your tent."

But just because he and the other alpha had come to an agreement, Stacy wasn't about to follow at his heels like a puppy. "Uh uh."

Vonn stopped and slowly turned to face her, appearing to be as disgusted with her as with Gray. "You don't want to do this. You've already proven you're too damn smart not to know what you're risking. You stay; you die. You come with me, at least you'll live to fight another day."

Stacy was out of options. He was right…though not in the way he assumed. If she didn't answer to a greater authority, she'd take a quick death over what was waiting for her any day.

But she was a soldier, and the mission she'd signed up for came first…no matter the cost.

The only hope of salvaging her objective was to somehow find a way to escape the Boundarylands. She knew it was impossible—but slightly less impossible in the presence of one alpha than among a dozen.

She forced herself to relax her stance. Taking a steadying breath, she started after him, feeling all those suspicious eyes following her.

It wasn't a surrender, Stacy told herself. Just a strategic retreat.

Chapter Six

Vonn knew every detail of his truck like the back of his hand, having driven it for nearly all of the decade since he'd come to the Boundarylands. Like Vonn himself, the old Ford wasn't going to win any beauty contests. It had a hundred thousand miles on it already when he bought it. Since then, it had picked up plenty of dents and scrapes from driving on rutted dirt roads and hauling heavy loads.

But the seen-better-days exterior of the truck didn't bother Vonn a bit, not when the engine he'd painstakingly rebuilt a few years ago still purred like a kitten. He took good care of it,