Chapter 193: Selfish or not?

Noah’s POV

"Elias makes me so mad that I don’t know what to do with him" I rant to Siren as angry tears fill my eyes.

I’m so mad. I’ve always had quite the temper, but due to my status, I have managed to keep it under lock and key. Goddess, Elias unravels me in every way.

Zane is someone I consider my soul mate; I have never been away from him since the day he joined my family. We swore to experience my firsts together. Our first tour, fun trip...everything. I sniffle and wipe my tears with my arm.

"Why wouldn’t he tell me? I’ve always known he took Zane from Winslow as a button to keep me under control, but I thought..." my voice cracks. "I thought we were past that" I complete my sentence and Siren says no words.

The older omega guides my steps to a room that I don’t even bother checking to see if it’s safe or not.

He helps me into a seat and takes the one next to it.

I sniffle again as he hands me his white handkerchief. "Thank you" I murmur. I’m still falling apart with anger. My chest is hurting and it feels like I can never catch a break.

I cover my face with the handkerchief and when the door opens, I don’t take it off. I’m not yet ready to face anyone. I smell Elias’s pheromone and turn my head away from his direction. I especially don’t want to talk to that boneheaded jerk.

"What do we have and what do we know?" Siren asks and it’s my cue to take the fabric off my face.

"Baby" Elias whispers and I stubbornly avoid his eyes. I’m clearly looking away from him, but the alpha isn’t taking the hint. His eyes are on me like he’s trying to drill his way through my brain.

Just like that, we’re right back to the start where Elias is intensely staring at me, while I intensely avoid him.

"I tried to look into the communication software they used and fuck, it was like trying to barrel into a military base" Lucas says and my back straightens. There is a software involved in this?

I glare at Elias with more anger. What else do I not know? Aliens also visited and planted an egg under the house?

"What do you mean by that, Lucas?" Elias asks the guard like he’s not seeing my glare. "The communication on that software is heavily encrypted. Kai and I did everything we could and ended up with absolutely nothing" Lucas says.

"Nothing?" Damien asks with a voice that is raw and desperate.

"The server doesn’t expose anything useful, and no single important data is stored where we expected it to be. That thing was driving us insane" Lucas groans as he runs his hand down his face.

"Whoever designed it knew what they were doing. Every route Lucas and I took led to a dead end. Hacking into it is next to impossible" Kai says and I turn my head in his direction. The lastborn Deus is not on his phone this morning, both of his hands are on the table, and he looks exhausted.

"Fuck" Damien whispers in a devastated tone and I whimper softly. I’m getting scared.

"What else do we know?" Elias asks.

"Ghost" Kai says abruptly. His eyes are brighter and out of concern, I look around for the ghost...I can’t tell if this is normal Deus behavior or a Kai thing.

"Fuck. Yes. That’s true. The Kangs, a mafia family in south Korea owe us a favor. A man named Ghost, who is related to the Kang leader’s mate, is considered an elite hacker" Damien says with a thoughtful nod. Oh...Ghost is a person.

"We’ll send someone to pick him up" Elias says.

"It’s smarter if you go by yourself. With Kai and your mate of course" Siren says and I snap my head in his direction to complain.

"I’m--"

"It would be the getaway you both need, and Kai is fluent in Korean" the omega man says and my jaw drop. No way. Absolutely not! I’m not going on some vacation while my friend has been kidnapped by a potential monster.

"Siren, I can’t have a getaway when my best friend is out there kidnapped by someone we can’t identify" I say and Damien tilts his head to address me.

"He went willingly" he says.

"I-"

"You saw that video. He fucking went willingly" Damien growls as he throws a book at me. I flinch in surprise, but Elias catches it just before it skids to the floor. My husband, offended by Damien’s tone, gets up and leans on the wide table.

"You will address my husband with respect" he says through clenched teeth and Damien flashes his golden eyes in a quiet threat.

"I will address your husband however the fuck I want, Elias" the oldest Deus says. His tone, his posture, the lack of mirth...this is very different from that breakfast table knife throw.

"I will fucking kill you" Elias snarls.

"Right in front of me?" Siren asks quietly and the brothers drop the hostility. Siren makes a low growling noise. The sound seems to help because Elias slowly takes his seat again and Damien’s eyes return to normal as the tension lessens.

Siren crosses his legs and leans back in his seat. He looks like a king with his hands on his thighs and his eyes fixed on Elias, he nods at Damien, signalling for him to speak.

"All I’m saying is" Damien starts in a less disrespectful tone, "Zane wasn’t their goal, but he went with them. We watched the footage together, Noah" he says.

"Zane would never leave me..." I insist.

"Aren’t you being selfish? Your friend was locked in a cell while you lived your best life. I would leave if I were him" Kai says and I flinch as if he physically slapped me.

Again, he is reminding me why he’s famine...small, ignorable, but deadly and important.

"Read what he wrote" Damien says and I open the book with unsteady hands. The book is empty apart from the letter Zane left me. His handwriting, bad as always, is the only thing here.

Dear Noah.

I do hope this gets to you. Knowing the Deus, they might not let you read this, but I hope you do.

I’m making a choice that might end up being a mistake. I’m going with these guys who broke into the Gods’ home. I’m begging them to take me with the prisoners they’re freeing.

Don’t worry about me. I promise I’ll be safe. And most importantly, I will come back and save you. I will kill every Deus, especially the oldest one, for everything they’ve done to you.

I love you more than anything in the world.

Your best friend forever

Z

My hands shake when I finish reading and I put the book down. It was clear in that video that he wanted to be taken, but reading his letter opens something in my chest...Am I really being selfish?

"So, Kai, Elias and Noah head to South Korea to convince Ghost AND spend some time together. Lucas you have an assignment already, and Damien will guard since Aria is currently unavailable" Siren says and I secretly wipe my tears.

"W-what happened to Aria?" I ask in worry.

"She went to join Darius on an overseas job. It’ll help her cool off" Kai answers and my lips form an O. I really thought they’d kill her or something. It’s funny that I’m mad but glad she’s safe.

"I have an update" Silas says and we all turn to him. Most times I forget the man exists. He has an imposing presence, yet he blends in like a wall gecko.

"I checked other CCTVs outside our building and found out the perpetrators might have converged at the back of that mall you use" Silas says.

"Okay, are there any clues to expose their identity?" Siren asks and Silas shakes his head.

"None yet. I will visit the mall and monitor the recording from their system" the scar faced alpha says and I sniffle to stop the snot from dripping.

I hate my feelings at the moment.

"This is settled then. In the meanwhile, double the security, Damien" Siren gets up with his hands pressed flat on the table.

"Have a pleasant day, everyone" he says, holding his hand out to me. I take his hand and leave the room with him. But while my body walks with him, my mind floats elsewhere.

Zane is gone...and I’m being selfish about it.