in charge."
Another pause, this one longer. "This is the agent in charge. "
The hell it was. That was the voice of a man who took orders, not one who gave them. And sure as hell not the voice of someone capable of sending an omega into the Boundarylands unprotected, or three men on a suicide mission.
Gray had no patience for liars. "Agent in charge. Now."
The silence that followed made Gray wonder if they'd simply cut him off. But then came the voice he was waiting for—cold, calculated, and with no hint of remorse.
"I'm here, Mr. Connor."
The sound was enough to make Gray's blood boil. "Who are you?"
"I could give you a name," he replied, sounding almost amused. "But we both know it would be an alias."
"I've killed your men."
"I understand."
"And if you send more, I'll kill them too."
"I believe you."
The cryptic reply didn't sit well with Gray, but he wasn't about to play games with this eerie bastard. "We've figured out your plan."
This time the response wasn't so quick to come. "Is that right?" the voice eventually asked.
"We know you have the technology to test for an omega's nature. We also know that you're behind the fuel and supply shortages. You're trying to stir up shit in the Boundarylands."
"Tsk—language," the voice said, recovering its steely indifference. "You make me sound like a very busy man."
Gray'd had enough. "I'll give you one warning. If you want to stay busy and breathing, you'd better stay the fuck out of the Boundarylands. If we ever come face to face, I will kill you."
"Thank you for the warning, Mr. Connor," the voice said as if the conversation bored him. "I'll let you get back to Olivia now."
And with that, another loud crackle of static erupted from the speaker.
Gray let the radio fall from his hand before crushing it with his heel until it was buried in a dozen pieces in the carpet of pine needles.
The prick had been right about one thing—Gray definitely needed to get back to his omega. And after tonight, he'd never leave her side again.
Chapter Seventeen
"Oh my God, I can't thank you enough!" Olivia resisted the urge to throw her arms around the grinning alpha standing in the doorway. The way Gray cleared his throat and scowled at her words suggested it wouldn't be the best idea. Besides, alphas didn't seem to have mastered the art of the bro hug—or any hug at all, save for those who had mates.
At least, Olivia hoped the mates of the other omegas in the territory treated them as well as Gray treated her. Though that was setting an awfully high bar.
"I really appreciate you bringing me all these boxes," she amended, giving Knox a smile. No need to go upsetting her alpha over a simple favor.
"It's just clothes," Gray grumbled, as if he couldn't imagine how she could be so excited about a pile of cardboard boxes.
"It's everything I own," she corrected him. "Not just my clothes, but my books and cameras and journals and equipment. Besides, you're not the one who's had to wear nothing but hand-me-down Christmas sweaters for two straight weeks."
Unable to wait a second longer, Olivia ripped open the closest box and found it filled with shirts, pants, and bras. She pulled out a favorite pair of jeans and squealed with excitement, running her fingertips over the soft, well-worn denim that fit her like a second skin.
"Knox, you really can't imagine how grateful I am to have my things," she said, cradling the jeans like they were the single most precious thing in the world.
"You already said thank you once." Gray made a show of draping his arm around her shoulder while glaring at the other alpha. "Trust me, that's more than enough for someone like him."
Olivia rolled her eyes at her mate. "Don't be rude. Knox was kind enough to pick up all these boxes from the roadhouse and bring them to your front door out of the kindness of his heart."
No, she corrected herself. Not Gray's front door…theirs.
Olivia had settled into her new life with surprising speed. It had only been a couple of weeks since the night that Gray had taken out the agents who invaded his land, and she was already having a hard time remembering the part of her life that came before.
Maybe the claiming bite he'd given her that night had worked some kind of alpha magic. Though her shoulder had been sore for a couple of days and she still bore the