The Omni-Wolf’s Choice novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44 A chase…

Connor’s POV

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Evelyn is unreal tonight-so beautiful it hurts to look at her. My mind keeps replaying that tiny sliver of

time we stole before they dragged her off toward the stage.

And then I ruined it. I told her I couldn’t be her mate. I have never felt pain like this-like a hand has

reached into my chest and torn everything apart while I’m still breathing.

The second the words left my mouth, Drake fought to shove forward. He understands what I

understand: Evelyn has to be protected, even if it destroys us.

Being with us can’t happen. Not now. Not ever.

After I walked out of her room, I hunted for anything that might drown out her scent. Citrus-sweet, bright, intoxicating. I wanted one taste so badly it made my teeth ache.

On the dance floor, when we brushed hands, that bond flared through me like lightning. I knew it then, as clearly as I know my own name: she will be the most stunning, most tragic piece of my life.

And I don’t deserve her.

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I end up with the warriors on patrol, forcing myself into routine.

“Any activity tonight?”

“No, Beta Connor,” Beatrix says, crisp and certain. “Perimeter’s clean. Nothing beyond the usual

wildlife in the woods.”

Beatrix is one of the best we have-methodical, relentless. A tracker that makes most of the men look

sloppy.

“Good. If anything feels off, you mind-link me immediately. I’m continuing the border.”

“Yes, Beta Connor.”

No questions. No chatter. Exactly what I need while I’m in a tuxedo stalking treelines instead of pretending to enjoy the ball.

‘You’re going to destroy everything we have,’ Drake snarls inside me, heat rolling off him. ‘Including our mate. Fix this, or I’ll make our life a living nightmare.’

‘If we keep her close, she’ll be trapped in that nightmare with us,’ I fire back. ‘We don’t have another choice.’

<Chapter 44 A chase.

Then it hits-wrong, sudden, vicious.

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My stomach turns. My skull throbs like it’s splitting. Drake howls in my head at the exact same time, and I drop hard to my knees, palm crushing against my chest like I can hold my heart together.

‘What the hell-!’ I grind out, teeth locked.

The pain spikes-and a pack-wide mind-link slices through.

‘Lockdown. Full lockdown. No one in, no one out. Guards to high alert!’ Ryder’s voice slams into every

warrior and ranked wolf at once.

‘Ryder-what happened?’ I push back, still kneeling, forcing air into my lungs while Drake claws for

control.

‘Evelyn’s been poisoned. I need you covering the warriors. We don’t have a suspect. Don’t let anyone

slip out.’

Poisoned.

Evelyn.

That explains the agony shredding me from the inside out.

I wrench myself upright, and Drake takes my body like a storm. We tear toward the checkpoint.

“Beatrix!” I snap the moment she’s in range. “Re-check every stream and border route. Call in every tracker we’ve got and get a team staged for pursuit. Go to the pack house-pull scent at the source.”

“Yes, Beta.”

She hands her post off without hesitation and sprints toward the pack house.

I try to reach Evelyn through the mind-link-anything, even a flicker. Drake pushes too.

Nothing.

No Evelyn. No wolf.

Rage burns my vision. My thoughts won’t line up. I need to see her-now.

But first, I finish what I’m responsible for, because I’m going to be the one who catches whoever did

this.

And when I do, I’m going to tear them apart.

Lucas is already yanking up camera feeds, scanning angles and corridors. Pierce has the ballroom

<Chapter 44 A chase.

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area treated like a battlefield, working the scene. Warriors have the exits pinned down, and Beatrix joins Pierce to chase a thin, stubborn trace of scent.

I use the gap to run for the hospital.

The moment I step inside, I see my mother.

“Connor-oh my goddess,” she says, voice breaking as she wraps me in arms that don’t shake even

though her face is wet with fresh tears. “This is horrible.”

“I know,” I tell her, pulling her close and guiding her deeper in. “Come on. Let’s see what they’re saying

There hasn’t been much change-but it isn’t getting worse, and that matters. Bridget has already used

her magic to draw out some of the poison.

Then my cousin’s mind-link hits, sharp and urgent.

‘I’ve got someone in custody. Get down here.’ Patrick’s voice is tight, and behind it-screaming. Raw,

ragged.

It’s ugly music, and it fits the way my blood feels.

I leave immediately, Ryder close behind.

Down in the pack house cells, the air is damp and metallic. The suspect is strapped to a chair, silver cuffs biting his wrists and ankles-spiked, wolfsbane-dipped. His wolf is gagging on it.

He reeks of fear.

“Name,” I say, the word coming out as a growl.

“I-I’m Terrence, sir,” he stammers. “I didn’t do anything! I don’t even know why I’m here!”

“You’re here because you helped serve poison to the Alpha’s daughter,” I snap. “So you’re going to tell

me who made you do it.”

“Wait-no! I didn’t poison anyone. I just… I did what I was told!”

“By who?” I lean in until we’re eye to eye.

His pupils are blown wide. “I don’t remember! It was chaos. I don’t usually serve at events-I work

produce. Please, Beta Connor, I swear I didn’t know!”

Panic suits him.

He still played a role in what happened to my mate. Even if I can’t claim her, I will defend her until my

< Chapter 44 A chase…

last breath.

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Patrick stays posted against the wall, letting me drive this. Ryder steps away briefly-going to his

mate.

Drake and I have no patience left.

“I want a name,” I say, voice low.

Terrence’s mouth opens-and nothing useful comes out.

My fist sinks into his stomach. He folds forward as far as the restraints allow.

“You helped put wolfsbane into an innocent woman,” I tell him.

“I didn’t know!”

His heart says otherwise-fast, erratic, lying.

I hit him again. And again. Hard enough that I hear ribs crack under my knuckles. I’m not holding back; I’m pouring power into every strike.

He screams.

He’s a wolf-he’ll heal.

Not quickly with those chains.

I switch to his face. A punch sends a tooth skittering across the concrete. Another caves his jaw with

a wet pop.

Patrick moves in, grabbing at my shoulder.

I rear back, ready to swing on him too.

“Connor.” His hands rise, nonthreatening, steady. “We need him coherent enough to give an answer.

Let me.”

“Fine,” I spit, stepping away. “Try.”

Patrick talks. Reason, leverage, calm.

Minutes grind past.

Ryder returns and takes his turn-cold, controlled cruelty. I join in, and when I lock Terrence in a chokehold, I angle my mouth to his ear.

< Chapter 44 A chase…

“Your aunt works in our kitchen,” I whisper.

My grip tightens until his eyes bulge.

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“Give us a name,” I breathe, “or I drag her down here and question her while you watch.”

His resistance shatters.

“Oscar!” he chokes out. “It was Oscar. She handed me the drinks!”

Oscar.

I had spoken to her earlier-inside Evelyn’s room. She’s been staff for years. She helped Evelyn dress.

She cleans her bedroom. She’s never shown a sliver of jealousy.

So why would she gamble her life on this?

“I want a location on Oscar Bellamy,” Ryder mind-links, voice like thunder. “Now.”

A warrior answers instantly. ‘Spotted near the north border, Alpha.’

That’s enough.

Drake and I shift on the spot and launch into the night, running faster than we ever have. We explode

up the dungeon stairs, out into the open.

The air is cold, but we don’t feel it.

We only feel hunger.

Hunger for the blood of the wolf who tried to hurt my Evelyn.

Behind me, bodies shift-warriors joining the hunt. Then Ryder’s massive jet-black wolf surges past in

a blur, fury pouring off him.

Trackers spread out with purpose now that we have a name. The pack remains sealed tight. Oscar

isn’t leaving these woods alive.

As we sweep the northern boundary, her scent finally threads through the night-sharp, familiar, and tangled with Evelyn’s.

‘This way,’ I mind-link Ryder, and we cut toward the river that marks part of our land.

If she hits the water, she buys herself a chance.

We push harder. Ahead, her wolf flashes through the dark, running flat-out.

< Chapter 44 A chase..

I leap.

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My teeth clamp onto her hind leg. She shrieks, stumbling. Ryder springs in front of her, blocking her

escape with a snarl that rattles the trees.

She drops, growling back, trying to twist free.

I drive my canines deeper, through fur, into flesh. Blood floods my mouth, and I savor it-only the first

bite before the real reward.

Ryder shifts, and a warrior tosses him shorts. Drake and I don’t let go.

“Shift back,” Ryder commands her, voice booming. “Now.”

She answers with a growl.

I tighten until I feel bone.

Her howl rips up into the sky, and she nods.

I release and shift, eyes never leaving her as I drag on shorts. Warriors ring her, but I still don’t blink.

She changes from her small brown-and-white wolf to her human form-naked, shaking, a torn wound gaping where my bite landed.

“Get her a shirt,” Ryder orders. “Cuff her. Wrap that wound.”

Then he steps in close, towering over her. “Why did you do it?”

She lifts her chin, hate curling her mouth. “I don’t owe you an answer.”

Ryder doesn’t flinch. “Four of you take her to the cells. Put her next to Terrence.”

Her eyes widen at his name.

“Terrence?” she cries, panic breaking through the malice. “What-what did you do to him?”

Silver cuffs snap onto her wrists and ankles. She fights, uselessly.

“You’ll see,” Ryder tells her.

He grabs her face, forcing her to look at him. His hand is so big it nearly swallows her throat as he grips her.

“For your sake,” he says, voice like ice, “you better pray he isn’t tied to you. Because everyone involved -everyone-I will kill. Myself.”

< Chapter 44 A chase.

She gasps.

Ryder releases her with a shove and signals the guards.

They haul her back toward the pack house.

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