Loving the Omega Read Online Free Page B

whatever Logan was telling them.
    Charlotte. Gone.
    How the hell could that happen? The war was supposed to be over. Their children were supposed to be safe. The den should have been a safe haven, not a place where things could go terribly wrong and a little girl who had been through so much already was in the middle of something Maddox had no idea about.
    His wolf nudged at him, bringing him out of his thoughts and into the situation at hand. “What happened? Exactly.” He growled out each word, his control barely leashed. Ellie gripped his hand, her own wolf dancing on the same edge as his.
    Logan ran a hand through his hair, his body radiating tension. “Come with me to the den center, and I’ll explain. We’re forming a search party.”
    Maddox looked at Ellie and nodded before following Logan out the door. “Explain, wolf. I’m barely reining it in as it is.”
    Logan didn’t even pause his steps, merely looked over his shoulder and nodded. If anyone were to harm Cailin or their unborn child, the man would understand. Maddox just didn’t need to deal with dominance games at the moment.
    He needed his daughter.
    “The kids were all outside playing in the park. Charlotte, Gina, Mark, and Parker were playing by the trees. You know how close they’ve all gotten since North and Lexi mated.”
    Maddox nodded. The kids, though not blood-related in any way, had become family fast. Parker was only a couple years older than Charlotte, but they had grown close quickly. Between those two and Kade’s adopted children, Mark and Gina, the four of them were a unit.
    “The other three turned away to look at something, and when they turned back, Charlotte wasn’t there anymore. They thought she was just playing hide and seek or had gone off on one of her quiet walks, but they couldn’t find her. Then they came up to Cailin and told her that Charlotte disappeared. As soon as we heard that, we went into action, and I came to you. I would have called, but I didn’t want you to have to hear that over the phone without a wolf there to fight in case your own wolf demanded it.” Logan narrowed his eyes as if checking to see if Maddox was ready to break out of his skin and go wolf but didn’t move to push at Maddox.
    Maddox growled low, but the sound ripped from Ellie’s throat tore through him. An aching, agonizing, lost moan that made his wolf shake. Helplessness threatened to fill him, but he pushed it back, wanting to take action before delving into self-pity.
    “Why weren’t any adults watching her?” his mate asked, tears in her voice. Maddox lifted a lip in a snarl but kept quiet. “I wouldn’t have…I wouldn’t have let her out of my sight if I had known she’d be in danger.”
    Maddox’s wolf pushed at him, a desperate need to calm their mate and find their young filling him. It wasn’t her fault that they’d let Charlotte out of their sight. No, he was the one who had lived in this den his whole life. He was the one who had been complacent because one of their dangers was gone.
    Just because one of them was gone didn’t mean the rest were. They had to hide from the humans, keep their existence secret. There were other Packs across the country, the globe that could take advantage of a seemingly weak den. Even within a Pack there were those who would create dissension and uproot peace.
    Life as a wolf was dangerous.
    He fingered the scar on his cheek. He, above all others, knew the outcome of letting one’s guard down.
    He tugged at her arm, pulling her into his side even as they made their way to the den center. He would have stopped and hugged her tightly, but they needed to be where Charlotte was last seen more than they needed to comfort each other.
    That would come after they found their daughter.
    And damn it, they would find their daughter.
    “We were, Ellie,” Logan finally answered. “I promise. It’s just…” Logan stopped and sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
    Maddox didn’t say anything. He