There was a ringing.
A high pitched squeal that Jonathan couldn't quite place, but it seemed to be coming from the other side of the room.
From Evan.
Why had he rubbed his watch?
Was that his "good luck charm"?
But ever since, Jonathan had heard that ringing.
It was right on the edge of his hearing, but not so close as to be painful.
Yet, none of the Alphas seemed to hear it.
Strange...
Jonathan had tuned out of the conversation Evan and the Alpha had been having, but when the Alpha suddenly lunged, Jonathan jumped in shock. The Alpha tried to gouge Evan with his horns, but he twisted out of the way and locked the horn in his antlers, flipping the Alpha onto his back with a crack of bone.
A shard of horn splintered off the Alpha, spiraling toward Jonathan before he rolled away.
The Alpha recovered quickly, shoving himself back onto his feet before charging Evan. The gang boss swerved out of the way, but not fast enough, earning a slice on his arm.
Evan growled, not even batting an eye before swinging around and trying to impale the opposing Alpha.
Protect him.
Jonathan wasn't sure where the impulse came from, and before he could realize what he was doing, he had pulled his gun from where he had hidden it in his pocket that morning.
Moving on instinct, his body moving faster than his thoughts, Jonathan aimed it at the other Alpha.
However, as the two Alphas broke apart, both heaving for breath and blood dripping onto the cracked foundation, Jonathan froze.
What am I doing?
As Jonathan began lowering his weapon, one of the other Alphas noticed him.
"Hey! He was going to kill 'im!"
The Alpha pointed at him, making everyone except Evan and the leader stare at him.
"That's cheating!"
"Disqualification! We get the Omega!"
"I call his wings!"
The murmurs began to grow, and had the fight not been between them, Jonathan was sure they would have swarmed him.
"Oi! Boss!"
One of the Alphas reached out and grabbed the panting leader, making him snarl and snap at the hand.
"Shit, right."
The Alphas were quiet for a moment before one of them snapped his fingers.
"Let's just kill the BBS leader!"
"Idiot, that'd mean their gang and allies would be up in our asses."
"Then let's just leave them and take the Omega. Boss'll win anyway."
There was a pause before all the heads began to nod.
Keeping an eye on the thrashing leaders and making sure to not touch them, the Alphas slowly began to inch toward Jonathan.
"S-stay back!"
He snapped to the first ones that slid next to him, pointing his gun at them.
"Aw come on. It's not like we're gunna hurt ya,"
One of them cooed, his eyes glittering maliciously.
Jonathan felt a tug on his wings and yelled,
"I said, BACK OFF!"
The Alphas began giggling before one of them swatted the gun out of his hand, another one kicking his legs out from under him.
It only took a moment for hands to pin him to the ground and ropes to be tied.
"Let GO of me!"
He cried, nearly all of his breath being crushed out of his lungs.
"Oh shut up!"
One of them snapped. Jonathan's mouth shut, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make a sound.
What did they do to me?
"Let's get him to the truck. Boss is almost done."
Jonathan thrashed against the hands that lifted him up, but when he saw Evan, he froze.
The gang boss was hunched over, his stance wavering as he tried to stay on his feet. His left eye was closed as a gash cut across it, several more severe wounds on his arms and chest.
He was weakening.
The opposing Alpha was holding his right wrist as scarlet swam down his hand and pooled below, but he could still hold himself.
As Jonathan was jostled out of the room, he heard wingbeats.
Faint, but there.
Omegas.
Jonathan began thrashing harder, some of the Alphas losing their grip and growling curses.
Jonathan could see the shapes of Ohm and the others coming closer, and could even hear Ohm barking orders.
One of the Omegas paused in the air, pulling out what Jonathan could only guess was a sniper.
Taking aim, there was a heartbeat before one of the Alphas crumpled to the floor.
It only took a few more moments before Ohm and Mini appeared, both with AR-15s as they open fired into the herd.
The Alphas were sent into a panic, most of them pulling out pistols or throwing knives as some dragged their injured away.
The fight didn't last long.
Jonathan was thrown to the ground and trampled, but besides a few scrapes and bruises was relatively unhurt.
Somebody yelled a retreat, and the herd stampeded away, their thundering footsteps followed by a screech of tires.
*
Ohm landed first, his face and expression steely as he walked past Jonathan and into the building.
Neither Evan nor the other leader had left yet.
Brock and Smitty landed next, Smitty lying his sniper down to kneel over Jonathan.
"Are you okay?"
He pressed, pulling out a pocket knife and cutting away at the rope.
Jonathan tried to speak, but he still was unable. He let out a defeated puff from his nose.
"Can you speak?"
Brock asked, looking down from where he had been surveying the scene.
Jonathan shook his head as the rope fell away.
Smitty sighed, pulling Jonathan to his feet before looking around.
"Where's Evan?"
Both Jon and Brock pointed to the building, the growls and snarls of fighting now fallen silent.
Smitty glanced at Jonathan, then nodded his head toward the door before heading in.
Jonathan followed after him.
Inside, the lead Alpha and Evan were still glaring at each other, both of them panting, but refusing to break eye contact. Ohm was beside the door, digging through his bag before turning to Smitty.
"I can't find my scent blocker, do you have any?"
Smitty shook his head and Ohm hissed. He glanced at Jonathan before asking,
"They're in Alpha-state. Do you know who for?"
Jonathan lifted an eyebrow and Ohm sighed.
"An Omega. Do you know who they're-"
Ohm blinked, then pulled out his pocket knife.
"Hold out your hand."
Jonathan looked at Smitty, who nodded reassuringly before giving Ohm his hand.
The Omega gently took his hand before slicing neatly across his palm.
Jonathan let out a soundless yelp as blood flooded the cut, but the sound of panting suddenly stopped as both Alphas turned toward Jonathan.
There was a long pause before Evan suddenly groaned, stumbling back as he gripped his head. The other Alpha shook his head before looking at the Omegas and snarling.
"Shut it,"
Ohm sighed, pointing a pistol at the Alpha.
"Your gang left already, just get out of here."
The Alpha paused a moment, then dashed out the door, not looking back as he vanished into the maze of alleys.
Ohm lowered the gun, pocketing it before walking toward Evan.
"You okay?"
The gang boss groaned, but when he saw Jonathan holding his palm his hazy gaze seemed to clear a bit.
"Fine. Anyone else hurt?"
He turned back toward Ohm who shook his head.
"Jonathan's bleeding, but only a bit. It was to pull you from Alpha state."
Evan nodded before stumbling toward Jonathan.
"Sure you're fine?"
Jonathan nodded, and Evan was about to walk away when Smitty said,
"The Canaries Alpha Commanded him to stop talking."
Evan paused and mumbled a quiet, "oh".
"Relax."
Evan said the word over his shoulder before limping away, but Jonathan felt all the tension release from his body.
"Th-thanks."
Jonathan said, glancing at Smitty. The dove-wing smiled before cooing,
"No problem."
-
Evan wasn't sure how long he was in Alpha-state, but he figured it didn't matter. He just had to get everyone home.
He looked behind him, Jonathan holding his hand as he walked with Smitty toward him. Brock and Mini turned toward him, Ohm watching him curiously as the scuffing of feet stopped.
Evan glanced at Jonathan again, his blue wings hanging in exhaustion as his knuckles turned white maintaining pressure on his wound.
Turning back to the others, he sighed,
"Let's go home."
The Omegas nodded, Smitty and Craig taking off and disappearing into the darkening sky. Evan stared at the sky a moment longer.
Was the day nearly over already?
Evan sighed, glancing at Brock and Ohm who seemed to be hesitating.
"Would you like me to walk you home?"
Ohm offered, glancing from Evan to Jonathan.
Evan shook his head. He knew he probably looked beat to hell and back, but he felt fine. At least, for the moment.
"No, we'll be fine. Go ahead to Luke."
Ohm paused, then nodded before running off. When his wingbeats faded away, Brock crossed his arms.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily."
Evan scoffed at the Omega; his oldest friend. He always was a bit overprotective.
"We'll be fine Brock. Jonathan's a great navigator."
Jon glanced up from where he had been studying the cement, his blue eyes sparkling with surprise as Brock's green eyes narrowed.
"Fine. But I'll stay nearby, so don't try anything too frisky."
Heat rushed into Evan's cheeks as Brock ran off, his winged shape hovering in the light of the sunset as his giggles echoed down.
Stupid Brock.
Evan huffed. Jonathan giggled as well, calling Evan's attention back toward him.
The kid looked happy, albeit tired. His uneven hair swayed in the slight breeze, the corners of his sapphire, cerulean eyes folded in joy. His eyes and light freckles were accented by the light blue hoodie and wings, making Evan's heart pound almost uncomfortably harder.
The Omega's vanilla and lavender scent, tinted with Brock's lemon and creme, seemed to wrap itself around Evan, blanketing him in serenity.
"So, we going yet?"
Jonathan asked, his lips pulling into a smirk.
Evan felt his face darken with embarrassment, and he was glad the sun was casting its golden sheet to hide the color.
"Yeah, let's get home."