Chapter 46 CHAPTER 046
Soren gets to take Iris out of the hospital today.
“Are you excited to do some shopping?" Soren beams as he looks down at the little girl, her hand in his as they walk into the gigantic shopping mall. Soren remembers Reign’s secretary telling him he can do whatever he wants without having to worry about guards following his every movement. Well, the man is fucking bluffing because Soren has two guards trailing at his back like some lost puppies. Soren could dismiss them, but only if they took orders from him. Shame.
Iris looks up at him with big shining eyes, a smile on her face as she nods eagerly. “Can we buy anything we want, Ren?”
“Of course. We can get the entire mall if you want.” Soren grins, but there’s a twitch in his eyes as he averts his gaze from Iris and looks ahead. While Mr. Montgomery is having his dick wet with some alphas and betas, Soren decides to put a wound on his black card because Soren is petty and jealous, even though he has no fucking reason to be. It’s not like he wants to have sex with the Enigma, right? Yeah. He doesn’t care what the man is doing right now. Soren is just a fake fiancé. He reminds himself.
Soren is only here to spend every cent of the man’s money.
“So what do you want to get first?” Soren asks as he wears back his smile, staring down at Iris, who immediately points at a section of toys. “Let’s have fun the—,” he doesn't get to finish as Iris is already tugging him toward the brightly colored aisle. He chuckles.
The shelves are packed with dolls, cars, puzzles, and oversized stuffed animals that tower over Iris, making her look even smaller than she already is, but the way her eyes light up—God, it does something strange to Soren’s chest. He would gladly sell his soul again.
She lets go of his hand for the first time, darting forward like she’s afraid everything might disappear if she doesn’t grab it fast enough.
“Slow down,” Soren calls after her as he shoves his hands into his pockets, watching her run from one shelf to another, picking things up, inspecting them like they’re treasures. Cute.
“Ren!” Iris calls, holding up a stuffed bear almost as big as her. “Look!”
Soren walks over, crouching slightly to her level, and then he grimaces; the bear is a ridiculous, fluffy, pink thing with a stupid ribbon around its neck.
“It’s ugly,” he says without hesitation.
Iris gasps, clutching it protectively. “It’s not! It’s cute! Can we get it though?”
Soren nods immediately. “I said we can get anything you want, even if it’s ugly.”
She giggles, and for the next hour, they move from one shelf and section to another, with the guards carrying their shopping bags. Glad Soren can finally get a use for them. He tsks as he glances over his shoulder.
“Can we get ice cream next and sit down? I’m getting tired.” Iris suddenly rubs her eyes.
“Sure, baby,”
For the next few minutes, Iris finds a table for them while he goes to get some Ice cream and an iced coffee. He returns to their table, sitting down as he passes the little omega her cup, and instantly, her eyes light up again. Soren stares fondly.
But then the look on her face drops as he looks at Soren.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it? We can get something else,” Soren asks, almost worried, but she shakes her head.
“It’s just… Mom said you sold your body to pay for my hospital bills, and that’s why you were able to get all of the things you got,” she sucks on her bottom lip. “I’m sorry you had to do that for me. I didn't mean to get so sick."
Soren’s jaw immediately clenches. Of course, Iris is going to pick up some words from their mother when she’s always with her.
“She’s wrong; I didn’t sell my body, nor did I do anything illegal. Don’t listen to her, alright? ” he assures her with a smile, his hand going out to ruffle her hair, and a small smile stretches on her face before she nods.
“Can I use the restroom?” She blinks at him, and Soren nods. Immediately, she gets up and runs towards the direction of the restroom.
As soon as she’s gone from sight, Soren leans back on his seat and runs a hand through his hair. His mother is one fucking bitch. Soren really needs to get Iris away from her. With a bitter scoff, Soren snatches his coffee off the table, takes a sip, and stares into space, waiting for Iris to return.
However, minutes later, there’s still no sight of the little omega. Soren frowns as he looks in the direction of the restroom. She should be done by now. Soren doesn’t sit there wondering as he immediately gets up and heads towards the section, telling the guards to wait.
Arriving at the women's restroom, Soren lingers at the door, unsure if he should go in there or not, but he knocks on the door. “Iris,” he calls. If Soren’s senses weren’t so dead because of the suppressants in his body, he would have been able to feel whether she was in there or not, but Soren gets no response.
Panic suddenly settles in his bones, and without warning, he pushes the door open and immediately gets gasps and scoldings.
“I’m sorry, I need to look for my sister." Soren bows and doesn’t wait for permission.
Quickly, his eyes scan the space, sharp and frantic. “Iris?” his voice comes out tighter this time, and still no answer. Immediately, he checks the first stall, empty, moving to the next and the next, only to find all of them empty of the little omega girl.
Soren’s pulse spikes. Soren’s chest tightens, something cold and vicious curling in his gut. In a rush, he runs out of the restroom almost immediately. Soren stands still, scanning every direction. His gaze sweeps the mall and every face.
There are too many people, too many exits, and too many fucking blind spots. His heartbeat picks up, loud in his ears. Iris wouldn’t just wander off.
Without a second, Soren alerts the guards, and they start searching, moving swiftly around the mall until Soren feels sweat trickling down his temple, yet his sister is nowhere to be found.
Soren goes to the security room next, searching through the CCTV cameras, and it doesn’t take time to find Iris, but she isn't alone. Soren’s eyes darken, and his hands clench as he sees through the camera an unfamiliar man dressed in black dragging Iris along towards the exit.
“Piece of shit!”
Soren doesn't waste any more time standing there as he rushes out of the room at the speed of lightning, running as fast as his legs can carry him. Soren is going to kill that bastard.
He runs, taking the stairs until he bursts through the exit and speeds towards the parking lot, where he hears the sound of screams. He arrives just in time to see his little sister being shoved into a car.
"HEY!!” Soren yells, speeding towards the bastard, but he smirks and slips into the car, and the next moment, he drives off. Soren races on foot but realizes it’s pointless rather quickly as the car disappears into the distance.
"FUCK!!” He curses under his breath, running a hand through his hair, frustration and panic building in his veins as he spins around in the parking lot, but just then, his eyes land on a man getting into his car. Soren doesn’t think as he goes after the man and yanks him out of the car.
“I’m sorry!” Soren says urgently as he gets into the car and drives off, chasing after the one who has his sister.
His grip on the steering wheel is tight, so tight that his knuckles whiten, veins straining under his skin. He slams his foot on the accelerator, the tires screeching against the pavement before the car shoots forward like a bullet.
Soren forces himself to breathe, keeping his dark, hardened eyes on the road, and it doesn't take long before his eyes land on the familiar car speeding ahead of him. Soren swerves aggressively, cutting into traffic, earning loud honks and curses from other drivers.
He ignores all of it.
“Iris…” he mutters under his breath, jaw clenched. “Hold on.”
It’s a full-on chase, and Soren goes as fast as the car can take him, cutting through traffic and wheeling past cars. Rage floods his veins, hot and violent. “You’re dead,” Soren breathes.
Soren doesn't know how long he chases the damn car until the flyover. Soren's eyes darken even more as he speeds up, passing them on the road, and with one powerful spin of the wheels, he drifts sideways, cutting in front, and he blocks the fucking car. Both of their cars step on their brakes. Soren storms out of his car and marches over to the car, yanking the seat open, and without hesitation, he grabs the driver, punching him square on the face, and Soren doesn't stop until the bastard’s face is bleeding all over.
“REN. WATCH OUT!!” Iris screams from the driver’s seat, but it’s already too late. Soren doesn't see the man behind him until a hard hit comes from the back of his head, and everything goes black.