1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Shay

The high-pitched scream of my six-year-old son brought me groggily awake. Fuck! I hadn't meant to fall asleep. The summer chest cold that was stubbornly hanging on had me exhausted. The non-stop coughing had finally forced me to swallow some over-the-counter cough medicine. The label had claimed it was for daytime use, but my worn-out body had given in as soon as I had sunk down to the twin bed in Lucas's playroom.

He'd been coloring quietly at his little craft table, and I'd just needed to get off my feet. Needed the coughing to stop for just a minute. I would never dare take anything that would knock me out while Lucas was still awake. Not when Edward wasn't home. I had no recollection of my eyes even closing and falling asleep.

"Papa, let go!" Lucas's cry had me springing up from the bed in a panic. Ignoring the way my stuffy head swam dizzily and my heart pounded way too fast in my chest, I rapidly blinked my eyes to try to clear my vision.

"I wish you'd never been born!" Edward's hissed words, filled with so much hate, had me nearly seeing red with anger and helped bring my sluggish brain somewhat back online quickly. Usually, Edward left Lucas alone. His anger was always directed towards me. Mainly because I made sure to keep Lucas out of his way–and Edward away from him–as much as possible. With Edward it was very much out of sight, out of mind.

Only I had passed out before Edward had decided to come home for the night. Before I could safely tuck Lucas in bed, where Edward would forget about his existence. No doubt he had come looking for me–his intended target–and remembered he actually had a child.

Swaying on my feet, I determinedly pushed myself in between Edward and Lucas. Grabbing Edward's wrist, I put enough pressure on it that he released his hold on Lucas. The ever-persistent tickle started in the back of my throat and my lungs tightened, feeling like they were swelling out of my chest. The cough barked out of me before I even had a chance to try to hold it in or cover my mouth.

Spittle, tinged with green goop, hit Edward's bare arm from the awkward way we were turned, and I wasn't even sorry about it. Through glassy eyes I saw Lucas frozen in fright. His blue eyes, so like mine, huge in his small, pale face.

"Lucas, go to your room," I rasped.

The words, so innocent sounding, were anything but. They were a secret code between Lucas and me. He knew when I said them, he was to get to his room as fast as possible and hide in the secret passageway that Edward didn't know about. I had come upon it by accident when I had moved Lucas from his nursery to his ‘big boy room'. Quickly realizing the tiny door led to a sizeable cubby, I had placed his bookshelf in front of it, hiding its existence. Leaving just enough room for Lucas to be able to crawl behind the rocker recliner next to the bookshelf and hide away safely until I came for him.

We had practiced it often, waiting for the day I knew deep down would come, sooner rather than later.

Lucas didn't wait to see what was about to happen–thank the Goddess for that–just took off as fast as his skinny, little legs would carry him. Scurrying past Edward and dodging swiftly when my mate–Goddess that word left a horrible taste on my tongue–reached out to try to grab him when he ran past.

"Bastard, you get back here!" Edward snarled, and I briefly wondered what all his country club cronies would think of the popular, in-demand omega if they could see him at this moment. "Lucas!"

"Leave him alone, Edward." Coughing, I turned my head away this time, but I still hadn't released the tight hold I had on his wrist. Edward might be an omega, but he was a strong one. I knew that firsthand and better than anyone. Especially when he'd been drinking. The whiskey fumes on his breath permeated even my stuffed-up nose. At this point, the booze might be seeping from his pores.

"You're so disgusting, Shay," Edward mocked, shaking his arm in a silent demand that I release my hold on him. The last thing I wanted was for him to end up with bruises on his wrists from pulling against my hold. He would run to his daddy and tell him some sob story about what the mean alpha had done to him, and I would lose the only thing of importance I still had.

I would lose Lucas .

There was no way I would ever let that happen. I would never leave Lucas to be raised by his monster of an omega father.

Once upon a time, I had thought Edward was the most beautiful omega I had ever seen. Now all I saw when I looked at him was the ugliness of his soul.

We had looked so magnificent together, everyone had said so. Me, the tall, rawboned alpha, with the all-American good looks. Blond haired and blue eyed, with grease under my fingernails. Edward, the dark haired, blue-gray eyed omega, with the dazzling smile, effervescent personality, and Dallas high society money.

Loving Edward had cost me everything.

My dad, my brother, my future. Even my ability to shift. He'd slowly–so slowly I hadn't even noticed it was happening–taken my family, my friends, my job, and finally my freedom. There were days I thanked the Goddess my mom hadn't been alive to see the mess I'd made of my life.

But I would die before I let him take Lucas from me.

"You know you don't want to hurt Lucas," I taunted him, as we stood staring at each other, both our chests heaving.

Edward's porcelain skin was ruddy, his blue-gray eyes red rimmed, his cheeks puffy from too much alcohol. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, his nostrils flared in anger, like a bull ready to charge a matador. I had a good foot in height on him, but his slender, delicate frame was deceitful. He had hard muscles covering his thin bones and he knew how to throw a punch.

Despite that, I could have taken him. Could have put him on the ground and hurt him. If not for the fact that my dad had taught me that alphas don't hit omegas. Especially your omega. Your mate .

Even thinking the word mate made my stomach recoil in disgust.

But I would not–could not–go against what my dad had taught me. And I prayed to the Goddess every single day that my dad was up there in the heavens, looking down with my mom, proud of the fact that at least I had never raised a hand to Edward. Not once. No matter what he did to me.

I knew I had disappointed my dad with my reckless behavior. Just like I knew I had to keep my promise to him in this one thing. It made me feel better just hoping this–me not laying hands on Edward–would make my dad proud even after his death.

"Why do you even care about that little brat so much, Shay?" Edward spat. "He's not even yours."

My face remained impassive against the taunt. I'd learned not to flinch at his hateful words. Learned how to not react. Besides, I knew the truth about Lucas, so Edward's vicious lies couldn't wound me. They held no power over me anymore. Not like they had in the past.

"He's mine, Edward." My voice was calm, even though it sounded like I'd been chewing on ground glass. My throat was on fire from all the coughing I had done the last few days, but the longer I kept him talking, the better chance he'd forget about Lucas. "I have a birth certificate that says so."

Edward snorted, his fingers flexing, "That piece of paper won't stand up against D.N.A."

Leaning in closer to him, I whispered, "I have another piece of paper proving he's mine. My flesh and blood. My D.N.A."

I hadn't meant to reveal that to him. Had meant to keep it as a safeguard for us getting out. But standing there, staring at Edward's enraged face, seeing him with his hands on Lucas a few minutes ago–hurting him–I knew it was time.

We needed to run. To get away as fast and far as we could. Now. Tonight.

I'd wanted to have more saved before we left. Wanted to have a better plan. Wanted to at least try to speak to my brother, Asher, before we showed up on his doorstep. The measly hundred dollars I'd managed to squirrel away from the cash left in Edward's pockets, when he would come home and pass out, wasn't going to get us far. It might buy us a bus ticket that would put some miles between us. Give me enough time to work up the courage to call my brother.

I didn't care if Asher hated me, but I had to try for my son. Even if it meant begging for help. For forgiveness. I would do anything to get Lucas safe. And Asher was a pediatrician, at least according to the google search I'd managed to do at the local library. He must like kids, right? Surely, he would at least help Lucas, even if he hated me.

Edward snorted derisively at my bold declaration that I had proof that Lucas was biologically mine. "You think that will matter? What are you going to do, Shay? You have no money. No family. No friends. You have nothing. You don't even have a job. You need me and my money and you know it."

"We don't need you, Edward."

I wasn't about to reveal what else I had learned at the library. The one place he allowed me to take Lucas without the watchful eyes of our driver–hired guard–constantly on us. Marcus always stayed in the car during our three times a week trip for the story hour Lucas loved. The place that had free computers that allowed me to find my brother. That allowed me to discover an old law still active on the books across all the United States. The law that would allow me to get Lucas away from the monster Edward had become, at least until I could come up with a better plan.

I should have seen the punch coming. Should have been ready for it. My senses were dulled from my illness, and Edward's fist connected against my jaw with a loud crack, knocking my head back.

Dizziness swamped me, my ears rang, my vision blurred out, and I lost my hold on his arm. Stumbling, my feet tripped over one of Lucas's toys. The momentum threw me forward, and then I felt myself falling. Hitting the plush carpet with a soft thud, I gasped, trying to get my bearings.

My lungs burned with the effort to draw air into them. A rough cough barked out of my throat, harsh and wet in the quiet of the room, followed by another and another. It felt like I was choking. Rolling to my side, I pushed myself up on my hands and knees, coughing so hard I thought I might puke.

I needed to get up. I had to get up. For Lucas.

My body felt too hot and cold at the same time, my limbs heavy like they had weights attached to them.

The kick to my side connected painfully to my ribs and knocked me off balance. Sprawling on my back, I blinked bleary eyes up at Edward, trying to get him to come into focus.

His face was bright red, his eyes gleaming with burning fire. I watched in fascination, like it was happening to someone else, as he raised his foot and landed another sharp kick to my ribs. He landed two more swift kicks, straddling me before I could make myself roll away from him.

He screamed words at me that I couldn't understand. When he was this far gone, he seldom made sense. Though it had been a while since I had witnessed him this angry. His eyes were wild, his pupils blown, and I knew there was more than expensive whiskey fueling his strength. He was on something, probably coke. It was his drug of choice.

The first fight we ever had was when I'd walked into the restroom at the country club his family belonged to, just in time to witness my pregnant mate snorting a line of white powder up his nose. Sadly, it wouldn't be the last time I would catch him doing it, or the last fight we had about it.

A week later, he had "miscarried", and I'd been devastated. While I had cried silent tears for the baby we had lost, Edward had popped a couple of pain pills and gone out clubbing with his friends.

There's your sign, Shay. Fucking hell, were you always such a gullible dumbass?

The force of Edward's body slamming into me expelled what little oxygen I had managed to gather into my searing lungs and brought me back to the present from my wandering trip down memory lane. I needed to cough, my throat tingled, and my chest tightened, but I didn't have enough air in my lungs.

Before I could manage to breathe properly, Edward's fist pummeled my face. First his right hand, then his left. Each time he connected with my flesh, my head jerked to the side. I bucked, trying to throw him off, my long legs scrambling for traction against the thick carpet.

Something warm trickled over my upper lip, the coppery taste of my blood filling my mouth. Probably from my nose. The last punch had crunched my nose, agony exploding across my cheekbones and eyes. Already it felt like my left eye was swelling shut. My body was working against me. My sluggish brain not connected to my limbs. I couldn't shake Edward's hold, no matter which way I tried to move .

Edward's slender hands wrapped around my throat, his thumbs digging into my windpipe. My vision grayed, then tunneled to one tiny black dot as he squeezed harder, cutting off my air flow.

This wasn't the first time, or even the second, that he had choked me. Sometimes he did it during sex. Sometimes when he would come home raging drunk about some injustice he perceived the world had tossed his way that day.

But this time felt different. I could feel the difference in him tonight. The rage burning him up and turning him into a crazed being, a demonic light shining from his bluish gray eyes.

One thought filled my head that never had before when he did this to me.

The words repeated in my head, like a mantra, until my vision finally blacked out.

He was going to kill me. This time he was going to kill me.