Chapter 9

I’m alone in the room when I wake up, stretching in bed. Yawning, I sit up slowly, wincing at the aches and pains that also seem to all feel like saying good morning as well. Lifting the shirt I’m in, I look down at the scrapes and bruises all over my body.

The ones on my thighs look as if they’ve been done by my own nails, something I’m not surprised as I remember the haze of pain I was in during my heat. Closing my eyes, I wonder if there’s anything I can do, so that I’ll never have one again. I don’t trust anyone enough to be so vulnerable with. I can’t think during that state.

No thanks. Can I just get a shot so I’ll never go into a heat again?

There must have been a doctor who came to see me while I was passed out, maybe he can help me?

Blowing out a breath as I drop my shirt, I turn when I hear a sound by the door. Flynn smiles shyly, and my stomach flip-flops at the sight of it. Biting my lip, I beg my body not to perfume, because I really might die from embarrassment.

“Hey, Darling. You looked like you were thinking really hard, but now you look as if you’re having naughty thoughts,” he chuckles.

Walking over, he crawls into bed, shamelessly wrapping his arms around me as he buries his nose in my throat.

“You act a lot like an alpha,” I tease him with a giggle.

“Maybe I just need a girl in my life to snuggle with me in my nest, who will read dirty books to me, and help me redecorate whenever I feel like,” he says. “I have my moments where it’s obvious that I’m omega, outside of the normal biology of things. I’m really impulsive, love sweets, crave soft blankets, and I’m sure there are other things. God, you smell so good, Wren. Please never use scent blockers again.”

Running my fingers through his short copper hair, I sigh. “I don’t know if I can promise that,” I whisper.

The door is open, but Flynn pulls the blankets over our heads, creating our own little bubble. He seems carefree and relaxed, making me wish I could feel the same. I’m too broken, too much has happened to me, so I know I don’t think I ever will.

“It’s just us,” Flynn says. Our head is sharing the same pillow, his leg casually pushed between my legs. It’s strangely intimate, but I’m not uncomfortable. His arm wraps around my waist to bring me closer to him, his brows wiggling in a way that makes my lips curl into a smile.

“Why do you want to hide your scent? Shaw is your match, you’ve found what people dream of,” he reminds.

“I can’t stay,” I tell him hesitantly. “You have a good thing here. It’s a known fact that two omegas can’t exist together. I’m too broken to trust anyone ever again too.”

Flynn takes a deep breath as his green eyes gaze at me.

“We fucked up, Darling. Shaw, Everest, Amb, and I. There were so many things we assumed, and you ended up almost dying out in the woods. No omega deserves to have a heat by themselves,” he growls.

“It was my first… and last,” I mutter. Flynn opens his mouth, pain in his eyes as it all starts to hit him. The first heat as an omega is one of the strongest, and omegas are warned about this. I remember hearing girls in school talk about this in the upper level classes.

I swallow hard because I don’t like to think about a time where I was an innocent girl. It hurts too much, and brings up too many memories.

“Wren,” he whispers, pain in his voice as I shake my head. “You’re so fucking strong, Darling. Tell me you know that.”

“I’m not,” I sob, my walls shredding as I speak to him. “I’m so weak. Do you know how many times I almost walked into the river? I never make waves, I don’t talk back, I am not strong.”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Flynn whispers, wiping away my tears as he pulls me into the safety of his arms. We’re nose to nose as we talk, and I don’t have the strength to move away.

I should though, right?

“I don’t know what kind of shit you’ve been through, but we want to help. You said that ‘he’ called you Wren. Who, Darling?” he asks, rubbing my back slowly. “Can you tell me?”

“Trey was my alpha,” I murmur as if the words are pulled from me. Taking a deep breath, I shake my head. “I don’t like to think about it. He hurt me. Badly. All I know about alphas is that they want to control and hurt me.”

“I know you’re not going to believe me, but our alphas have never hurt me,” Flynn tells me. A whine falls off my lips before I can bite it back.

Ours.

“They aren’t mine,” I pant. “Flynn, I need to leave. I don’t fit in.”

“Can I join this blanket fort, or is it by invitation only?” Shaw rumbles, making my eyes widen.

I can’t help it, his voice goes straight to my clit, making me perfume. Flynn sighs happily, and when he snuggles closer, all I can smell is chocolate as he presses his hard cock against me.

“God, you smell so good,” he whimpers. “I want to bury my head between your legs and see if you taste like lemon and blueberries, Darlin.”

“Fuck, baby boy,” Shaw groans. “God, now I’m hard.”

Stiffening, I turn to face the sound of his voice.

“Does it scare you that your scent match wants you?” Flynn asks. “Talk to me. You’re being such a good girl for me. Please.”

I always thought I wouldn’t be able to bear being called that, but it’s different with Flynn.

“Alphas have only ever hurt me,” I sigh. “I’ve never had sex that wasn’t meant to control and hurt me.”

Shaw makes a sound that I don’t understand.

“Shaw, chill out,” Flynn mutters. “I can honestly say that our alphas will never touch you in a way you don’t want to be touched. Can he come cuddle?”

“Why would he want to do that? He doesn’t even like me,” I scoff. “I don’t believe being my scent match will change things so quickly.”

“Wren,” Shaw whispers. “I like you fine. I’ll explain, just let me in, please.”

Inhaling deeply, I bite my lip. It smells like a bakery under the covers.

“Can you control yourself?” I ask hesitantly.

Flynn uses his finger under my chin to tilt my head back, eyes gentle. “Our mixed scents aren’t going to upset him,” he promises. “His instincts are pushing him to comfort you. He pushed you away before because he was fighting them.”

“I don’t understand, but yes. Okay, Shaw,” I murmur.

The blanket lifts to give room for his large body to crawl under it before he allows it to fall over him.

“I don’t understand omegas and their blankets,” he says, amused as he wraps his arm around my waist and snuggles against my back.

It was one thing to have him wrapped around me when I was sleeping, but as his caramel salted popcorn scent fills the space underneath the blankets, I shiver.

“Do you like the way I smell, Wren? I love the way you smell. God, I’m throwing away all the descenting lotion and soap. Flynn, if you ever leave the house again, I’ll have to get you new stuff,” he rumbles as he cuddles me.

Shaw’s body is warm and inviting, and I can’t bring myself to move away as my body melts into his embrace.

“I’m not supposed to like anything about you,” I say instead.

“Says who?” Flynn and Shaw ask in unison.

“You’re bonded,” I reply, my voice getting a little high as I freak out.

“Baby, I want to bond you,” Shaw purrs. “The omega pheromones may be influencing me a little, and I want to know more about you than I do, but I’m just so happy you’re speaking to me. Your voice is beautiful.”

My voice is low and raspy, and most definitely not beautiful.

“No negative thoughts, Darling,” Flynn admonishes. I’m the sandwich between two sexy men, and I don’t hate it.

It’s impossible to fight my instincts as I rub my thighs together and slick slides out of my greedy pussy.

“Poor baby,” Shaw murmurs. “God, I want to make you come so badly. I bet you look beautiful when you break apart.”

“I… don’t know,” I say honestly. “I’m usually?—”

“What? It’s just you and me and Flynn. I closed the door. Please, tell me?”

Flynn holds my hand, his warm green eyes telling me to trust them.

“Flynn feels worried. Please tell me who to kill for you,” Shaw growls.

“I’m not a normal omega,” I blurt out. The bubble Flynn made me helps me to talk to Shaw. I can’t see his face since I’m turned away, and the warmth and darkness of the blankets helps me to feel safe.

I do crave this, I just haven’t been able to revel in it, since Trey enjoyed stripping me of even basic comforts.

“I’m very sensitive to an alpha’s bark,” I explain. The tears from earlier are drying on my cheeks, making my skin feel a bit tight as I take a strangled breath. “My last alpha enjoyed using this to make me perform sexually for him on command. Half the time I didn’t know if my emotions were mine or what he wanted me to feel.”

“Bastard,” Shaw grunts. “That’s a perversion of an alpha-omega relationship, Wren. I would never dream of doing that, nor would Everest or Amb.”

“See?” Flynn asks. “A good alpha’s instincts are to protect and adore their omega.”

“They’ve done a great job,” I say sarcastically.

“You know what? I deserve that, Wren. I pushed you out because my alpha instincts kept screaming at me that you were mine. I denied them, because I thought they were wrong,” Shaw says. “Instead, I fucked up and almost got you killed.”

The alpha behind me carefully turns me around, lifting my leg, so it’s over his hip. Flynn wraps around me as if a second skin, his hard cock pressing against me. Shaw, on the other hand, is careful to keep me from feeling his erection.

“I feel so much fucking guilt that you went through your heat without?—”

“First heat,” Flynn interrupts him. I want to hide from the intensity of Shaw’s anger and gaze, so I bury my face in his shoulder.

Shaw’s scent smells a bit like burnt popcorn as he stews, making me whimper uncomfortably. His chest rumbles as if to soothe me unconsciously, and he takes a deep breath.

“Fuck, we really are assholes,” Shaw grumbles. “No wonder this heat was so bad. Sweetness… Wren, we will never be able to tell you how sorry we are. Please, give us time to show you. Everest and Ambrose are really fucked about this too. They felt pulled toward you, but denied their instincts. Flynn kept telling us you were important to us.”

“I’ve never been pulled to bid at an auction in my life. You just called to me when I saw you,” Flynn explains. “Stay with us. I have a feeling you’re important to other people too.”

“What does that mean?” I ask. “Who’s looking for me?”

Shaw’s fingers tangle in my hair, massaging my scalp almost unconsciously. It feels so good, I moan softly, writhing between them.

“You’re so beautiful,” Shaw says in awe. “Don’t hide from me, please. I need to ask you something really important. No one wants to hurt you in this conversation, you’re safe here. We’d just slaughter anyone who would dare.”

My head lifts as I hear the sincerity in his words and I meet his eyes.

“Ask,” I rasp.

“Does the name Harley Rivers mean anything to you?” Shaw asks.

Closing my eyes, I shudder. “What?” I wail.

I thought that name was long dead, but I’m not that little girl anymore.

“Shh, I’m sorry. You answered to that name in the woods. Did you know that?” he asks.

I vaguely remember hearing it before I called for help. I really thought I had hallucinated it.

“I… why do you know that name?” I ask. Opening my eyes, I gaze up into my scent match’s eyes.

His whiskey brown eyes are compassionate and soft as he looks down at me.

“Jasper Rivers has been looking for you for a very long time, Sweetness. The only reason we were at that auction was because he told us about how his sister was sold on her birthday,” he says.

“My parents drugged me,” I remember. “They didn’t want an omega in the house. I’m not Harley anymore, and Jasper has always hated me. There’s no way he’s looking for me. It’s cruel to lie to me.”

Pulling away from them, Shaw curses as my hair tugs as he attempts to untangle his fingers from my tresses. Swiping my arm up to break the bubble of warmth from the blankets. They fly to the side as I scramble off the bed, needing space.

Gasping as my legs barely hold my weight, I sob at how fucking weak my body is. Managing to stay upright, I fling open the door and start walking. I don’t know or care where I go, I just need some air.

Harley Rivers is a little girl who died the first time Trey hurt her. I died the first time he raped me, and I continue to die piece by piece every day. The world seems to enjoy throwing me into the fire, just to watch me burn.

I’m so fucking tired.

Wren stumbles down the stairs, her tears blinding her as she walks.

“Wren?” I ask, my feet taking me toward her. Ducking around me on instinct, I’m reminded that I’m a big alpha, and she has no reason to trust me.

I hate that I did this to her.

Wren runs to the back door, throwing it open as she races into the yard, gasping for breath. The alarm blares as I watch, and Amb moves over to turn it off. We don’t really need it during the day, it’s just that none of us have gone outside for any reason.

Our little omega drops to her knees and screams, making me rub my chest as I watch.

“What happened?” I ask, my voice hoarse with emotion.

Shaw’s at my side now with Flynn, sighing as he looks out the large picture windows to where our omega is losing her shit. It’s heartbreaking, and makes me want to hold her.

“She thinks I’m lying about her brother. Guys, Wren is definitely Harley,” Shaw says.

I’m walking across the house before I fully realize it. I’m accepting my instincts, because clearly they know better than I do.

“Everest,” Amb starts to say but I’m already pushing my way out of the house and into the cool air.

God, she’s only wearing Shaw’s shirt.

Wren is kneeling on the ground as she cries, mourning things I can only imagine losing. Sitting on the grass with her, I pull her into my arms. Shoving at me as she cries, I purr for her, wanting only to comfort her.

“What are you doing?” she sniffles.

“Snuggling you, doing the things alphas do for their omegas. I’m tired of fighting myself around you. I just do stupid shit whenever I do. Be prepared for groveling, Lemon Drop,” I mumble. “I may still fuck things up, but you belong with us.”

“What if I belong somewhere else,” she whispers before burying her face in my shirt.

I don’t care that my shirt is a wet mess now. I have clothes, I’ll fucking change. As I inhale the scent of tart lemon and sadness into my lungs, I rethink that. Maybe I won’t change.

Wren is still exhausted from her heat and almost drowning in the ravine, so she soon falls asleep in my arms. I stay outside despite the cool air, because I know the warmth of my body will keep her comfortable.

“Everest,” Amb says, walking out onto the patio. “Come inside, babe. It’s still kind of cold. I can’t fucking wait for summer to come to Minnesota.”

Smirking, I slowly and awkwardly stand with her in my arms.

“Has the doctor called you yet with her blood results?” I ask, walking in with him.

“No, but thanks for the reminder. I’m going to call him now. I want to know if there are any other surprises in store for us,” he mutters.

I glance at him with surprise, but Amb shakes his head as he opens the back door for us.

“Not like that. I want her to be able to heal without any other shit coming for her,” Amb explains. “The doctor hinted that she could have long term effects from going through such an intense heat alone.”

“Her first heat,” Shaw murmurs, looking sad as he gazes at Wren.

“Fuck,” I mutter. It explains why her heat was so intense. I feel like the sludge the pigs we feed shit out, nah worse if possible.

“She told me she never wants to have another heat,” Flynn says. “Not ever. Wren has been hurt by alphas before. You have to be careful never to command her with your alpha bark. Ever.”

I don’t understand alphas who hurt their omegas. Shaw is our alpha, he keeps us safe and helps us plan shit out. I don’t really remember a time that he’s ever used it against us. I want to torture and murder the alpha who hurt the woman in my arms.

“Do we know who he is?” I ask.

“She called him Trey,” Flynn says. “We just have so much to tackle to help her. I get the feeling she didn’t have a strong relationship with her brother before she was sold.”

“He would have been, what? Like fourteen or something?” Ambrose grunts. “I don’t think Jasper would have been mean to her. He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.”

“I don’t know, man. I’ll give him a call, figure out if they should meet any time soon,” I mutter. “She’s so damn fragile.”

“That’s what she thinks too,” Flynn scowls. “Wren could have walked into the river and decided to end everything the moment her heat hit three days ago. The fact that she’s in your arms says volumes to me.”

“You’re right,” I agree. “I think my guilt is really riding me. I’m scared to fuck up again.”

“We’re definitely going to fuck it up with her,” Amb tells me. At my glare, he shrugs. “It’s human nature to say the wrong thing, and we don’t know her. There are secrets she’s keeping, some even she may not remember. Wren has nightmares. It’s why I slept on her floor. She was flailing and whimpering.”

“You call that doctor, Amb. I’m going into town for clothes for her and something with more protein that she’ll like,” Shaw murmurs, picking up the keys.

“Protein shakes with strawberries and blueberries?” Flynn suggests. “Fuck, that’s what I would eat. She doesn’t really eat sweets, but her throat is still kind of sore.”

“If I tell her what’s in it, maybe it’ll help. I’ll add some veggies to it, too. Fuck it, I can have her watch me make it. She’s never going to trust us unless we show her she can,” Shaw rumbles.

As he walks out, I have to agree. Amb gets on the phone as I walk up the stairs to lay Wren in bed. I have so many questions, but I want so much to just hear her voice again.

We can’t try to control her, even if we think it’s for her own good, and yet I don’t want to let her go either. Entering her room, I lay her down under the blankets, making sure she’s well covered. I may not know what this omega likes, but I know Flynn likes the comfort of fuzzy blankets when he’s sad.

Pulling out my phone, I text Shaw.

Me:Pick up some shampoo and conditioner and stuff for Wren while you’re out please? Fluffy blankets and shit too. Fuck, she needs socks.

Shaw soundsamused as he responds.

Shaw:Yes, Dad. I have all of it on my list. We’re out of bubble bath and bombs. Flynn swears he doesn’t like it, but I know he likes to take baths when we’re working and read dirty books.

Holding back a snort of amusement,I force myself to walk out of the room. Shaw is a fantastic alpha, and takes care of us all in his own way. He doesn’t think we see it, but we do. Amb is quietly speaking to the doctor outside of our room, and Flynn is listening intently as I walk over.

I’ll need to make my call to Jasper after this. I need to know what his relationship with Wren was, because I’ll be damned if one more fucking alpha hurts her.

“Thank you for running those so quickly,” Ambrose says to the doctor. “Do we know who did this to her? We have a name. You better believe we plan to hunt him down, Doc.”

“What did he find?” I ask as soon as he hangs up. I’m breathing heavier as my mind begins to think up a million things. For some reason, I’m terrified we’ll lose Wren before we ever get to know her.

Flynn comes over to me, and wraps his arms around me.

“She’s okay,” he coos, making me shudder.

“Talk to me,” I beg Amb. His gaze is filled with anger as he nods, glancing at Wren’s door.

“I don’t want to keep secrets from her, so we’ll loop her in if she wakes up while we’re talking,” he grunts. “Wren has been on hormone suppressants for fucking years, which has forced her body to accelerate her cellular growth.”

“English,” I groan, making him sigh.

“She will likely be much better by tomorrow, and the cuts and bruises will probably also begin to fade,” Amb explains. “This alpha, Trey, seems to have fucked with her system though, so her heats will be more intense when she has them. The doctor doesn’t know if having her on heat suppressants will help or hurt her current state, so he doesn’t want to risk it.”

“Could she spike into heat any time soon? Flynn has them every month unless he’s stressed out, and then he’ll skip one,” I remind them.

Flynn nods, biting his lip. “We just don’t know. Being around me could force us to sync up, or she could not have another heat until she’s ready. This heat was so fucked, I don’t know what we can expect,” he says. “Fucking with an omega’s hormones so they’ll never grow up is…”

“Heinous,” I whisper. “I’m going to go call Jasper, okay? I need to make sure we don’t fuck up again and put someone who wants to hurt her into her orbit, baby. If she never wants to see her brother again, then so be it. We aren’t forcing her to do a damn thing.”

“Agreed,” Flynn says, kissing me. Groaning, I allow myself to devour his lips before pulling away.

“What are you two going to do?” I ask.

“I want lemon drop cookies now,” my omega says with a chuckle.

I wonder why.God, that sounds good. If I can’t eat the omega in the next room over, then cookies will have to tide me over.

“Mmm. Save me some?” I ask, starting to walk away from them backwards. I need to make this call before Wren wakes up.

“I’ll make extra,” he promises. “Amb will probably end up eating some before they’re done cooling.”

“There’s no shame in my game,” Amb growls, devouring Flynn’s mouth. His whine goes straight to my cock, making me press down on it.

Dammit, and I get to make this call rock hard.

“Fuck me,” I grunt, turning away as I hurry toward the stairs. I’m going to call Jasper from the office, where I can”t be driven insane by the scent of lemon drop cookies.

Scrolling through my contact list, I hit Jasper’s name as I enter the office. It’s rare that I’m ever in here. I mostly need the privacy, so that if I lose my shit, there are minimal witnesses to it.

“Hello, this is Jasper,” he says. The alpha sounds as if he’s distracted, and I don’t think he checked caller ID before he picked up.

“Hey, it’s Everest with Pack Mohan,” I tell him as I shut the door behind me. It’s still gloomy and now raining again, so I turn on the light in here. “I have some information for you, but first I need you to answer some questions for me.”

I’m the lighthearted one in our pack, though I can torture someone without breaking a sweat. In some ways, my crazy is even more dangerous because my stomach is made of lead, and I have absolutely no guilt after killing someone. In fact, the bottomless pool of regret inside of me is a fairly new feeling.

“Alright, out with it,” Jasper murmurs. I hear him close a door, and I imagine he may be walking away from others. Fuck it, not my problem.

“How close were you and your sister?” I ask. “We’ve been looking for her, but you’ve never said why.”

“What do you…?! Everest, she’s my sister. She just disappeared one day, and my parents told me we had too many mouths to feed, so they asked my aunt to take care of her. I always was confused by this, because I didn’t think my mom spoke to her siblings nor had any. Look… Where is this coming from?” he asks.

“I don’t recall being done yet,” I snap. Beginning to pace, I continue. “How was your relationship with her? Were you a good brother or an asshole?

“Shit. You found her, didn’t you?”Jasper breathes. “Did she say I wasn’t a good brother? She was a lot younger than me, and I was busy making sure everyone else was okay. Harley didn’t really need anyone. I could never figure her out, so I largely ignored her, I guess. I had three brothers that were always in trouble. They took a lot of my time. When she disappeared, I wished I’d paid more attention. Then when I really figured out what happened?—”

“You feel guilty,” I bite out. “There’s a lot of that going around right about now. We found her, but we fucked up. She’s Shaw’s scent match.”

“She’s what? But… Flynn.”

His words are barely a whisper as he tries to piece things together.

“Is she alive?” Jasper grunts. I guess I’ve been really cagey.

Feeling bad for the poor bastard, I sigh. “Yeah, she’s alive. Look, it seems to me as if she’s blocked out her time as Harley Rivers. I don’t know if seeing you will help or hurt her right now. Shaw and Flynn brought you up, and she broke down,” I tell him. “She ran outside and began to scream and cry. I think she needs time. There’s something else.”

“Fuck. My poor sister. What else?”

“I need you to help me find a man named Trey. I don’t have a last name, but I have a feeling he likes to buy omegas who are underaged?—”

“Goddamn it,” Jasper yells. As hard-hearted as I can be, I wince when I hear something shatter. “Is this who bought my sister?”

“Yeah,” I mutter. “He tried to break her and force her to stay a child as long as he could, Jas. That’s the only reason we found out. Trey finally sold her.”

I hear heavy breathing as Jasper struggles to get ahold of his feelings. I even hear a sniffle as he takes a breath.

“How much time?” he asks. “I’m willing to bend, but she is my blood, Everest. I want to see her.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s a bit of a shit storm here, man. She took off and almost died on us. There’s more to it, but she had her heat alone,” I confess. “Her first one. I know you’re her brother, but you know what that means for an omega. Add to this the fact that Trey was feeding her hormone suppressants…”

“How is she sane?” he rasps. “Two weeks. That’s what I can give you. I already want to come over and jump your fucking gate, man.”

“We’ll evaluate in two weeks, Jas. I won’t allow your presence to hurt her. She’s been through things I don’t even know the extent of. We want to be her pack, so we are courting her,” I tell him.

She just may not realize that’s what we’re doing, and it may not have an official name as we bumble along, but that’s our intention. To make her ours.

“And Flynn?” Jasper asks, confused. I know this doesn’t happen often, but I think we’re damned lucky.

“Flynn and your sister are practically best friends,” I chuckle. “He bid two million dollars on her. We’ve never been more shocked in our lives. The money doesn’t matter, it was the draw he’s had to her since he laid eyes on her. Wren is meant for us.”

“Wren…” It sounds as if he’s testing the new name on his tongue. “Is that what she’s calling herself now?”

Blowing out a breath, I try to find the tact I never seem to have. “I think it’s what she’s been trained to respond to. Wren is trying to find her way,” I tell him.

That’s the best I have.

“Thank you for finding my sister. I’ll start looking for this dick cheese of an alpha,” Jasper says as he hangs up.

Walking over to the window, I find myself lost in thought for way too long before the scent of lemon drop cookies brings me back.

There are so many answers Wren is the only one that can give us, and even then, they may be locked away in her mind.