Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

LACY

I couldn't hear much of what was happening, but it sounded like a female shouting.

"No, I'm not coming out there!" she shouted.

My eyes widened when I recognized her voice. Was Olivia here, too? What the hell was she doing here? I softly opened my door a crack and saw that she was right across from me in room sixty-three. She looked tired, her eyes baggy, and her long black hair wild around her face.

"Leave me alone," said Olivia. "I'll come out when I'm ready."

"You need to eat," said one of the alphas. There were two of them lingering at her doorstep, holding the door open with his foot. "I'll come back to check on you."

The two alphas shook their heads as they left.

I ran to her door once I was sure the coast was clear. I knocked on her door three times as lightly as I could.

I could barely breathe from my panic. I had no idea if this was allowed or what would happen to me if they caught me here.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed.

"Olivia, it's me," I muttered. The door slammed open, and she stared at me with wide doe eyes.

"Lacy!" she screamed, vaulting herself at me. We hugged and pulled away from each other, teary-eyed and unable to believe we found each other in this godforsaken place. "Come in, hurry."

Olivia closed the door behind us as I headed to the chair in her room and sat down. She sat on the edge of the bed, looking a little bit worse for wear and still wearing pajamas.

"How long were you in here for? How did they take you?" I asked her. I wanted to ask her a million more questions, but I had no idea how long I'd be here before we were caught.

"Right after the haunted house thing. Before I could even get into my car, three men grabbed me and put a bag over my head. I passed out and woke up here," she said, her voice breaking. "My mom's going to be beside herself."

"I know, mine too," I said. "They breed omegas in here or something."

"Every night, alphas will come into your room to cuddle you ," said Olivia, and my stomach dropped. "It's to bring you to heat. I had my first night yesterday. I wore myself out trying to wrestle them off me, and I ended up sleeping between them."

"Oh god," I said, feeling sick. Was Jordan going to be in my room tonight? If so, I had no idea how I would escape him. He was adamant about being my ‘handler' apparently.

"Why were you screaming at the alphas just now?"

"They were the ones who cuddled me all night, and they came back to check on me," said Olivia. "They want to make sure we're healthy and happy, mingling with everyone."

"What the hell?"

"It's sick, isn't it?"

"We need to find a way out of this fucking place," I said. "I think we should go to the social room and talk to the other omegas. Figure this place out so we can find a way out of here."

Olivia sighed, running her hand over her messy brown hair. "Yeah, you're right. Let me get dressed. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"I won't," I promised as I grabbed the comb from her assigned dresser. "I'll be right here until you're done, and then we can go together."

The Social Room, as they called it, was a beautiful sunlit room surrounded by glass windows. There were huge vases of flowers in every corner, creating such a feminine atmosphere as I walked around with Olivia. I longed to lay on the massage tables and get pampered, but I had to see what was going on. Most of the omegas stared at us as we walked in to meet our kind.

I had never seen so many omegas gathered in one place before. I only knew a few omegas in my close-knit group of friends.

To see fifty of them in one room was astonishing to me. Different omega scents flooded the air, all flowery and light. My scent was the most boring, and I hoped no one would notice among all the other scents.

"God, it's overpowering in here," said Olivia, wrinkling her nose. "There aren't any scent blockers for anyone to put on either."

"I know," I said. "Damn, look at the food table."

There were two tables lined with sweets that omegas typically enjoyed. The different flavored ice creams immediately caught my eye, and my mouth watered. I was for sure going to grab that later. But I was hungry for something real after the long car ride, so I poured the hot, steamy food onto my plate. While picking out the food, a feeling of sadness and homesickness washed over me.

I missed Ryder, and I was shocked at myself for feeling that.

"Girl, are you just grabbing everything?" said Olivia.

"I don't care," I said. "They're the ones who kidnapped us. They might as well feed us good."

"Haha," said Olivia, stacking her plate with a massive scoop of rice.

After we sufficiently piled our plates with food, we found an empty cushion in this giant social room. As we sat and ate, I was mostly on alert that we'd get dragged away anytime to get knotted and bred. But as I observed the omegas, they all looked…relaxed. Relaxed, pampered, and fed. I didn't like any of this one bit.

"I was so hungry," said Olivia. "But I refused to eat anything when I first arrived here."

"You mean, you didn't eat anything from the time you got here?" I asked, shocked. I barely survived today, especially after the long, hot car ride.

"Nope," said Olivia. "I was on edge until you knocked on my door. Now I'm more relaxed and not so alone, you know?"

Tears pricked my eyes. Olivia wasn't one to get all mushy like this, and for her to open up like this was a big deal.

"You're going to make me cry," I said, smiling through my tears. "We'll get out of here, one way or another."

"I know," she said, her eyes glistening. "I'll be counting the days until that happens."

I began to wonder if there was any hope at all, but I had to say it for her comfort, at least. Realistically, I didn't think anyone would look for me unless my family tried to visit me or heard about me on the news. Ben and Ty would probably contact my family if I didn't show up to work. That was that, at least.

"Good evening, omegas," announced Henry, walking into the Social Room. A few omegas giggled, and a few waved at him. They all looked delighted to meet him, and I wondered if he knotted any of them. The thought suddenly grossed me out.

"Ugh, it's like a cult," I said.

"Tell me about it," said Olivia.

"I want to welcome our newest arrivals," said Henry, his eyes on me. "Our job as alphas is to ensure you are all comfortable and well-taken care of. We aim to produce the healthiest alpha babies on Howl's Edge."

I looked over at Olivia, who was rolling her eyes.

"He didn't need to kidnap us for that."

"But not only that," continued Henry in a louder voice. I was sure he could hear Olivia with his powerful alpha hearing. "Many of you have found a better home here than anywhere else in the real world. In here, you could live out your full omega potential. Nesting, breeding, and being shown all the love and cuddles in the world."

I could hear all the sighs of contentment from the omegas in the room. It was a dream life of many omegas, but not my dream. I wanted to sing. I didn't want to end up giving birth to a bunch of babies and never see my family again.

I didn't realize my hand was raised until Henry called on me.

"What if we're not interested in having babies? How can we go back home to our families?" I said boldly and loudly. This time, he had to answer me. There was no evading the question. Not in front of fifty omegas. Some omegas looked shocked that I would ask that question and be so disrespectful to an alpha.

"If you are not happy here, we can chat later about how we can improve," said Henry, oblivious to my rising frustration. He somehow avoided answering me altogether. "I'm going to go over a few rules here. At nine p.m., everyone should be in their rooms, awaiting their alpha handlers. They will spend the night with you to try and bring you to heat. Please let me know if you are in heat. The alpha handlers will immediately care for you before you go into further pain from your heat."

Take care? As in knotting, I thought snidely.

He left after his speech, and the room was once again filled with chatter. I wondered how all these omegas were freaking happy. This wasn't good at all.

"I want to talk to these omegas," said Olivia after we finished our plates and washed our hands in the bathroom down the hall. When we returned, she eyed two blond omegas who looked like they were related. "Hi, may we sit with you?"

"Sure," said one of them with gentle grace as she patted the blue circle cushion. It was roomy, and there was space for five to sit. The second omega didn't look thrilled to see us there, and she looked wary. They looked similar to each other and in their twenties.

"How long have you ladies been here?" asked Olivia. "We're new."

"A year," said the one who invited us to sit. "I'm Julie."

"My name's Olivia. Are you two related?"

"Yes, I'm her younger sister," said the second omega. "My name's Treasure." They both looked at me expectantly.

"I'm Lacy," I said, and their eyes widened.

" The Lacy from Electric Rose?" asked Julie. "I knew you looked familiar."

"I look a little rough without makeup," I shrugged.

"You're beautiful," said Treasure.

"Thank you, you too," I said, smiling. We needed them to open up to us about this terrible camp. "So, are you both happy living here?"

"Yes," said Julie. "Our lives were a mess before we were taken. Our mother hated that she had omega girls. She kept us hidden away our entire lives and screamed at us constantly. I'm glad we're here, especially for my little sister."

"Were you kidnapped?" asked Olivia.

"Julie heard about the camp from someone, and we pretty much signed up," said Treasure. "At least we don't starve here."

"How about the breeding thing? What do you think about that?" asked Olivia. Just then, we were interrupted by Henry.

"May I speak with you for a moment, Lacy?" he requested.

"Sure," I said, not having a choice. We were essentially stuck here with a bunch of brainwashed omegas with no chance of escape. I followed him to the side of the room.

"What can we do to make you more comfortable?" he asked.

"To let me go so I can live my life," I said. "I don't want to have babies."

"Unfortunately, that's not possible," he sighed. "I also wanted to tell you how much we appreciate having you here. You're an inspiration to many omegas here who know you. Many of them feel a lot more comfortable now that they've seen even the most popular omega here."

"I don't give a fuck about that. I'll pay any price to leave."

He blinked at my vehement words.

"You'll soon see that our goal here is what you need," said Henry, coming closer to me. His alpha scent washed over me with his nearness, and I refused to fall victim to it. "Just let your true omega instincts take over."

He touched my cheek with the tip of his finger, and I swallowed nervously. I could already feel the slick dripping down my thighs at the contact.