Chapter 34

Thirty-Four

SERGIO

I was back at the OBC two days after my engagement with our omega, Olivia. I had to find my mother's grave, wherever Henry had buried her.

The buildings were deserted, and it looked like a ghost town when I arrived. The sand crunched under my thick boots as I walked around the perimeter. My hand was on my gun, just in case any of the old guards were hiding out here. I couldn't believe I spent years here, trapped and unable to leave after not finding my mother. Henry made sure that the alphas didn't just leave and expose the operation he was running here.

I hoped that motherfucker was dead. That would be the greatest news.

As I walked towards the prisoners' barracks, I looked around the back of the buildings and finally saw it.

There was a small plot of land with rocks embedded into the sand in a rectangular formation and a yellow crime tape around it all. Slowly, I took a look at each of them, and upon closer inspection, I could see names and initials marked on the largest stone.

Inspecting each grave, I saw various names of different females and small infant graves, which bore heavily on my soul. All the crimes Henry committed right here for everyone to see. My breathing paused when I saw her name scratched faintly onto the biggest rock.

I'd found it. My mother's grave.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I dropped to my knees in front of the grave. I laid my palms against the dirt, and my tears soaked the sand under me. Just being here, I could feel all the pain and suffering she went through. Her baby son, me, was taken away from her in such a brutal way.

"I wish I had known you, Mother," I whispered. "You are everything to me even if I'd never met you. I was raised well by good parents who took care of me just as you wanted. But I came back for you, and now it's too late. I love you."

I closed my eyes tight, seeing her in my mind's eye, screaming for her baby.

Chills went through me to the bone, and I could almost hear her voice in the wind telling me she loved me back. I lost it right there, sobbing uncontrollably as I knelt over the dirt. Henry had destroyed the only family I ever had, and I couldn't care less who my father was - the alpha who raped my mother. I didn't want to face the fact that I was the child of a brute.

I felt a small hand rubbing my shoulder, and I knew it was my omega by her cherry scent. As she stood behind me, I gripped her hand in mine without turning. She sniffled, and I knew she was crying as well.

"I'm so sorry," said Liv, kissing me on the cheek, and I could feel her wet tears on my face. "I wish she was here with us."

I nodded without saying a word as tears fell onto the dirt. The rest of my pack had shifted, in wolf form, as they stood around my mother's grave, grieving along with me in silence. Later, we would have to go for a run as wolves. I needed it, and so did my pack.

Olivia

The ride home was somber.

I felt for Sergio, and I wished he had gotten to know his mother. The camp disappeared behind us as we drove in the night. We had been at the camp for most of the day, and I watched the alphas from afar as they ran off the emotion they were feeling. Thankfully, I had brought sandwiches to stave off my nausea, but I was feeling hungry again.

Living full-time with the alphas was an easier adjustment than I thought. They gave me space whenever I needed it, and pregnancy had made me more horny than usual, so it was nice to have an alpha ready to rut me on command. They were more than excited the minute I said I needed a knot, so it had been fun.

Wedding planning had gone by the wayside since I was sick in the mornings, and I couldn't gather the energy to even think of planning a wedding right now.

"We're home," said Evan after the long ride back from the OBC.

"Good, because I'm hungry," I sighed. Ian opened my door and held my hand as we walked to the house. I was familiar now with the pink and red rosebushes in front of the home, and I couldn't wait to add my own plants to the collection.

In the middle of cooking dinner, I started to feel sick at the smell of the onions frying in the pan. Ian was busily chopping up cubes of meat as I hunched over the trash.

"Are you okay, Liv?" said Sergio, rushing into the kitchen.

"Just feel a little sick, that's all," I heaved as I tried to hold the contents back in my stomach.

"Go lay down on the couch," he ordered, and I didn't need to be told twice. "Evan! Come here and finish cooking. I need to take care of Liv."

I slowly made my way to the couch, holding my belly.

The fresh air flowing through the windows was a nice reprieve as I lay on the couch. I opened all the windows in the house every time I cooked, but it never seemed to clear out the food smell.

I closed my eyes, breathing in the fresh air.

"Cold lemonade for you, my love," said Sergio, pressing a cold glass to my lips. I opened my eyes, taking a sip of the cold strawberry drink. It was refreshing, and the sickness began to subside. "I don't want you cooking in the kitchen anymore if you feel sick."

"You got it, pack leader," I said, and he grinned, kneeling in front of the couch as he made me take another sip. Grabbing the remote, I turned the TV on to watch the news with him.

"Breaking news," said the female reporter on the screen. "It has been found that several omegas had been taken by the mastermind Henry while escaping the raid. It is unclear how many omegas he had kidnapped as they haven't been accounted for. Twenty alphas associated with the crimes are still at large. Their mode of escape, speedboats, had been reportedly seen in the water by sight-seers."

"So fucking horrible," said Sergio, while softly touching my belly.

"What do you think he plans to do with them?" I asked, contemplating the horrors that the omegas might be forced to endure.

"Nothing good," he said. "I don't want you to stress about that. God knows how much stress you've already been through."

"I just hope they're okay."

"I know, baby," said Sergio, kissing me on the lips. "But all this stress can't be good for the baby. How about let's change the channel to something else and play a game of chess while our pack cooks us dinner?"

I smiled, "a huge alpha playing chess?"

"Just like I played puzzles with you," he growled. "I enjoy it. And I know you love it even more."

The next day, I never imagined who was going to walk into my home as I quietly wrote my story in my notebook.

"Hey Olivia," said a soft female voice, and I shut my notebook closed, looking up to see Lacy standing there in a flowing pink dress, her belly about ready to pop. She was holding candles and oils in her hands, which she slowly set down on the coffee table. "I know you probably still hate me, but your alphas had told mine that you were experiencing morning sickness."

"Isn't that normal?" I said, not sure what to do with my cousin. We weren't exactly talking like buddies, like how we used to. Text messages had gone silent, and there were no more calls between us.

"It is, but there are ways to make yourself feel a little better," she said, handing me a roll-on made with peppermint and lavender oil. "Just roll this over your stomach and your chest in the morning and at night. I could swear by it."

"Oh, cool, thanks I guess," I said, staring at the bottle in my hand. "I'll try it later, I suppose. Listen about the hiking trip…"

"No, I'm sorry," said Lacy, cutting me off quickly before I could speak. "I wish I waited until you were rescued to have my wedding. And I should have tried more to save you."

"I know you tried," I said. "I'm sorry too for a lot of stuff I said out of anger. You deserve to be happy, too."

I thought about all the omegas who were still not found and the helplessness I felt watching the news last night. It was bigger than I could have ever thought of.

"So all forgiven?" she asked hopefully.

"Only if you sing at my wedding," I said, smiling.

"You got it," said Lacy, grinning at me. It was a moment of shared forgiveness, which was the best feeling to have right now. She immediately sat next to me and hugged me from the side. I leaned into her, sensing her ginger scent.

"Your perfume makes me feel less sick," I said, and she laughed.

"Your ring!" she exclaimed, pulling my hand.

"Yes, I'm engaged now," I said, smiling.

"Oh my god, congratulations," she said, with tears in her eyes.

Throughout the rest of the day, she spent time in my house as we caught up on everything that happened to us. She cried with me when I told her about what I had gone through at the camp. And I laughed with her at her outrageous wedding led by a clown singer that she was obsessed with. Even her husband, Adrian, was hanging out with my alphas outside.

It was a peaceful day, and when she left, I went to my room to try the oil. I was lying on my back, pulling my dress up over my thighs and exposing my stomach.

"Ooh, what's going on here?" asked Evan in a naughty voice.

"I need to put the oil on," I explained breathlessly, trying to open the cap.

"Allow me to put it on for you," he said, unscrewing the cap in two seconds and slowly rubbing it over all over my skin. "You're so incredibly beautiful."

I started to feel aroused as he rubbed the oil sensually over my belly and my thighs next. The sharp smell cleared my brain and my senses.

"I think it's working already," I said in wonderment as he put away the oil. He lay next to me and grasped my face with one hand, kissing me on the lips.

"I'm so glad because I miss sexy time," he said, and my pussy throbbed as he grasped my breast through my bra.

"You're turning me on," I accused.

"Is that so?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.