Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

VANESSA

A fter a couple of days in the hotel and having sex with every male in the room, I was exhausted when my heat finally broke.

It was a constant desire to get knotted and fucked thoroughly throughout my heat haze. The guys would even take turns feeding me while an alpha would fuck me repeatedly or if I was waiting for a knot to go down.

This morning, I was getting ready to leave the hotel with the men. We decided to check out Jack's spare house that he was offering. Alex finally caved in and admitted that we needed a bigger space now that there were eight of us. I was happy to see Jack and Alex getting along and talking about the Azatine plant business together.

The pack was getting increasingly closer and attached to me as the days progressed. They expressed it in physical affection and trusted me with their personal stories. I was growing in emotional connection with each of them. Jack had taken the liberty of making sure I was fed and hydrated constantly. Alex was rough, but his knot took me to new heights.

Ryan made sure I was okay mentally and physically. Making sure things didn't go too far. Even though Ryan was a beta, he was overprotective of me, which made my heart swell when he was around me. Laurent stimulated me with his wild stories from his past and his love of traveling the world. Alphas, unlike omegas or betas, were allowed to travel outside of Howl's Edge whenever they wanted.

"Are you ready, baby?" asked Mason, watching me put on mascara. Blade had bought me clothes and makeup while I was on my back for two days.

"Yes, almost," I said. "Blade, you got me a size too small. My boobs aren't fitting in this shirt."

The red shirt clung tight against my breasts, showing off my entire cleavage. Blade hugged me from behind, cupping my breasts in his hands.

"That's my bad," he mumbled against my ear. "But I love the feel of your breasts in my hand." I started to feel the familiar tingly warm sensation creeping down my belly.

"You're going to trigger my heat again," I said, trying to shake him off, but he grasped me tight, squeezing my breasts roughly.

"Not unless we bred you correctly," he said. "If you're pregnant, you shouldn't go into heat again."

Worry set in my belly.

The thought of pregnancy still frightened me. I didn't have Gabe at my side yet, but the men had promised me they'd devise a plan. This was the first morning where I wasn't curled up in pain, so I expected something from them today at some point. Sometimes I felt like I was whining too much. I knew it was a crazy thought since it was my baby. But my deep insecurity and intrusive thoughts plagued me late at night when I thought about my baby. I didn't want to constantly talk about Gabe and wanted to give my full attention to the men during my heat.

But now that my heat was over, it was time to get my baby back.

We stood in front of Jack's second house. I was shocked at how big it was.

It was even bigger than his house back in the human lands. A woman answered the front door. She had similar features to Jack. She had an olive skin tone, dark eyes lined with eyeliner, and long black hair. She was a beautiful omega, radiating elegance in the way she moved.

"Vanessa, meet my sister, Jade," said Jack smiling.

I smiled politely, shaking her hand.

"It's nice to meet the omega who finally captures my brother's heart," laughed Jade. "I'm so glad to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," I said, hating how stiff I sounded. Honestly, my mind was entirely focused on getting Gabe back and not wasting time with pleasantries. But I took a deep breath and entered the home.

"I'm not gonna lie. This place is huge," said Alex, clapping Jack on the shoulder.

"We can stay here until we can decide on something more permanent," said Jack. "There are thirteen rooms, so we won't crowd Vanessa in just one room. Unless she wants it, of course."

When we entered the house, Jade showed me around the kitchen.

"Sometimes, we need a break from all the testosterone," said Jade. The kitchen was spacious, with granite countertops and a modern sink.

Mason let out a whoop as he looked out the large front window.

"You have speedboats?" he asked.

"Yeah, do you want to try it out?" asked Jack, and I could see them all smiling ear to ear.

But Alex looked over at me.

"Don't worry about me," I said. "We'll have some girl talk while you guys explore."

Liam walked over to me and kissed me on the lips.

"Don't have too much fun while we're gone," he said. The rest of the pack kissed me before disappearing from the house. I could hear their excited exclamations as they got to the speedboats.

"Men," muttered Jade. "How in the world did you snag seven of them?"

"I…it all just came together," I said lamely, watching her chop up a head of lettuce on a brown cutting board. Her rings flashed from the sunlight as she held the knife carefully between her fingers. "Do you need help with anything?"

"No thanks, hun," she said. "It's just salad. Goodness knows I have to start watching my weight." She patted her chubby belly and sighed.

"You're not that big at all," I said, but my mind was elsewhere. We heard the roar of the speedboat engine disappear.

My heart began racing with the possibility of escaping to the Royal Palace. This was the first time I was without an alpha standing guard over me.

I had to see my son.

The alphas were taking their time to come to a decision. As I listened to Jade talk about her work and the alpha she was crushing on, I contemplated how I'd leave. "I'm sorry, but do you have scent blockers?"

"Isn't the alpha mark enough to keep predators away?" she asked.

"No, I forgot about that," I lied. I wanted to hide my identity as an omega so I could take a damn taxi without any issues.

I had to pass for a beta, at least. Betas didn't have a distinct scent as omegas did. My heart thundered so loud in my chest that I could barely hear what Jade was saying over the racket in my brain. The little voice was telling me to get my child, and the other voice demanded I stay put and wait for my pack for extra protection.

"Why do you need the scent blockers?"

I was jolted out of my thoughts.

"Nothing, I just wanted to take a walk outside without the pack around me constantly," I said.

I could tell Jade was starting to feel bad for me, judging by the way she was twisting her fingers together anxiously. After everything that happened to me, I told myself I wouldn't manipulate or lie to people anymore, but I had to do this for my son.

"Well, if that's the case," she said, walking over to her brown purse on the counter after drying her hands. "Here you go. I bet seven males could be a lot for one omega and you need a break."

"Thank you so much, Jade."

I took the bottle of cream from her and headed off to a random room in the huge house and locked the door.

This room was an office. Chestnut table and a large portrait of an alpha werewolf. A mini flag of Howl's Edge island sat on the desk, striped in yellow and green with a wolf's eye in the middle.

I quickly stripped off my red shirt and my black shorts. I slathered on the cream, trying not to use too much and finish her supply. After covering myself in the cream and throwing my clothes back on, I was glad my scent wasn't as obvious anymore. Unless an alpha decided to come really close to me, I was safe.

My legs were shaky, and I was light-headed as I exited the taxi.

"Thank you," I called to the driver, shutting the door.

He zoomed away as fast as possible, as if I was an inconvenience. He didn't even talk through the whole ride. Whatever. That wasn't any of my concerns right now.

I was facing the back of the palace, where the massive graveyard was.

It was the only way I could enter without running into the guards at the front. After living here for a few months, I knew this was the least guarded area. It was where Voss and I had made plans for our life together every night without getting caught. I wasn't attached to him at all. He was just a way out and a way to my freedom. A pawn in the game on my path to freedom. Until everything went wrong.

As I walked between the wall of trees that blocked off the graveyard, my heart started racing again at the sight of the extravagant building. The divide between the wealthy and the poor always made me question if we were living in the island paradise that we all thought we were living.

Immediately, I saw Gabe playing with Queen Ophelia out on the terrace.

Ophelia had on a white straw hat and laughed as Gabe chased a butterfly off a rose. She looked much older than the last time I saw her. But I didn't care about her. My eyes were only on my son right now. He wore the same blue overalls they had him wear before, and his chubby cheeks were pink from his large smile. My heart ached. I wanted to run around this bush I was kneeling behind and go to him.

To call out his name. To hug him.

But instead, I knelt there, watching him play for a while. Ophelia was distracted and looking at herself in a handheld mirror, her hand covered in long white gloves. I looked back toward Gabe and saw him running dangerously close to the pond. Panicking, I looked back at Ophelia and saw her staring at him wide-eyed. Frozen in her seat.

"Gabe, get back here!" she shouted.

I wasn't wasting any time. I knew how fast my baby was.

Running out of the cover of the trees and the bush, I chased after my toddler, who had beelined towards the pond. He was laughing maniacally, swinging his arms in the air.

"Gabe!" I shouted, and he stopped in his tracks. He curiously turned around and gave me a wide toothy grin upon seeing me.

"Mommy?" he said.

I caught up to him and pulled him close to me. I didn't say a word as I hugged him tight, trying to catch my breath.

"I missed you so so much, baby," I said, kissing him all over his little face.

"You're not allowed to be here," said Ophelia's voice from behind.

Damn it to hell.