Chapter Twenty-One

Raven

It was hard to believe that only a couple of months ago, I came here wondering if, the second I crossed the property line, I was going to be put to death. I’d have deserved it. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I made a promise.

And yet, fate said this was the exact place for me.

“You ready?” Sutton asked, cutting into my thoughts. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s voting time.”

“Voting?”

“That’s Aziz’s fancy way of saying we’re having a meeting. We need to make a decision on the house. The auction is today.”

We walked hand in hand to the conference room. I sat with the omegas and Sutton with the alphas. We were the newest members of the team, and neither of us knew if we had to sit that way, but they all did, so we always did as well.

It was wild—the number of changes that had happened in the short amount of time I’d been here. I was pregnant. I was mated. And now, there was an entire group of new omegas here, trying to figure out their next steps.

Most of the ones who came just for the mixer had gone back to their families. We’d set them up with brand-new phones and ensured their data couldn’t be traced back to them. I didn’t think anyone would come after them. That scheme was over, the app completely obliterated. Still, it was better safe than sorry.

None of the higher-ups of the organization had been at the club that night. They let others do their dirty work. It seemed to be a habit with them.

But I had no doubt there were still people looking for my mate and I and the team. Those vile shifters would consider us thieves, taking what was theirs. They’d have to do a lot to get to and through us, though. And before they even got close, we were going to shut them down completely. I vowed it.

“Well,” Tyrus began, “as everyone knows, the auction for that new land is tomorrow, and we need to figure out how much we can bid to secure it.”

He passed out a prospectus showing the land and the house along with some financial numbers. An old farm with several outbuildings. After years of bad harvests, the owners had gone bankrupt—or so the story went.

A lot of work would be needed to bring it up to its potential, but with so many omegas now, we desperately needed another place to help them. No one here was willing to just send them on their way or pass them on to another group. Once you were part of us, you always were. I understood that now.

Pop-Tart called for a vote, and everyone agreed to spend as much as necessary. I thought that was the end of the meeting.

I hadn’t realized King had snuck out until he came back in carrying a huge cake covered in candles.

“Whose birthday?” I asked Sutton.

“It’s not a birthday,” Aziz said.

“But all the candles…”

King set the cake down in front of me. “This is for you. We wanted to show you how much you’re appreciated. We, meaning everyone on this team, but also the omegas whose idea this was.” He gestured to the cake.

“One candle for each person saved that night because you were brave enough. Because you faced your demons, wore another tracker, and made a difference.”

I stared at the cake, stunned. “What… Am I supposed to, like, blow them out?” I was choked up and not sure I spoke clearly enough to be understood.

It was just a plain sheet cake—nothing fancy, nothing to indicate it was anything other than a birthday cake. But it represented so much more. It wasn’t even about the omegas who had been saved, not really.

I’d fight for them every day if I could. We all would

No, this cake represented forgiveness. True forgiveness. From everyone here They loved me—not because I was Sutton’s omega, or because I was carrying the next generation, or for any reason other than who I was.

I took the deepest breath I could and blew. I didn’t come close to getting all the candles out in one shot, but they still cheered.

Then we all got our sugar fix before heading outside to shift together.

This might not have been a pack in the traditional sense, but they were my pack. And there was no place I’d rather be.

My jackal ran up to Sutton’s bear, nudged him, and bolted.

It was time for a game of chase and I most definitely wanted to be caught.