Chapter 17

seventeen

. . .

ALIL

I watched Addy as he began to run, shouting and waving his arms in desperation.

My heart was racing because I didn't know who was in that vehicle but I knew that I was still going to do everything I could to get on it.

"Hey!" I shouted, waving my arms and going after Addy.

Together we jumped and screamed until our voices were hoarse, but the damn thing kept driving until our arms fell to our sides.

"No!" Addy cried as we watched it go, hopelessness flooding us both.

Then, miraculously, the vehicle slowed down.

I gasped, not wanting to be wrong, but to our amazement, when it started to drive again, it turned in our direction and headed straight for us.

"Yes!" we cheered, and Addy turned, grinning in excitement. He swept me into his arms, twirling me and kissing me, before setting me down and frantically packing the blankets and tarp.

"Thank you, Goddess," he muttered under his breath and then stood, pulled the bags over his shoulders and reached for my hand.

We stood there, waiting, neither of us talking.

I could feel Addy's nerves and mine were growing too. Whoever was in that contraption, I honestly hoped it wasn't the other alphas. If they didn't want to take us home, Addy would fight them. I wanted to avoid an altercation.

I squeezed his hand a little bit tighter and waited with bated breath until I could make out something of the nassa in the car.

Addy saw it at the same time that I did.

I was confused, but all the tension left my body at the familiar sight of Naz's long auburn hair flipping around in the wind. Next to the priest, I spotted someone with teal hair and knew it could only be Samar.

Relief swept through me and I couldn't stop smiling.

How had they gotten the buggy?!

When they drove close enough for us to make out their faces, both were frowning and looking very serious. I was pretty sure they were glaring, maybe even suspicious, since I was with one of the alphas who had kidnapped us. I didn't care so long as they picked us up. We could deal with any issues later.

Finally, they drew to a stop in front of us.

There was a moment when everyone looked at each other before anything was said, and then Naz, taking the lead, climbed out of the driver's seat and approached me. Samar followed behind.

They both stopped a few feet away.

"Naz, Samar," I said. "You have no idea how glad we are to see you. We have been walking the desert for two days, trying to get back home."

Naz kept looking at me, his lips pursed at the corners and then he sagged a little and stepped closer, reaching out to grip me by the shoulders and look into my eyes with his warm auburn gaze.

He smiled sadly.

"I am glad we found you," he said but there was guilt in his eyes and his voice. "I only wish it had been sooner."

It was that moment that I realized they wouldn't look at Addy. They knew.

And they weren't happy about it.

"It's not what it looks like," I said quietly, almost wishing Addy wasn't at my side for this conversation, but I couldn't shield him from what people would say. It would only get worse when we got home.

"It looks like you are mated," Samar said bluntly.

"And pregnant," Addy said, speaking for the first time.

I bit my lip, wishing I didn't have to see the despair in Naz's eyes and the shock in Samar's.

At my side, Addy swallowed audibly.

"Look, all that matters is that Alil needs to get back home. We will deal with any other repercussions after he has been seen to by a medic."

Naz and Samar exchanged a look and then nodded resolutely. Apparently they had silently decided to move on from the topic, because Samar even helped Addy with the bags, despite the fact that he didn't need the help.

Naz took my hand, leading me to the car.

He put me into the seat in the middle so that I would be between him and Samar, almost as though to protect me. That in itself hurt a great deal.

He would never hurt me now, and he never would have before.

They started the engine, and we began to drive but all I could think about was defending Addy.

"Where were you two all this time?" Naz asked. "Surely not in the desert."

"No," Addy agreed. "We found the oasis where they had planned to take us. There were enough supplies there to stay for much longer if Alil hadn't fallen ill."

"You mean, if you hadn't impregnated him," Samar grumbled.

My stomach squirmed, but Addy nodded.

"Yes, exactly. He hasn't been very well for a few days now."

"Of course not," Naz said. "An omega has certain needs in early pregnancy, needs that couldn't be met in an oasis in the middle of the desert."

"What about you two?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "How did you come to be in possession of this thing?"

They exchanged a look before answering.

"We ran to the jungle and managed to hide for some time," Naz said. "Our plan was to find you all—the other omegas, but we didn't have any luck and Kazm and Fari were following us."

"Oh Goddess," I breathed. While we were out in the oasis enjoying ourselves, these two were living in fear, being hunted down like animals.

"It wasn't all bad," Samar said quietly. "At least we were together."

I nodded. I could only imagine how much worse it would have been if they had been on their own.

"You're lucky to be alive," I said. "The Baytana jungle is not a safe place."

Naz frowned deeply.

"We are fairly certain that we saw Ekti run towards the jungle as well, when he was being chased by Ossad, but there was no sign of either of them."

My stomach sank at the realization that one of the innocent omegas was probably still out there in the wilderness…

"What about Fari and Kazm?" Addy asked from the back.

Samar gritted his jaw and looked back at Addy.

"They deserve whatever happened to them," he said ominously.

I bit my lip, barely able to breathe.

I had a feeling that something bad had happened to them and that Naz and Samar knew it. And although I didn't like either of those alphas, I wasn't sure I would want them dead or anything like that.

"They betrayed us all," Addy said tersely. "But at one point, I did consider them to be my friends..."

A tense silence filled the car. My hands started to shake and stomach squirm. It was significantly faster than walking, and the wind while we drove was better than the still heat, but this damn contraption was so bumpy. And all this… it was too much.

"Pull over," I gasped.

"What—"

"Pull over!"

Naz swerved and we were all jostled before the wheels stopped and I practically leaped over Samar's lap, tumbling into the sand on hands and knees before I started to puke.

It felt horrible, like I was squeezing the insides out of an empty bottle. My throat burned from the acid, my eyes stung and my entire body shook. The only comfort I had was Addy's presence because he was right there by my side, stroking my back and holding my hair away from my face, patiently waiting with me.

The moment the bile and scarce bit of food were all out, I sagged sideways, letting him catch me while I caught my breath.

When I could finally look at him, his eyes were like storm clouds, they were so turbulent, and I knew that was because of Naz and Samar.

The other two omegas were not keeping their judgments to themselves. They hated him and what he had done to me. It was so unfair. And when we reached the city, it would be multiplied by all those who resided there; our families, friends and everyone else would think less of him.

Perhaps I should not have asked for this bond after all...

"Do you feel any better?" he asked, obviously misreading my despair for illness. I shook my head and struggled to my feet.

"Get our stuff," I whispered.

"Alil... we'll be home in a few hours. If you can just hang on until then?—"

"No. I can't take it."

"We will be happy to stop as often as you need," Naz said, stepping out of the buggy to come talk. Samar followed.

"We won't leave you behind," he said.

"No. I'm not getting back into that thing."

I shut my eyes, trying to keep all the flooding emotions at bay, but I was panicking, and we weren't even home yet. Their judgment was sending me into a downward spiral.

I clutched my hair in both fists, tugging.

" Ugh . I don't know what to do."

I turned around, nearly stepping on the mess I'd left in the sand if not for Addy pulling me to the side at the last moment.

"Lili," he said. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"

It was glaringly obvious that this would normally be the moment he would pull me into one of those calming embraces of his, but he wasn't doing it. He was more controlled in front of other people and oh, goddess, I just wanted to go back to our oasis and my pool and cozy tent right now.

"Traveling must be so difficult right now," Naz said kindly. "This is the time when an omega needs stability, home and their loved ones all around them."

I snorted because, sure, the idea of that was nice. Being home in my own bed with Addy snuggling me and doting on me and my om-mother and al-mother there to check on me would be blissful, but it was far from reality.

"It's not going to be like that, is it?" I demanded, suddenly angry. "We'll get home, and our parents will be furious. Then Addy is going to be taken away for some sort of punishment?—"

"Alil, it's okay?—"

"No!" I snapped at Addy, frustrated. "It is not okay, and you have to stop saying you don't mind. This is all my fault. You should be angry with me."

Addy looked like I'd slapped him.

His jaw dropped and he stared, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Forgive me," Naz said, frowning, "but I find that hard to believe. He kidnapped you."

"He didn't know their plan," I argued heatedly. "I heard him arguing with the others before they attacked me. He thought that we were just going to talk. Then I don't know if you remember that fight but Addy and Ossad—they were arguing—and?—"

I groaned, annoyed. My head felt too fuzzy for this. They had been there. I remembered both Addy and Ossad arguing about the plan when we'd woken up. If Naz and Samar didn't, that was their own problem.

"It wasn't his fault," I said stubbornly. "I had to beg him to bond with me. We ended up alone together in a little slice of utopia and he was still being decent until I insisted and practically forced him to go to bed with me."

"Alil!" Addy said, eyes widening.

"No!" I snapped. "It's not fair for them to be mad at you when I kept pushing for more from you."

I turned to the others.

"I even convinced him to do sexual things before we even bonded, and he still didn't want to kiss me and take away my chances of going to auction."

Samar's jaw dropped, but suddenly, he was biting back a smile.

Naz's eyes widened to the point that it would have been comical if not for the situation.

"It's not fair that all the responsibility lands on Addy. I have always loved him. Why do you think I followed him that night?"

A long silence followed the end of my impassioned speech.

"You really did all that?" Samar asked.

I shrugged sullenly.

"I didn't want to miss my chance at being with the person I wanted," I admitted. "Of course, I completely disregarded any immediate consequences."

I gestured to my flat stomach, feeling suddenly exhausted.

"I see," Naz finally said, looking between us. "Then... when we reach the city, I will speak on Addy's behalf."

I felt Addy draw a sharp breath at my side.

"There's no need?—"

I elbowed him.

"Just take it, please."

He bit his lip and nodded.

"Thank you," he told Naz.

Naz watched us for a moment, emotions swirling in his eyes. Then, he nodded and turned around, going back to his spot in the driver's seat.

Samar followed, presumably to give us some semblance of privacy.

The moment they weren't looking at us, Addy pulled me into a tight hug and held me and I nearly died of happiness. I had really needed that.

It took a long time for all the tension to finally ease in both of us. When it did, he pulled back and met my gaze, shaking his head as a smile played on his lips.

"All these years..." he mused. "I thought I would fight for my omega. I never knew that my omega would fight for me in return."

I laughed, surprised, and shook my head.

"We are in this together, Addy," I told him. "Don't ever feel like you have to take all the burdens."

His gaze softened.

"Oh, Lili," he sighed, stroking back my hair. "Promise me that you are done fighting until after the baby is born."

My stomach fluttered with nerves and nausea at the mention of the little thing. It was still hard to grasp that there was a person growing inside me, but I pushed that aside for now.

"Alright. As soon as it's out though..."

He laughed, leaned in to press his lips to mine and then pulled back, offering me his hand.

I took it and allowed him to lead me back to the others. This time, he pulled me into the back seat next to him, keeping his arm securely around my waist.