Chapter Fifteen

I still couldn't believe I agreed to use a human weapon. There was something so cold and calculated about holding the metal in my hand, pulling the trigger, and watching the bullet fly. I preferred my combat to have a certain animalistic quality, a kind of justice nature demanded. Not this. But we didn't know what we were up against, and I was determined to do what was necessary.

The first time I pulled the trigger, my heart pounded. I was holding the power to kill multiple people in a short period of time and from a distance. It went against my wolf nature. The second time was easier. The third, easier still. And, when all was said and done, I wasn't a half-bad shot.

The mission was huge, not only in size but also in what it would mean to my mate. He'd been fighting for the safety of others for too long, only to realize he wasn't playing for the team he thought he was. He needed to do this not only for the well-being of those we were there to rescue but also for himself…and me. I knew he felt guilty about not collecting me the day I left the breeding facility. But I wasn't. I never would be. My life might've sucked for that time, but it led to today—a day we hoped would mean freedom for many.

I wish I knew more about the facility. Bits and pieces were better than nothing, but they weren't necessarily enough. We were heading to a "safe house," one we knew was anything but. I was appalled that people took advantage of omegas like that, but they did—every single day. I should know. I'd been one of them.

We pulled up, and it wasn't anything like what I expected it to be. I thought it would be the same kind of place I'd been taken from that night that felt so long ago—the breeding facility. It had been located in an old mansion and, to the human eye, it was a place where the elite lived. Ha! What bullshit that was.

I quickly realized there would be no mansions here. So, then, I assumed it would be like the triple-wide my mate rescued me from. Although that was sort of ridiculous. Who else would buy a bunch of trailers and try to turn them into one unified home? Nobody, because it didn't work.

But never had I suspected it would be like this, a bunch of trailers with a main house that actually looked decent. The buildings stood in contrast with each other. It wasn't hard for me to discern which housed the omegas and which the alphas.

Mav insisted on going in first, and I let him. He said it was safest, but I didn't like it. King went in with him and took out two guards—they deserved it. Even so, a death was a death and there had already been so much of it.

Mav wasn't able to get the omegas to come right out. They were scared…of us. I later discovered that some of them had been "rescued" before. Of course, they mistrusted us.

It wasn't until one of the omegas recognized me that they opened up…a little bit anyway, and only after the alphas promised to wait outside. Mav and King didn't love the idea, but they eventually conceded.

One of the younger omegas, who couldn't have been more than eighteen, let us know this was a breeder establishment and how many omegas were in each building. That part we'd pretty much gathered instantly. It was what they told us next that had my jaw dropping

The omegas were only given food if they worked, and even then, not nearly enough. And not domestic work either. They sent them out to jobs they were required to do naked.

"Clarify." My voice was off. But then again, how could it not be? We'd just scratched the surface of something that felt like the opening scene of a nightmare.

"We had to do it naked." The omega's gaze hit the floor.

My first thought was that they were working at some sort of a sex club. Then another omega spat out that they were making drugs. My stomach clenched, and, when they clarified that it was drugs that impacted omegas and shifters, I nearly puked.

I found myself revisiting that night with the alphas who were far too drunk for shifters—maybe they really had been on something more, after all. It wouldn't have surprised me. And, in a way, the entire night made more sense.

They went on to tell us about the horrible conditions they worked in. They'd been kept naked with a dual purpose, to keep them from stealing or running away. And after King asked a clarifying question, the omega who seemed to be the leader of sorts, told us they had all been starved to the point of no longer being able to shift.

If I were to guess, the food they did give them was designed to stop their beasts, probably with some herbs or something. There were lots of choices when it came to that, unfortunately.

"Please come with us?" I asked for the third time, approaching the subject carefully. "We'll feed and house you. We'll figure all this out."

"We've been promised that bullshit before," one of the older omegas said, sitting on the edge of their bed. "So many times, I've lost count."

"Me too." And it sucked. "But this time…when they got me, I was safe. They took me where I was warm, fed, and had access to hot water. They are different."

They looked at me skeptically.

"I was with the alphas up the road. I was their slave. See how I walk?"

All of the omegas nodded. It was impossible not to see.

"They did that to me…and worse."

I was glad Mav wasn't in the room, even though I could sense his beast close. It wouldn't be easy for him to hear this. But it had to be said. If these omegas didn't come with us, they were sitting ducks. And if they left the land on their own, they would be hunted ducks. We were their safest option.

"And if we want to leave this warehouse you talk about?" The older omega pushed himself to stand.

"Then you leave."

That was enough to get them to not only agree to come but to help us get the rest of the omegas to come too.

Mav called me brave. King called me a hero. I was neither of those things. I was simply an omega doing the best I could and was grateful that, this time, my best was enough.