Chapter Thirteen

Ryan

I didn't like the way things were left with King, but it was more important that we got the others out of there and safe than to make things all happy happy happy in the land of mates. The ride home had been rough, tension strong as we went all sorts of misguided directions to make sure we weren't being followed. There was so much I wanted to ask the omega, but it wasn't the time.

When we got back to the house, the residents were all asleep, which was good. They could meet our new guests in the morning, but, for now, giving them space to decompress was far more important.

We had one room at the house available. It wasn't ideal for three toddlers and their omega dad, but it would have to do. I walked them up and sent Sloan to get some air mattresses for the floor. We'd figure things out in the morning as to where to go from there, but for now, they needed sleep and food.

"I thought I was protecting us," Nathan said. "Instead, I nearly destroyed everything." Tears were flowing down his face, and my heart broke for him. He was holding one sleeping toddler, and I somehow managed to hold the other two. It was the first time since we got them out that he could speak freely. Little ears didn't need to hear about the horrors going on around them.

I didn't know how they fell asleep in the van, not after all that had happened, but I was grateful for it. Seeing their sweet faces peaceful in slumber gave me hope that maybe they would come out of this unscathed. I wished that for all the children that came here. Unfortunately, it was rarely the case.

We held them, rocking back and forth with the door open, as Sloan came in and placed the mattresses on the floor. He didn't say much, just smiled and said to call him if they needed anything else. That was enough. Nathan was already more relaxed than I'd seen him.

The two of us got the kids settled in and covered with blankets. They didn't stir once, staying sound asleep.

Leaving the door open, their father and I went and sat in the hallway together. There was a lot to be said, but I knew he wouldn't want to be away from them—not for long, and a closed door might be too much for him.

"Listen, I want to be straight with you. If we don't know the story, we're not going to be able to protect you the way you need to be protected." We could play the nice-nice game all day long. But, at the end of the day, that would only make things more, not less dangerous for us all. It was best I was up front about where everything stood.

"I know," he conceded. "I just…my story's hard."

His answer surprised me. I took his hands and waited for him to meet my eyes. "Everyone here has a story that's hard. It's what brings us together and what makes us stronger."

He looked at me as if he didn't quite believe me. Not that I was lying but that there was no way anyone could understand. And maybe I wouldn't fully understand his situation, but I understood the badness of this world. I hated telling my story. It hurt and had a way of making people look at me differently, but it was time. If he was going to open up to me, he needed to hear it.

"I had an omega father who left, an alpha father who beat me, who went mad to the point where my grandmother had to put him down. That…slowly killed her until I was left all alone. And that was the good part of my childhood—the part before I was taken and used in unthinkable ways."

He gasped. It hadn't been my intention to shock him, but being so close to the end, I decided to keep going.

"But I managed to get out and take six cubs with me, and all of this happened before I was eighteen. Trust me when I say everyone here has a hard story to tell."

His mouth opened and closed a few times before any words came out. "My mate…my mate was murdered."

"Was he murdered by the people who want you dead?"

He nodded.

"And so you thought stealing from them would make that better. I'm not judging, I just need to understand." Fine, I was judging a little, but that was something I needed to keep to myself. We all made stupid-ass decisions, but they didn't define us.

"I didn't steal it. My mate did. He thought it would keep us safe. He thought it was protection. He was wrong."

He closed his eyes, his lips mouthing the numbers one through ten. At least that was what I could make of them. After ten, he began again.

"It's the reason he's dead, and the reason we almost were too. I don't know how you guys found us, and I don't need to know, but I'm grateful. Grateful beyond measure."

"We'll figure this out," I said as I stood and held my hand out to help him up. "Go take a shower. Sloan's going to grab clothes for all of you, and, when you get out, they should be there. I'll watch the children until you do."

He hesitated.

"I promise no one will get to them through me. I protected six cubs when I was but a cub myself. I managed the impossible. Trust me. No harm will come to them."

He gave me a single nod and went in for a shower. When he came out and got dressed in the clothing Sloan had brought, I told him I'd be back with food.

I went down to the kitchen, made sandwiches, grabbed a box of the circle cereal kids loved, along with some of those human toddler drinks that apparently had enough of everything they needed. They weren't ideal, but they would be something he could give them in the middle of the night. I also grabbed three sippy cups and three bottles, unsure where they were on their growth journey, or if any of those would apply at all.

When I got back, he was sound asleep, curled up on the air mattress with them. I left everything on the dresser, pulled the door shut, and walked downstairs to find the others and figure out what we were going to do next.