Chapter Forty

CHAPTER FORTY

NOW PLAYING: DARK Signs- Sleep Token

I jolt awake, my heart racing and my ears ringing. The slightly familiar faded wallpaper of my safe house bedroom comes into focus when I manage to calm my breathing. I don’t remember the dream I was having, but with the way my skin crawls, I assume it’s from the day I left home. For several months after I was brought into the DAU, I had nightmares about that day. The memory twisted in each one to where I was caught before I could escape.

Soft rapping in the distance startles me. No one should be visiting. It puts us at risk.

I throw on a pair of pajama pants and a zip-up jacket before tiptoeing to the stairs. Lex’s voice carries up the stairs, followed by Donovan. I rush down the steps to see what is going on only to slide to a halt when I see Shepherd and Foster standing behind the older alpha.

“Sarah?” My birth name is called from the corner, the sound muffled. I blink when the guys part to reveal Hannah standing behind them. My eyes water and for a moment I’m sure sleep deprivation has made me start hallucinating. I haven’t seen my sister since the day I presented five years ago…

“You need to run, Sarah. You know what Father will do if he finds out you’ve presented and aren’t a beta.”

My body aches from the intensity of the fever flowing through me. Cramps have me doubling over in pain. I don’t know enough about being an omega to know if this level of pain is normal. I can barely focus on the frantic words pouring from my sister’s mouth. I just want to sleep. It’s too bright sitting in her spacious living room. The walls too far away.

Why did I have to be an omega?

My sister's nails dig into my arms as she pulls me from the couch. My mind barely registers the pain. I know it isn’t intentional. She’s worried. Afraid of what will happen if someone stumbles upon us and word gets to my parents before I can find a way out of Whitlan. Out of New Hampshire.

If the haze of this fever would break, I’d be hysterical from the situation I’ve found myself in. Growing up as the youngest daughter of the Montgomery family, I expected to be a beta. My parents are both betas, which should have been passed down to their children. My father, the most influential Pastor in the state of New Hampshire, is the loudest advocate against everything designation-related.

Packs, interpack relations, alphas and omegas. In his eyes, non-beta designations were placed among us as a test of the strength of our faith. If you give in to the instinctual nature of an alpha or an omega, you aren’t worthy of forgiveness or acceptance.

Despite the adamancy of my father’s sermons while growing up, I’d never understood the depth of his hatred toward non-betas. Not until my big brother, Ben, presented during his senior year of high school. He’s an alpha. The punishment he was forced to endure as penance for falling into what my family considers sin was harsh enough I feared he wouldn’t survive the damage to his body.

A similar, or most likely more traumatic, Fate awaits me if my parents ever discover I’m an omega.

The mid-April air helps to cool my overheated skin. My mind settles enough for me to focus on what is happening. A black car pulls through the gate to Hannah’s lavish home. A whine slips from my lips as she shoves me into the backseat. Her light cherry almond scent comforts me and my omega protests at the loss of familiar contact. Especially with the cloying scent of overripe blackberries clinging to the vehicle's interior.

“Hush now, Sarah,” Hannah whispers. Tears stream down her cheeks and her posh top knot is in disarray, leaving strands of her golden brown hair falling down her back. Warm chocolate eyes stare back at me for a moment. So full of sadness. Of grief. “You’re a fighter, my little gremlin. You will survive this and find a life worthy of living. Now go, escape this obstinate state before it is too late.”

Sobs wrack my body as the door closes. The cramps in my stomach grow stronger with the onslaught of distress my emotions are causing within my body.

Life as I know it is over. While I won’t mourn the loss of the choiceless future my father has laid out for me, leaving everything–everyone–behind isn’t as easy as I once imagined.

Staring at my sister, I take in all the ways she’s changed in the years since I left. Her face thinner and her eyes duller. Her golden blonde hair is shorter. The most obvious difference is the large rounded belly and the tiny girl sitting on her hip.

“H-Hannah?” I stammer as I stumble toward her. My arms wrap around her, squishing my niece between us–I have a niece! Sweet cherries and almond flood my senses as I hug her. She’s here, my sister is really here! Safe from our horrible father and her indifferent husband.

“Oh, little gremlin, I’ve missed you so,” she whispers in my ear. Her voice is watery and I can see the tears lining her lashes when we pull back. “Sarah–well I guess you prefer to go by Omen now don’t you?”

My cheeks heat as I tell her I do, slightly afraid she will judge me for the name I chose. I should have known better though because my sister only reassures me the name suits me.

“Omen, this is my daughter Kaitlin. little bug, this is your Aunt Omen.” My niece peeks up shyly from beneath her dark brown hair, the same color as her father.

“Hi Kaitlin, it’s so nice to meet you.” I keep my voice soft when I speak, not wanting to startle the small girl with my unfamiliarity. “I’m thrilled to see you here, away from that awful place, but why are you here?”

Hannah glances at Donovan who smiles and ushers us all into the living room. “Your sister has been working with the DAU undercover since she was nineteen.” I suck in a sharp breath, my mouth hanging open as I look between them both. “She’s done very well hiding her connection to our organization. Her role has primarily been feeding us information about omegas and female alphas who present within the state and are reported to your father.”

“That’s how you were able to get me out of the state so quickly,” I mutter numbly. So many things are beginning to make sense, but I can’t hide my disappointment about only being told about this now.

“Yes. I reached out to my contact within the DAU and they sent someone undercover nearby to pick you up. We knew it could potentially blow their cover, but your safety was the priority. It still is,” Hannah explains.

“Your safety is a priority too,” Shepherd scoffs at my sister. His usually gruff tone is filled with anger. I eye him warily, then tilt my head to study them when I see Foster’s knee bouncing and his eyes flicking toward Hannah every few seconds. The way Hannah carefully shifts herself away from the two men–something is going on there. I can’t quite put my finger on what.

“Both of their safety will be our focus, I promise,” Donovan brings everyone’s attention back to him. “We are preparing to move Hannah and her children to a much deeper safe house, separate from your location, Omen.”

A pout pushes at my lip in a way I haven’t felt since I was a child. I just got my sister back. I don't want to lose her again so quickly.

“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but having you both in one location increases the risk of you being discovered.”

Lex nudges my knee with his and nods his agreement. “If we were to be discovered by your birth family, it’s betterthey only get eyes on one of you. Especially with children in the mix.”

I sigh but relent. They’re right and I know it. It’s selfish of me to keep them here.

“For tonight they’re staying here. Hannah has information we need about your father’s plans. But that can wait until the morning. It’s late and this little sweetheart looks seconds away from passing out on the couch.” Donovan gives Kaitlin a bright smile. He stays downstairs with Shepherd and Lex while Foster and I help Hannah up the stairs to one of the spare rooms.

I watch from the doorway as she gets her daughter settled into the big bed, a worn stuffed sloth held tight in her little hands. Foster leans beside me, his head on my shoulder and hearts in his eyes as he watches them. “Foster?” I breathe his name in question but he only shrugs. I guess he isn’t ready to share.

“I would offer you some of my clothes, but I doubt they’d fit,” I joke when Hannah rejoins us. She smiles wryly before mentioning she has extras packed if she needs them.

I guide them down one door to my room so we can talk without worrying about our voices waking the sleeping angel. I haven’t even fully sat on the bed before they both look at me with worried expressions on their faces. Foster’s arms are crossed over his chest and his aquamarine eyes narrowed. “Oms, I’m going to be blunt–you look like shit..” Hannah gasps in shock but I can tell she agrees.

I know what I look like. The dark circles and pale skin. I’ve lost a decent chunk of weight in the last week, much more than is necessarily safe, and it shows. My hair is a disaster I can’t bring myself to put the energy into washing.

“Are you sick?” Hannah asks hesitantly. Not in a way that suggests she’s concerned I might be contagious, but more so she’s hoping I won’t reveal some terminal prognosis. Which could potentially be true, though having Hannah in my life again eases the ache in my soul left by the chemical rejection I’m experiencing. Only a little bit, but it’s enough to ignite a sliver of hope in my chest.

“It’s a long story…”

“We have time. So spill. I’ll get Shepherd up here if I have to,” Foster threatens.

Hannah and I both look alarmed by the idea, so I quickly blurt out the basics. My lungs burn when the words finally stop flowing. I watch them cycle through emotions as I catch my breath. Shock, confusion, concern. They both settle on anger.

“They rejected you?!” Foster shouts. Hannah and I both remind him to keep his voice down before I explain that they didn’t verbally reject me, but my body is telling me they did.

“That’s… confusing. And honestly, even if they didn’t say the words, their actions speak loudly enough. Who is this pack again? You mentioned a concert?” Hannah looks livid as she asks her questions and I feel bad for adding to her stress.

“It doesn’t matter. They made their choice and now we all have to live with it. I’ll be fine, I just need time to work through the messed-up brain chemicals.” Neither of them is appeased by my promise. Which I kind of get since I can’t promise I’ll actually survive this. A lot of the time it certainly feels like I won’t see the other side of this sea of overwhelming agony.

“We can talk more in the morning.” I urge them both from the room and make sure Hannah is settled next door. Her door clicks shut and Foster turns to me from the top of the stairs. Once more I’m reminded how my omega friend always manages to see too much.

“You’ll tell me if it starts to be too much to handle alone,” he demands. “Shepherd and I will both go ballistic on Primordial Convenant’s asses if anything happens to you because of their stupidity.”

I offer him a weak smile. He knows my connection is to them, probably guessed it long before I admitted it tonight. And he’s got my back. Like Bea, I know he’ll always be there to support me when I need him. I collapse on my bed, both excited over the turn my night took, and apprehensive about what my sister’s arrival means for the future. All I can do is hope we find a solution to my father’s reign very soon.

Waking the next morning after a night of restless sleep, I find my sister’s room empty. I rush to the first floor worried she’s already left. Clatter in our small kitchen draws my attention and I’m relieved to see a small head of brunette hair peek over the back of a chair.

Hannah stands at the stove cooking breakfast. She looks as exhausted as I feel so I hurry over and take the spatula from her hands. “Sit,” I command.

“Kait and I would rather not eat charred eggs for breakfast, thanks.”

I roll my eyes and bat her hands away. She might be right. I’m not the best cook around, but that doesn’t mean I’ll back down when she could use the help. “You’re practically swaying on your feet, Hannah. You’re as likely to burn the food as I am.”

We’re both saved when Shepherd and Foster walk into the room. Both sleep ruffled and shirtless, something my sister doesn’t miss. Her cheeks turn as red as a tomato. She quickly turns away from both men and goes to fuss over her daughter. I turn my laugh into a cough and turn back to the stove.

“Nope, no way. Hand over the spatula.” Shepherd stops me with a hand wrapped around the utensil in my hand. I frown but relent. He’s much better in the kitchen than Foster and I ever were. In our friend group, only Bea can compete with his skills.

“Good morning, sweet girl,” Foster coos to my niece.

The pet name sends a wave of misery through my heart, but I force the feeling aside. I’m surrounded by people I love, who love me in return. With them, I can overcome any obstacle in my path.

“Did you have a good sleep?” Kaitlin ducks behind the edges of Hannah’s floral sundress, shyly nodding. Foster only smiles at the awkward little girl before turning to help Hannah sit at the small table. “And you? Did you sleep well?”

Hannah still won’t meet his eyes, or Shepherd’s, but she responds politely. My sister spent her entire life in New Hampshire. She was married off at the age of nineteen to a man she’d met once in passing. I don’t think she’s ever had someone look at her the way my friends are. She’s clearly out of her depth with these two.

I kind of love it. Foster and Shepherd are both great men and I know they would care for my sister and her children as if they were their own. It may be too soon for my sister to move on from a loveless marriage, but maybe one day.

“Good morning everyone!” Donovan calls cheerily as he steps into the open doorway. We all mutter some form of greeting as we move around. Making coffee or pouring juice, grabbing plates and silverware.

Soon we’re all crowded around the small space with plates in our hands. A tension that hadn’t been there earlier creeps in as we get closer to finishing our food. We all know whatever Hannah has to say today won’t be good news. She wouldn’t have run unless she was in danger.

“I’ll get the dishes later,” I promise when everyone is finished. I’m ready to face the conversation ahead, at least as ready as I will ever be. Hannah gets Kaitlin settled in the corner with pillows, a blanket, crayons, and a coloring book before joining us on the couch.

“The last time we heard from you was when you told us you believed your family had discovered your sister’s identity,” Donovan starts. I’m sure he’s recapping this part so I’m caught up with everyone else. I send him a small but grateful smile and he continues. “What happened after that?”

“When I reached out a few weeks ago, I was certain they knew where you were. Our sister-in-law Jacqueline was adamant she had found her, something she boasted during a visit to my home. She’s had a vendetta against you for years. Even before you presented. I never discovered the reasons behind her hatred of you, I only knew the threat she posed to your safety was real.”

I frown thinking back on the few times I’d interacted with Ben’s beta wife. She was one of the worst followers of my father’s edicts. Very vocal in her hatred of designations and packs. She was also a stuck-up bully. Someone who believed they deserve the world simply because she was born a beta. How that relates to me I have no clue.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but we discovered it was her who paid one of my staff to slip the black market heat inducer into our drinks the day you presented. There’s no evidence to back my suspicions, but I believe she was working alongside Doctor Harrison and that’s where she got access to the drug.”

Hannah’s explanation leaves me reeling. My own sister-in-law was the one who drugged me the first time? Who forced my presentation? Even worse is hearing she might be working alongside New Hampshire’s own mad scientist. How she can stand to work alongside someone so heartless, I can’t fathom. Thinking about the doctor is enough to make me tremble with fear.

“Wait, if she said she knew who I was hiding as that early, do you think–”

“Yes. It is very likely Jacqueline Montgomery is the one who attacked you from the crowd at the festival in Boston,” Donovan confirms solemnly.

Surprisingly, as shocking as it is to hear she hates me enough to put my life at risk with black market drugs, it’s also a little relieving to know who was behind both instances. At least now I know who this unknown threat is.

“Three days ago, Jacqueline approached our father to speak privately. From the sounds of his screaming and the shattered glass we had to clean from his office, it was easy to realize she admitted she had found you and confirmed you were an omega.” She pauses when Kaitlin waddles over to show off her picture and ask for a cuddle. The little girl climbs into my sister’s lap, her head resting against her chest and her little hazel eyes watching us all cautiously.

If anything good has come of this situation it’s that this sweet girl and her unborn sibling will finally get to live a life free of the abuse I’m sure they suffered in Whitlan.

“They were the ones who leaked the article revealing your identity to the media. Their goal is to force you to run. If you’re fleeing the life you’ve built out of fear, it’s easier for you to make a mistake and get captured by one of the teams they’ve sent out to track you down. Father wants you brought back so he can make an example of you before the congregation.”

We both shudder knowing the hell he would unleash if he ever managed to get his hands on me again. On both of us really as I’m sure he’s already realized Hannah betrayed him.

“I wasn’t able to get more information on where the teams were headed, but I do know he sent one to follow the band you were working with for the rest of their tour.”

My teeth sink into the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood. The coppery taste helps to settle the panic quickly welling inside of me. I knew from the start being connected to me would put my mates in danger and now, even when they’ve rejected me, I’m responsible for placing them in my birth family’s sights.

“We’ll alert the security company both bands use, as well as Ridley and the label themselves. We won’t take any chances with any of their safety.”

I nod mindlessly at Donovan’s spoken promise, but it does little to calm the overwhelming guilt swirling in my stomach. I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to anyone working the tour because of my father’s followers.

“They have something big planned. Something related to Adam Pierson’s campaign for the presidency. Father’s been meeting with both the Senator and Doctor Harrison more often over the past two months. Without access to his office at the church, I wasn’t able to find any clues as to what their goal is.”

My mind whirls as Foster tries to reassure my sister, her expression downtrodden with the weight of what she considers a failure. Breaking into the Pastor’s office at the church is a fool's errand. My father is a very paranoid man who has equipped the space with motion sensors, security cameras, and even round-the-clock guards walking the church grounds. No one would ever fault Hannah for not being able to access the space. She’s done enough helping the DAU in the ways she was able to.

An idea forms deep in my subconscious. The barest glimmer of a plan. A last resort if my health starts to decline at a pace I can’t fight.

When I refocus on the room around me, I notice it’s just me and Hannah sitting here now. And my niece who seems content to remain glued to her mother’s side. Not that I blame her. I once walked in Hannah’s shadow to absorb small pieces of the light she offered in my dark childhood.

“I’m worried about you, Sar–Sorry. Omen. Are you sure you’ll be okay after we leave?” Hannah asks quietly. Her hazel eyes roam over my face, probably tracking every sign of my deteriorating mental and physical well-being.

“I just got my big sister back. I’m not going anywhere. We have a whole lot of years of catching up to do after the dust settles.” Her smile is filled with love. A blast from the past that warms my broken heart. I can’t resist pulling her in for another long hug, all too aware our time together will be coming to an end soon.

An hour later, as I watch from the window as my sister, niece, and close friends drive away, I make a vow to myself. No matter what happens from here on out, I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure Hannah and Kaitlin have the best life possible.

Even if that means facing our demons for them.