39. Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Mira
I wake slowly, feeling better than I ever have in my life. The constant itch that's plagued me since my heat has finally subsided, replaced by a deep-seated contentment. My nest is perfect now, filled with my mates, their scents combining to create something that smells like…like home .
We're tangled together in the best possible way, limbs intertwined in a complicated puzzle of intimacy and trust. Adrian's strong arm is draped over my waist, his smoked cedar more vanilla, warm and protective at my back. Zane's mellow amber mingles with Cole's fresh pine as they bracket me from both sides, creating a cocoon of safety and warmth. Our bodies press close, skin against skin is everything I never knew I needed.
Everything I thought I couldn't have.
The constant fear that's lived in my chest for so long is distant, muted by their presence. My body is loose and sated. There’s no pain, no deep ache.
Just pure contentment.
When I open my eyes fully, I find Cole already awake, his dark gaze fixed on me with an intensity that would have scared me before. Now it just makes me feel... cherished. The haunted look that usually shadows his features is gone, replaced by something softer, warmer. When he smiles—really smiles—he's devastatingly handsome. The expression transforms his whole face, smoothing the worry lines from his brow, making him look younger, lighter. His eyes crinkle at the corners in a way that makes my heart flutter.
“Morning, Sweetness,” he murmurs, and the tenderness in his voice makes a purr start up in my chest.
“You're purring.” His hand comes up to cup my cheek, thumb stroking my skin.
“I…I am.” This is the first time I’ve ever purred. “I never thought I would.”
“I for one, am glad you’re letting us see how happy you are. It’s amazing what my magical cock can do.” I glance over my shoulder to see Zane’s brow jump up and down.
“Magical cock, huh?” A giggle springs from my mouth at his ridiculous statement.
“That’s the second-best sound I’ve heard you make.” Adrian rises on his elbow. His hair is all mussed up, his carefully brushed strands in hectic disarray and I can’t let myself care.
The contentment of the moment blankets me - no more walls between us, no more hiding, no more running. They create a cocoon of safety. For the first time, I’m truly seen, truly accepted, truly loved .
Except... one wall remains. The biggest one. My secrets press against my chest, heavy with the weight of truth I need to share. The truth about Haven, about what they did to me, about why I can never be a normal omega.
Why I’m putting them at risk just by being here.
Some of the joy leaks away as reality creeps back in. My purr falters, fades, and immediately Zane stirs behind me.
“What's wrong, Baby Girl?” he asks, nuzzling my neck in that playful way that usually makes everything better. “Don't tell me you didn't like my cock after all?” His attempt at humor would usually make me smile, but anxiety churns in my stomach, making nausea rise.
“Your cock is fine,” I manage, though my voice trembles. I clutch the blanket in a weak grip. “But there's... there's something I need to tell you. All of you.” Adrian shifts at my back, at the same time Cole's body tenses against mine. “And I... I hope you're ready to hear it.”
My voice breaks as I add, “It would destroy me if you didn't want me after this. But you need to understand what I am. What they made me.” The words are ash in my mouth, but they need to be said. Need to be understood.
Their answer is in the tightening of their hold on me. Cole's hand finds mine, squeezing gently. Adrian's arm around my waist becomes more secure. Zane presses closer, all playfulness gone.
Adrian's words carry the weight of alpha certainty. “Nothing you can say will make us not want you, Little One. Nothing.”
And the thing is... I believe him. After everything they've shown me, everything they've given me, everything they've proven… I actually believe him. The realization hits me hard, making my eyes burn with tears. These alphas have earned my trust in a thousand tiny ways, and in one massive way… they've given me choice. Always choice .
Speaking up takes courage, more than running ever did. But I don't want anything between us anymore. No more walls, no more secrets, no more fear. They deserve to hear everything about Haven, about the training and the punishments, about why I react the way I do. About why I ran, why I hide, why I'm supposed to be dead.
“I was at Haven,” I start, my voice barely a whisper. The words are glass in my throat, but Cole's grip on my hand anchors me. “But it's not... it's not what they tell people it is. What they pretend it is. All those advertisements about omega education and protection? They're lies.
“Haven isn't a sanctuary for omegas. It's...” I swallow hard, fighting back memories of sterile halls and cold restraints. “It's a prison. They treat us like... like we're not even human. Like we're just test subjects. Numbers in their data. Bodies for their experiments.”
Their scents spike with anger, sharpening with protective fury. But not at me. Never at me. I look up, afraid I might see judgment, condemnation, disbelief. Instead, I find only concern in their eyes that gives me the strength to continue.
Adrian kisses my temple. “Such a brave omega. Keep going. We can take it. I promise
“That's why I had to escape. Why I had to run. They...” My voice breaks, but Adrian's hand stroking my back helps me find words again. “They do things to us. Punishments. They call it 'correction' but it's torture. They modify us, change us, break us down until there's nothing left but what they want us to be.”
I don’t want to tell them exactly what I was put through. Maybe one day, but not now. Not when everything I’m telling them will be a revelation.
“You're doing so well, Sweetness,” Cole murmurs, his thumb still stroking my knuckles. The tenderness in his touch contrasts with the controlled rage in his scent. “Take your time.”
I draw strength from their steady presence, from the way they surround me with protection and care. “I was in the common section at first. It was basic, nothing like the premium wing. My parents couldn’t afford anything else. I didn’t care... I had friends. Emma and Leah.” Their names catch in my throat. I haven't spoken them aloud since... since everything. “It wasn't good, but it was bearable. We looked after each other, helped each other survive. Until... ”
The memories crash over me, and tears start falling despite my effort to hold them back. The alphas' scents immediately soften, offering comfort even through their tension. “Until my parents died. On my twenty-first birthday. It was one of only two days a year we were allowed to see them, and they...” I can't stop the sob that escapes. “They were driving to Haven to see me when their car... when the accident...”
The alphas' scents darken with understanding, with fury, but they stay quiet, letting me speak, letting me find my way through this darkness I've carried alone for so long.
“Dr. Mercer called me to her office. She was so... cold. Clinical. She told me Mom and Dad were dead like she was reading off a grocery list. Like my whole world hadn't just ended.” My voice breaks on the memory of her icy smile. “Then she pulled out papers.” My hands shake in Cole's grip. “Papers that said I had died with them. And then she sent me to the Basement.”
Cole’s body goes tight, but his voice remains gentle when he asks, “The Basement?”
The memory of cold concrete and harsh fluorescent lights makes me burrow closer into their protection. “That's where they send omegas whose families die. Who don’t exist anymore. Who need to be given special training. Sixteen-hour days of hard labor. Moving boxes, cleaning industrial equipment, whatever they needed. Cleaning. Scrubbing. Laundering clothing. We did anything and everything for the whole facility.”
Cole's hand tightens on mine as I continue, his scent darkening with each word. “They... they barely fed us. Said we had to earn our food. That hunger would teach us gratitude.” My voice catches on remembered pain. “And if we did anything wrong...” I shudder at the memories, and immediately their scents wrap around me protectively. “There was this industrial refrigerator. The guards would lock us in there. It was so cold... Sometimes they'd forget about us for hours.”
Adrian’s growl vibrates the walls of the closet. “I’ll kill them.”
I believe him .
I lick my dry lips. “They beat us if we were too slow. Or talked back. Or... or sometimes for no reason at all. Just because they could.” Tears fall freely now, soaking into the nest blankets. “Said they were teaching us our place. Teaching us what omegas deserve. That pain would make us better. More compliant. More... useful. Well, for their use.”
I force myself to stop crying, to gather my strength. Because this... this is the part that puts them in real danger. Not just legal danger for harboring a runaway omega, but something far worse. I wipe away tears, and Cole immediately covers my trembling fingers with his own.
“There's more,” I whisper.
Zane picks me up and tugs me into his embrace. “You don’t have to tell us more, Baby Girl.”
But I do. I must tell them everything. The words are broken glass, but I force them out anyway. “The Basement... it wasn't just punishment. It wasn't even about the labor. It was...” I have to pause, gathering courage from their steady presence. “It was preparing us. Because Dr. Mercer and Senator Hardwick... they make their money another way.”
Cole goes completely still beside me. Zane's arms tighten around my waist while Adrian's cedar smells like a burning forest.
I clutch Cole's hand tighter, drawing strength from his grip. “They sell omegas from the Basement. They set up auction nights and sell us. To the highest bidder. To people who want... who want omegas they can hurt without consequences. Omegas who've been... lost. Conditioned. Who can’t be traced because they don’t officially exist. They sell us right before our very first heat so packs who buy us can bond us to them forever. Chain us for life to do whatever they want to us without any repercussions. That’s why I ran. Why we ran. Emma, Leah and me. We got out just before our first heats. I couldn’t go through with it. Couldn’t do it and now, if Dr. Mercer or Senator Hardwick find me alive…” There’s one of two things they’ll do. “They’ll either sell me. Or kill me.”
Adrian's snarl rips through the closet, furious and deadly, followed immediately by Zane and Cole's. The sounds reverberate in the small space, making the air thick with alpha rage. Adrian's chest heaves with controlled breathing, like he's physically restraining himself from rushing off to hunt down Mercer and Hardwick right this instant. Zane's jaw ticks with suppressed fury, fingers flexing against my skin. The tendons in Cole’s neck stand out with tension and his dark eyes burn with a promise of violence.
My alphas are on my side.
“We're going to make those fucking bitches pay.” Zane’s voice carries a quiet deadliness I've never heard before. Gone is my playful alpha, replaced by something dangerous and focused. “For everything they’ve done. Every omega they’ve hurt. Every life they’ve destroyed. And especially for every moment of pain they’ve caused you.”
“This ends now. What Haven's doing... it's beyond wrong. Beyond criminal. We're going to stop them. All of them.” Cole’s eyes meet mine, fierce with protection. “No one will ever hurt you like that again.”
“We're going to raze them and that whole damn institute to the ground.” Adrian's voice is heavy with promise and rage. “But first, we're going to make them pay for what they did to you, Little One. For every moment of pain, every ounce of fear, every scar they left on your body and soul.”
I'm not facing Haven alone anymore. I am part of a strong, protective, furious pack who will fight for me. Who will stand between me and the darkness that's chased me for so long.
“We protect our own,” Cole growls, pressing his forehead to mine. “And you're ours now. Nothing will ever change that.”
And finally, finally, I believe it.