31. Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-One
Emma
I wait until late afternoon to call Mira, spending the hours until then pretending to rest in my room while the alphas pour all their attention into data searches.
My unease gradually settles into a dull, aching pressure beneath my ribs.
I'm trapped in helplessness, guilt eating at me with each passing minute.
They're here, risking everything for me, and I'm doing nothing but hiding away.
I glance toward the nest room door, longing and fear tangling painfully in my chest. The urge whispering through me to gather every pillow, blanket, and plush fabric in the house and curl beneath them is all-consuming. I ache to burrow deep in that safe, warm haven soaked with all their scents.
But the moment I shift toward the closed doors, ice floods my veins, Hugo's cruel voice a sudden hiss in the back of my mind.
Pathetic. Weak. Worthless.
Cold panic winds through my ribs, choking the desire until only ice remains.
A frustrated sob lodges painfully in my throat.
Battling myself is exhausting but these chains are stronger than the iron that mangled the skin around my ankle.
I can’t give into the temptation. I lay on the bed with my back to the nest doors and when the quiet is too heavy and my solitude too suffocating, I pick up the slim black phone and dial Mira.
The phone barely rings a second time before she answers in a rush, worry sharpening her voice.
Questions pour out before I can utter a word. “Emma? Oh my God, Emma, are you okay? Are you safe? Tell me you're somewhere safe and they're treating you well. How are you feeling? Have they made you comfortable? I've been so worried—”
“Mira.” I close my eyes briefly, savoring her genuine compassion, a balm soothing the rawness of my nerves. “I'm okay. Really. The alphas are treating me better than well. Much better.”
Mira exhales, the tension in her voice easing. “Oh, thank goodness. I knew they would. I mean, they're your scent-matched mates, Emma. Your perfect matches. Believe me, those three alphas will do whatever it takes for you.”
I curl one arm around myself as my chest tightens at the quiet certainty in her voice. “You were right about them, Mira. They're nothing like I expected. Nothing I've ever known. And now…”
“Now what?” she urges.
“I'm developing feelings for them. Real feelings, Mira. And it's…it's terrifying. They've been so kind, so good to me, but…” My voice wavers and I take a deep breath. I need to get this out. If anyone will understand, Mira will. “When they find out I’m a defective omega who can’t build a nest, they’ll leave because I’m too much work.”
The silence is soft between us. “Oh, Emma. We only knew cruel alphas who tortured us. Mercer and Hardwick were responsible for that, and those alphas deserve to rot in hell. Asher literally shot Mercer in the head for attacking me and I guarantee you when they can take down Hardwick, they’ll be in the front line alongside my mates.
“The alphas they prepared us for are twisted and wrong, too. They taught us what they wanted us to know. They devalued us to make us second guess when we wanted more, but there’s nothing wrong with what we need.
Our instincts are not wrong.” She draws a shaky breath.
“Everything is scary and new now, I know. But Asher, Phoenix, Soren see you for who you are. I promise, the truth about your past won't drive them away. They work to save abused omegas and that’s the reason Adrian went to them for help. Our past, your past, won’t change anything.
These types of alphas don't scare easily.
Certainly not when it comes to protecting the omega they're falling for.”
I swallow, tears collecting along my lashes at her comforting certainty that I'm worthy of such gentleness and devotion, and gods, am I over crying. I want joy. Happiness. Healing. Just like she has. “It’s hard. The fear. It stops me. It’s so overwhelming when they get close, but…
gods, Mira, they're so patient. What happens if I ruin it all?”
“ It would be impossible for you to ruin anything for them.
You're brave, strong, and resilient; you deserve every precious thing these alphas offer.
They're meant for you. Your past can't possibly taint you. It only makes your future more powerful and beautiful. It happened to me with the right alphas. It is happening for you too.” Her voice is firm and filled with quiet affection.
My heart squeezes at the love and unwavering belief in her words. Mira has always seen the things inside me that I've never been able to see myself, and if anyone deserves love it’s her.
Us.
Any of the omegas who were thrown into Haven’s basement deserve that too. There are so many of us.
I grip the phone hard. “I've missed you so much.”
Another gentle exhale rustles quietly through the phone.
“And I've missed you too, Emma. So much.
You're exactly where you're meant to be, with exactly whom you're meant to be with.
Hold onto your alphas. Trust them. Let yourself believe you're worthy of whatever beautiful future they offer. You deserve every ounce of happiness.”
Her words soothe some of my overwhelming fear and dread. She's right. They've already seen me broken and terrified, and they still chose me despite that. Maybe I need to believe that I'm no longer defined by my old chains.
I hesitate a moment before I manage to whisper the question that's haunted me. “Mira, have your alphas found Leah?”
A pause on the line makes my stomach clench. Dread and fear rise bitterly in my mouth. What if Leah... what if she wasn't as lucky as Mira and me? I hardly want to give the thought a chance to escape, but what if, of the three of us, Leah didn't make it out whole or even alive?
“There's still no word. But Emma, please know that every single resource my alphas have, every person at their disposal, are pouring everything into finding her. They know how important Leah is to both of us. They won't give up. I promise you that,” Mira says.
I nod even though she can't see, biting my lip tightly against the sudden threat of tears. A wave of guilt twists in my chest: here I am tucked away safely in luxury, kissing alphas who cherish me, while Leah's fate remains uncertain.
I draw a breath, determined to shift my focus to something lighter—safer. “Your alphas have let us stay in this incredible beach house. Are they really as rich as this place makes them seem?”
Mira laughs, warmth melting through the tension and I hear the obvious affection in her voice when she speaks.
“They are. But they weren't always. They built themselves up from nothing.
They worked hard for everything they have.
I promise, Emma, they're not the usual arrogant, entitled alphas you're probably imagining.
They're down-to-earth, committed. They've used almost all their resources to help omegas in trouble, just like me. Just like us.”
Her sincerity spills plainly into my ear, soft and open. She cares for her alphas. Her love runs deep and warmth blooms in my chest that she’s found the type of love we always dreamed about while locked in the cold darkness .
“When this is all over, will you tell me properly about them? I want to know everything, Mira. I'm dying to know what kind of alphas won your heart.”
“Of course, Em. When we're finally together again—and we will absolutely be together again—I'll tell you every tiny detail. About everything. And you'll do the same with me, okay?” she says.
“It’s a date. Or can we make it a slumber party like we always wanted?” I don’t care that we’re in our mid-twenties, I still want the slumber party we always talked about.
She chuckles. “Of course. We have a lot to catch up on.”
“Thank you, Mira. For everything.”
There's a gentle pause before her voice returns.
“Emma, please don't doubt how incredibly strong your alphas are, and don't underestimate the lengths they'll go to for you.
Trust me on this—you've got all of us now.
You're not by yourself anymore. If you need anything, even just to talk, please reach out.
Any fear, any anxiety, any doubts, we'll work through everything together.”
Tears prick sharply again. Happy tears, hopeful ones that scatter warmth through my heart. “I promise. Thank you, Mira. I'll talk to you soon. I promise.”
Ending the call is bittersweet but Mira’s words linger, embedding themselves deep beneath my skin and bringing forth all the questions I should have been asking myself.
Why should I let Haven, Hugo, Lars, Mercer, Hardwick, and Pack Carmichael still chain me?
They had no right to define who I am. Not then, and certainly not now.
Every moment spent in fear, every hesitation, only gives them power they've never deserved.
They’ve taken so much of me already.
They don’t get to do that anymore.
From now on, I get to choose what and who I want. I've been theirs for too long.
The heavy iron weighing me down cracks open enough for warm relief to pour through. It sweeps into every corner of my heart and soul, shaking off the strangling heaviness .
I feel…lighter. The burden normally so heavy inside me is not so unbearable. The heavy clouds inside my head part and shafts of sunlight stream inside. A delicate type of joy blossoms. Fragile at first, but undeniably mine, and with that comes a driving want. A clarity I never felt before.
I want to reclaim myself. Because I choose to.
Just like Mira did. Unapologetically. And fuck those people who chained me down for their own purposes.
The crime is theirs.
Not mine.