Chapter 19
Jake
I ’m shaking, my eyes blinking rapidly as I stare out the door my Omega just walked through.
Every word she said broke a new piece of my heart. I knew what would happen to her while being kidnapped. Knowing she was abused and sexually assaulted fucking guts me. Any time I think about it, I can’t breathe. I feel like someone is punching me over and over.
But I never considered that what she just confessed was a possibility.
Looking down at my little angel in my arms, I swallow thickly, licking my lips as tears blur my vision.
She was pregnant. That man raped her and got her pregnant. Only for her to lose the one thing that kept her going when she was ready to give up.
My breathing picks up, panic rushing through me at the mere idea of losing my daughter.
I can’t imagine the pain she felt. All I want to do is run after her, to pull her into my arms, and tell her everything is going to be alright.
Only I can’t, and it won’t be. Not when it comes to that.
If I wasn’t on board with the kind of life she lives before, I sure as fuck would be now. I hope when the day comes and Savannah kills Corbin, we’re all there to watch the light drain from his eyes with the knowledge he lost—she won—and we’re going to take care of Savannah and give her the life she deserved, the life that was robbed from her.
How do I even start to put the broken pieces of my Omega back together? I don’t. I can’t. You can’t ever be whole again after everything she’s been through.
What we can do is each place a hand on the holes of her heart and pray we’re enough to keep the blood from seeping out.
She thanked me, thanked us , for saving her.
That on its own wrecked me.
If we really are the only reason she plans on staying on this earth after she seeks the revenge she’s looking for, then I’m going to make sure we don’t fail her.
Letting out a shaky breath, I walk back up to the bedroom—her room.
My legs feel heavy, like bricks are tied to my ankles with every step I take.
I don’t want to go upstairs, further away from her. I want to follow her, to make sure she’s okay.
But I don’t think that’s what she wants right now. Savannah says she wants physical touch, to be smothered with love and affection, but I could see it in her eyes; she wasn’t ready for it at that moment.
She will see that it’s okay to break around us because we will always be there to pick the pieces back up.
Placing the baby in her bassinet, I head down to my room. Flicking on the lamp on my bedside table, I open the drawer and pull out a book.
It’s a journal. For the past five years, since Savannah went missing, I’ve been keeping track of my thoughts. It wasn’t every day, just the ones that were so hard I couldn’t think straight.
Grabbing the pen, I start to write, hoping it helps the throbbing pain in my chest.
Blinking my eyes open, I realize I must have fallen asleep.
I notice it’s still dark outside, and looking at the clock, it reads three AM.
Groaning, I get up, put the book away, and head upstairs.
I frown when I don’t see Savannah in bed with the guys. It’s been a few hours since I saw her last. Where is she?
Worry fills me as I head back downstairs. Checking every room, I don’t find her. On my way up from the basement, I start to worry that she may have left.
A tightness forms in my chest, panic seeping in.
Remembering she enjoyed the garden, I pull on a hoodie and head out back.
My shoulders relax when I find her curled up in a ball, a blanket wrapped around her as she sleeps on the deck chair in the gazebo.
For a few moments, I just stand there, watching her sleep. My hand reaches out, fingers brushing some hair from her face. “Every time I look at you, I ask myself if you're real,” I whisper, my thumb brushing her cheek. “I would have spent my whole life trying to find you, Sweet Girl. But I’m so fucking glad I don’t have to. You say we saved you, but I think you have that wrong, Savvy. It’s you who saved us. Even if some of us don’t know it yet.” Leaning forward, I brush a kiss against her temple. “I’m so madly in love with you it hurts sometimes,” I murmur. “You being my pack's scent match is literally the best gift I could have ever asked for. Thank you for wanting us just as much as we want you.”
I slide my arms under her body and scoop her up, cradling her to my chest.
She lets out a little sigh before burying her face in my chest. She moans as she takes a deep inhale, and I huff out a surprised laugh as I feel her warm tongue lick up my neck. “Mine.” She sounds out of it, still asleep. “Gonna bite you right here.” The last word comes out more of a slur as she drifts off back to sleep.
My cock springs to life at the thought of her marking me as hers. It’s all I’ve ever dreamed of—making her mine, being her Alpha, giving her the life she deserves.
I might not have been able to do that back when I found out what she was to me, but I can now.
To be able to give her my mark will be one of the greatest honors of my life.
Bringing her back into the house, I carefully place her back between Walker and Leroy. She mumbles in her sleep, her body seeking out Walker, cuddling up on to his chest, but she sticks her ass out, making contact with Leroy. His arm snakes out, pulling her ass to him, and I chuckle softly. She fits so easily into our pack. She’s the perfect fit; meant to be ours.
As much as I hated seeing the guys be so unhappy, never dating anyone or seeking something serious, I’m glad they didn’t.
Taking my spot on the bed, I close my eyes and let sleep take me over.
“H ey, wake up.” I feel someone push on my shoulder.
“What?” I groan, pissed off I’ve been woken up from a very exciting dream about Savvy. It’s the first one that doesn’t end with her being dragged away from me while my feet are frozen in place, being forced to watch her disappear forever.
“I think something’s on fire,” Caleb says.
“Fire?” My eyes pop open in time to see Walker jump out of bed.
Leroy scrambles out after him, Caleb and I joining them.
“Where’s the baby?” Leroy asks, finding the bassinet empty.
Savannah isn’t here either. Fear hits me. What if they found out she’s not dead and they came for her? And took the baby too.
We all run downstairs, coming to a skidding stop when we find Savannah in the kitchen.
She’s by the stove, her back to us as she dances in her spot, singing some song I’ve never heard of. The more I listen, the more bizarre it becomes.
She’s waving around a spatula, and I realize there isn’t a fire. She’s cooking. Oh boy.
She moves over to Athena, who’s strapped in her bouncing chair that sits on the counter, and sings to her. Savvy’s singing still sounds as bad as it did in high school.
While I might not think she’s the best singer, Athena loves it. She has a little toothless smile, giggling up a storm.
My eyes widen, snapping to the guys to find them with matching grins. We’ve never heard her laugh like this before. Maybe a little giggle here and there, but nothing like a full-blown belly laugh.
Savvy spins around and grins widely. “Oh good, you're awake,” she says cheerfully. “Us girls thought we should make breakfast. Sit, sit. I’m just finishing up.”
Savannah turns back around to the stove, and Walker leans in. “Wait... that smell is the food?”
Caleb shoots him a glare. “You’re going to sit down and eat whatever the hell she gives you with a damn smile on your face or I’ll stab you in the thigh,” he hisses before taking a seat at the table.
Walker groans, and Leroy lets out a breath as we join him at the table. I agree with Caleb. She seems excited to have made something for us. No way in hell I’m going to risk upsetting her.
“I know that the lady you had living with you cooked and cleaned for you, too.” She scoffs at the word lady. “But you don’t need her. Not when you have me.” She grins, placing two plates on the table. One has what I think are meant to be eggs. They’re dry as hell and brown like they’ve been overcooked. And the other plate, I think, used to be bacon, but it’s almost black now.
“Joke's on you,” Caleb whispers to me. “I love my bacon extra crispy.” He grabs a handful and starts munching on it.
Savannah grabs Athena and brings her over to the table, placing her on top of it. “This baby is, like, so damn well behaved. You sure she’s not a doll?”
“She’s real.” Leroy smiles over at our daughter who’s sucking away on a toy. “She’s just a very good girl. Aren't you, Little Princess?” he coos.
Savannah notices the rest of us don’t take any of the food and starts to put some on our plates.
My stomach turns when I look down at my portion. Just don’t breathe through your nose, Jake.
We all take a bite as Savannah eagerly waits.
“So, what do you think?” she asks, eyes bright.
“Mhhmm,” Walker mumbles around a mouthful.
“It’s good,” I lie. I lie so fucking hard it’s not even funny. Because this tastes like garbage. I thought it would at least be edible, but I have no idea what she put in here because they don’t even remotely taste like eggs.
She smiles, nods her head, and goes to take a bite out of her own plate. Shit. Should I try to stop her from eating her own food?
Too late. She takes a bite and almost immediately spits it back out. “Dear god.” She spits again. “That’s fucking awful! What is wrong with you all? You actually like this shit?”
I blink, partly in shock. Caleb snorts as he watches us, munching away on the bacon.
“Ahh,” Walker says, taking a drink of water. “Yes?”
Savannah shakes her head. “I’m trying not to judge you right now, but you're gross. Because this tastes like ass. Not that I know what ass tastes like, but I bet this is pretty close to it.” She stands, grabs the eggs off the table, and brings them over to the trash. “If you want me to kiss you ever again, don’t eat my cooking. I apparently suck at it.”
My confused face looks over to the others. Leroy just shrugs.
Savannah goes to grab the bacon, but Caleb snatches it, bringing the plate closer to him. “Mine.” He takes a bite of bacon as he looks up at her.
She smiles. “Strange Alphas and your stranger taste buds. It’s okay, I’m not going to judge you.” She shrugs. “I don’t think I’m a very good cook, but hey, at least I tried. Hopefully, one of you can. I am good at cleaning, though. So, I think I’ll stick with that.”
Smiling, I shake my head.
“Here.” She puts some cereal on the table and the jug of milk. “Best I’ve got.”
“You're amazing, you know that, right?” Caleb asks.
Savannah grins over at him. “I know, but I don’t mind hearing it.” She winks.
“So what's your plan for today?” Walker asks.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I know I need to go back to Salvation and get my stuff, talk to Duchess about a few things, and then I have to work tonight. What about you?”
“I’m on call, so I’ll be at the station for the next few days,” Walker says, and Savannah stiffens.
“You mean sleep there?”
“Sometimes.” Walker shrugs. “But only if my shifts are close together. No point in coming home when I’ll just be going back, so I normally just sleep there.”
“But you don’t need to anymore.” I glare at Walker when I see that Savannah doesn’t like the idea of Walker being away from her. I know she’s going to have to get used to his job. It does take up a lot of his time, but she just found her scent matches, she’s going to want to be around them as much as possible.
Walker pauses with the spoon to his mouth. “Yeah. I mean, of course, I’ll be home. Spend as much time here as I can. Even if it’s spent sleeping.”
Savannah smiles. “I do love naps. We can nap together.”
Walker chuckles. “I’d like that.”
“What about you?” she asks Caleb.
“I have to work. But I’ll be off in time for tonight.” He grins, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
“I’ll stay at home with Little Bug,” Leroy interjects. “I think we need to go get some groceries for the house.”
“I have to head into the school for a few hours. Need to get my classroom set up. School starts next week,” I throw in my own plans for the day.
“Are you excited?” she asks.
“I am. But I also enjoyed having the summer off.” I chuckle. “I’m excited to see the kids again and hear about how their summers went.”
“It was a crazy summer.” She nods her head. “I spent so much time working, I hardly had any time to enjoy anything. Can you believe it’s been six months since I died? I’ve been working so much, I haven’t even gotten to enjoy the real world.” She sighs, putting her face in her hands. “All the good stuff is closed at night.” She pouts.
We all know when she says died, she means when Caleb’s brother helped her fake her death.
“How come you’ve never left the apartment during the day?” I ask.
“Duchess said it wasn’t safe. That my inexperience would draw too much attention.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m not that bad. I know a lot about the real world from the movies I’ve watched. I’m not that stupid.”
“You're not stupid at all,” Walker growls.
“Thank you.” She smiles. “But it wasn’t all that bad. When I wasn’t training or going on jobs with Duchess, Thor and I would hang out. Spent a lot of time in the pool. He’s so much fun,” she laughs. “So funny too.”
At the mention of Thor again, anger and jealousy fills me. Looking at the guys, I see they’re just as pissed.
Who the fuck is this Thor guy? And why the hell is our Omega so obsessed with him? She does know that having another man around is going to drive us all crazy. We don’t want to share, even if he is her best friend.
Also, what kind of best friend watches them masturbate! She’s so innocent, Daphne should know better than to let some kind of creep around her.
Leaning into Caleb’s space, I whisper. “You better have a word with your sister about this guy.”
“Don’t worry. Tonight when we go to get her things, I’m going to give him a piece of my fucking mind and tell him to back off our Omega. Friend or not, there's lines you just don’t cross.”
“So this Thor friend of yours. Is he gay?” Walker asks.
My eyes snap over to his, giving him a what the fuck look.
“Huh.” Savannah thinks. “You know what, I’m not sure. He could be? I mean, the dude will fuck anything that moves.” She snorts. “Guy, girl, one time he tried it with a garbage can.” She shrugs. “I don't think gender is really a concern to him.”
I... I don’t even know what to say.
Her phone dings, and she looks at it before laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Caleb asks, I can tell he’s trying to repress his growl.
“Thor sent me a funny video.” She laughs. “A cat playing the piano.”
“Thor sounds like an interesting friend,” Leroy grinds out.
“He’s the best, really. I miss him. I can’t wait to hug him and kiss him!” she sighs. “He’s going to be happy to be going out on a kill tonight.”
“Wait!” Caleb growls. “He’s coming with us?”
Savannah’s face drops. “Well, yeah, he’s my murder buddy. He makes everything more fun.”
“But he wasn’t there the other night,” I point out. At least I don’t remember seeing a guy there.
“No. But that’s because he was up all night puking. I told him not to eat the spoiled chicken, but he honestly never listens to me.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyways, he’s all good now.”
She stands up and grabs the empty bowls, placing them in the sink.
Athena starts to fuss, and Leroy gets up. “I’m gonna go get Little Bug changed and dressed.”
“I’ll clean up. You all go get ready for the day.” She waves us off.
We leave the kitchen, staying quiet until the nursery door is closed. “What the fuck?!” Caleb barks. “I’m not trying to be controlling or tell her what to do, but this Thor dude has to go. There’s no fucking way I’m letting some other man be that close with our Omega!”
“I think we need to find a way to talk about this calmly with her,” Walker suggests. “Maybe we meet the guy, point out his odd behavior? She might not see how fucked up this all sounds.”
“She needs to respect us like we do her,” Leroy says, placing Athena down on the changing table. “We let Ashley go because we saw how much her presence upset Savannah. It’s only fair she does the same for us. I’m not saying she can’t be friends with guys–”
“I am,” Caleb growls. “We’re the only men she needs.”
“But–” Leroy keeps going. “She doesn’t need to be that close with another man.”
“If one of us acted the way she seems to act with him, she would gut them, and then us,” Walker snarls. “And right now, I really want to beat the shit out of this guy.”
“Let’s just all take a step back and go about our day, okay?”
“Why aren’t you more upset?” Caleb asks, frowning.
“I am. Trust me, I am.” I blow out a breath, running a hand through my hair. “I just, after last night... I don’t want to upset her.”
They all pause, turning to face me. “What happened last night?” Walker demands.
I swallow hard. “I woke up to find that both Savannah and the baby weren't in the room anymore. When I went looking, I found her with Athena.” I smile, remembering how sweet they looked together. “You saw the two of them together.” I chuckle. “I’m not sure why there was any worry about how she would be with the baby. Anyways...” I rub the back of my head. “She ended up revealing something and guys...” My throat clogs with emotions. “It fucked me up.”
“What?!” Caleb insists.
“You have to promise not to bring it up unless she does, okay? I’m telling you this because you deserve to know, and I don’t think this is something she wants to talk about again anytime soon.”
“Tell us,” Walker growls.
“Savannah got pregnant while she was held captive.”
All of their faces go white.
I tell them everything she said to me, every heartbreaking word.
By the time I’m done, they look just as upset and sick as I did.
“What do we do?” Walker asks, looking from the door back to me, like he’s ready to go out there and comfort her. But she seemed fine this morning. I know she’s not; maybe not on the outside, but on the inside, she’s hurting. As her pack, we just want to make everything better, but we can’t.
“We keep doing what we planned. Support her, take care of her, be what she needs. If she wants to talk, then we’re there to listen.”
“I don’t even know what to say,” Leroy mutters.
“Neither do I,” Caleb sighs.
“She had a baby...” Walker says in disbelief. “And the way she lost him.” He shakes his head. “Fuck. I just... fuck.”
“I know.” I pat him on the shoulder.
“The idea of her hurting like that.” He swallows hard. “It makes me sick.”
We get the baby ready before heading back down. Savannah has just finished putting the dishes in the dishwasher when we enter the kitchen.
“You know, you don’t have to clean,” I tell her.
“I know.” She smiles. “But I want to. If this is going to be my home too, then I think I should help out.”
I know all of us want to argue right now because we want to take care of her, not the other way around.
“Do you like plays?” I ask.
“Like, as in Shakespeare?”
“Yeah.” I smile. The Savannah she once was did. Maybe there’s a part of her that still does.
“I don’t know.” She tilts her head. “I’ve never been to one.”
“How about we change that?”
My heart picks up when she smiles. “Really?”
“Me, you, dinner, and a show. How about it?”
“Yes!” she squeals. “Oh my god, please, that would be amazing." She rushes over to me, throwing herself into my arms. I catch her with a chuckle as she clings to me. She grabs my face with both hands and kisses me roughly. I can’t help but moan, cock stiffening in my pants. “When can we go?” she asks, panting against my lips.
“This weekend?” I respond breathlessly. “I’ll get tickets. What show did you want to see?”
“Surprise me.” She smiles so wide I can’t help but smile back.
“Deal.”
Savannah deserves to see the world. And right now, we might not be able to do that, but we sure as hell can give her fun memories. She’s been hidden away for years now, but she doesn’t need to be, not anymore, not with us.
We will do just about anything if it means we get to see that smile.