Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The Tunnels, The Alpha Underworld
S haking, I stare up at the high, iron door.
It’s the main exit to the Underworld.
The only way to escape.
I ball my hands into fists. My mind is racing as fast as my pulse is.
I’ve imagined standing here for years.
Dreamed it.
Yet thanks to my incredible bonded pack, this moment is finally a reality not only for me but for everybody who has been trapped down here in the dark.
Today, I’m going to lead us into the light.
It’s the early hours of the morning. This is a surprise move, before Dad and enemy packs are hopefully even awake.
We’ll be gone, while they’re still snoring.
I’ve changed back into my red shorts and t-shirt to match Feral’s outfit. I intend to go out of here as the fighter that I am.
Exhilarated, I turn to Feral, who is standing close enough to me that our arms are touching.
He is staring up at the high doors with the same wonder as I’m certain is reflected on my own face.
He’s never been in this chamber before.
Has Feral truly believed that we’d leave the Underworld? Or was escaping the attic as far as he could imagine?
He’s barely become used to living outside the cage.
This must be overwhelming for him. As usual, he hasn’t complained.
He never does
Still, I slip my hand into his, sending out soothing pheromones.
Feral glances at me with a smile. “W-we’ve done it, my Omega.”
“And now we’re jinxed.” Harbinger limps to join us in front of the door.
He’s supported by Laurent, who has his arm wrapped around his Alpha’s middle. Harbinger rests his weight on Laurent’s shoulder to take the pressure off his ribs and keep himself upright.
Harbinger is dressed in his white suit. Only, it can’t hide the vivid blues and purples that have been painted across the canvas of his skin this time because they sweep across his neck and face as well.
He truly looks like a beaten angel.
His silver hair falls loose over his face.
I like it this way. Free.
Laurent is much smaller than his Alpha but is doing his best to support him.
In their elegant suits, they look like excellent matches.
They’re a perfect Alpha and Omega couple — and they’re mine .
Harbinger rested for a day (with enough grumbling and insistences that he was fine for even River to declare Harbinger to be his worst patient ), but the moment that he could stagger to his feet, Harbinger insisted that we go ahead with our plan.
Laurent reluctantly agreed in order to catch Dad unawares.
After the Nine Pits of Hell victory, Dad is still in celebratory mood, swaggering around like an Emperor after our pack’s victory.
He’ll never see this coming.
Dad’s mistake is to underestimate every single one of us, while believing himself to be in control of everybody.
But now, he’s lost the control.
I offered something more tempting to people than his authoritarian, bloody regime: freedom .
Except, will they be brave enough to risk their lives to grab it?
Anxiously, I shift on my feet.
Where is everybody else?
Are they going to come down the tunnels to join us in time?
I glance around at the large cavernous room, which leads to the exit. Multiple tunnels spill out into the chamber.
The walls are concrete and tagged with skull graffiti.
“It stinks in here.” Harbinger wrinkles his nose, kicking an empty beer bottle. “How long do we need to stand around?”
I scrunch up my own nose at the stench of oil, beer, and blood. “You know that the Hades gang use this route for their assassinations, kidnappings, and trafficking. They’re not good housekeepers.”
“That was my main complaint about them too,” Harbinger replies.
“When they make a movie of our revolution,” Laurent waves his hand, haughtily, “here’s to hoping that they change the setting to somewhere more scenic.”
“Also, that they use the pop idol Jin for the soundtrack,” I add. “And the Omega movie star Jex for—”
“Don’t say to play me .” Laurent gestures down his lean body. “No one can possibly do justice to all of this . It could be my debut role. I’d win an Oscar.”
“You’re winning one now,” Harbinger mutters.
“What’s that?” Laurent asks with a sharp look.
“Since you’re the only reason that I’m standing, Rook, I choose to reply with nothing .”
I know that they’re trying to keep our minds off the fact that no one else has arrived yet.
But anxiety is beginning to rise up in me.
I let go of Feral’s hand and take a step back into the room, peering at each of the tunnels.
I listen hard but can’t hear any footfalls. “Where are they?”
Feral rests his hand on my shoulder. “Th-they’ll be here. Th-they’ll come.”
But where’s River? He insisted that he could rally the Betas by himself.
Where’s Romilly with the Alphas?
Where’s Lionzio?
It would break me, if they didn’t escape with us.
I could never leave any of them behind.
What if we thought that we had Dad in checkmate but in fact, Dad had us in checkmate all along?
What if he’d only been waiting for us to divide the pack? Allowing some of us to the come here to the exit to give him the time to take out River, Lionzio, and Romilly one by one?
I twirl back to Feral. “Why isn’t Lion here? What if Dad caught him taking the files? Or what if Lion changed his mind about coming with us?”
Feral’s expression is firm. “M-my brother will be here.”
“I trust all of them. Do you think that I’d allow any plan that I made to rely on someone who I didn’t?” Laurent demands. “Harbinger and I are both in possession of the thumb drives with the code as a backup. Don’t worry.”
My shoulders relax.
I trust them too. But I don’t trust Dad.
I know Dad better than anyone here. I also know what he’s capable of.
And it terrifies me.
Everything that I’ve always wanted is just on the other side of this iron door, within touching distance.
Standing here needing to wait is shaking me apart.
All of a sudden, I hear noise down a tunnel on the right.
“I hear something,” I whisper, excitedly.
I drop into a fighting crouch at the same time as Feral does just to be careful.
The next moment, however, Lionzio bursts out of the tunnel, weighed down with a box of files.
It appears that my brother wasn’t joking about the secret paperwork that he’d been copying over the years. In those boxes, we’ll have what we need to get Dad, Vinnie, and everyone who stands with them arrested.
Lionzio is leading a gang of Alphas and their bonded packs. Studying them, I realize that they’re members of the Battles.
Lionzio appears to have persuaded most of the Battles to follow him.
Dad looks down on my brother because he’s at the bottom of the hierarchy. Lionzio not taking part in the cage fights means that Dad doesn’t see him as worthy. Dad has deliberately set his adopted son up to be humiliated within the pack, over and over.
Yet when it comes down to it, Lionzio is respected by the other pack members.
He’s been running the business on a day to day basis for years.
And the Battles have chosen to follow him.
I grin, rushing forward at the same time as Feral does.
Lionzio flinches on instinct, when both Feral and I hug him.
Then he laughs.
Behind him, the Battles are watching us, shocked.
“We all recognize you as the Head Alpha now, Harley,” Lionzio declares, loudly. He takes a step back in front of the Battles. “I mean, Head Omega . It doesn’t matter. Why can’t there be a Head Omega anyway? We stand with you.”
Warmth floods through me, as I look over the Alphas, Betas, and Omegas who are looking at me — an Omega — to lead them.
It’s a big responsibility.
A duty that I never truly wanted. Yet this is huge.
Has there been a Head Omega before?
I’m not someone who seeks power. But if it’s the power to do good and grant people freedom, then I’ll take it.
On the other hand, I need them to understand that once we’re out of here, they can make their own choices. They’re not exchanging one tyrant for another.
I draw back. “Thank you for putting your trust in me. Once we’re in the Above, we’ll arrange safehouses for you in the mountains. You can start working out how you want to live for yourself . I’ll always help my pack but I won’t control or own you like Dad did. You’ll be free to make your own decisions. I’m going to officially emancipate everyone who wants that.”
Excited whispers start up, before bonded packs hug each other or start dancing.
A sweet Omega bursts into happy tears, hugging their baby.
“You did an incredible thing.” Laurent is studying me. “Not many people are handed power, only to give it away.”
“I’m not many people.” Joy thrums through me at the happiness of my pack.
“You’re not.” Laurent’s lips twitch. “You’re the woman who I love. The most beautiful Omega in both Underworld and Above. The heart of two packs, both the Ferals and the Battles. The determined, brave, and kind Omega, who we’ll prize and treasure for the rest of our lives. There is no one as special as you. The first Head Omega. Haven’t you realized that we’ve been playing the game for you all along? You’re the light in the shadows. You’re everything, Harley.”
I blush, as a group of teenage Omegas giggle.
They’re close to swooning, fluttering their eyelashes at Laurent.
I don’t blame them with the way that Laurent is eyefucking me.
He still looks like the ideal elite Omega, despite everything that’s happened to him. He could be on his way to a cocktail party with the Governor. Even his long hair is immaculately clipped back.
Dad chose Laurent precisely because he is the most model-like elite from a billionaire pack.
Yet Laurent is making this passionate love confession in front of the entire Battles pack to me.
Harbinger pokes Laurent in the side.
“How am I meant to follow that? Shit, here goes…” Harbinger cocks his head. “Every wolf needs their kitten.”
“That’s not a saying.” Laurent pokes Harbinger back.
“It is now.”
I smile. “And every cat needs their wolf.”
Feral pulls away from his brother to yank me against his side. “M-mine. Always.”
“Always, Fer.”
I let out a breath of relief, as Romilly appears through the furthest tunnel at the back of the chamber.
Romilly’s shoulders are thrown back. She looks like a triumphant warrior.
She’s come ready for war.
It helps courage wind through me to see my coach like this.
Romilly’s small, pretty Omega, Kenya, trots at her side. But behind her, ranks of Alpha fighters march out of the tunnel, filling up the room.
“Th-they’re f-f-from every pack.” Feral stumbles over his words in his elation. “S-she persuaded th-them all.”
I grin. “She did it.”
When I wave, Romilly gives a wry grin and salutes back.
My chest tightens.
Where’s River?
Why isn’t he here yet?
The room is filled with a mix of hushed chatter and nervous whispers. Everybody knows how close we are to the steps on the other side of the iron door.
The door leads to the Above, which some people were stolen from, but others have never seen.
All of us, however, are taking the risk to step into the unknown.
Everyone trusts me enough to follow me.
I’m overflowing with pride and gratitude at the same time.
I won’t let them down.
“You definitely have the door code, right?” Lionzio murmurs. “That’s the only thing, which worried some of the pack.”
“In duplicate,” I assure him. “We’re safe.”
Lionzio’s expression becomes grim. “We’re not safe until we’re out of here and Dad and Vinnie are locked up.”
I nod.
Then my pulse speeds up, when I hear more footfalls.
Please be River.
“The Betas are here! Now, the party can start,” River’s cheerful voice calls from the closest tunnel.
“Riv,” I murmur in relief.
“See, I knew our ray of sunshine would be fine.” The way that Harbinger straightens and grins, despite the pain in his ribs, shows that he’s just as relieved as I am.
River saunters out of the tunnel, leading what must be every remaining Beta in the Underworld.
My eyes widen.
I didn’t doubt River but still, this is an army of Betas.
River looks powerful at their head: The Companion servant turned revolutionary leader.
Hyper, River bounces on his toes, before twirling back to the Betas, who are as enthusiastic as he is.
Knowing River, he’s been motivating them with his typical sunniness, which has driven the nerves from them.
To my shock, River drags off his black t-shirt.
My mouth falls open, and Feral growls.
Our Beta isn’t about to put on a strip show in front of all these people, right?
River jabs his finger at the ‘ C ’ for Companion, which is stitched onto his top.
Then he hoists the shirt above his head. “Since I was forced to come here, I’ve also been forced to wear this. I even had to sew on this C to mark myself as a ward. But I’m a mafia heir. Don Battle hired men to murder my pack and kidnap me. I know many of you have similar stories or have been treated as nothing but servants by your packs without the right to medical care. Once we leave here, we can choose our own fates. Don’t let anyone mark you again. Betas unite!”
River rips the shirt in half and hurls the two halves to the floor.
The Betas cheer.
My heart swells. I’m so fucking proud of him.
“Look at our Sunshine go,” Harbinger breathes.
River glances over his shoulder, searching out my gaze for my approval.
When I smile, he struggles through the packed room toward me.
River drags me into his arms, before dancing me around, while I laugh. “Bella, I’m here.”
“You are.” I kiss him.
“And we all are now. Let’s go.” Lionzio grips the files tighter. “The longer we’re here, then the more chance that Dad could also—”
“Join the party…?” Dad’s voice booms over the room.
I startle, breaking away from River into an instinctive fighting stance.
Terrified silence falls over the packs.
Dad’s furious scent of scalding tea washes over the chamber.
Romilly and her fighters, however, move protectively in front of the Betas and Omegas.
The Battles pack surround my bonded pack in a supportive move that warms my heart.
They’re not intimidated into accepting Dad as their Chief Alpha again.
“Bold of you to come alone,” I force myself to say.
I’ve never spoken to Dad like that. But I won’t allow him to cow me any longer.
Lionzio and I have lived too long in his shadow.
It ends today.
Dad is standing in the entrance of the smallest tunnel. He’s vibrating with fury. He’s dressed sloppily in his red suit, but his tie is done up wrong and his shirt is only half buttoned.
Someone must have found out about our escape and snitched to Dad. Then he scrambled furiously into his clothes, before rushing here.
I’d bet anything that someone is the smug looking Omega, who is standing at his side dressed in a frilly babydoll dress.
Allegra.
When I narrow my eyes at her, she gives me a vicious smile.
Then Allegra’s gaze slides to Lionzio.
Her look of cruel satisfaction at the way that he pales, makes me even more enraged.
At Dad’s other side stands Vinnie.
What worries me the most is that Vinnie appears relaxed. It’s like he’s already won the battle.
Also, as if he had more warning about this happening.
Did Allegra tell him first? Or did he guess that something like this was coming from the way that Harbinger fought to join our pack? Or earlier, when he caught Laurent and me in his study?
Vinnie is dressed in his usual jeans, motorcycle boots, and a leather jacket with the Hades’ skull patch on the back. His gang of Alpha bikers, the worst of his Hades squad, are at his back.
“Here comes trouble.” Harbinger winces, pushing himself away from Laurent.
He attempts to look like he isn’t too beaten to stand without help.
“Idiot.” Laurent grabs Harbinger, before he can slide to the floor.
Lionzio walks to stand at my shoulder. “They have guns. What should we do?”
I jolt.
I’m not used to Lionzio asking for my opinion, let alone expecting me to give commands.
But I’m the Head Omega now.
I take a steadying breath, steeling my expression.
I can do this.
Yet I hesitate.
This time, unlike when Laurent, Harbinger, and I were caught in Vinnie’s study, we’re not outnumbered.
But I know what Lionzio is saying.
We can fight, but if Dad starts shooting in this small space, too many people will die.
I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I have a duty to these packs.
I glance back at Laurent.
“He’s a narcissist,” Laurent whispers. “He won’t be able to cope with you challenging his position. Hurt the Alphahole’s ego. You’re the new king around here.”
His eyes sparkle.
Feral catches my eye. “I w-want to f-f-fight him.”
I pull Feral close enough that no one else can hear me. “I understand. After everything he’s done to you, you deserve to fight him. But Dad would shoot you. I can’t lose you, Fer. Please, you’re too important to me. You’re my best friend, lover, and Alpha. My soul . Let me kick his ass for you.”
Feral strokes his hand down my hip. “F-for everyone.”
I nod.
Then I draw back.
Dad plays with his pistol, before saying casually to Lionzio, “I’m sure that you were tricked by your bad Omega of a sister. Why don’t you come over here to me, before you get really hurt?”
“Like you usually hurt me?” Lionzio’s expression hardens. “I’ll stay here, thanks. With my pack, sister, and brother. ”
Feral stalks to lay his heavy arm around Lionzio’s shoulder.
Dad’s face reddens. “Your execution, son , is going to be spectacular. I’ll have you hunted through these tunnels, before you’ll be torn apart in the pits.”
“Can I have that honor?” Vinnie smirks, before pointing at Harbinger. “I’d like to select that asshole too.”
“Harsh.” Harbinger pretend pouts. “I thought that you and I had a thing , after so many days and nights being chained together. Wasn’t that kinky foreplay?”
River chuckles.
“You fucker…” Vinnie takes a step forward, until Allegra soothingly stops him.
“He doesn’t matter,” she simpers. “We’re going to bond tonight. I’m the new heir.”
“Did you hear that?” Dad glares at me. “I selected you. I gave you every opportunity. But you fucked it up. Now Allegra will be the First Omega and my heir.”
I remember Laurent’s advice.
I need one final play with Dad.
My heart is beating like a hummingbird in my chest. My hair is sweaty, damp against my neck.
From the moment that Dad broke the bond with Mom, however, despite her begging on her knees for mercy, I’ve been waiting for this moment.
I’m taking it.
I step forward again, and the packs part for me. “ Ouch. Except, not ouch . Because you don’t have that power anymore. You’re knotless. I don’t only belong to the Ferals, I’ve also been nominated as the Head Omega of the Battles.”
“That position doesn’t exist. Are you playing make-believe?” Dad barks with laughter. “What the fuck do you think this is anyway, you little shit? A democracy?”
My smile is thin. “Looks like it.”
Dad glowers at the Battles, who surround my bonded pack. “Get back to Battle House or every single one of you, including your kids, will be disciplined. Do you fucking hear me? This is your last chance. Now .”
Several Omega kids begin to cry at the strength of his angry pheromones, which he is flooding into the room.
Feral growls.
To counteract Dad, Feral floods his own, much more dominant, pheromones over the packs.
It soothes and steadies the crowds.
“You’re no longer in charge.” I fix Dad with my stare.
I don’t duck my head or look away. I’ve done that too many times in his presence.
Dad doesn’t appear to know how to deal with this new, confident version of me.
He raises his gun. “But I can still shoot every last fucking one of you.”
I stiffen. This needs to work.
I hope that Laurent is right about Dad.
“I’m the one who is challenging you,” I try. “You’re just a washed up Champion who hasn’t fought anyone for years. You hold these fights to try and regain your glory days but also to hide the fact that you couldn’t fight even Allegra. Although, to be fair, she has a lot of experience of knifing people in the back.”
“You bitch.” Allegra drops her mask in her fury.
She looks ugly with her face twisted like that, and now everybody can see it.
Dad is staring at Allegra in shock, but then he refocuses on me. “I’ll show you whether I’m washed up or not…”
He tosses his gun to Vinnie, before prowling toward me.
Got him.
I march forward to meet him.
To Dad, no matter how many times he’s seen me fight, I will still be his little Omega daughter who cowers at the breakfast table, while her Alpha brother tries to protect her.
Remembering that gives me the strength to face Dad: The sound of Dad slamming Lionzio face first into the breakfast table, the clatter of the cutlery, and his cry of pain, as my brother’s weakened wrist is fractured again.
I snarl, running to close the final distance.
I take Dad by surprise with the aggression of my attack.
My mind is filled with Lionzio’s sobbing, Feral’s screams as he’s shocked, and River’s tearful nightmare.
I attack Dad in a flurry of strikes, using the brutal Burmese boxing that Romilly taught me. And that Dad never learned.
“Fuck.” Dad stumbles back, trying to block me unsuccessfully.
I growl, catching him with an elbow strike.
Dad attempts to pull me close to grapple me to the floor, where he’ll have a size advantage. But I keep my distance. I’m much faster than he is, dancing around him.
He’s out of shape. He hasn’t kept up his practice.
I’m taking him apart.
Around me, the audience aren’t cheering like the elites were in the Pits. They’re watching in a respectful silence.
This is the fight of my life.
All our lives.
It’s not for entertainment.
Dad is breathing hard.
He growls, stumbling, when I get in a hard knee strike.
He isn’t looking puffed up and arrogant anymore. He looks scared.
All of a sudden, Dad attempts to back away.
A sly expression slips onto his face. “Harley…”
He’s about to say an Alpha Command.
I can feel it tingling over my skin.
The moment that he says an Alpha Command, I’ll be forced to obey him. For an Omega, it’s impossible for them to resist at a biological level.
The bastard won’t be proving that he’s stronger that way but in fact, that he’s weaker.
If he needs to use his dynamic to beat me down, then he truly is a knotless Alpha.
But he’s going to do it.
Yet that’s enough to push me over the edge.
A red mist settles over me.
I launch myself at Dad, headbutting him with all my strength.
Taken by surprise at the ferociousness of the headbutt, it makes him snap his mouth shut. I’m dazed but I sweep Dad’s legs out from underneath him.
Then I wrap my arm around Dad’s throat. “Do you yield?”
“To you?” Dad rasps. “ Never .”
I tighten my arm, careful to only apply enough pressure to knock him out. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. None of your kids were more than experiments to you. You played with us to see how you could use us, before deciding whether you’d throw us away. We were never your true family. Well, today we’re throwing you away, Dad. ”
I choke Dad harder.
Dad’s eyes slowly close, as he falls limp in my arms.
I hold on for a moment longer.
It feels uncomfortably like a hug, which is something that Lionzio, Allegra, and I spent so many years desperate for.
I swallow, before standing up and stepping back.
Romilly’s expression is serious, as it meets mine. “We’ll deal with him.”
“Thanks.”
Romilly steps forward and drags Dad toward the warriors.
When I turn around, Feral and Lionzio both envelope me in a real hug.
I no longer have to be desperate for affectionate touch, which I was never going to be good enough to get from Dad.
He was incapable of genuine love.
I have it now from my bonded pack.
“That makes things easier for me.” Vinnie hefts the two pistols in his hands. “I’ll simply take over. I’ve been trying to do that for years. The old bastard has had his time. The Hades should be leading the Underworld anyway.”
“Allegra,” Lionzio says, softly, “why don’t you walk over here and join us? We are going to have an amazing future together, as a family and pack. We can forget about everything in the past. Harley has forgiven me for the shit that I’ve done. If you simply say sorry, then—”
“Sorry?” Allegra screeches. “Harley has ruined everything. She stole the succession from me. Now, she’s led this ridiculous uprising. Look how she attacked our own dad. What kind of Omega acts like that? She’s bad and needs to be sent to the Discipline cells.”
Feral’s growl is so loud and dominant that it rolls around the chamber, making everyone fall silent.
Allegra cringes, hiding behind Vinnie.
Vinnie raises his pistol. “Don’t worry, cutie. Who do you want me to shoot first? It can be my courting gift to you. Then we can bond in their blood.”
My breath hitches. I shudder.
But Allegra looks delighted.
She points at Lionzio. “My brother dearest.”
Lionzio’s expression crumples. He looks devastated.
Laurent helps Harbinger to limp forward. They stand between Vinnie and Lionzio to stop Lionzio from being shot as a psycho bonding gift.
Harbinger adjusts his tie. “The thing about criminal gangs that will do anything for money is they’re not loyal. I was part of the Hades. I learned how they worked. And I know that they can be bought for the right price.”
“What’s all this bullshit?” Vinnie growls.
He doesn’t notice the way that the gang members around him are training their guns on him now, rather than anyone else.
Harbinger’s grin is villainous. “Only that you chained the most dangerous man in the Underworld to you and allowed him access to your innermost territory and secrets. Then you brought me back to punish me, which gave me the chance to spread the word about the escape. Oh, and to also bribe your gang.”
“I happen to be a billionaire.” Laurent’s smile is as wicked as Harbinger’s. “Your men are in actual fact my men now. Look around you. The Hades work for me. And that’s the endgame of the Rook.”
Shit, I could fuck Laurent against the wall.
Who would have thought that nerds are as hot as jocks?
“What the fuck?” Vinnie yelps in fear, as his arms are seized.
His guns clatter to the floor.
At the same time, one of the Hades gang members press their guns to Vinnie’s head.
When she’s seized as well, Allegra screams.
“You can’t fucking do this,” Vinnie howls, as he’s dragged back down the tunnel by the bikers, along with Allegra.
The bikers are laughing and joking like they’ve been waiting for this day.
Vinnie on the other hand, is kicking and thrashing, as if he could never have imagined that his own men would take him down.
“Look at that, I just have.” Harbinger grins. “Have fun.”
A roar rises from the rest of the people, echoing around the chamber. It’s a sound of release and sheer jubilation.
A realization that we’ve at long last done it.
We’re almost free.
Laurent carefully passes Harbinger over to Lionzio, who supports the other Alpha.
Then Laurent turns to Feral and me. “I’ve memorized the code. Shall we do this?”
My throat is dry.
I hold my hand out to River. He launches himself toward me to take it.
Then together, we walk toward the door.
I try to steady my breathing, but my men’s fevered excitement and joy surges along with mine.
Feral stands on the other side of me. I can smell Harbinger’s sweet vanilla bourbon scent, as he stands behind me with my brother.
I’m surrounded by the Ferals.
My bonded pack, which I never thought that I would be lucky enough to have.
My eyes burn with tears.
“Rise up,” Feral says, concentrating to get each word out without stuttering.
“And no regrets.” I stare squarely at the door.
Laurent hurries to the keypad.
Feral’s expression is inscrutable. But his startling eyes are dreamy, as if he’s far away.
He was so young when he came to the Underworld.
Does he remember flowers? The sky? The sun?
Will I be able to experience seeing the moon and stars with him, as if it’s the first time?
I smile so hard that my mouth hurts.
I can’t wait for all of it, from the cities to the coffee shops that River rhapsodies about.
No matter where we end up, we are going to create our own reality, with Omega snuggle piles, love, and equality.
Laurent punches in the code.
For a terrifying moment, nothing happens.
“Please,” I whisper. “ Please .”
This door leads up to our families, packs, and freedom.
To our new futures.
Suddenly, with a creak, the door that leads to the Above swings open.