Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Feral Nest, Haven, The Above
O ne month later…
“I never imagined that the sky could be so big. I’m still not used to it.” Moonlight kisses across my upturned face. “The moon is so bright.”
I stare out of the window that runs the entire length of the Omega Chamber up at the evening sky.
So, this is what it’s like to live Above, rather than in the shadows.
To be free.
Our new home looks out over Bond Street, which runs through the center of Haven, which is a small town.
Haven lies in the shadow of mountains. It is surrounded by lush forests.
It is large enough to hide in but small enough to be safe from the harassment of government officials.
It also has one main advantage: The coffee shop run by Harbinger’s Omega siblings is over the road.
The secret is that the coffee shop is actually the center of the Bonds Protective Unit, the BPU, which is a branch of the Omega resistance.
The Wolf pack investigate cases (like Laurent’s), where people are being forced into bonds against their will, then arrange rescue missions.
Bliss and Piper, Harbinger’s Omega siblings who run the BPU, are as awesome as Harbinger is and just as brave.
Also, just as much of a handful.
I already love them both like they’re my own brother and sister.
Some of their missions are legendary.
Inspiring.
Dangerous.
I admire Harbinger that he encourages these Omegas to follow in his parent’s footsteps, despite all of them knowing that his parents paid with their lives.
In the Underworld, I felt alone.
The outcast.
The only example that I had of Omega behavior was my simpering sister. But now, I’m surrounded by smart and courageous Omegas.
Finally, I feel like I fit in.
Tonight, I’m already dressed for bed in kitten pajamas. Harbinger has bought me half a dozen variations but these are my favorite because they include a cartoon wolf chasing the cute kitten.
I have a sneaking feeling that they’re Harbinger’s favorite as well.
Exhausted, after a non-stop day of working on the Omega Chamber with my men, deep satisfaction coils through me.
It’s taken a week of secret planning and hard work, but it’s been worth it.
Laurent is worth it.
After all, he bought this entire house. He also insisted on paying off Harbinger’s debts. Both were typically grand Laurent gestures.
Harbinger will never have to cage fight for money again.
None of us will.
Laurent wanted to buy a vast mansion, but the rest of us dissuaded him.
Feral and I are only just adjusting to living outside a tiny attic. Harbinger only wants to be close to Bliss and Piper. And River cares most about having a garden.
This cozy little home is perfect for us.
I named it Feral Nest.
It’s not a cold cage or mansion.
It’s our true nest together.
Still, it made Laurent purr with happiness to buy it for us, as much as if he was an Alpha, providing for his pack.
Laurent is the most dominant Omega I could imagine. It suits him that he’s the billionaire in our pack. Luckily, he has Alphas who are confident enough in themselves that they don’t care.
I was worried about our first contact with Laurent’s old Romeo pack. After all, none of the rest of us have had much luck with our own.
But when the Romeos discovered that Laurent was alive and safe, their joy and relief moved Laurent to tears.
I realized then just how close to his family Laurent was.
It’s why Laurent has been off visiting them in Sanctum for a week with Harbinger. As much as it aches to be separated from them both, Laurent needs his brother and friends as well.
On a Zoom call, his brother and the Head Alpha of the Romeos, Ambrose, tried to insist that Harbinger take a ten million dollar reward for saving his brother.
Harbinger refused it.
“Rook is my reward.” Harbinger hugged Laurent. “I almost died for him and I’d do it again.”
“You’re my reward.” Laurent quirked his brow. “You promised me a share of the company, Amby. How about you cash out what you can and give me that? I want to be an independent Omega. I’ll provide for my new family.”
Ambrose, it turns out, is as awesome a brother as Laurent told me he was.
He agreed.
Then he spent an hour in a grumpy battle of wits with Laurent, which screamed just how much he loved and had missed his brother, despite how much both men were trying to hide it underneath banter.
A banter that had Harbinger howling with laughter, despite Laurent’s pointed looks.
I could tell that at least Harbinger was winning over Ambrose.
“I swear,” Harbinger held up his hand in a heart sign, which made Ambrose snort, “we’re going to be besties.”
Laurent huffed. “My sociopathic brother doesn’t have friends.”
Yet I saw the look that passed between the Alphas.
As long as Harbinger treated Laurent well, then Ambrose would be his friend.
And if he didn’t, then he’d rip off his balls.
A man after Harbinger’s heart.
Now, I’m standing nestled between both Feral and River. Their arms are wrapped around me on each side.
River is humming Jin’s latest song, “Set Free”.
It’s terrifying to think how close Jin came to being the next Omega kidnapped into the Underworld.
Without needing to say anything, it’s become a ritual with Feral, since we escaped the Underworld, to stargaze each night in silence.
He’s fascinated by the endless night sky.
“Th-the stars are brighter th-than th-the moon.” Feral’s eyes are lit with awe.
I will never get tired of seeing the wonder on Feral’s face, as he discovers new things of beauty and joy in this world Above
Things that don’t hurt him.
Things that he doesn’t have to battle for or earn.
Things that we can share as a pack.
We’ve experienced the dark, bad side of the world, but I’ve always held onto the belief that there was a light, good side as well.
Contentment washes through the bond.
Feral looks gorgeous dressed in casual gray joggers and a simple black t-shirt.
I nuzzle closer to Feral, breathing in his spicy scent. Then because I still haven’t become tired of the fact that his neck is now bare (and never will), I lick from the base of his throat all the way to his strong jaw.
How many times over the years have I dreamed of being able to do this?
But now, I can because Feral’s red shock collar has been finally removed.
I lick Feral’s bare neck again, purring.
The shock collar isn’t trashed. Feral decided that he’s not ready to part with it.
I understand.
He wasn’t allowed any property. That collar is the only link to his past.
Conflicted, he balled his fists. “I don’t w-want to f-forget.”
Feral is now in possession of the collar, which had made him the possession his entire life.
For now, he’s locked it away at the bottom of the closet in our bedroom.
It’s going to be a slow process of healing, but we’re here for each other.
We all understand the struggle.
River pushes his glasses more firmly onto his nose. Why do his glasses always make him look hotter?
He’s wearing them because he’s been working in his study for the last few hours. He’s developing materials to help him tutor the Omegas in the Battles who want to learn more skills.
There aren’t many Omegas in the pack because Omegas weren’t valued in the Underworld. Those that there are, however, were offered little education.
Laurent has been helping me to settle the Battles in a territory safe in the mountains overlooking Haven.
Harbinger can easily drive River up to their estate several times a week. River is working on the estate as both their medic and tutor.
Even if River hasn’t previously learned a subject that an Omega wants to study, he’s been staying up late in the night to study it himself first, so that he can then teach it to the Omega.
Often, I’ve found him asleep over his open books with his glasses cutely askew.
Despite that, River is filled with excitement and enthusiasm every morning.
He practically bounces into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everybody.
On the mornings that he makes it to bed, he does allow himself a long moment to stretch and luxuriate in the warm sunshine, which shines through the bedroom’s large, latticed window that’s directly over the bed.
Feral’s only command about the house was that we don’t put up any drapes.
“I don’t w-want to f-f-feel trapped again,” he said. “Caged.”
No drapes has the added bonus of meaning being able to wake up first to the sunshine streaming through the window. Then even better, lean up on my elbows and watch River’s eyes flutter open. He gives a happy sigh, feeling the sun’s fingers caress the sharp planes of his cheeks.
I love seeing the bright wonder, as River turns his face toward the window like a sunflower toward the sky.
It’s the best start to any day.
River has been happily working through each room, decorating it in the brightest colors that he can.
No red, silver, or blacks.
Laurent’s lip curls in distaste, while he squints like he’s blinded every time that he walks into a new room or corridor that River has painted lemon or canary yellow.
I admire Laurent’s self-control that he hasn’t stopped River. Also, how much he loves River that he’s not let on how much I can see he’s itching to take over and tone down the color palette.
But he hasn’t.
In fact, when River, paint-splattered and with his curls pinned back, turned to Laurent with a questioning thumbs up for his brightest yellow wall, Laurent returned it.
“Do you like my renovations, la mia rosa?” River asked, eagerly.
Laurent smiled. “I like anything that you do to make this our home.”
Now that’s true love.
Tonight, River is wearing one of his favorite outfits.
Laurent took him on a date, which included clothes shopping at the mall.
For a man who has only been allowed to wear stained jeans and a t-shirt with the mark of his captivity sewn onto it since he was a kid, it was the most thoughtful date that Laurent could have suggested.
They came back laden down with so many bags that you’d have thought that they’d bought out the entire shop.
River looks older and suave.
Stunning.
The designer blue blazer and trousers brings out the blue in his eyes. He’s wearing a crisp white shirt.
A tulip is tucked into his buttonhole.
River has never forgotten to lay a fresh flower on my pillow every morning.
Like this, I can see the mafia heir that he could have been. Except, now he’s helping me to care for the Battles pack, as well as being a loving member of the Ferals.
I can rely on him in every way.
River is the sunshine in all our lives, and even if it happened in a terrible way, I can’t regret that I met him.
I’m glad that he escaped the mafia world. He can start living an independent life as much as the rest of us are, which is away from blood, death, and nightmares.
Although River has joined us tonight, normally he’s a day person.
He’s thrilled every sunny day, dragging us out into the garden to sunbathe, eat breakfast on the terrace, or tend to his new flowers in his rose garden at the back of Feral Nest.
River is watching Feral and me with a soft expression. “Neither the moon nor the stars shine as brightly as my bella and mio re.”
I rest my head against River’s shoulder. “You’re meant to be looking at the sky and not us.”
“What’s more beautiful about the sky than the man and woman down here on earth?” River replies. “There’s nothing up there that I want, as much as my bonded pack right here.”
I lean up to capture River’s plush lips.
He kisses me sweetly.
Feral’s blazing eyes meet River’s over my head.
Then he’s reaching behind me to drag River away from me by his curls to kiss him, dark and demanding.
Caught between the two men, I pant.
Feral alternates kisses between the two of us, until I’m breathless.
Then Feral manhandles River around, and I help him, grasping at his shoulders.
My chest is rising and falling.
In the tangle of limbs, River’s glasses are knocked off and onto the floor.
Whoops.
Sometimes Feral and I forget our strength. We’re used to being wild in our lovemaking.
Wild and glasses don’t mix, as we’re finding out.
“Shit.” River squirms out of our holds. “Not again.”
River gingerly picks up the frames and checks them over.
Feral and I exchange sheepish looks.
“Sorry.” Feral tilts his head. “Broken?”
River shakes his head. “If they were, you’re the one who explains to Laurent why—”
“We kissed you so hard th-that w-we broke your glasses for th-the th-third time in a month?” Feral sounds smug.
River finally smiles, sliding the glasses safely onto the windowsill. “Ah, the last time you broke the frames was when you bent me over my desk and fucked me so hard that you also broke the desk.”
Feral looks even smugger.
I turn back to face the room. “We better put the finishing touches on the chamber before bed. It’ll be a good surprise for our Sweet Thorn, when he returns from visiting the Romeos.”
River starts to dance around the room to the music, and I laugh. “Laurent deserves it. He is always thinking of ways to help us settle in. He spends his days teaching Fer, you, and me about the Above. He buys me all these nice things. I can’t wait to see his face, when he returns to see that I’ve finished painting the lounge and kitchen in a beautiful neon yellow…”
“Neither can I,” I mutter, stifling my smile.
Laurent’s expression will be priceless.
River spins around faster. “This Omega Chamber will be even more special for my two Omegas.” He blows me a kiss. “But Laurent is too busy thinking about other people to know that we remember him too and that despite how he acts, he’s also an Omega. He will like our surprise, right?”
Unsure, River stumbles.
I step toward him, steadying him. “You’re right about Laurent. You’ve each supported and loved me. But Laurent’s heat should also be coming up, and this is our way to show him that he’s just as fully a part of the pack.”
“And bond w-with him,” Feral growls.
“All of us,” I add.
River nods.
I’ve never had an Omega Chamber before.
Just like the house, I don’t need anything luxurious. You’d imagine that Laurent would be the type of elite, haughty Omega who would.
At the same time, he can stroll into a cage and pose in it like it’s a palace.
Laurent doesn’t care about diamonds, velvets, or rich surroundings. He lives a lot of his time inside the labyrinth of his mind, which I accept that I’ll never fully understand.
He’s a savant.
Even the glimpses that I’ve had of what he’s capable of are mind-blowing and frightening in equal measure.
But then, that’s why he fits into this pack.
Feral and I can take someone apart with our fists. Laurent can do it with his brain.
So, together, we’ve designed an Omega Chamber that’s personal and unique to each of us.
It will mean more to Laurent and me than simply spending his money on some bespoke nest.
I hope so.
At least in the Omega Chamber, I took the lead in the color scheme.
The walls and ceiling aren’t painted yellow, but rather a blue the reminds me of the ocean.
Everything that I’ve dreamed about for years.
Two lights hang from the ceiling: one shaped like the sun and one the moon.
I spent this morning painting a mural with a cartoon cat and wolf playing chess in a garden of roses. Feral insisted that he paint himself as a devil standing protectively over us.
Feral has strung his thirty paper roses, one for each day that we have been free from the Underworld, from the ceiling.
An origami silver wolf stands on the windowsill next to River’s glasses.
Feral usually has the wolf on his nightstand.
It helps us to miss Harbinger less, when he’s away from home. Not only has he been away for a week now with Laurent, but he is the busiest amongst us.
Harbinger knows the most about how the real world works Above (and not merely the elite, wealthy life that Laurent understands). As an Alpha, he’s been needed for signing and arranging the buying of the house and the business side of deals.
He’s also reunited with his brother and sister, helping them both in the coffee shop but also, with their secret resistance work.
Bliss is the most relentless journalist I could imagine.
She’s on a committed mission to follow in her executed parents’ footsteps.
I almost choked on my tongue in shock, when I found out that Harbinger truly meant it about Jin being her current case.
She’s serious that he’s in danger.
She’s just as serious about saving the rock star.
Yet the sad thing…?
Bliss is thirty years old.
Like her younger brother, Piper, and Harbinger before he met me, she has no pack bonds of her own.
She’s seen them forced on people too many times to trust them.
I hope that she discovers how fulfilling and incredible ones born out of love and equality can feel.
She still studies me with an understandable wariness.
Both Piper and her are fiercely protective of their Alpha brother. After all, he raised them.
When we first met, Bliss cornered me in the coffee shop’s kitchen. “My brother is the best man that I’ve ever known. Don’t hurt him.”
“None of us will hurt Chase,” I promised. “We love him. We’re safe with each other now. You don’t need to believe that just because I said it. But I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you with my actions.”
I drop onto my knees on the soft mattress, which is in the middle of the room.
I start building the bundles of clothes into a circular nest: Harbinger’s biker jackets, Feral’s t-shirts, River’s shirts, Laurent’s suits, and my spare pajamas.
I lean down to smell the delicious combination of our scents.
This is the nest that I dreamed of giving my male Omega soulmate.
I wasn’t able to build it, while I was in the Underworld.
Above, I finally can.
Feral leans against the windowsill. “S-shouldn’t th-they be back tonight?”
I scrunch up my nose. “Laurent text this morning that he hoped to be home with Harbinger before it got dark.”
I try not to show the worry on my face.
An hour ago, I felt a wash of fevered fear from Laurent, which was distinctly unlike his typical cool. Then a stab of panic from Harbinger.
I tried to call both of them, but neither answered.
I didn’t expect them to be able to, if they were riding back.
Still, I was unsettled enough to phone Ambrose.
Ambrose told me that his brother had already set off, however, and that both Laurent and Harbinger had been well, when they had.
I’m not telling Feral or River yet about my concerns.
It will only scare them, especially as this world Above is still such an unknown to Feral. Both men would want to tear off into the night and probably end up in trouble themselves.
If Laurent and Harbinger don’t arrive home by the time that I’m ready to sleep, however, then I’ll allow Ambrose to unleash his army of security in search of them.
Since Laurent was kidnapped once, Ambrose is already uncomfortable with Laurent going anywhere without a legion of trained bodyguards.
Harbinger comforted Ambrose by claiming that he can keep all of us safe because he’s basically the same thing .
I hope that it’s true and I’m worrying for no reason.
River waves Feral and my concern away. “Mio amore is probably doing something romantic like taking his Omega for a moonlit drive through the mountains.”
“Or rutting him over the back of his motorcycle,” I mutter.
“Or riding his Omega as he rides the bike.” River dramatically throws himself down in a pile of giant plushies that are shaped like chess pieces, which are next to the bed. “He’s promised to try that with me.”
I chuckle. “I wish that I’d been a fly on the wall, when Harbinger drove up to the billionaire mansion of the elite Romeos with their precious Omega on the back of his motorcycle.”
“It’s w-why our w-wicked Alpha did it.” Feral smirks.
“Ah, you’d be disappointed.” River casually leans over from his nest of stuffies to adjust one of the tall vases of roses that circle the room. River puts fresh flowers out through out the house every day, twenty-four in each vase. He never forgets his flower code: I’m yours . The burst of excited happiness in the bond, when he saw that there were roses climbing around the front door of the house, told me that he’d definitely be voting for us to buy it. “The Second Alpha is a cool biker, Vito. I have a feeling our Alpha and Vito will have been bonding…and racing…all week.”
“Maybe that’s why they’re not back yet.” At least, I hope that’s why. I firm up a wall of the nest. “Our Wolf has found another wolf to challenge to a race.”
Feral’s longing gaze settles on the silver origami wolf on the windowsill.
“Where’s Lion tonight?” River asks. “Is he not coming home either?”
I can’t hide my grin. “Where do you think he is? Over at the flat above the coffee shop with Bliss and Pip. He’s found two friends in them. They’ve adopted that Alpha.” Then I wince at how I’ve worded it. I glance at Feral. “I didn’t mean…”
“I’m happy f-f-or my brother. He’s been lost.” Feral strides to the fridge, which is next to River’s pile of softies.
He crouches in front of the fridge, checking through the Gatorades and snacks, ready for our heats.
There is a large, mahogany box, which is carved with a sun, moon, and stars next to the fridge.
River was mysterious, when it arrived in the post, only telling me that I’d find out what it contained soon.
“Bliss will be holding one of her infamous chocolate fudge movie nights for Pip and Lion,” I say. “It’s good for Lion to learn how to relax. His sleepovers and meet ups with other Alphas in the Underworld were nothing but networking. Plus, those Omegas are pulling him into their Bonds Protective Unit, especially their latest case about Jin. It’s good for Lion to have something to focus on. He’s never had free time before. Too much would be bad for him.”
River clutches a fluffy rook to his chest. “Lion was so lonely in the Underworld. I was all he had, and he was confused about how he wanted me. Your sister had his emotions tangled up.”
The thought of my sister makes me grimace.
“Lion has taken losing Allegra and Dad hard,” I concede.
At least, harder than I have.
But then, my brother doesn’t have a bonded pack around him. I’m doing my best, and Bliss and Piper have been amazing as well.
But it’s striking how important a bonded pack is to helping every dynamic.
“What about you?” River asks.
I bite my lip. “I have you guys. But Lion isn’t bonded to anyone, and I didn’t realize until the Heir Contest just how desperate he has been for a bonded pack. Plus, Dad used more ruthless methods on him to teach him to be obedient, than he did on me. Lion truly did spend years looking after Allegra. Right up until the end, he believed that he could persuade her to join us.”
River’s expression becomes dark. “Allegra has been fostered into a resistance pack. It’s better than she deserves.”
I hesitate.
Should I ask the question that I’ve been holding back on for weeks?
“Has Laurent told you what happened to Vinnie?” I hug my knees to my chest.
The two men exchange a devilish glance.
Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
When Feral crosses his strong arms, the material stretches dangerously thin across his shoulders; I’d better make a custom size large enough to fit his muscles. “W-what happened? Vinnie’s gang happened to him.”
Fair.
“At least Dad is locked safely in the Alpha Center,” I say.
“Permanently,” Feral snarls.
River struggles across his sea of plushies to clamber into the nest.
He sits behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. “Okay, bella?”
“Happy that everybody who escaped the Underworld won’t be hunted. We’re truly free.”
I thought that I’d feel something about Dad’s sentence.
Distress, since he’s my Dad? Ecstatic happiness? Triumph that we won?
The files that Lionzio brought with him were enough evidence, combined with what Laurent and I managed to bring on the thumb drive to have Dad immediately held in the Alpha Center, along with anyone else who stood with him.
Lionzio was given an exemption from prosecution because he was a witness and handed in the evidence. We brokered a deal that explained everyone else was there as a victim and not a perpetrator.
I rub my finger over my bare wrist.
I expected a steel Rej bracelet to be immediately slapped onto me because of my rebelliousness.
Except, Laurent has been coaching me on how to act in public, and I simply think that the Government don’t know what to do with me.
There has simply never been a Head Omega before.
But times are changing.
We are going to make them change.
Feral closes the fridge, crawling to join us on the nest.
“Hey,” River laughingly protests, as Feral picks both River and then me up in one of his arms and settles us on each of his strong legs.
His lap is large enough for both of us.
River and I squirm around to get comfortable, linking our hands across Feral.
“Will you take up Rom’s offer to teach in her new MMA academy?” River glances between both Feral and me.
“I haven’t decided. It’s hard having so many choices.” I play with River’s fingers, while I work out how to word it. “Hard but amazing. Actually, she asked me to come on as co-owner. I’d like to inspire more Omegas to sign on for the self-defense classes in particular. They need to know how to protect themselves. How to fight back. ”
“You’d be brilliant, bella.” River noses along Feral’s jaw. “What about you?”
To my surprise, Feral immediately shakes his head.
“I’m going to learn to live.” His expression becomes serious. I can sense his earnestness but also, his anxiety, coiling through the bond. It’s as if I won’t accept his decision or understand it. That breaks my heart. Of course, I’d always accept his choice and hell, do I understand better than anyone. “I don’t w-want to f-f-fight anymore.”
My eyes are wet with tears.
When I meet River’s gaze, his are as well. He tightens his hold on my hand.
“Then don’t, Fer,” I whisper. “You have the rest of your life to work out what you want to do. Or you can remain Laurent’s sugar Alpha who is pampered and spoiled by the rest of us, while we enjoy every heat, cuddling and rutting in this nest.”
Feral laughs, deep and genuine.
I love how much more often he laughs like that now. It makes both River and me light up every time.
“We fought for this chance, mio re,” River adds. “No one can tell you what to do.”
“Apart from me telling you to put the toilet lid down.” I raise a stern eyebrow.
Feral laughs again.
“Apart from that,” I feel light inside in a way that I never thought I would do, “we’re free. Just learn to live in the Above. Enjoy discovering this world.”
“W-w-with you.”
“With us.”
“Hey, is that…?” River cocks his head.
I listen intently as well to the low, guttural sound of a motorcycle outside.
“They’re back!” Relief and anticipation rushes through me.
Harbinger and Laurent are okay.
The Romeos won’t have coronaries or dispatch an elite ex-military squad to both search for his younger brother and kick our asses for not looking after him better.
I’ll have to text Ambrose as soon as possible.
I leap to my feet at the same time as River does.
Still holding hands, we run to the long window that faces out onto Bond Street.
Feral stalks to his feet and follows us with an eager glint in his eye.
Yet my excitement fades, as soon as I stare down at the figures in the shadows below.
Harbinger’s anxiety spikes through the bond again.
As soon as the engine cuts off, and Harbinger parks the motorcycle, Laurent stumbles off the back.
Yet he’s swaying like he’s drunk. Then he falls forward, and Harbinger catches him in his arms.
“Something’s wrong.” My face falls. “Shit, why is Harbinger having to carry him into the house?”