Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
WINTER
The doors to the club are being broken into and guns are going off as I grind down on Bell’s cock. I’ve been forcing myself to only focus on him, so I don’t fully realize what is happening.
We’ve changed multiple locations over the endless stream of days, traveling in the early hours of the morning in pajamas until we get to the next destination where the club will open.
It’s hard to focus on how long we’ve been here exactly, and there aren’t very many windows in the buildings we’re kept in.
Freezing, I turn to watch as huge alphas dressed in black easily kill the guards around the room with a twist of their hands or a knife buried into their throats.
“Bell!” I gasp into his mind, not wanting to make anyone notice us.
“Get up,” he hisses, helping me to stand.
Our instructions have been to fuck each other exclusively until Alpha Bret forcibly starts our heats. We have no idea when that will be, so we’ve been living on edge every day. One of the girls said he enjoys fucking with our heads.
Well, mission fucking accomplished.
Bellamy pulls me down the stairs and forces me to run as people continue to scream. If I don’t know what’s going on, then he surely doesn’t, so I keep my mouth shut and run. This isn’t the time to ask questions.
“Wait!” a muffled voice yells. I can’t see his face because it’s covered with a mask.
Needless to say, Bell and I will not be waiting.
It’s chaos in the hallways as well as the main area of the club, and another alpha in all black stands in the middle of it. He has a gun in his hand and he rips his mask off his face. His brown hair is spiked up from having it covered, and he puts the gun away before holding his hands up.
“Okay, everyone. Take a deep breath,” he says. “I’m Makayla and Linus’ mate. We came back to help the rest of you. As soon as it’s safe, we’re going to take you to a shelter, so you can rebuild things. No one is ever going to sell you again. Okay?”
I’ve heard whispers about Makayla and Linus, but haven’t really found out much about them, except that they managed to escape.
The alpha who was following behind us sighs as he rips off his mask. “Well, that would have been a good idea to have led with,” he mutters. He has wild red hair, and his eyes remind me of the devil. They’re so dark.
“What about Bret?” Star asks, her arms crossed over herself in worry. We’re all in various stages of undress since we were “working,” but I’m becoming desensitized to it.
“Dead,” the redhead grunts.
“Makayla blew up his cock,” the other alpha adds. “Long story short, he’s very much dead. She wanted to make sure this place was permanently shut down.”
“We were all so awful to her,” a dark haired omega named Alisa whispers.
“Well, you’re damn lucky the girl doesn’t hold grudges,” the red head growls. “None of you fucking deserve her.”
“Chill, Kane,” the other alpha sighs. “Ugh, we really need Aisling.”
“I’ll get her,” Kane grunts, turning and jogging out a back door.
These are all usually locked and chained shut, but every single one of them is easily accessible as huge men come in and out of them now. The sounds of people dying can still be heard, and I shiver as I lean into Bell’s body.
“Hey,” someone says, stopping as he sees me.
He has tattoos all over his arms and slicked back hair as he stares at me for a moment as if thinking about something. Glancing back at the open room where the men are making quick work of killing people, he leans down to meet my gaze. Bell holds me tighter, glaring at the alpha.
Actually being helped by alphas is very confusing for the both of us.
“These men came in here night after night and knew you were all being trafficked. For that, they’re dead men. They will never hurt anyone else again,” he says finally.
I shouldn’t say anything, but I nod and whisper, “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. For some reason, I didn’t want you to be scared of us,” he says. “To be able to keep you all safe, the evil negligence of Bret’s patrons has to stop. Aye, there’s my mate. She’s better at this than I am.”
An omega with wild blonde hair hurries into the building, while Kane protectively follows her. It takes me a second, but when he turns, I realize that the alpha is wearing a baby doll on his back. Somehow, that helps me relax a little.
I don’t understand why, but it does.
“Okay, listen up, please,” she says. “I know we surprised you all, and I’m sorry we scared you with all of this. I’m Aisling, and I run an organization called Omega’s Haven. It’s meant to help omegas get back on their feet.”
“Why would you do that?” Star asks distrustingly.
“Why? Because I know what it’s like to have your entire world turned upside down,” she says.
“There aren’t any resources for omegas, and the homeless shelters are rarely willing to take us.
We deserve so much better. Omega’s Haven is growing slowly, but we have shelter, resources for education and employment, and of course food.
The shelter offers clothing, as well as everything you need to feel like yourself.
If you have your heat, we have resources for that too. ”
Looking over at Bell, I see his eyes are as wide as mine are.
“What’s the catch?” he asks, swallowing hard. I can feel his anxiety, and he’s right. There has to be one.
“None,” her mate says. “You don’t have to pay anything for services.
I offer law services at the outreach center along with other lawyers who are committed to working with omegas in need, and we have medical professionals on call to help as needed.
Aisling has also made sure a therapist is available if anyone wants to talk, and it’s all free of charge. ”
“The world isn’t safe,” Kane grunts. “Omega’s Haven will give you all a hand in rebuilding your lives. We need to coordinate transportation, and while we do that, you can decide what you want to do.”
The alphas scatter after that, and I sag against Bellamy.
“I should try to find you all clothes,” Aisling murmurs, looking around at us.
“Shit,” Star mutters. “Julissa, help me go through the bags and find things for everyone. It doesn’t matter if it’s pajamas.”
Nothing really belongs to us here. The clothes we do have kind of just exist for everyone to wear when needed. It’s cruel, but it was Alpha Bret’s way of keeping his leash on us. I’m so glad he’s dead.
Bellamy and I are kind of forgotten in the hustle and bustle of things, but that’s okay.
“What do you want to do?” I ask him, turning to hug him.
“I think we should go with them,” he sighs. “We could go to college, do all of the things we talked about doing before this.”
Before life went to shit, he means.
“I’m in,” I agree. “Anywhere is better than here.”
Bell and I throw on whatever clothes are given to us, grateful to be covered. Large vans are coordinated, and I step inside one with Bellamy and a few other people.
“Try to get some sleep if you can,” I’m told. “Minneapolis is a four hour drive.”
The doors are closed, and I lay my head on Bellamy’s shoulder as I sigh.
“I got you,” he murmurs. “We can switch on and off.”
My lips tilt up because this is standard practice for sleeping.
“Why don’t we sleep together for a change?” I ask, yawning.
There are five other omegas with us, all halfway asleep as the driver puts the car into drive.
“That actually sounds really nice,” Bell sighs. We’ve been running on fumes since Alpha Bret bought us. Each night, we’ve been put back into the cage by Jett if Alpha Bret wasn’t around.
I don’t think anyone thought anything of it. That’s the reality of being trafficked. No one blinks an eye at the cruelty of it because everyone is just trying to survive.
My eyelids get heavier as the vehicle takes us further away from Slick Dreams, and sleep finally takes me when Bell digs his fingers into my hair and rubs my scalp.
I’ve always loved that…
BELLAMY
Why have we stopped?
Sighing heavily, I force myself to open my eyes, looking around at our surroundings. Everyone else around me is still sleeping, and someone gets into the passenger seat of the vehicle before it begins to move again.
My eyes move to look out the window, but everything is dark, and it appears as if we were on the side of the road.
“What?” I ask, glancing back to the front of the van. “Why did we stop?”
I’m not a prisoner. I can goddamn well ask questions to make sure we’re safe. That’s what we were told, so I’m going to exercise that right. The days of being a victim have to fucking end somewhere.
The overhead light turns on, and someone leans forward into it so I can see them. Her long blonde hair slides forward, but it’s when I see her narrowed gaze that I know we’re fucked.
“Oh, recognize me now?” Madam Clara asks with a smirk. She raises a firearm as I move to wake my stepsister up, shaking her head. “They’re all much better sleeping, don’t you think? So quiet and peaceful.”
“How?” I rasp, shaking my head. I’m struggling to keep up while I’m still so foggy and tired. Winter is curled up against me, and I struggle to control my breaths.
She’ll wake up if I freak the fuck out, and I don’t want her to be hurt. I have to stay contained and quiet. Things have changed so fast that I feel lightheaded and nauseous.
God, I thought we were going to be safe!
“I may have had a driver switched out during all the chaos,” Madam Clara shrugs.
“Word traveled quickly that Bret is dead, and I decided to lift some of his omegas now that he won’t need them anymore.
We’ll call it his gift to me. I’m going to enjoy reselling you and your sister.
Settle back, relax, and enjoy the ride down south. ”
My head drops back as she turns out the light and I’m plunged back into darkness. My fingers move over Winter’s hair, knowing how much she loves it. Whenever she would have a hard time sleeping, she’d sneak into my bed and beg me to help her rest.
And now… I’m using it against her.
I’m so sorry, Beloved. We almost made it.