Chapter 27
Ithought I might throw up all of the delicious dinner when Riley said it was time to go.
Bryan caught my hand as I stood. “Do you want me to come with you?”
I looked to Riley first for guidance.
“We’re trying to reduce connections for the police to consider,” Riley explained. “Jensen knows Maisie and I are sisters, but he’ll recognize Bryan from when our old packmate was arrested. Better to not risk it.”
“Okay.” I took a slow breath to steady myself and turned to the kids. “Cody, Paisley, Mama is going for a little drive with Auntie Riley. You’re all staying here, and I’ll be back soon. Be good for everyone.”
I hugged each of my children, trying not to let them catch wind of my distress. Carter and our alphas went outside the front door with us where I hugged them, too, making a valiant attempt to not cry before Riley tugged me toward one of the cars.
When I was tucked into her passenger seat, she turned to me. “So, Bryan?”
“Are you upset?”
“Not if he makes you happy and treats you well.”
“He’s very sweet,” I said carefully. “Anxious, but trying. We’re honestly so new we weren’t even remotely together when it all happened. I never thought I would be able to experience a bond that didn’t hurt. He’s been working really hard to block Paul.”
“He can do that?” Riley spun the car in a circle and glided down a long driveway, then onto the gravel road.
“We’re not sure how, but I’m grateful for it. I know it happened fast, and I probably should’ve talked to you first if I’d had any time to consider it.”
“Nah. You’re both free agents. You don’t have to check in with me because he and I used to date. I’m going to choose to believe that fate had me find him so that he could find you since he only came out here because I dragged him. I’m glad to know it all worked out.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted was for Riley and I to be at odds.
“How are you doing with everything?” Riley asked, taking my hand as we drove. “You’ve got quite a mix of bullshit and blessings going on.”
I laughed at that. Scent matches were certainly at odds with fleeing for my life.
“It’s been both the best and most stressful days, but it’s also so much better than being at the compound.
I miss my mother and my siblings. Beyond that, my daily life has improved so much I still wake up thinking it was all a dream. ”
“I get that. The new hair looks great, like you’re back to your old self.”
“June bought me the dye and Colt helped me cut it. I always hated the blonde, if only because I was forced into it. It’s been a long time since I was able to make choices for myself.”
“Well, we’ll get you making a whole bunch more. I got you three months of suppressants. That’s the most they would give me at one time, but the prescription lasts a year, so all I have to do is let them know I’m running low and I can pick up more for you.”
“You don’t mind not being able to use them yourself?”
“Not really. I like having heats with my pack, and I’m still taking birth control.”
Cold fear splashed through me. I hadn’t even considered that.
“We weren’t allowed suppressants or birth control on the compound. I’m not used to thinking about them. Can I get pregnant from a heat flare?”
Riley eyeballed me as we pulled up to a turn. “You definitely can.”
I buried my face in my hands. I didn’t want to have another baby, but what was I supposed to do?
“Hey, it’s okay. We can swing by one of the twenty-four hour clinics and I can get some meds for it as well as a test. Maybe it’s not even an issue. There’s not a guarantee that you would get pregnant during a flare. It’s just a possibility, like with a heat.”
“Can omegas get each other pregnant?” I asked quietly.
“Wait, what? I thought you had the flare with Bryan. Was it with Carter?”
“Both.” My cheeks burned. “But as far as I’m aware, Bryan was there, but not, you know inside with anything that could get me pregnant.”
“Get it, girl.” Riley laughed. “Okay, I mean, it’s possible for omegas, but it’s typically a lot harder, and I’m pretty sure Carter is on birth control all the time anyway, so you should be totally fine.”
I got her to explain how all the medications worked, how contraceptives let us have heats without babies, and suppressants blocked our heat from happening at all. The idea of having so much control over my own body made me giddy.
Of course, I had never been allowed to use any of them before. It seemed even more cruel than I had originally thought, that a solution for everything I hated about being an omega bound to a terrible alpha was so accessible. And it had always been out of reach.
“I can only give you the suppressants,” Riley told me. “I’m using birth control, so I can’t give you mine. We’ve talked about kids, but I’m definitely not there yet.”
I didn’t blame her for not being able to share. No one should have children unless they wanted to, and I stood by that fervently as someone who’d had that choice taken away from them. At least the other medicine she talked about was over-the-counter from the sound of it.
“How do you only have three kids if you weren’t allowed birth control or suppressants all these years?” Riley asked gently.
“I don’t really know. Maybe Paul took something the other times without saying anything to me. I always tried to stretch out my heats naturally by breastfeeding for as long as I could.”
“I bet the stress probably contributed, too. Bodies in crisis have a harder time going into heat to begin with, and probably also have a harder time conceiving.”
“That makes sense. I’d be stressed to the point of throwing up leading into the weeks before my heats, so I was never taking good care of myself.”
Riley growled. “Paul better hope I never see him in person or I’m going to cut off his dick and shove it down his throat.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” I said with a small smile, imagining exactly that happening.
I felt a little better by the time we pulled to a stop in the driveway she’d mentioned.
Riley parked a fair distance away from the sheriff’s car farther up the drive.
We stepped out into the cold night and I pulled my hood tight, hiding my new hair.
Jensen, or who I assumed to be him, stepped out of the sheriff’s vehicle and met us halfway. I could barely breathe, wondering if he would simply arrest me right here.
His easy smile calmed me a bit. “Maisie, it’s good to finally meet you. I’m glad to see you’re safe.”
“The kids are totally fine, too,” Riley told him. “Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible.”
We stayed outside, avoiding anyone getting into either vehicle, which was a relief.
I knew the back doors of police vehicles typically couldn’t be opened from the inside, and if he was in Riley’s, he could potentially drop some sort of tracker.
It appeared she trusted him to a point, but wasn’t willing to take any sort of risk, which I appreciated.
“I have a list of questions,” Jensen explained. “There’s so much we don’t know about the inner workings of the compound. We need evidence of crimes committed so we can move ahead.”
“What’s your goal if you get the evidence?” I asked.
“We want to get all of the children and omegas out of there. We’ve heard stories, rumors about abuse, but we need proof. Having someone like you, with intimate access, could be exactly what we need.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Ask your questions.”
He pulled out his phone to record, and we began.
I told him what I knew of the hierarchy, with Daniel Decker at the top, and my father, his second in command, and Paul as his heir. I gave the names of everyone I had seen meeting with my father and with Paul, confessed as many things as I could remember them saying.
When they got through the basics, he turned to information on the omegas. “What crimes do they commit against omegas?”
“I have no idea what would be considered a crime.” So instead, I told him everything I knew.
How we were groomed for partners, but usually remained protected until it was time for our first heat so no one looked too closely.
I talked about the confinements, the heat huts, the suffering inflicted upon us we had all been told was essential to cleanse our souls.
“Are the heat huts all the time or just for the first one?”
“Every heat. They’re all outdoors, no heat source, no bed, most times no food, only water.
I have no idea how long they leave us out there, to be honest. When I finally get to go home, I’m so exhausted and ill, I’m barely functional.
Of course, I’m not allowed to be, so I have to push through, and resume my duties as soon as I get back inside.
The children think I just get sick regularly. ”
“Was your first bond consensual?”
I laughed at that, the sound sharp and bitter.
“Nothing about my life with Paul Decker has been consensual. He wanted me, so he took me, bound me to him, and forced me to bear his children without a single thought to what I wanted. I tried to leave before I presented, but he imprisoned me until I went into heat.”
To his credit, Jensen had been looking horrified during the entire interview, and looked even more disgusted now.
“My younger sister is due to present soon. She’s already been promised, has been for years. Marlow is only seventeen. She hasn’t even graduated high school yet. You have to get her out of there.”
“Who is she promised to?”
I rattled off the name, a man of little consequence except that he was friends with my father and had finally gotten into the Deckers’ good graces enough to be granted an omega. “I worry that Paul might ask for her if I don’t go back.”
“Fuck that and fuck him,” Riley snapped. “God, he’s as disgusting as his older brother, who I hope is rotting in hell right now.”
Jensen nodded his agreement, but he still gestured for Riley to keep quiet.
I kept going, answering Jensen’s additional questions.
Medical care in the compound was minimal.
Unless someone was going to die, we were supposed to avoid hospitals.
Births were done at home. Medications were generally not permitted, except of course when someone of the leadership was feeling unwell.
Paul was allowed to take whatever he wanted, and sometimes if the children were particularly agitated—and what child wasn’t when they were sick? —we were allowed to medicate them.
“Would you be willing to testify in court about what you went through if it came down to it?”
“I think they would probably kill me if I did that.”
“You would be under police protection if you agreed to be a witness. I could even request being in charge of your safety if you would rather have a familiar face.”
“If you get my sisters out of there, I’ll testify, but if you let them get taken by any of those awful people, I will never forgive any of you.”
Jensen nodded. “Of course, we’ll do our best. Now that we know for certain children are in danger, that they’re actively and horrifically abusing omegas, we should be able to move forward.”
“Should be? How bad do things have to be before it’s a guarantee?”
“It’s not that. We need an airtight case so the worst of them don’t end up walking free. Do you think if we got them out, your family might be willing to talk?”
“My mother might. My brother is out already, but I don’t know where he is. He would probably talk, too. If you can find a safe way to do it, you could consider talking to Natalie North. She doesn’t live in the compound, but her husband Steven is good friends with Paul.”
Jensen’s brows pinched together. “The Steven North that submitted evidence against the alpha who tried to kill Morgan Harris?”
“I don’t know anything about Morgan’s case. I haven’t been able to see her since she graduated high school.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s him,” Riley clarified. “Morgan told me all about that case. I remember her mentioning Natalie.”
“Okay. We’ll put her on our list of people to talk to, and if you get a hold of your brother, please have him call me.
” Jensen passed me a card with his number.
“I really can’t thank you enough for all the information you provided.
Things might move slower than you would like, but I swear, we’re doing everything we can. ”
I wanted to snap at him, to tell him to do it all faster, but justice in these cases was slow, if it ever came at all.
“All right.”
“I’ll give all of this to the sheriff. The County Attorney will decline to charge based on what you’ve said and what we’ve already investigated.
We’ll cancel the Amber Alert, as well. There will be agents at some point who will want to discuss everything with you.
Do you need a safe house in the meantime? ”
“No, I’m okay where I’m staying now, but thank you.”
“If there’s anything you need me to be aware of that you don’t feel comfortable telling me yourself, you can let Riley know. Things are complicated, and if we need a go-between, that’s fine with me.”
We let him leave first, and by the time we got back in Riley’s car, I was half frozen.
I had hoped I would feel lighter after providing the evidence, but I only felt queasy.
I wanted guarantees and they couldn’t give me that.
I only hoped they moved fast enough that no other omega would have to suffer the same fate that had befallen me within those walls.