10. Talya
CHAPTER TEN
TALYA
I stopped paying attention to where we were going after the second flight. It was difficult to sleep on a plane or in the airport since each space was filled with endless unfamiliar scents. Every time I caught a hint of something that was similar to the betas who had tortured me, my heart would race with panic.
What was even worse was looking at every single face, waiting for them to recognize me or Colby as the captives that had gotten away. I kept looking over my shoulder until I was a vibrating bundle of nerves on my way to a mental breakdown.
It was only when Colby couldn’t take my panic anymore, drawing my face to his chest for the remainder of the flight, that I finally settled. He kept me close, his hands always on me. We used a family bathroom within the airports when we needed to, and while I would not have been okay with this in the past, I couldn’t find it in myself to care anymore. I wasn’t going to be away from my alpha for even a second. A lot could happen in that second, and I wasn’t having any of it.
Luckily, we were left alone. No one looked at us any differently than they normally would—with disinterest at best or, at times, jealousy, greed, or spite. There was the whole array of disinterested expressions directed our way even though their attention was distracted. I thought it might have been our scents alone that drew attention. More potent than a beta’s, alpha and omega scents were commanding, and people couldn’t help but look. However, what I came to appreciate about airports and planes was that people were mostly focused on what they were doing and where they were going. Even the alpha and omega didn’t interest them all that much.
And that was with the dampening bracelets! Colby wouldn’t agree to suppressants (to which I was thankful), but everyone wore the dampening bracelets when traveling in tight places like an airplane. When you couldn’t always control your biological reaction, they were necessary to keep the peace, even with the air filtration made to purify the air of as much as possible.
All that was behind us now. We’d landed after our final flight. With nothing but backpacks, we wasted no time at baggage claim and went straight out to find our ride. For this leg, we were being called Galway and Sharon.
After the fourth flight and as many identities, I assumed we were just trying to further confuse anyone who might have been following us. It was twenty-seven hours of flights and layovers before we were finally loaded into a car.
We were now on an island, and I couldn’t help but question this decision. Was a secluded island where there was only so far we could run and hide really be the best place for us? But I supposed that was the point, right? We were placed here so we didn’t have to run.
“We’re not keeping these names,” I whispered. “Galway.”
Colby chuckled. “I thought I was Sharon.”
I glared, and he playfully pinched my ass. We climbed into the car with a driver that showed us his credentials as soon as the tinted windows sealed us in, protecting us from prying eyes. Not that it would have mattered at that point if he’d been someone we didn’t want to be in a car with. We were already in the vehicle. I’m going to chalk up that lapse of judgment to our exhaustion.
“It’s about a forty-minute drive. Are you hungry?” the driver, Sebastian, asked.
“Yes,” Colby said. “For something other than what comes from an airport.”
Sebastian grinned. “You want to sit at a restaurant, or would you like take-out?”
“Take-out,” Colby said, glancing out the window as we paused to let pedestrians cross at the terminal pick-up. He was ready to get out of public places where anyone looking for us could easily spot us. “At this point, I don’t even care what we get, but my omega likes dessert. So somewhere with a good dessert menu.”
“I know just the place. Would you like to see a menu?”
Colby looked down at me. I was snuggled into his side, already yawning. “No,” he answered, smiling fondly as he brushed his hand across my face. “We don’t dislike a whole lot, so you can surprise us.”
While we were at a traffic light, Sebastian put in an order, having explained that he was a local of the island so he knew all the best places to eat. Or at least that was what I thought he’d said. I was trying hard not to fall asleep. More than anything, I wanted a bed where I could spend the next eight days hibernating and letting everything go as if our ordeal had been nothing but a bad dream.
Maybe I was finally feeling safe because I dozed until the smell of delicious food filled the car. That small nap that couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes, but I felt more refreshed than I had since before we were abducted.
Sebastian passed back carton after carton of food. While we chowed down, he told us about the island and the different festivals that took place. It was a melting pot as far as cultures were concerned, but it sounded as if there was a real sense of community here. A little bit of everyone-knew-everyone type of energy.
“We’re kind of off the charts as far as tourists are concerned,” Sebastian said, “so we get a little excited when visitors come to the area. We’ve got planning a wild party down to a day’s notice. Fire, spit roasting, fireworks, you name it, and there are tons of games, too. It’s a real bonding experience.”
“Sounds like fun,” I said as Colby handed me another carton, this one filled with sauce-covered pasta. The smell was so good I was salivating. “The atmosphere here sounds perfect.”
“I haven’t traveled many places, but I will always come back here,” Sebastian said. “There’s no place like it as far as I’m concerned.”
We were just finishing the last of the food when Sebastian announced that we were there. I was so stuffed I felt like I could barely move. Still, I twisted in my seat until I could look out the front window.
The car was slowly moving down a long cement drive. On either side were massive fields of manicured grass. In the distance, horses meandered behind fences. A couple trotted parallel to the car as we drove on.
The house at the end was flanked by tall trees. There was a large five-tiered fountain in front, with the driveway circling around it. I wasn’t sure where the occupants’ vehicles were, but they weren’t in sight. The house itself was enormous. A beautiful, old plantation house with columns and tall windows. The lantern that hung over the main door was suspended by a chain from the roof of the third floor!
“This is stunning,” Colby said, wariness in his voice. “You’re sure we’re at the right place?”
Sebastian laughed. “Positive.” He pulled up between the fountain and the house and parked. “You can leave the cartons. I’ll take care of them.”
“Thank you,” Colby said as I licked my fingers clean of the remnants of my chocolate dessert. “You were a great host, and we appreciate all you told us about the island.”
“I hope you take the time to explore. It’s filled with history and hidden places to discover.”
“We will,” I told him.
The feeling of safety momentarily left me when we stepped out of the car. The door in the front was painted black, as were the shutters, while the rest of the house was white. Maybe the door felt so intimidating because it was actually two doors, and they were ten, maybe twelve, feet tall. Huge, dark, and imposing.
With his backpack on his back and mine over his shoulder, Colby took my hand and led us to the door. As we stepped onto the wrap-around porch, the door opened.
Just from a look, I knew the man standing there was a beta. He was thin with dark eyes and messy brown hair. Betas tended to be shorter and less imposing than an alpha but not quite soft like an omega; this one was no different. I tensed, my footsteps faltering, but I released my breath when he smiled at us. At least it looked genuine, and he didn’t appear to be staring at my alpha.
“Hi,” he said, stepping back to let us in. “I hope your trip was okay.”
“Far longer than it needed to be,” Colby answered as he guided me inside, his hand moving to my lower back so I’d step in before him. “I’m confident whoever was chasing us got tired and is now just waiting until we stand still.”
The beta chuckled. “Yeah, I get that.”
The fatigue in his voice suggested he really did understand. The officer that told us where we’d be going had said the men here were equally as stubborn as we had been when we refused to wear scent suppressants for the rest of our lives. The officers also stated that they rotated through locations for hiding victims, which meant that the people in this house were all going to have been victims of one thing or another, right?
He looked at us for a minute, alternating his attention between the two of us. “So,” he said, shifting to shut the door once we were inside, “we didn’t want to stand in the foyer like a pack who was interviewing for an omega might. It seemed a little too intimidating. They’re this way, though. You want to meet everyone first, then I can show you to your room?”
“Yes. You can start with you,” Colby said.
The beta grinned and nodded, then he led us through a door. I wasn’t sure how many I’d been expecting, but six new men under one roof seemed like a lot. For the first few breaths, I inhaled through my mouth, trying to temper the scents so I wasn’t bombarded all at once.
The first full breath I took was laced with all sorts of good smells: grass, ginger, leather, woodsmoke. There were some undercurrents of beta—eucalyptus and patchouli. Maybe a little bit of myrrh?
I was shocked that I didn’t hate it all. Nothing set me off or made my hair stand on end. I wasn’t gagging! These were pleasant smells.
Smiling at Colby, I leaned into his side. All eyes were on us, and although the four new alphas tried not to stare at me, I was still a fawn in a den of wolves.
“I’m Kasen,” our greeter said. “These are my alphas, Lohtus and Blakely. This is Ainsley and Emerald, and the pillar of anger is Ronan.”
Ronan was just that. He stood tall, his clothing stretched over pronounced muscle in such a way that I thought maybe he needed one size larger. My face flushed when I realized I could nearly make out the size of his dick in his tight pants. His hair was cropped so short it might as well be shaved. There was a smattering of dark fur on his face, just enough to think it might have grown overnight, but he hadn’t cared enough to deal with it.
In the midst of my perusal, his eyes caught me. They were so dark, I couldn’t see the irises. He stared at me, arms crossed over his chest, with what appeared to be a very unhappy look, but his scent gave him away. He wasn’t unhappy at all. His scent—a crisp rainstorm over freshly mown grass, with just a hint of citrus—filled the air with a sweet note.
“Emerald doesn’t live here yet,” Kasen said, pulling my attention back to him, “but he’s seeing Ainsley.”
“And you,” Emerald said. His voice was a lovely deep tenor that almost sounded like it belonged to an alpha, especially with that hint of assertion in it.
Kasen smiled, turning his attention back to me. “And me. Though he’s not really part of the pack yet, he’s here a lot, so we thought it was best to introduce him with everyone else.”
Colby nodded, his arm around me tight. “I’m…” He paused. I could just imagine him debating what name to use. Did he even remember the last ones we’d been given? Sighing, he said, “Colby. This is my omega, Talya. Although, outside the house, I think we need to be using one of the many ridiculous aliases we were given.”
Kasen rolled his eyes. “Yep, understood. We’re supposed to as well, but we slip up so much at home that we don’t bother. When we’re out, we try to stick to something fluffy and lovey-dovey, so we avoid names altogether.”
“I appreciate that,” Colby said. “I’m not sure Sharon really fits either of us.”
His words garnered smiles from the room save for Ronan who remained a pillar of disapproval in appearance, though his scent continued to remain neutral-ish. Maybe a smidge sweet, though I wasn’t going to point that out.
“Okay. Introductions are done. How about a quick tour, then you two can rest for the day? Shower? Relax after… your long travels?” Kasen said.
Relax after what we’d been through. That was what he was going to say.
“That would be nice,” Colby said. “Thanks.”
Kasen nodded. He grinned at his alphas and turned to lead the way back through the door. “That’s one of the dens. I believe it used to be a study, and before that it was the master’s office. This was once a working plantation.” We followed him around the rooms, where we just poked our heads in as he told us what we were looking at. Most of them were obvious.
The second floor was all bedrooms, as was the third. There were spare rooms on both floors, so Kasen said we were free to choose whichever we wanted.
“Is there a nest?” Colby asked.
Kasen looked at me, smiling. “Yes. Do you want to see it now?”
I shook my head.
“Just needed to know there was one here,” Colby said.
“Yep. We made sure it was clean when we were informed that an omega was on their way. It doesn’t have much in it because we thought an omega might need to personalize it. We’ve never had an omega here,” Kasen said.
“Do you have people that come and go?” Colby asked.
“No. Well, sometimes their visits are short lived, but usually that’s because we just don’t get along. We were all dumped here individually, except Emerald, who’s native to the island, so we didn’t start out as a pack. Time made us a pack, even grumpy bear Ronan.”
“Is there going to be a problem with him?” Colby asked.
Kasen grinned, shaking his head. “No. He’s got some dark corners, but he’s a really good man. I promise. Besides,” he looked at me, his grin turning teasing, “I’ve never smelled his scent turn sweet.” He winked at me, and I couldn’t help myself. I giggled.
Colby sighed. “That’s a bridge we’ll cross later. Thank you for the quick tour and the welcome.”
“We were hedging our bets that a beta might be less threatening to both of you when you first arrived. Not quite so in-your-face as an alpha.”
“Under usual circumstances, I’d agree,” Colby murmured, turning us into a nearby room and dropping our packs on the floor.
Kasen tilted his head at Colby’s words, but he didn’t question them. “If you need anything, we’re right downstairs. Just holler.”
“Thank you,” I said.
He smiled at me again then left us. With a sigh, Colby pulled me into his arms. I wanted a shower, but more than anything, I was ready to fall asleep. My alpha must have thought the same thing because after a minute, he swept me off my feet and we crawled into bed.