26. Talya
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
TALYA
S ince high school, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’d been outside for more than getting into a car or walking to the house or something along those lines. It wasn’t often. We lived in an apartment on the second floor, and there wasn’t a porch or balcony. On top of that, we weren’t close to a park or anything, so unless Colby was taking me to visit my family or his, I rarely left.
Even before the incident that led to our torture, I already knew the world wasn’t safe for me. Sometimes I envied Fenton’s freedom to come and go as he pleased. Not because I was unhappy but because he was safe in the wide open world. But since arriving on the island, I’d spent some of nearly every day outside. We usually ate outside, and I’d often curl up with Kasen in a chair and we’d talk about nothing. I even went to the gardens sometimes to weed—just because I could. I was safe. Ironic that the event that almost killed me had led me to the place where I was actually safe outside.
The warm air rubbed against my face as Ainsley drove us through the field. I closed my eyes against the sun and turned my face into the air as I held onto the handlebar of the UTV in front of me. A smile spread across my face at the peace I felt.
We weren’t going anywhere in particular. Ainsley had asked if I wanted to wander around with him while he checked on different areas of the farm. The island was one of the safest places in the world as far as they were concerned. The locals had been here forever, so they noticed everyone on the island and knew when something wasn’t right or when someone was acting weird.
When you knew everyone’s name, it was easy to identify the new faces that didn’t belong, especially when they acted suspiciously.
There was no crime other than a three-year-old learning a life lesson in stealing a lollipop from the grocery store. There was no violence or house robberies or murders. There were rarely even any traffic violations.
The island was just… peaceful. A paradise.
I opened my eyes and found the herd of horses to our right, running with us, just like the day the pack showed me and Colby around. I grinned as I watched their manes and tails dancing in the wind behind them, a shadow of their wild natures.
“Are they friendly?” I asked. The way their muscles flexed and their hooves hit the ground was so majestic. Graceful and hypnotic.
“To a degree,” Ainsley answered. “Most of the horses in the big paddocks are there in an effort to revitalize their species’ numbers in the world. When we can afford it, we try to limit human interaction.”
Ainsley slowed, pulling to a stop alongside the fence. Most of the horses kept going, but some slowed and turned around.
“They love to run with us,” Ainsley said as he got out. I followed. “I think they think we’re part of the herd.”
I grinned as I got closer to the fence. A few meandered near us but remained out of reach. Setting my arms on the top of the fence, I leaned my chin on my forearms and watched them. In the distance, two of them looked like they were playing—chasing each other, nudging, running away.
One in the front was watching us just as I was watching them.
Ainsley stood beside me, and minutes went by as we admired the wild-ish horses.
“I’ve never seen horses up close,” I said. “Zoos don’t typically have them. I don’t think they’re considered wild animals anymore.”
He nodded. “I agree. I think, like cows, their entire species has been domesticated for human use. Sad, really.”
I agreed. “They’re so much bigger than I thought they’d be.”
Ainsley grinned. “They are. They’re such smart, gentle creatures.”
Glancing at him, I asked, “Do you do a lot with them?”
He shook his head. “No, but I grew up on a horse ranch. My family and three others had been working with the owners of the ranch for three generations. Half the ranch was dedicated to rescue horses whose owners had given them up instead of caring for them post-injury, like abused horses, old race horses, and those born lame. The other half did the things that turned a profit to keep the sanctuary open—training show horses, breeding work horses, teaching others to care for and ride horses. Right before I… left, they were getting ready to open a new side to their business with equine therapy.”
“That’s really cool.”
Ainsley’s smile was fond but small as he stared into the distance. I didn’t think he was looking at anything in particular anymore. Remembering where he grew up, maybe. Seeing the horses and his family.
My chest panged for mine.
“I grew up in a small town. There were maybe 11,000 people, and I think that’s being generous.” Ainsley looked at me, his smile wider now. “It was the kind of place that families settled and never left. My family had been in my same house for eight generations. Even when kids moved away, they almost always came back to raise their own.”
“Is that where you and Colby lived?”
I shook my head. “No. Colby’s family was new. They moved in when we were teens. Once we were bonded, we moved to where Colby was accepted into college then moved again to follow the job offer. My best friend Fenton happened to secure a job twenty-three miles from Colby’s, so we rented an apartment right between them. Fenton’s family also grew up in our small town, and his family had been there for four or five generations. We were a couple hours from them, but Colby and I always said that once we found our pack, we’d move back. It was a good place to raise kids.”
“Low on crime and stuff?”
I shrugged. “I’d say low enough that as kids, we weren’t overly concerned about staying out past dark to play in the streets. Not that I did that much.” I pointed at myself. “Omega.”
Ainsley chuckled. “So you watched from the windows.”
I grinned. “Yes and no. When I was really young, before I truly understood or experienced the beta hostility toward omegas, I did play with some of the neighborhood kids in the street, but I was always in well before dark. Even then, my mother, an omega herself, had already started to teach me about being cautious. I think I was ten when I first experienced the gross attitudes betas began to have toward me, and that’s when I stopped playing outside with them. Turned out to be a blessing because getting dirty wasn’t my favorite pastime.”
He laughed. “But you had Fenton, right?”
“Yep. Middle school sport practice or something is where we met. We hung out a lot after that, so once again, I started leaving the house and playing with my friend or whatever. Then Colby moved there, and it became the three of us. Maybe I learned a false sense of security from being with them and the town I grew up in. To my knowledge, omegas didn’t disappear from there. No one did.”
“The crime you were involved in was in a big city, wasn’t it?”
Sighing, I nodded. “Yep. One of those cities that just sprawled in every direction. There were several hundred-thousand people. Crime happened a lot more frequently than the news even reported on. In my small town, if someone scratched the side of a car—accidentally or vengefully—we heard about it on the local news. In the city, we rarely heard about murders that took place right down the road. We lived in a relatively safe space, but I think one of the reasons I didn’t leave was because we tried to keep the fact that there was a stay-at-home omega there as silent as possible. Even so, the fact that I was bonded to an alpha gave me far more confidence in my safety than was warranted, I suppose.”
Ainsley didn’t ask. He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the side of my head. “We’re safe here. We’ve been assured that there have been undercover agents on the island for decades, far before we arrived. Even so, we remain vigilant about our surroundings and the faces we see. Just in case.”
“Do you think all hiding places are islands?” I asked.
He chuckled. “I doubt it. We’ve contemplated that before because this is paradise.”
“Seems like a fair destination after being victim to much darker things in the world.”
His arm tightened around me. “Come on. I want to show you something.” Ainsley led me back to the UTV and helped me climb in. Not that I needed it, but it was sweet anyway.
He continued to drive along the fence of the horses’ field for what felt like days. It wasn’t long before a handful of horses caught up and began running alongside us again. With a grin, I watched them, musing about how magnificent they were. Almost ethereal in nature.
I never considered myself a country girl and didn’t think that’d be the setting I’d enjoy, but my surroundings were so beautiful. The quiet created the feeling of being remote, but I knew that there were people all over the island.
The horse fields gave way to farmland, consisting of acres and acres of different vegetables. The fence of the field surrounded them on three sides, allowing the horses to go around the fields and toward the back of the property where structures had just come into view in the distance. One of them was massive.
“That’s the shelter. Though it’s rare, if we get nights that are too cold or a tropical storm, we have the space to shelter all the horses on the farm as needed. Otherwise, it’s maintained to be in top condition but kept empty and ready for a disaster,” Ainsley said.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anything that big other than a factory,” I admitted.
He chuckled. “The top is filled with feed that can be dropped into the stalls on the bottom.”
“It’s very cool,” I said as we neared it. Yep. Massive.
Ainsley slowed and turned the UTV so we were headed toward the other buildings. One was clearly another stable, while the other was large and round.
He pointed to the stable. “That’s where we house the horses that are used to teach others to ride, and the round building is the arena.”
“Do they always stay in the stable?” I asked as we came to a stop.
Ainsley cut the engine and shook his head. “Nope. They roam the fields over here, opposite our wild horses. They’re only brought in when we have a rider or they need a check-up or a bath.”
I stepped out of the vehicle, and Ainsley offered me his hand. I smiled, placing mine in his. He was very similar to Colby in size and shape. His hand felt very similar too. But his scent was very different. My Colby was cedarwood and allspice, something that had always been deep and calming to me. Ainsley was vanilla, rosewood, and woodsmoke, and like the horses we’d been talking about, he smelled wild and ethereal.
He led me into the smaller set of stables. As soon as we stepped inside, he made a clicking noise. Two massive heads appeared over the sides of the half doors. Being this close, it felt like they towered over me. Their heads were the size of my torso!
“This is Buttercup,” Ainsley said, approaching a horse the color of light caramel toffee with a black mane and tail. “She’s a sweetheart.”
The darker horse beside Buttercup made a loud huff, as if they’d understood Ainsley and didn’t appreciate him playing favorites. Ainsley laughed. “This sweet baby is Chestnut. Also a sweetheart.”
Their eyes were big, but looking into them with their long lashes, you could see just how gentle they were. Their long ears twisted and twitched, swiveling to listen to all the sounds.
Chestnut had a saddle on him, while Buttercup did not.
“Want to pet them?” Ainsley asked.
My first reaction was to ask whether or not they’d bite, but when Ainsley held out his hand, I only hesitated for a second. He didn’t pull me over but let me use him as assurance to gather my courage to get closer.
I swore Buttercup knew I was nervous. She remained perfectly still, her slightly bowed head pressed against Ainsley’s chest as she watched me approach. I raised my hand, showing her my palm. Her large nostrils flared as she slowly picked her head up and pressed her big nose to my hand.
I was surprised how soft she was. How could an animal this size be so gentle and understanding?
“You see why we employ them in rider training,” Ainsley said softly.
“She is sweet,” I agreed as I continued to rub her soft nose.
In the stall beside us, Chestnut gave us a gruff neigh, picking his head up and making a sound like he’d just kneed the door. Ainsley chuckled and reached for him.
“No need to be jealous, Chessy. We love you just as much,” Ainsley said.
I shuffled a little closer to Ainsley so I could reach my other hand to Chestnut. He stopped making such a fuss when I put my hand on him. Maybe he could sense my heart racing. He looked at me with one big dark eye.
“They’re wonderful,” I said.
Ainsley nodded. “I don’t spend a lot of time with them,” he admitted. “Sometimes I tell myself that it would remind me too much of home and it’d be too hard. There’s also a paranoid voice in my head that says if someone saw how I am with horses, they’d be able to link me to that old life and find me.”
Since both my hands were occupied with a very big snout, I leaned back against Ainsley. “I know. It’s all well and good to be erased and transplanted, given new identities and whatever, but that doesn’t mean our personalities are wiped clean. We don’t get to begin with a blank slate. We are still who we were then—only now with a little dose of trauma sprinkled on.”
He snorted, then he pressed his lips to the side of my head. “Exactly.”
“But then, when I left, it was just me and Colby...” I left my thought unfinished, the words hanging in the air.
“Not anymore,” Ainsley said, resting the side of his face against my head. “No longer is it just the two of you.”
The days leading up to our abduction, I’d definitely given up any pretense of hoping we’d find a pack, but a lot had changed in the last month or two.
One of these days, I was going to have to ask what the date was.