14. Hailey
Chapter 14
Hailey
“ P lease…don’t leave me here.”
The words escape before I can stop them. He freezes mid-step, one hand braced against his knee as he takes deep, gulping breaths. His scent hits me again—sage and rain and something earthy. Calming. Soothing.
Omega .
The realization keeps shocking me. I’ve never met a male omega before. Never even heard of one outside of whispered stories. But there’s no mistaking that scent, or the way it calls to something deep inside me, making me want to trust him despite everything.
He’s beautiful in a way that defies everything I thought I knew about omegas. Honey-gold hair curling slightly at his nape, broad shoulders tapering to a lean frame. His stormy gray eyes are squeezed shut now as he struggles to breathe.
“You’re an omega,” I whisper, taking another tentative step onto the porch. “I thought…when you first came in, I thought you were…”
He makes a sound—half laugh, half sob—and suddenly tears off his shirt like it’s suffocating him. I gasp, not at the action, but at what it reveals. Scars crisscross his midsection, old wounds that have healed silver against his skin. Even with them, he’s beautiful. Maybe even more so.
“I can’t…” he gasps, pressing a hand to his chest. “I can’t breathe…”
I move closer, instinct overriding fear. “Yes, you can. Just…just breathe with me, okay?”
He’s having a panic attack. I recognize the signs—I’ve had enough of my own lately. His scent has gone sharp with distress, making my own anxiety spike, but I force myself to stay calm.
“Please,” I say again, softer this time. Even as I take another step toward him, I tremble. “I know you’re scared. I am too. But…but you’re like me. An omega. We can…maybe we can help each other?”
He does another one of those strange laughs. “Omegas helping each other. I never heard a stranger thing.”
His words don’t make sense. I haven’t met many other omegas in my life. Despite the numerous others I’d hear back at the Academy, there was never any social time. The only other omega I could say I’ve met was Vi. Just the thought of her makes my anxiety spike and I watch as this strange male omega shudders when my scent hits him. I have to try to calm myself because I need him to be calm, too. I need his help.
“I’m the same as you,” I whisper. “You can trust me.”
He looks up at me then, those storm-cloud eyes meeting mine. There’s so much pain there, so much confusion and hurt, that it makes something deep within me hurt.
“ Trust you?” He manages between breaths. “Drop the innocent act. It won’t work on me.”
I pause where I’m standing just a few feet away from him. Innocent act? Does he think I’m trying to trick him?
The accusation makes me blink, trying to understand what he means .
“I don’t understand.” He heaves another breath. “What’s happening? Why are you here? Why is Stone…”
“I don’t know,” I admit, wrapping my arms around myself. The morning air is cool against my skin, making me shiver in the alpha’s borrowed clothes. “I just…I need help. And you’re the first person who’s found me that isn’t…”
I can’t finish the sentence, but I don’t need to. Understanding flashes across his face, followed quickly by something darker.
“Stone wouldn’t…” he starts, then stops, looking lost. “He’s not…”
“The alpha…” I whisper. “He’s brought me food but…” I want to whimper. To curl into myself as the hopelessness and gravity of my situation weigh down on me. “I can’t stay here. Please…please help me.”
His breathing has steadied somewhat, though his hands still shake. We stand there, caught in a situation neither of us understands. Both terrified for different reasons.
“Your scent,” he says suddenly. “I smelled it on him.” His gaze shifts to me, the storm in those eyes increasing. “ You’re wearing his clothes .”
I flinch, remembering how, after the alpha left, I couldn’t resist burrowing into his clothes. How wearing them makes me feel safe when they shouldn’t. How sleeping with his scent wrapped around me has become my anchor these last few nights.
But from the way this omega talks about the alpha, they must know each other. Maybe the alpha is this omega’s master. “I didn’t…I never knew…”
“He didn’t tell you,” he cuts me off, and something in his voice makes me go silent. “Of course, he didn’t.” There’s pain again, reflected in those eyes as he glances my way again.
The morning sun catches his hair, turning it to molten gold, and I stare as if transfixed. He might be an omega, but he’s bigger than I am. Despite his obvious strength, though, there’s something vulnerable about him now—something that makes me want to trust him completely.
“What’s your name?” he asks softly.
“Hailey,” I whisper. “I’m Hailey.”
He stares at me for a long moment before his legs seem to give out. He sinks to the ground, sitting heavily on the damp earth. His bare chest rises and falls with each steadying breath, and I can’t help but track the movement of those scars.
What happened to him?
Carefully, I edge toward a fallen log a few feet away, maintaining distance while staying close enough to talk. My legs shake as I perch on the rough bark. Neither of us speaks for several heartbeats.
“How…” He swallows hard, starts again. “How did you meet Stone?”
The question makes me tense. How do I explain something I barely understand myself? “I…I found the cabin. Fell asleep.” I whisper, gripping the hem of the alpha’s Henley.
His head snaps up, those stormy eyes narrowing. “What do you mean, you ‘ found ’ the cabin?”
“I don’t…” My voice cracks and I have to take a steadying breath. “I was lost. Tired. The cabin looked less scary than being in the forest at night.”
His eyes narrow more.
“What do you mean ‘ lost’ ?” He’s frowning, but I can tell the panic attack is ebbing. His breaths are more even now and his entire focus is on me, which makes me want to squirm. “Where were you going? Who were you looking for?”
His questions hold me silent. How do I explain to this omega that I have no idea where I was going? That I’d simply been running because anywhere was safer than where I’d been? That all I was seeking was safety and that it wasn’t a specific place, because I had none .
When I don’t answer, he releases a breath and pushes the ground with his sneakers.
“What about Stone?” he presses. “What has he…what does he do when he comes here?”
I shrink into myself, remembering the alpha’s visits. Despite my constant terror, there was always something about him that didn’t quite fit with what I’d been taught to expect from alphas. He never grabbed, never forced, never demanded submission. Just quiet care and careful distance. He’d simply tend to my wounds, leave food, and respect my space. Even now, he still averts his eyes whenever I eat. It’s such a small thing, but it speaks volumes. After everything I’ve experienced, after every alpha who treated me like property, the alpha’s gentle consideration feels almost surreal. Looking at this beautiful omega who seems to know him, who stands here radiating hurt rather than fear, maybe I wasn’t wrong to feel that flicker of trust. Maybe the alpha really is as different as he seems.
But then it hits me. The omega refers to the alpha by name. Not “Master”.
The realization rocks through me like an electric current. I straighten, my eyes widening as I replay the name on his tongue. Stone. So casual. So familiar. Not “Master” or “Sir” or any of the other titles I’ve been trained to use. Just…Stone.
My mouth goes dry. In all my time here, I’ve never dared to speak his name aloud. Never even thought about it without the appropriate honorific preceding it in my mind. The punishment for such disrespect would have been…would have been…
But there wasn’t any punishment, was there? Not from him. Not once.
I stare at the omega before me with new eyes. The way he sits—hurt and angry, yes, but with a strength I can’t comprehend. Like he has every right to be here. Like he belongs in his space, wearing his clothes. Like he’s…free .
The word catches in my thoughts. Free. Is that what this is? Is that what he’s been trying to show me all along?
“You aren’t going to answer me?” The omega’s gaze shifts to me for only a second before he looks away again, as if it’s too painful to stare at me too long. “Is it really that bad?” His voice cracks on the last word and my distress spikes.
“N-no. He brings food. And…” I gesture vaguely at the clothes I’m wearing. “These. He doesn’t…he hasn’t…” I can’t finish, but the omega seems to understand.
“He hasn’t touched you?”
I shake my head quickly. “No. He just…waits. And brings things. But he never stays long.”
The omega—I still don’t know his name—runs a hand through his honey-gold hair, messing up the strands. “This doesn’t make sense,” he mutters. “None of this makes sense.”
“Please,” I say again, hating how small my voice sounds. “I stayed because I was scared, but I can’t…I can’t stay in that cabin forever. I need help.”
He looks at me for a long moment, and I can see him wrestling with something internally. His scent shifts between distress and determination, making my anxiety flutter.
“The bandages,” he says. “Your wrists. Can I…?”
I hesitate, then slowly extend my arms. He moves closer, though still maintaining some distance, and examines the wrapping. His fingers hover over the gauze but don’t touch.
“Stone did these?”
“Yes. I was…they were already wrapped when I woke up.”
He sits back, running both hands over his face. “Fuck,” he mutters. Then again, louder, “FUCK!”
I flinch at the outburst, and immediately his scent shifts to something soothing, apologetic.
“Sorry,” he says softly. “I just…this isn’t…” He takes a deep breath. “You really do seem lost.” He gulps, Adam’s apple bobb ing. “You need proper food. A real bed. Not whatever the fuck this is supposed to be.”
Hope flutters in my chest, but I try to suppress it. “You’ll help me?”
“I…” He stands suddenly, pacing a few steps before turning back to me. “Look, I don’t understand what’s happening here. Stone is one of my alphas. He wouldn’t…” He stops, seems to gather himself. “But you can’t stay here. Whatever this is, we need to figure it out. And you need somewhere safe to stay while we do.”
“Safe?” The word comes out as barely more than a breath.
He nods, though something haunted crosses his expression. “I have a house. Well, we…it’s complicated. But there’s food there. Real food.” And then he pauses. “I can cook.” There’s a slight hopeful smile before it disappears and he rushes on as if the mention of him cooking will somehow dissuade me. “And a proper bed. Bathroom. Everything you need.”
I should be scared. Should be wary of going anywhere with anyone. All I can rely on is his scent. His sage and rain. Calming. Trustworthy. Constant.
“We?” I ask carefully.
Pain flashes across his face. “Like I said, it’s complicated. But you’ll be safe there. I promise.”
He holds out his hand, and I stare at it for a long moment. This could be a mistake. Could be trading one prison for another. But something in those storm-gray eyes, in that soothing sage scent, tells me to trust him.
Slowly, I reach out and take his hand.
“I’m Finn,” he says softly as he helps me up. “And I promise, whatever’s happening here, I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”