42. Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
Wren
I wasn’t sure how long I had been out, but I knew I’d been taken to the infirmary and sedated. I knew they had shoved a feeding tube down my throat.
And I’d felt all five of my packmates as I was drifting off.
At some point, the guards had taken me back to my cell and dumped me onto the cot. They hadn’t even bothered covering me up. But at least they hadn’t left me on the cold, hard, concrete floor.
My throat was on fire, and I went into a coughing fit when I sipped at the water sitting on the floor beside my bed. It was lukewarm and did nothing to soothe the soreness from that fucking tube.
At least I didn’t feel as weak as I had before, though that had been my own damn fault for refusing to eat.
I’d felt my packmates. I’d felt my alphas and my betas.
Had that been some kind of dream from the anesthesia?
As though I was peering through an open door or window, I barely peeked at the bond, emotionally and mentally keeping one eye shut in case it was nothing more than a drug induced hallucination or dream.
“Mateo,” I said on a gasp as I sat up quickly. Too quickly. So quickly I had to close my eyes against the dizziness as the room spun around me for a moment.
He was there in the bond. I swore it felt as though I could practically see him watching over me.
Yes, I was aware that was silly. Didn’t make it make it any less wonderful.
One by one, I was able to identify my pack, my alphas and sweet betas.
Their sadness was like a bitter taste at the back of my tongue, but the love they were filling the bond with was so warm it felt so much the way it did when I was in the pack bed with their big bodies surrounding me on all sides, their arms and legs tangled with mine, their scents cocooning me and making me feel safe, loved. Cherished.
Once the room no longer spun around me and I felt like I could open my eyes without puking back up whatever they’d pumped into my stomach, I threw my legs over the side of the cot and pushed to my feet.
I was still weak, though not nearly as badly. It was more that I hadn’t used my muscles much since coming here. That and the heavy depression that had overcome me when my omega instincts had decided my mates had abandoned me, rejected me for a different, better omega.
How could have I believed that? Hormones or not…
Shit. Hormones. How long ago was my last heat? How long had I truly been here? I believed it to be a few weeks, but I supposed it could have been longer. Or shorter.
My heat could very well be close, and I had zero desire to go through it here. Not only would I fight tooth and nail against any alpha or beta who thought they had the right to rut me, but I knew the staff wouldn’t bother giving me any sedatives or painkillers nor would they go so far as allowing me to have any form of silicon knots or other aids.
I would have to ride out yet another cycle in agonizing pain and a dangerously high fever.
Don’t think about it. Don’t dwell on it.
Because I believed my pack would come for me before then.
Why did I believe that? Because they were there, right inside my chest, and I could feel their determination. I could feel the way they tried to reassure me through our bond, pulsing wave after wave of their warmth and love.
I still wasn’t sure how long I’d been here, nor did I know how long I’d been sedated. But my pack was with me. The bond was blown wide open.
There was still that lingering sense of rejection, but the reassurance pulsing through the bond kept it from growing.
They were coming. They hadn’t left me here to rot. They would come and get me and take me back home.
Maybe I’d get lucky, and they would burn this fucking place to the ground as we left.
After getting any innocent people out first, of course.
Really, though, other than the omegas being held here against their will, how many others in this building could be considered innocent. Nurse Maggie had always been nice, but what about Dr. Creep? What about the guards who got way too much joy out of mistreating us?
Slowly pacing my cell, I stopped by the door and hopped a few times, attempting to look through the glass six inches above my head. There was an opening lower where they oftentimes slid trays of food, but it was kept locked between meals.
Back to pacing. There wasn’t much else I could do other than curl up on my cot and focus on nothing but the feelings rolling nonstop from my pack.
Why had the bond been closed? I had truly feared they’d found a way to dissolve it or that they didn’t want me to feel when they chose someone else.
But why the hell would I ever think my men would want anyone else? They’d proven over the past few months they truly loved me. They’d been patient, they’d accepted me exactly the way I am, they accepted the fact I would never be the submissive, coy omega society thought I should be.
Sit. Pace. Sit. Pace.
I’d started a pattern but really, what else was there to do? Not like there were any books or even a damn window to look through.
The fear of how long I’d been here and how close my next cycle was lingered in the recesses of my mind, but I refused to focus on that. Not now. The last thing I wanted to do was give my system a shove and end up with an early heat.
Maybe there was a way I could continue refusing meals until Raece, Matteo, Winter, Dean, and Doran came for me. I knew the doctors would continue sedating me, continue using a feeding tube, but my hormones would get jacked up with malnourishment and I could possibly hold off a little longer.
Feet pounded against the concrete outside my door as though someone was running. I glanced toward the hall and frowned.
Another set of feet.
Then more.
Lunging from the cot, I jumped over and over, trying to no avail to see what was going on. Giving up on that, I whirled toward the lumpy, uncomfortable bed and tried to scoot it across the room. If I could stand on it, I could finally see outside my room.
Of course, the damn thing was bolted to the floor. What did they think we would do with a loose cot? Not like it could be lifted and wielded like a weapon.
Not that thoughts of dismantling it and using the metal pieces as a bat hadn’t crossed my mind over the years.
Voices raised. There were shouts. But the sounds of feet thundering down the hall were all going the same direction. They weren’t running around like the building was under attack.
Yet I felt a sense of hope that my pack had finally arrived. As much as I didn’t want them to get hurt – or to inadvertently hurt any of the omegas being held here – I wasn’t exactly against them blasting a hole in the concrete to get me out or even mowing down a select few of the guards with a spray of bullets.
I was at the point I was more than happy to point out exactly which of the guards deserved their wrath.
Moving away from the door, I stared at the small square window and wrung my hands. I had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was had sent the guards running toward the stairs leading up to the main floor.
And all I could do was pray it was my pack, pray that rush of emotions flooding the bond was them reassuring me I was going home.
Pray this nightmare would finally end today.