Chapter 3
Ace Hall, Haven
It’s been six hours, since Fletcher dragged me from the lounge, growled at me to wash my brother’s scent from my body, then slammed the door, locking me inside.
He didn’t even look at me, as if he was too disgusted.
I pace from one side of the austere but elegant bedroom to the other. My bare feet make no sound on the floorboards. The room smells only of the lavender spray that I added this morning to the bone-white bed covers to help calm my Omega senses.
There are no trinkets, photographs, or ornaments on the plain oak furniture.
Fletcher despises clutter.
It’s now nighttime, and cold moonlight streams through the window.
I’m so worried about why Fletcher hasn’t returned that I’ve allowed myself to sink into the shadows, as the light has faded.
I’m numb.
When I was first thrown into the room, I followed instructions and reluctantly trawled into the marble en suite to shower, scrubbing off my brother’s scent.
Then I collapsed into a ball, sobbing.
I allowed the water pounding down around me to mask my breakdown.
As soon as the water cooled, I forced myself to straighten my shoulders, wiped the tears away, and stepped out.
I had to be strong now.
I was done playing the perfect Omega.
Thomas swore that he’d find a way to get me out of this house, and I trusted him.
But I wanted more now.
I wanted to take down the Institute.
Fletcher.
And every Alpha like him.
Now, I’m wearing my floor length white nightie that makes me look like a penitent.
My favorite used to be my lavender silk pajamas because they reminded me of Gabriel’s eyes.
Fletcher threw those in the trash on the night that I moved into Ace Hall.
My long hair is damp, and water tears down my neck.
I’m desperate to hold Mr. Peacock in my palm and stroke over his soft textures but I can’t risk it. I hid my emotional support bird at the bottom of my sock drawer.
I know that Fletcher will expect to find me on my knees looking remorseful and following all his rules.
Fuck it.
Fletcher chose me because I was beautiful and the Mayor’s daughter.
I know that I’m not actually the perfect Omega for his pack.
I’m not good, obsessed with money and status, or submissive.
I come from the right elite pack but I was coddled by my twin and his best friend, as Fletcher has complained about enough.
They did love, respect, and cherish me.
I didn’t have a mom or even a dad who was interested in me.
I’ve never been able to tell whether Fletcher’s bluffing about rejecting me or my bond.
Perhaps, I don’t read people well. I wasn’t raised around many of them.
For the last six hours, I’ve been able to feel Fletcher’s emotions through the bond, however, and it’s been a confusing mix of distress and rage.
What’s happening? Where is Fletcher?
My stomach rumbles, and I wrap my arms around my middle.
I’ve missed dinner, and Fletcher didn’t even leave me those cupcakes that he picked up to nibble on.
But then, they were meant to reward me, right?
A treat for good behavior like a training a dog.
Omegas aren’t fucking pets.
Bored, my gaze settles on the only entertainment in the entire room: A pile of work files, which Fletcher has left on his bedside table.
He’s a workaholic and reads them late into the night. It’s the only time that he sneakily wears a pair of glasses because he doesn’t realize that sometimes I’m still awake. He’s too proud to allow anyone to see him wearing them.
I’m forbidden to look at the files, of course.
That’s Household Rule Forty-four.
But what if there’s something in there that could help the Omega resistance?
I swallow, and my hands shake.
I glance around at the bedroom.
I’ve been kept like a beautiful doll in a doll house my entire life. Generations have inherited this money and land because of the oppression of my own dynamic.
A Brok and his daughter are suffering right now.
I’m part of the Ace pack.
Don’t I have a duty to do something?
The files are just there…
Thomas said over dinner last week that there were rumors of an Omega spy. He laughed like it was ridiculous.
A joke.
Yet what if it wasn’t?
What if I could become one?
Perhaps, there are ways to break free, even inside a cage.
I can do this.
My chest is tight, but I take one trembling step and then another toward the bedside table.
The plain files are marked with bright red CONFIDENTIAL stamped over the top.
I lick my dry lips, before forcing myself to perch on the end of the bed.
This has to be a first: A bonded Alpha and Omega who are secretly enemies in a civil war.
But I’m not a terrorist.
If I do this, then I’ll be a freedom fighter, right?
Before I can talk myself out of this, I reach out my shaking hand and flip open the top file.
Then I almost slam it shut in shock.
The top page is an analysis of an Alpha.
FBI MOST WANTED
DYNAMIC: Alpha
AGE: 23
HEIGHT:6’
PLACE OF BIRTH:Haven, Virginia, USA
BUILD: Athletic
NATIONALITY:American
AWOL from Alpha unit within US army. Viewed as trained and highly dangerous. Security and weapons expert. President is monitoring this case personally.
CRIME:Terrorism and treason
TOP SECRET: Sentence set by President. EXECUTION
“No, no, no,” I whisper in horror.
Execution.
I can’t look away from the photograph that lies next to the analysis.
The Alpha is dressed in a military uniform and looks like the poster boy for army recruitment. He’s impossibly gorgeous with tanned skin, a chiseled jaw, and neat, honey blond hair.
He also has luminous eyes that stare out from the photograph like they’re staring into my Soul.
Beautiful eyes.
Lavender ones.
It’s Gabriel!
I shove the file away from me, and it tumbles to the floor, spilling out its contents.
Gabriel’s photograph slips out and stares up at me.
Gabriel was cute when he was younger, but all grown up, he’s the most attractive man who I’ve ever seen.
Yet he’s in my Alpha’s file, marked for execution.
My best friend and first love is a criminal. If he’s caught, then he’s dead.
I rock backwards and forwards in alarm, scanning across the shadows, desperately relieved that Fletcher hasn’t come back in the time that I’ve been mesmerized by this glimpse of my lost — outlaw — love.
I need to tell someone that Gabriel’s in danger.
I need to tell Thomas.
He’s going to freak.
But terrorism? Treason?
Does this mean that Gabriel’s become an Omega resistance fighter?
These terrible sounding crimes are what rescuing Omegas have been labeled. It’s how Fletcher describes the attacks on his Institute.
My heart swells with a sudden pride because it’s exactly the type of thing that Gabriel dreamed about becoming, when we were kids, but at the same time, shatters because I’m part of the enemy pack who are right now, fucking hunting him.
All of a sudden, I hear the key in the lock.
“Fuck,” I hiss.
I only just have time to jump off the bed, before the door slams open.
Fletcher stalks into the room.
The burned coffee stench of distressed Alpha makes me scrunch up my nose.
My adrenaline spikes, and I whimper.
Instantly, Fletcher hesitates, keeping his distance from me.
“You’re not even kneeling,” he says, flatly.
His disappointment stabs me through the bond.
“It’s been six hours,” I reply. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t kneel that long. I showered.”
Fletcher avoids my eye, running his hand through his hair, mussing it. The action is so unlike him that I study him warily.
He’s not wearing his jacket, and his tie is askew.
He looks more messed up than I do.
What the hell has he been doing?
Agitated, Fletcher prowls around the room, as if he has something bursting to get out but doesn’t know how to begin.
Finally, he storms back to me, and I stumble backward, cracking my hips against the bedside table with a wince. “Why the hell did you have to act out like that in front of your brother? If you wanted to talk about things, then we could have done it in private, but now… I had to talk to your father. I had to complain about Thomas — again.”
My heart sinks, and concern for my twin bleeds through me. “Why are you always so competitive with Tom? Do you feel like a more powerful Alpha, when you get him punished? Why won’t you just accept that he’s my family?”
Shocked, I hardly know how I have such courage, only that I’m not holding back…not anymore.
“Because you love him,” Fletcher snarls. “Because I can feel your happiness through the bond when you’re with him and not me. Because you don’t love…”
He twists away. His shoulders are tight.
I don’t know how to make this better.
I didn’t want to be matched with Fletcher. And I don’t want his toxic type of love.
“How can I love someone who locks me up?” I say, softly.
Fletcher’s eyes widen with shock. “Mother is right. I have been too soft on you.”
My heart hammers in my chest. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sending you for retraining in the Institute.”
My stomach curdles with dread.
He can’t mean that.
He can’t.
I dive for him, grasping his arm.
I expect him to shake me off, but he doesn’t. “Please, don’t. Please, Alpha…”
“So, now I’m Alpha.” To my surprise, Fletcher wraps his arm around me, however, pulling me against his chest. He’s as cold as a block of ice and shivering. What the hell has he been doing? “Mother would have marked you as a Reject. If I’d told her any of this, she’d have told me to auction you and start again with a proper Omega.”
There’s a roaring in my ears. A blind terror.
I’m whining, only I don’t know it, until Fletcher’s stroking my hair.
Now, I know that he’s not bluffing.
“But I couldn’t do that to you, darling. Do you think that this has been an easy decision for me? That I enjoy seeing you in distress and smelling your delicious scent soured? I’ve been just walking around Haven for hours. I don’t know where. I didn’t even take a coat. I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to think of a way out of this. But if Mother hears about this type of behavior from you then…” He shoves me away from him, grabbing me by my arms. I flinch, as his fingers pinch into my skin through the thin nightie. “Fuck, Mercy, why would you risk everything between us for a Brok?”
I tilt up my chin, even though I’m shaking. “Because it was the right thing to do. Because I’m an Omega just like him. Because I don’t know that it makes me a good Omega to stay silent, live by your rules, and make bad choices.”
Fletcher’s dark eyes meet mine. “That’s why you need this course. Your thinking is muddled. I’ll help you.”
“If you loved me, then you’d simply accept me.”
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “I literally run the Institute, where those who don’t behave dynamically appropriately are taught how to do that. How do you think it looks that I can’t control my own damn Omega? And don’t you think that I have been loving and accepting you? What have I been doing for this entire year?”
I stare at him in shock.
Not allowing me to leave the house.
Giving me rules but not punishing me for failing at them.
Not sending me on any of his courses.
“You’ve been keeping me inside,” I breathe, “because you don’t want anyone to know that I’m not the perfect Ace pack Omega that you should have been able to train me into by now.”
He nods.
He’s an asshole but in his own way, he’s been protecting me. And now, I’ve lost even that.
Suddenly, Fletcher’s gaze slides over my shoulder, catching on something on the floor. Then he lets out a gasp, and dread curdles through the bond.
“Fuck, no, tell me that you didn’t.” He lets go of my arms and runs to his side of the bed.
He ducks down to rifle his hands desperately through his files, before his eyes land on the photograph of Gabriel that’s lying face up and staring at us both like an accusation.
I take a hurried step backward and can’t hide my guilty expression fast enough.
It’s more frightening than anything else, when Fletcher’s face crumples. “You looked at them.”
It’s not a question. It’s a statement.
“You left them out,” I reply. “Why would you leave out confidential files?”
“Because I trusted my Omega.” He’s gone unnaturally still now, and it’s freaking me out. “In an entire year, you’ve never broken that rule. If I’d remembered that these were here and hadn’t been in such a damned mess when I left the house, then I may have thought that tonight was the night you would.” He slams his fist against the bed with a howl. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry.”
I’m not.
But I’ve had a long time to think and scheme, alone here in Ace Hall. I know the words that Fletcher wants to hear and I know where I always planned to run, if I truly needed to.
I stealthily glance around to the bedroom door, edging toward it.
In his rage and distress, Fletcher didn’t lock it behind him, when he came in.
Can I reach it, before he catches me?
Are any of the Beta servants still up to help Fletcher, or do I have a chance to make it out of the house and across town, even though I’m only wearing this nightie and no shoes?
Can I reach the Omega Society?
I take another step.
One more.
A floorboard creaks.
“I can’t hide this like everything else,” Fletcher’s head is still twisted away from me as he mutters to himself. “If it’s discovered that I have, then... I’ll probably lose my role at the Institute. Mother will…well, you know. The President is paranoid. If he knew that there’d been no consequence to you from your pack…then he’d execute you. It’s treason to look at these files.”
Treason?
Execute me?
In my panic, I can hardly draw in a breath. My vision is blurry and spotted with gray.
Yet I don’t regret looking at that file. I don’t regret my first rebellion and mission.
Even though it was an epic fail.
Yet I’ve learned that Gabriel is in danger. Whatever happens to me, I must be able to use that information to help him.
This has to all mean something, right?
I take a third step, even though my knees feel like buckling.
Almost there.
Please…
Fletcher’s gaze snaps to me, and all warmth has fled his expression.
He looks predatory and deadly.
He marches across the room, just as I turn and scramble toward the door. But even as I grasp for the doorknob, it’s too late.
I kick and scream, flailing. Fletcher drags me back into his arms, shushing me.
Fletcher rests his forehead against mine. “Fuck, why do I have to love you?” Then his gaze becomes steely. “I need to sever our ties. This is the only way to save my reputation and your life. It’ll hurt, and I’m truly sorry about that. But at least afterwards, you won’t be alone.”
“I don’t understand.” I’m drawing in desperate, gulps of air.
Yet I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
Fletcher pushes a strand of hair behind my ear, baring my neck. “I break our bond.”
He’s using his Alpha voice. It’s the same one that’s used in an Alpha command and calls to me on a deep, biological level.
“No,” I scream.
I try to wrench out of his arms but suddenly, my muscles are weak.
I’m exhausted.
I feel like my bones have been ground to dust. My blood is boiling. A thousand knives are slicing through me.
Fletcher lowers his mouth to my neck and bites into the bond mark.
I scream.
A bond mark is the most sensitive place on an Omega’s body. Fletcher is savagely tearing apart our connection at a Soul deep level.
It’s brutal and agonizing.
My heart feels like it’s being torn apart. Flames surge through my chest.
This new fire is burning me to ash.
My mind as much as my body feels like it’s shutting down.
Am I falling into a coma? Am I going to die?
Numbly, I think I’m going into shock.
I can’t feel Fletcher’s emotions or needs any more.
I can’t feel anything.
“Alpha,” I mouth. “Alpha…”
Except, I don’t have an Alpha anymore.
I’m rejected.
Packless.
Broken.
Fletcher pulls his mouth back from my neck.
His cheeks are wet with tears. His teeth are stained with blood.
My blood.
When my knees give out, he falls to the floor with me. “I break our bond.”
My eyes begin to flutter shut, as my body convulses with worse pain than I’ve ever felt before in my life.
Three times.
That’s what it takes to make it official.
I howl in desperation, writhing.
Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t…
“I break our bond,” Fletcher’s voice is far off and faint.
Yet the words are powerful enough to snap the last of our connection, shatter me inside, and drive me into unconsciousness.