Chapter 21
Buck Forest, Devil Estate
“He has a gun,” Lark says far more steadily than I could have as a warning to Kai.
My own heart is jackhammering in my chest.
Kai doesn’t move a muscle. He holds himself still like he’s been turned to stone.
Lark tightens his arms around me, as the wind howls and the storm batters us.
Water sloshes out of the creek, drenching me.
I shiver.
“Who the fuck are you to give me orders? You’re on Devil territory, lad, and I rip out the throats of trespassers,” Kai growls.
I jump.
Kai’s so dominant that I’d have fallen to my knees, if I wasn’t already crouching on the floor.
The fact that he doesn’t use this side of himself to intimidate or control Lark and me only makes me realize just what a good Alpha he is.
Fletcher wavers for a moment in the face of an Alpha who’s more dominant than himself, before his hand tightens around the gun. “I happen to know precisely where I am, bad Alpha. Turn around, slowly.”
Kai shoots a secret, reassuring smile to Lark and me.
But I can’t return it.
My insides are tangled up with anxiety.
Where’s Dad?
Is he still simply hanging back? Have we miscalculated?
What if he waited back at the house?
What if Fletcher pulls that trigger?
I didn’t expect him to be protective of me like this.
Kai turns around with a deliberately insulting casualness.
Then he quirks his eyebrow at Fletcher. “What next?”
Fletcher ignores him, attempting to peer round him at me. “Are you all right, darling? I’ve been so worried, since you were stolen from the Institute. Then we heard from a contact that you’d been forced into a bond by these wicked Devils. Dear god, I’m sorry. Of course, I insisted that I come on this mission personally. I didn’t even hesitate. If any of them dared to hurt you—”
“You hurt me!” I scream.
The words wing from me like birds taking flight.
They’re not rehearsed or part of the plan’s script.
This is my chance to say them, however, and I can’t hold back.
I’m never holding back again.
“W-w-what?” Fletcher stutters, wiping his sleeve over his face, and I can’t help hoping that he’s attempting to hide that he’s wiping off tears along with the raindrops. “I mean, I didn’t… I did what I could. I ordered the guards to never hurt you. I forbade them from taking you to the Discipline Rooms. I checked in on you, until your fever broke.” His desperate gaze slides to Lark, and his lip curls in contempt. “I saw how that bastard took care of you.”
Lark slides his fingers possessively up and down my back. “Oh, I know that you watched just how well I took care of Mercy.”
Fletcher’s jaw clenches. “I know that I was a terrible Alpha. I never knew how to be a good one. My mother was cruel. But I did try, despite the fact that I’m sure you don’t believe me. Breaking our bond was the hardest thing that I ever did. It hurt me too.”
I stare at him.
“Hurt you?” I hiss. “You could have killed me. You were going to sell me in an auction. If you were watching, then you know that I wanted to remain with Lark. Couldn’t you at least have allowed us that happiness? And why couldn’t I have returned to my brother? Tom must have been frantic. You know that he’d have taken Lark and me into his pack.”
For the first time, Fletcher’s expression twists with something that looks — almost — like genuine remorse. “How about I explain everything, as soon as these Devils are safely in custody? You must have truly suffered. I swear that I’ll make it up to you with your next pack. But whether you believe me or not, I did try to reunite you with your brother. Once I knew that you’d survived Broken Bond Syndrome, then you being at your twins’ side would have solved our problem.” I know that he means the files I wasn’t meant to see. “He could have cared for you without you telling strangers any secrets. But your father refused to accept you back into the Saint pack because it would tarnish his reputation and political ambitions. He—”
“Told him to stop being a sentimental fool,” a sharp voice rings out.
I stiffen.
Finally.
Dad steps out of the shadows.
He’s a strong man with muscular shoulders and a powerful chest. Like Thomas, he has copper hair, which is being plastered to his head by the rain. He also has a neat, matching mustache and sideburns.
I hate that his eyes are aquamarine like mine.
Once, he’d been the beau of the town, as Thomas and I were.
He’s dressed in a sweeping black coat and boots over an elegant suit.
My pulse roars in my ears. My breathing becomes ragged.
Dad, Raylan St Clair, is Chief Alpha of the Saints pack and Mayor of Haven.
He’s always felt like a god in my small world.
As a kid, Thomas and I were desperate for his attention and approval.
Even a small pat on the head, smile over the dinner table, or praise for our school report card would be enough to keep either of us happy and swapping stories about it for months.
Sometimes, for a year.
But now, Raylan looks small.
I don’t mean only next to Kai’s giant size, although that too.
But the place that he holds in my heart.
I no longer care whether he notices me.
I have an entire pack who have made me the center of their world.
Raylan wouldn’t even take me back, after I became a Brok.
I always knew that his ambition mattered more to him than Thomas and me. Every weekend that he spent in his study working or talking to VIPs from Washington, while Thomas and I were shut lonely in our room, I’d known that.
But it’s only now that I feel it viscerally in my gut.
I used to feel small, standing next to those ambitions.
Small next to the St Clair name.
Small in the shadow of my godlike Dad.
Now, I know that he was always the small one to begin with.
Something strengthens within me.
I glance at Lark, and he appears to understand.
Together, we both push ourselves to our feet and stand side by side.
I won’t kneel or sit at the feet of Alphas again.
“Stop talking about things that don’t matter,” Raylan barks. “Either shoot the terrorist or arrest him. Or have you forgotten how to use your handcuffs? After all, it’s been so long since you took your wimpy ass into the field and actually got your hands dirty.”
Fletcher flinches.
Shit, is this how Raylan has always spoken to Fletcher?
Is that how he speaks to Thomas now?
Kai crosses his arms. “Do I get a say in whether I’m murdered?”
“Executed,” Raylan snaps.
I’m trembling.
My gaze darts between the barrel of the gun and the trigger.
I can’t look away.
Please…
Fletcher’s mouth tightens. “I’m not shooting him. Only Lucifer has a kill order over his head. This is clearly a Scottish agitator from that ridiculous Omegacracy. Plus, there are two Omegas here. I won’t have them witness something like that.”
I rest my hand on Kai’s back in surreptitious comfort.
He’s needing to act like he’s not being held at gunpoint.
Despite knowing that they were going to want to take him back as their trophy for the President, he’s still a prince.
A prince turned a rebel but still, royalty.
He should have bodyguards and an entire army to protect him.
But instead, he’s in a foreign country, protecting me and standing up for all our rights.
“Father,” I hear Thomas’ out of breath voice, “I refuse to stay back with the other men. Have you found my twin?”
Thomas sprints along the ledge, slipping in the rain in his rush. He’s panting and shivering.
He must have only joined their mission last minute because he’s not wearing a coat over his moss green suit, which is already soaked through.
Raindrops cling to his pale skin and eyelashes.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I’d hoped that Thomas wouldn’t be working with Dad today.
Why couldn’t he have held back at the cabin like he’d apparently been ordered to?
“Your brother?” Lark mouths at me. “The good one?”
I nod.
Lark studies Thomas, carefully.
Thomas’ breath stutters when he sees me. “Mercy!”
His voice wavers like he’s trying not to cry.
What was he told about me?
That I was dead? Sold?
Or had they gone with the line that someone had broken into the Institute to steal me?
It didn’t matter. Any of it would have been horrifying to him.
Thomas doesn’t even hesitate.
He barrels past Raylan and Fletcher.
“What the hell are you doing?” Fletcher hisses.
My eyes widen.
But Thomas isn’t looking away from me.
It’s like he doesn’t even care that a giant outlaw Alpha is standing in front of me.
Kai doesn’t attempt to move aggressively toward Thomas but watches with amusement, as Thomas pushes past him with his gaze focused on me.
I whine high in my throat, as Thomas wraps his arms around me, burying his face into my hair.
Lark gets caught up into the hug as well.
Thomas releases his pheromones in a way that’s achingly familiar. It calms me like it’s always done.
Even Lark’s breathing steadies.
I delight in the way that Thomas is holding me, no longer having to stop himself from touching me in case he left his scent behind like he always had to when I was bonded to Fletcher.
His scent of sugar cookie martini washes over me.
All of a sudden, Thomas twists back to Kai, shoving Lark and me behind him, protectively.
Then he growls, deep and long.
Thomas’ cold eyes flash. “I’m going to kill you.”
Shit.
I should have known that my brother would act as the white knight.
He doesn’t know that the only thing he could save me from with Kai would be haggis or soreness from the size of his knot.
“Is threatening to kill me a trend that I somehow missed?” Kai sighs. “How about if I take your brave lad here as a hostage?”
He’s just playing the role, right?
“Then my son is on his own for his stupidity.” Raylan’s voice bites over the battering of the storm. “I didn’t raise a useless Alpha who can’t take care of himself.”
You didn’t raise one at all…
It’s a struggle not to say it.
I narrow my eyes at Raylan.
I knew that he blamed Thomas and me for his mate’s death but I still thought that he’d care more for his Alpha son’s life than that.
Thomas has always been hardworking and loyal to the Mayor’s office.
“And I could shoot you,” Fletcher says with more loyalty to Thomas than Dad showed.
“Well, look at this, a stalemate,” Kai says.
“Hardly,” Raylan sneers. “I have a dozen men occupying your house and out front right now. You’re trapped on this narrow ledge, alone with me.” I try not to react, but that’s it. What we needed to know. We have him, and he doesn’t know that he’s the one being caught. “One wrong step, and you’ll tumble into that creek. It doesn’t matter how strong a swimmer you are, in this storm, you’d drown. Face it, we’ve won. So, surrender, and I won’t send you to the Discipline Rooms, before the interrogation begins. Soon, you’ll be begging to tell us where Lucifer is. Scottish filth like you don’t deserve that concession, but it’s cold, and I’m wet. Take the easy route, and I’ll go easy on you.”
The real plan is fitting into place.
Kai, Lark, and I are the bait.
Yet everything that happens on the Devil Estate today is a sleight of hand to distract Fletcher and Raylan from the true mission.
Luckily, they appear so focused on what they think is their moment of triumph over the Devils that they’re not seeing the big picture.
I struggle not to react but I must have stiffened because Thomas catches my gaze, looking at me in concern.
“You’re safe now,” Thomas murmurs. “I won’t allow anyone to hurt you anymore. I’m sorry that I was never able to get you out like I always promised. I tried so fucking hard. When I found out what had—”
I press my finger to his lips, before I lean closer so that only he can hear.
I wish that I could talk more and share what’s happened over the time that we’ve been apart.
I wish that I could tell him about my new pack and how happy I now am.
I wish that I could smooth away the pain and coldness that has hardened his expression even from the last time that I saw him.
He’s hurting, and it’s agonizing to see it.
But I only have one chance at getting this to work.
“Peacock,” I whisper.
When I pull back, Thomas’ eyes are wide, as our gazes meet.
I can’t risk saying more.
I hope that he understands.
Peacock could mean that I’m actually safe just like the stuffie that he gave me.
It could mean that he should trust me.
But there’s only one person who Thomas has always called peacock: Gabriel.
His best friend.
And I know for certain that he trusts Gabriel.
After a long moment, Thomas gives a slow nod.
He looks cautious, but for the first time, his expression becomes filled with cautious hope.
He turns to stand at Kai’s back. His muscles are coiled tight, and he’s on high alert.
Yet it no longer feels like Thomas is ready to fight Kai but rather, is on our side. He’s watching to see what happens next and taking a stand against our Dad without making it obvious that he is.
Thomas has always been smart.
I glimpse a sudden movement behind Raylan like shifting shadows.
My heart is in my mouth.
Kai hums. “See, the thing is that I never take the easy way out of things. I prefer to raise hell. Did you want to ask me about Lucifer?”
“Be quiet. I’m in charge here,” Fletcher says but he doesn’t sound that certain. “I’m the one with the gun. I’ll ask you about Lucifer when—”
A gun raises to rest on the side of Fletcher’s temple with a finger on the trigger.
“Too late; I’m already here.” Gabriel presses closer behind Fletcher. His eyes are hard. “Drop your gun and kick it into the creek.”
“W-what?” Raylan stumbles back a step.
At the same moment, Antonio appears like a silver haired avenging angel.
He’s grinning in a dangerous way that sends shivers down my spine. From behind, he holds a dagger to Raylan’s throat.
Raylan pales and looks like he’s about to piss himself.
Fascinated, I study Dad.
I’ve never seen him look like that.
I can’t help enjoying this moment.
Gabriel and Antonio were hunting the Mayor and Sheriff, tracking them and making sure that we were safe all the time.
Yet we needed to find out the right information, before they made their appearance.
I have a feeling that Gabriel also liked the dramatic flair.
This is the Devils’ moment of triumph, after all.
Ironic.
“Do it, Fletcher.” I tilt up my chin. “Lucifer will shoot. Unlike you, he’s not bluffing.”
“I’m really not.” Gabriel pushes the snout of the gun even harder against Fletcher’s head, until he winces.
Thomas is looking at Gabriel like he’s been resurrected.
I understand how that feels because it was the same for me the first time that I saw him.
Thomas is wisely keeping quiet though.
He can’t make it appear that he’s on the side of outlaws, and I don’t want him to.
Unlike me, he still has a chance for a life within the law back in Haven. I don’t know whether he’s in love with someone or has other responsibilities that I don’t know about.
I’m desperate to have him safely brought into our pack and away from a Chief Alpha who beats him and treats him as worse than expendable.
But I can’t do that yet.
Gabriel remains entirely focused on Fletcher, however, as he drops his own gun reluctantly and kicks it bouncing into the creek.
The churning water swallows the gun.
“Even the undercover guard is here. Smart bastard.” Fletcher balls his hands. “So, what now?”
“This.” Gabriel grabs Fletcher by his shoulder and twists him to face him.
Then he knees him in the balls.
Fletcher crumples to the floor, groaning and clutching his crotch.
“Go the Devils.” Lark smirks.
“Your turn.” Gabriel gestures at Fletcher like he’s a pinata and it’s my turn in the game.
Fletcher curls up, defensively.
I shake my head. “I already busted his balls, figuratively.”
Fletcher avoids my eye.
He’s alone, and I have my new pack. He’s meant to be the expert in conditioning Omegas, but look at me, I’m the Broken Omega who has not only flown the cage but become the rebel.
Fletcher failed.
And he knows it.
“But I haven’t.” Lark breaks away from me.
He prowls past Kai to Fletcher, glaring down at the man who tormented him. “You experimented on me. Stole my daughter. Made the woman who I love suffer. You did all of that because I was a Brok. An Omega who you saw as nothing but a mouse in a cage. But I’m a fucking lion.”
Then he pulls back his foot and kicks Fletcher so hard in the balls that every man winces.
Fletcher howls.
Lark smiles, before strolling back to me. “I’m good now.”
“You’re all crazy.” Raylan swallows, and the knife nicks his throat. “Two out of control, feral Omegas, a renegade Scottish Alpha, a psychopathic Beta, and…you.” His voice trembles with fury, as he scowls at Gabriel. “I took you into my home, ungrateful bastard. I knew that your father was right to send you away to that military academy. You were soft. Weak. Always crying after his discipline. But then you ran away from the SEALS too, didn’t you? Do you know what the military will do to someone like you, when they get hold of you?”
Gabriel’s lips thin, before he points his gun at Raylan. “On your knees.”
Antonio kicks Raylan’s knees out from underneath him, only moving his sharp blade just in time for it not to slice his neck open.
Raylan grunts, falling forward and catching himself with his hands.
I stare in shock.
I never thought that I’d see Dad on his knees.
It feels wrong.
I can see by the way that Gabriel is casting looks at Thomas and me, however, that this is an offering for us both, as much as something that he needs for himself.
He catches Thomas’ eye.
For a moment, the two Alphas look at each other, and there’s a lot held within that look.
Gabriel appears to see what he needs to because he turns away from Raylan toward Thomas. “Was he telling the truth earlier about there being a dozen men and they’re all at the front or in the house itself? There won’t be any nasty surprises for us?”
“Don’t tell him,” Raylan snarls.
“We could simply kill you,” Kai points out.
“Then my men would kill you.”
“This has gone too far.” Fletcher drags himself up painfully to kneel as well. “Just tell them, Thomas.”
“It was the truth,” Thomas replies. “Except, he didn’t want to risk bringing his own men, so he had Fletcher bring some of his guards from the Institute.”
Just as we’d hoped.
I try not to let the excitement show on my face.
“Good,” Gabriel says, briskly. “Then that means you’re keeping this mission quiet. You only brought loyal but corrupt Institute men. I imagine that you were worried about what Mercy would say. You know, what secrets she’d let slip.” Fletcher reddens. Bingo. “That leaves no one manning the home fort, of course. Still, that makes this next part easier. We can make a deal.”
“I don’t make deals with terrorists,” Raylan instantly replies.
“Then that’s lucky because we’re not terrorists.” Antonio toys with his knife. “Criminals, but not terrorists.”
Lark presses closer to me, and we exchange a glance.
This is the moment that things could go wrong.
I know these two men, our enemies, better than anybody. They’re predictable in their own ways.
But they’re both cornered.
Sometimes, being cornered makes people lash out in unexpected ways.
There’s a long moment, when all I can hear is the roar of my blood in my ears, along with the roar of the wind and rain.
Finally, Raylan’s shoulders slump.
“What’s the deal?” He demands.
“You stop searching for us,” Gabriel replies. “In fact, you’re welcome to burn down my beautiful log cabin and put in a false report that you believe Lucifer and his Devils died in the fire. You lie in a lot of your shady reports anyway. You break more laws than I do.”
Raylan flushes. “Outrageous. I will not be lectured by FBI’s most wanted. Why would I help you?”
“Because you’re helping yourself,” Antonio says. “Huh, did you think that our Lucifer was only guessing about your corruption…? He was raised in your home, remember? He has all these badass skills. And me? I’m a badass hacker too. We have enough to bury you. You’d be sent to the Alpha Center for life.”
Raylan pales, but he’s staring at me. “You wouldn’t.”
“You didn’t want me, Dad.” My gaze is flinty. “I suffered in the basement of the Institute. I nearly died. I starved. I thought that I’d be broken and bondless forever. You could have taken me back into the Ace pack with Tom. So, yeah, I would.”
A muscle in Thomas’ cheek twitches.
He’s staring at Raylan even harder than me.
So, he obviously had no idea about any of that.
“I suggest that you let us be ghosts again, laddy.” Kai narrows his eyes at Fletcher. “Or a kick in the balls will be the least of your problems. You broke your bond to try and stop the President finding out how careless you were with certain files. If the Omegas are captured, they’re unlikely to be killed, which means that they can talk as much as they like. If you don’t let us go, then we’ll make sure that the President finds out about the cover up. Your President seems to be the sort of bastard who’d execute someone for that.”
Fletcher desperately turns to Raylan and snatches at his sleeve, but Raylan shoves him away. “We can’t let that happen. Even if we mitigate the worst of what they say, then our packs’ reputations and legacies will be ruined. My mother will—”
“You deserve whatever he does to you,” Raylan snarls. “This is your fault. You were always obsessed with my daughter. I let you match with her out of a mark of respect for your mother. I even sent my son away to make it happen smoothly. I didn’t expect that you’d lose control of her within a year.”
“But that’s the thing,” I say. “I was never something that should have been controlled in the first place.”
“And if your brutal mind is going to all the ways that you can assassinate or kill us, which to be fair, mine would.” Antonio cocks his head. “Remember that we have fail safes that will make our testimony public in the most embarrassing and incriminating ways, if we die. Also, add in some truly nasty witness testimonies about your Institute.”
Are they going to bite?
I hold my breath.
At long last, Raylan rubs his hands up and down his thighs in frustration. “You have a deal. I’ll no longer pursue you and will try to cover your tracks. Neither of us wants the truth exposed. It will only wreck our packs.”
I give a tight smile.
Halfway there.
Yet hope is surging through me.
“I’ll make sure that he keeps to that.” Thomas’ expression is tight.
My guts churn with dread.
I grab Thomas’ arm, dragging him against my side.
We understand each other so well. I’m desperate to invite him to join the Devils.
Gabriel is just as desperate. I can feel it through the bond.
But I don’t want to endanger Thomas.
It’s a game that we’ve played our whole lives.
Gabriel can’t hold himself back. “Tom, stay with us. You’re my best friend, and I know how much Mer misses you. You don’t need to go home with these assholes.”
For a long moment, it’s like the two are having a conversation without speaking.
Thomas, however, shakes his head.
Disappointment crashes through me.
“I need to be certain that Dad remains true to his word.” Thomas straightens his shoulders. “I failed my sister by not finding a way to rescue her from that terrible house, before it was too late. I won’t make the same mistake twice. All I want now is to ensure that she can remain happy with you and get the pack that she wants…chooses…deserves. We spent years dreaming about the perfect pack, and I can see that now she has it.”
He means one that has both Gabriel and equality, although he’s having to veil it.
My eyes prick with tears.
He can’t join us yet, but I’m going to find a way that he gets the pack that he wants and chooses as well.
Because Thomas is awesome and he deserves to be happy and loved as well.
Yet right now, he’s an Alpha but he’s just as controlled as any Omega.
Unexpectedly, two phones begin to ring at once: Raylan and Fletcher’s.
It’s time to reveal the magician’s trick…
The two men look startled.
“Answer,” Gabriel says.
His eyes are coldly victorious.
I glow with pride.
When Raylan struggles to reach into his pocket, however, Antonio grabs hold of him to stop him.
“Hey,” Raylan struggles, “what are you playing at?”
“This isn’t a game.” Gabriel slips his hand into his own coat pocket and pulls out his phone. He checks a new text that’s come through, smiling widely, before putting it away again. “But we have won.”
Kai turns to Lark. “She’s safe, beloved.”
Antonio grins. “I promised that she would be.”
Because this text is what we’ve been waiting on: The news that the real mission has been a success.
The rescue mission by the main resistance for Millie and all the other Omegas who were trapped at the Institute.
Yet our set up to lure both Mayor and Sheriff away to the mountains, which was coordinated to happen at exactly the same time, was the key to the whole mission.
It kept their attention on the wrong thing.
It drew them and their men away, leaving the actual target vulnerable.
Now, Millie is safe.
“Yes!” I wrap my arms around Lark.
He nuzzles my neck, overwhelmed.
He’s shaking. “She’s coming home.”
Thomas watches us, bewildered. “What did you do?”
“And why don’t you want us to take these calls?” Fletcher asks, suspicious.
“You don’t need to take those urgent calls because you’ll find out what’s happened the moment that you return to Haven.” Gabriel is enjoying this. “Actually, if you put on the radio and listen to the news on the way back, you’ll hear sooner.”
I lock gazes with Fletcher.
He looks panicked.
It’s like part of him has already worked out what’s going on.
Antonio whoops.
“Tell me now,” Raylan bellows. He’s losing his shit at being controlled, when he’s spent his life as the dominant Alpha who runs a pack and entire town. “What act of terrorism have you committed?”
“Why, none.” Kai attempts to look innocent. “You’re our witnesses and alibi that we’ve been here…with you…all the time. We simply heard the news that the resistance have worked out a way to interfere with the technology in Companion chokers and Reject bracelets for five minutes.”
Fletcher pushes himself painfully to his feet. “That’s impossible.”
“You have no idea what’s truly possible.” I can’t keep the words in any longer. “You think Omegas are weak and that everybody thinks the same as you. But more and more people are resisting your way of treating Omegas. Pack bonds are precious and powerful.”
“Sacred,” Kai adds.
“Society is changing,” Gabriel says. “You’re the old wolves who are going to be left alone, abandoned by the pack.”
“You want anarchy.” Raylan looks around us in shock. “Civil war. The Traditional way has worked for hundreds of years. The system of Companions has stopped orphans becoming a burden to the state. We economically prosper with one of the lowest crime and poverty rates because of the strict ABO pack hierarchy, backed up by the state use of Alpha Centers and the Institute. If those are dismantled, then you threaten our country’s prosperity and peace.”
“Maybe,” I say, softly. “But it’s worth it for everybody to have freedom.”
“Peace and prosperity can still be a cage.” Lark’s eyes blaze.
“Or a lie that politicians spin to keep people in their place, too afraid to speak up.” Gabriel’s lips are set in a hard line. “In the army, I was taught to follow orders. Obedience and discipline were the most important thing. But they’re not. Doing the right thing is, no matter what it costs you.”
“And what was the right thing today?” Fletcher is paler than I’ve ever seen him.
Gabriel straightens his shoulders, clasping his gun loosely in his hands.
This is the killing blow.
My revenge.
His gaze meets mine.
I know then that he wants to give me this moment.
Freeing Millie was for Lark.
But Gabriel’s intense focus on this had been about destroying Fletcher for everything that he’s done to me, as well as my dad who forced me into a bond.
Gabriel marches forward, grabbing Fletcher by his collar.
“There’s more than one way to kill a man,” he hisses.
Fletcher flinches.
Then as the rain drenches both Alphas, Gabriel drags Fletcher towards me. He forces Fletcher to stand in front of me like an offering.
Fletcher attempts to raise his eyes to mine, before he ducks his head.
Hell, that feels good.
I take a steadying breath, before my gaze hardens.
“You thought that you were closing your net on us, the wild birds up in the mountains.” This is my revenge, and fuck, it does taste sweet. Joy tinged with thrilling triumph is surging through the bond from every pack mate. “But all along, we were laying a trap for you. You always underestimated me. I hope that you can see Omegas differently now. But the most important thing is that the Omegas from your nightmare Institute are safe. Have fun explaining that failure to the President. As long as people try to cage us, we’ll fight to open the door and set every Omega free.”
It hits me hard then.
And I laugh.
I feel lighter than I have in my entire life.
The Omegas are free.
I’m free.