Chapter 10
Broken
Liora
Everything hurt. Darkness had fallen and I climbed out from under the tarp, barely able to stand upright. Dizziness washed over me and I stared out at the barely lit street. Or maybe it was just my vision that was dark.
Either way, I had to get out of here. I had no doubt someone would be trying to find me, whether it was the pack or the Omega Reassignment Center. Sitting here was not a good idea, but as soon as I took a few steps, I realized I wouldn't be able to go far.
"Okay, just get out of the city," I told myself, focusing on staggering one wobbly step at a time.
It felt like hours before I reached the street and started walking to my right, simply because that's the way my body leaned as I stood for a moment contemplating my options.
It would be faster to go through back yards and cut across the neighborhood, but there was no way I could manage that right now.
Instead, I hobbled down the street, head down, avoiding the pools of light from the streetlights.
As I moved, my body loosened up a bit. I was still in so much pain that it made it hard to think, but I could at least move slightly faster.
Determined not to be caught, I walked as quickly as I could toward the end of the street and turned right again.
There was no way to know which way would get me out of here, but I could always hope there was a forest or something near me.
I was in luck. The street I'd turned down ended in a cul-de-sac and a narrow path between two houses led into the fields behind the suburb. Whispering thanks to whoever or whatever had guided me, I stumbled my way across the field to the blessed shelter of dark pine trees.
Only a few steps into the woods, I collapsed, my legs giving out under me.
The scratchy pine needles on the forest floor poked through the thin material of my shirt as I laid down under the spreading boughs and curled up into a ball.
It was still summer, but the air was cool at this time of night and I felt a chill spreading over me.
Feeling a little safer, I fell asleep despite the pain in my head and body.
It felt like mere moments later when I heard voices arguing. Male voices. They were close and getting closer and I realized they were walking through the field. Panic burst through me, giving me the adrenaline boost needed to scramble to my feet and dart further into the forest. Where could I hide?
They were still talking and crashing around as they entered the forest, making enough noise that it was pretty easy to ease my way around them and end up behind them.
Tiredness was already sapping the strength from me, so I found a tree with low branches and ducked under them, getting close to the trunk.
Then I climbed until my arms threatened to give out and I was in danger of falling.
That put me about eight feet off the ground.
Somewhere, I'd heard that people don't look up when they're searching for someone. Hopefully, that was true.
"Where the hell is she? The dot keeps moving around here," a frustratingly familiar voice muttered. They were standing just below me, outside the ring of thick branches.
"It says she's right here." Another man. I shuddered and hugged the trunk, trying not to make a sound.
"Okay, so she's under a tree?" A third voice sounded.
Rustling as he lifted the branches and crawled under the tree.
I looked down at the flashlight beaming onto the trunk and could barely make out a wide-shouldered man in a light gray jacket.
His hair was tousled and curly . . . and definitely familiar.
"Finn?" I croaked.
He rolled over, shining the light up at me. "She's here, guys! Hey, baby."
"What are you doing here?" I tried to focus, but the light in my eyes was sending stabbing pains through my brain.
"We came to find you." Mace shouldered his way through the branches, closely followed by Aiden. They both looked around and then realized Finn was aiming his light upwards.
"Why?" The word barely escaped my dry throat. They'd dumped me a year ago, why on earth would they be here now? HOW were they here now?
"We felt your pain . . . we feel your pain through the bond," Aiden said quietly.
"Come down. We'll get you help." Mace held up a hand as if to help me down.
"No."
"No? What do you mean no?" He scowled, his facial features barely visible in the dim light.
"Please, baby," Finn pleaded. "We can't fucking leave you here to suffer. What are you even doing out here?"
I didn't respond. There was too much to say and nothing they needed to know. They'd abandoned me because I was a burden, how could that possibly be any better now that I was injured.
"I'm going up." Finn started to climb.
I shifted in alarm and slid right off my perch, hitting a branch below me and then landing in Aiden's strong arms. He held me to his chest, his comforting fresh cut grass smell easing the ache in my chest just a little.
"Put me down." I pushed at his chest, but he didn't let go.
"We're going to help you, Li." Mace said. He turned his own flashlight to the tree and held the branches aside. "You're coming with us."
They were parked close to the house where I'd hidden, Mace's SUV neatly tucked in between driveways.
"Where's Marco?" I whispered, tired of straining.
"We came alone." Mace opened the back door so Aiden could slide in with me.
Once in the vehicle, I twisted out of Aiden's grip and slipped onto the seat. Finn got in on the other side of the vehicle, so I was sandwiched between the two men.
Having them so close to me was overwhelming.
I leaned forward, needing some space and not knowing how to ask for it.
My breath came in sharp gasps, my head throbbing as I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down.
These three men would never try to hurt me, not physically, at least. That didn't seem to help. My entire body was on edge.
Then Finn rubbed my back unexpectedly. I jerked away from him, squeaking in fear and he froze.
When I looked up, all three men were staring at me, frowns on every face.
"Move up here, Finn," Mace ordered.
Finn gave me a sad look and got out of the car to sit in the front.
I immediately moved closer to the door, away from Aiden and his warmth.
The cool window against my forehead felt less welcoming, but also safer.
And I could technically get out at any moment, though I was currently too messed up to do that.
Plus, if they found me, who was to say the Parker Pack wouldn't manage it, too.
Shuddering at the thought, I stared out the window as the streetlights flashed by, marveling at how much faster the SUV was than my own two feet.
My bare feet. I'd lost the other shoe when I was climbing the tree.
Now I wiggled my bare, scraped toes against the scratchy carpet and tried to remember what it felt like to wear nice shoes. It had been a very long time.
"Liora?" Aiden asked, reaching a hand out toward me. I shied away and he pulled it back. "What happened to you?"
"It doesn't matter," I rasped.
"Get her something to drink," Mace snapped.
"We don't have anything in the car."
A minute later, Mace pulled into a gas station and jerked his head at the convenience store attached. "Aiden, go grab some drinks and some food."
Aiden headed inside and Finn got out of the car to follow him. I was alone in the enclosed space with the man who had made the ultimate decision to get rid of me.
For a long moment, we sat in silence. My body itched to flee the car, to run into the forest and get as far away from all alphas as possible. But I knew he would catch me in seconds.
"I'm sorry, Li." His words weren't what I expected.
"What?"
"I said I'm sorry. We made a mistake. We never should have given you up."
The other guys came back, plastic bags in hand, and piled back into the vehicle. Aiden handed me a bottle of gingerale, my favorite drink back when I'd been theirs.
My hands were too weak to open the bottle and I twisted the cap futilely until Aiden gently took it and opened it for me. He handed back the cold bottle and I held it for a second to let the worst of the gas out before I brought it to my mouth.
The cool, sparkling liquid soothed my scratchy throat. I hadn't realized just how thirsty I was until the gingerale. In seconds, I'd chugged half the bottle, suddenly feeling more alive. The soda sloshed unpleasantly in my stomach, but it was better than dying of thirst.
"Thank you," I said quietly, twisting the cap back on and turning the bottle in my hands.
"Get some rest," Mace told me. "We need to discuss some things when we get home."
I had no idea how far home was, but I didn't care. I wouldn't be there for long anyway, just enough time to recover. If I stayed the ORC would send someone after me, I was certain. There was no way I could go back to the heat dens or Pack Parker.