Pain
Emilia
Oren, Santi, Jude, and Grayson had been texting me, but my eyes were too swollen to really look at the phone.
Then, as icing on the cake, Jake had installed a camera in my room.
I pulled it down the first time, but he threatened to let Rory have me again and I cowered.
There was no way to get on the phone unless I could find a way to conceal it in the bathroom.
When my door unlocked the next morning, I was terrified to step out of my room, but fear of the same thing happening in my room sent me scurrying to the kitchen.
I made breakfast as quickly as possible, then rushed through my chores so I could be safely locked in again.
Whether or not they'd meant for that to be the result of the rape didn't matter, because it worked.
Candace had barely spoken in the week that went by since the incident.
She seemed more subdued around me and when I served dinner, staying as far from Rory as possible, I could see her unease around him as well.
She was his scentmatch, but that might not protect her from his wrath.
I didn't have time to worry about her, though, because I was in even more danger.
Every time one of them lifted a hand, I flinched. My nervous system was running on high any time I was around the men and it only calmed when I was in my room, with the door locked again.
Logically, I knew Rory had access to the keys and could open the door, but it still made me feel safer to be in there. The camera bothered me, though, so I moved my blankets and pillow into the tub and slept there. It was less creepy than someone watching me sleep.
"Why aren't you sleeping in your bed?" Jake demanded one morning at breakfast.
I shrugged.
"Well, move back to the bed. It makes me think you've escaped."
My heart sank. I didn't want to be so exposed.
He frowned at me. "I think that nose is broken, too. We need to set it."
Before I could protest, he had me in the chair and was leaning over me. "Hold on."
Crunch! The noise hit before the pain and when the pain did come, I held it back, my eyes watering with the effort.
"Much better. Don't want your face any more messed up than it already was, right?"
I just ducked my head and returned to the kitchen to wash up. I could hear the others joining Jake at the table while I gobbled up some of the eggs left in the kitchen and started washing. My goal was to get through everything as fast as possible.
When Rory and Jake had left for the day, Candace headed up to her room.
I carried the laundry into the laundry room to put a load of wash on and grabbed the stuff out of the dryer, hauling it to the living room to sort and fold.
The wide table in there made it the perfect place to do that.
But when I saw Daryl sitting in the armchair, I quickly backtracked.
"Wait, Em, come here."
Reluctantly, I returned, my hands shaking a little as I stood in front of him with the basket of clean laundry.
"Sit, you can work in here. I want to talk to you." Daryl gestured at the coffee table.
I perched on the edge of the sofa and dumped the clothes out onto the table. My entire body was tense, ready to explode into action if needed.
Daryl reached for a shirt and I jumped. He frowned.
"I'm not going to hurt you, sweetheart."
Picking up Candace's lingerie, I started to fold rapidly, stacking everything according to whose it was. I would take them all up to their rooms later before I cloistered myself in my own space.
"Look, what Rory did… it was wrong. So wrong." Daryl sounded choked up about it. He reached out to put a hand on my shoulder and I jumped sky high before shifting away.
"You didn't stop him." The words slipped from my mouth before I could stop them from escaping.
Daryl froze.
I finished folding three pairs of pants before he spoke again.
"I'm sorry. You're right, I didn't stop him. I think I was too horrified at what he was doing."
Pain ripped through my chest, making me double over.
It wasn't physical pain, though it certainly felt like it.
The pain was my heart shattering into the final broken pieces.
The process that had begun with a car crash was finalized now as the last person I'd thought cared in this pack, even a little bit, spoke the words that I'd feared.
He hadn't helped me. He had been horrified.
But I'd been the one to have the horrifying thing done to me.
The doorbell rang and I started yet again.
Daryl looked at me and then at the door. "Don't move."
He got up and went to answer it, but the second he opened it, someone shoved him hard and the door slammed against the wall. Dary stumbled backwards.
"What the hell?"
"Emilia!" Jude ran into the room, with Santi and Oren close behind him. Grayson stayed in the doorway, blocking Daryl from intervening.
"What. the. fuck?" Jude skidded to a stop, his eyes locked on my face.
"Oh, no." Oren rushed across the room and dropped to his knees in front of me. "Baby, I'm sorry, we should have come sooner."
"I told you," Jude snarled. "Who did this? Which one?"
When no one responded, he spun and went back to the door to punch Daryl in the face.
"Stop it, Jude!" Santi called out. "Stick to the plan or this won't work."
"He deserves it," Jude said.
"I know, I know, but we can't. Keep cool."
Oren was rubbing my hands in his, worried eyes fixed on my face. "Are you okay? I mean, obviously, you're not, but are you hurt any worse than this?"
I shrugged. I felt numb to everything right now. Even this rescue, if that was what they were doing. No one was trying to get me out of here.
My body started to shiver violently and Santi quickly sat down next to me.
"Can I pick you up?" he asked.
When I nodded, Santi gathered me in his arms, settling me on his lap. Oren climbed up beside us, kissing my hair and running his hand up and down my arm.
"Tell Jacob he can come in," Santi said.
More people. I didn't know these ones. They walked into the house with sure steps, looking around at everything. One took notes while another took photos.
I turned my face into Santi's neck, not wanting to see these strangers.
"We need to get photos of the damage. And a statement," a woman said. She'd settled on the coffee table, far too close for comfort.
"Emilia, we brought these people here to help. We have to prove that this pack is hurting you or you can't go with us."
"What?" I peered up at him. "You won't take me away? Haven't I been violated enough?" My voice was screechy and didn't sound like me.
"Shhh, of course we're taking you away, but they'll come after us. They'll want you back. Just let them take photos, tell them what happened, and we can go."
I finally nodded. What was one more round of humiliation?
The woman took photos of my face, then my hands. "Do you have more injuries under your clothes?"
"I-I don't know." I hadn't looked, I'd just showered blindly and gotten dressed and I hadn't changed since then. I probably smelled horrible.
"Can we get you into the bathroom so I can see?" she suggested carefully.
I shook my head.
"Rory did that," Candace's voice said from the stairs.
Everyone froze.
She walked into the room, looking pale and hugging herself. "We were all mean, but Rory… he's the one who beat her and raped her."
"He did what?" Jude was on his feet, looking wild, his hands clenched in fists.
"We'll have to take her to the hospital for a full kit," the woman decided. "Guys, finish up here, the rest of this investigation will be in the hospital."
"NO!!" I twisted out of Santi's grasp and ran for my room. Thankfully, it was empty. I darted inside and slammed the door shut. I couldn't lock it from this side, but held the knob as someone tried to get in. "Go away!"
Voices erupted on the other side of the door, but faded as I heard Jude yelling in the distance.
I slid down the door, tears pouring down my face.
It was bad enough that Rory and the others had hurt me, but now I was supposed to relive it all while doctors poked and prodded at me? It was all too much.
After a while, the voices quieted and then the house fell silent. Until footsteps walked toward my room. I turned and grabbed the knob, but the person didn't try to open the door. Instead, I heard a thump as they sat down on the floor.
"Hey, Em?" It was Oren's voice that filtered through the door.
"I don't want to talk."
"I know. I'm sorry. We had to get papers in order and jump through all the stupid hoops to get permission to take you. We shouldn't have waited."
"It doesn't matter," I muttered.
"It matters to me. To the guys. Jude is ready to murder your entire pack."
"Let him. But they're not my pack."
"That's right. They're not. If you'll have us, we will be your pack. We're authorized as a safehouse for omegas now and we have permission to take you home. Legally."
"Okay."
"You don't have to go to the hospital," he added. "I know you don't want to. But we need to consider the future. Do you really want Rory walking around, free to go after other omegas?"
I shuddered. "No."
"To put him away, they need your testimony. And evidence."
"I showered. There is no evidence," I told him.
Oren's fingers cracked on the other side of the door and I heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Fuck, I'm sorry, baby."
"You didn't know."
"I should have. When you didn't answer your messages.
" His head thumped lightly against the door.
"They want me to talk you into going to the hospital for the full rape kit and photos.
They want your testimony. I'm not going to make you go through that if you don't want to.
But if you do want to, if you want to make sure Rory can't hurt anyone else, I'll be right there with you for every second of it. "
"No one will believe me anyway," I said quietly. "I'm only an omega."
"They will. That's what OPA does. They put alphas away for crimes against omegas."
"But they need evidence," I whispered.
"Yeah." He sighed. "But I'll take you home right now if you say you want to go."
"I don't want to go to the hospital."
"Okay. Come home with me?"
I stood up and opened the door. Oren scrambled out of the way and got up.
"I don't want to go, but I also don't want him to hurt someone else."
Oren gathered me into a hug, his warmth seeping into my cold, cold body. "I'm so proud of you."
He held my hand as we walked back to the front door, past where Candace and Daryl were standing in the living room. He had his arm around her and she was crying quietly.
Daryl moved as if he wanted to say something but I just ignored him and kept walking. Oren threw him a menacing look and Daryl stepped back, taking Candace with him.
The OPA agents were waiting outside. The female agent looked relieved to see me.
"I'm sorry if we came on too strong," she said.
"Our purpose is to keep you safe, but also to keep other omegas safe.
Your packmates have agreed to testify against Rory, so with your testimony and evidence, we should have a very strong case. "
"They're not her packmates," Oren said, squeezing my hand lightly. "She's ready, but I will be with her at every step of the process."
"Understood." The agent gestured for us to get into the backseat of her car.
With a glance at Santi, Grayson, and Jude, standing on the grass, I clung to Oren and moved toward the car. I just had to get through this and then I could go home with my scentmatches.
We got into the car and Oren fastened my seatbelt. He pulled me against him, tucking me under his arm, making me feel as safe as possible under the circumstances.
At the hospital, we followed the agent inside and I saw that the rest of the pack had shown up and were waiting. Santi came over to give me a hug.
"We're waiting here for you. When you finish up, we'll take you home."
"We're all here," Grayson assured me.
Jude slipped in on my other side, his pale eyes focused on mine as he leaned in. "Don't be scared. I will kill any motherfucker who gets near you again."
"Thanks, Jude." I inhaled deeply, trying to save their scents in the harsh hospital full of cleansers.
"Oh!" Grayson pulled the Ziplock bag out of his pocket. "I found this under your mattress. Take it with you in case you need it."
My eyes felt damp as I took it. These men were what a pack was supposed to look like.
"Come on, let's get this over with." Oren gently guided me to where a nurse waited impatiently.
"You can go now," she told Oren. "We have it from here."
"I'm staying."
"He stays," I said when she looked to me for confirmation.
"Okay, if you want."
Inside the sterile room, I had to strip out of my clothes and hand them over to the agent who bagged them. It was a little uncomfortable being naked in front of Oren, but he stayed beside me, just out of the way and didn't leer at me. Not that I'd expected that kind of behavior from him.
Once the agent had taken all the photos, she had the nurse do the rape kit.
Oren stood facing the head of the bed, right beside me, holding my hand the whole time.
All I had to do was look up into his green eyes and try not to think about what was happening.
He talked to me gently throughout, describing how Jude had nearly gone feral at the thought of my disappearance when I hadn't answered my texts.
"That man will never leave your side. We're going to have to support him because I don't think he'll do any modeling now," Oren chuckled. "You are literally everything he's ever wanted."
"What about you? You're his omega."
Oren grinned, "Sure, but you're his scentmatch."
"He's a beta, can we be scentmatches?"
"Think about it, do you think he's yours?"
"Yes."
"There you go." Oren bent and kissed my forehead just as the nurse finished up.
"The physical part is over, but we still need your testimony," the agent said quietly.
Sitting there in borrowed sweatpants and a T-shirt, I recounted everything I could remember about the attack. It was exhausting, but finally, we were done. Oren led me out to where the others awaited and finally, I could go home.