33
Phoenix
I darted out of the Airbnb, the tie on my robe flapping wildly in the wind.
My feet ached as they slammed against the cold pavement.
No shoes, no wallet, just my phone clutched tightly in my hand.
In hindsight, it wasn’t the smartest idea, but I didn’t care.
I couldn’t be there anymore. I needed to get away—far away—before Zeph and Kage stopped fighting long enough to notice I was gone.
The streets blurred as I ran, one after another, my breath coming out in ragged gasps.
I wasn’t even sure where I was going, but I knew I couldn’t stop.
Not yet.
Not until I put enough distance between us so that they couldn’t catch up.
The cold bit at my toes, and the thin robe did little to protect me from the biting wind, but it didn’t matter.
I pressed on, pushing myself harder until my legs started to shake.
I turned down another street and slowed to a stop when I spotted a small bakery.
The sweet smell of freshly baked bread filled the air, wrapping around me like a lifeline.
I sank down against the brick wall beside the building, my body trembling from the cold and from everything that had just happened.
I wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to pull myself together.
I needed to think, to figure out what to do next.
My mind raced, spinning with everything I’d overheard.
Zephyr’s betrayal, Kage’s lies, and the way they’d made decisions without even including me.
It wasn’t just Zephyr who had shattered me—it was all of them.
The Alphas who I had let in, who I thought might actually care about me, had decided I wasn’t worth keeping around.
The connection I thought we had was all in my head.
I fumbled for my phone, desperate to call Wren, to hear her voice, to make some sort of plan.
But my hands shook so badly I nearly dropped it.
Tears blurred my vision, and I choked on a sob.
The door to the bakery swung open, and a sweet, concerned voice broke through my haze. “Are you okay, love?”
I looked up through my tears to see a Beta woman standing in the doorway, her apron dusted with flour and her face filled with genuine concern.
“I’m… I’m fine. I’ll be gone in a minute,”
I stammered, wiping at my face with the sleeve of my robe. My voice cracked, and the words felt hollow, even to me.
“Nonsense,”
she said kindly as she stepped toward me. “Come inside. You’re freezing. I’ll make you a cup of tea, and you can stay as long as you need.”
Before I could protest, she gently helped me to my feet and guided me inside the warmth of the bakery.
The heat hit me instantly, and my body sagged with exhaustion as I sank into one of the chairs near the window.
She disappeared behind the counter, and I took a shaky breath, pulling my phone into my lap.
I had to call Wren.
With trembling fingers, I dialed her number. Each ring felt like a lifetime as I waited for her to pick up. When she finally did, her voice was warm and familiar, instantly soothing some of the tension coiled in my chest.
“Phoenix? What’s going on? Are—”
“I need you, Wren,”
I whispered, my voice barely holding together as I clutched the phone to my ear. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go. I just… I just need you.”
I could hear the concern in her voice, but she kept it calm, grounding. “Okay, Phoenix. I’m here. Tell me where you are, and I’ll sort it out. We’ll figure this out together, I promise.”
The tears I had been holding back finally spilled over, and I couldn’t stop them. “They don’t want me,”
I choked out, the words bitter on my tongue. “None of them do.”
“Oh, honey,”
Wren soothed. “Just breathe for me, okay? Your location tag says you’re somewhere called Buchanan, is that right?”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. Wren would fix it. She always did.
I could hear her typing furiously on the other end of the line as she talked. It was comforting in its own way, knowing she was already making plans, already figuring out how to get me out of here. “Okay, sis, you’re at a bakery? Stay there. I’m looking into flights out of Charlotte. I can get you on the next one home.”
I nodded again, though it was pointless, my voice coming out small. “Yeah, I’m at a bakery. Just… sitting here.”
“Good, good,”
Wren replied, her typing pausing for a second as she probably checked flight times. “But… wait, hold on. That might be the first place they look.”
Her voice lowered in concern. “We need to be smart about this.”
My stomach twisted at the thought of Zephyr or the others coming to find me. Part of me wanted them to. The other part? I couldn’t bear to face them.
“What about Dove?”
Wren’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.
“She’s at her place in Atlanta right now. I can get a driver to you in less than an hour. It’s a seven-hour drive to her, but that might give you enough time to clear your head, and they’ll never expect you to head that far south.”
I blinked, the suggestion sinking in.
Atlanta.
Dove could easily get me a room in one of her luxury hotels closer by, but Wren’s idea was better.
The thought of being alone in a hotel room didn’t sit right with me.
What I needed wasn’t a fancy suite; I needed my sister.
I imagined being wrapped in my sister Dove’s arms, far from the Alphas, far from the wreckage of my heat and the betrayal that followed.
Atlanta.
It felt so far from everything that had just happened, and it sounded like the escape I desperately needed.
I let out a slow breath, my decision made.
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s better. I’ll go to Dove’s place.”
“Alright,”
Wren said, the sound of more typing filling the brief silence. “I’m booking the driver now. He’ll be there in less than an hour. Just hang tight until then, okay?”
“Okay,”
I whispered, even though a part of me still felt like I was falling apart at the seams. But at least now I had a plan. A way out.
Wren’s voice softened as she sensed my hesitation. “You’ll be safe, Phoenix. I promise. Just stay put, and I’ll make sure you get to Dove’s without any issues.”
I thanked my sister and hung up. The sound of the bakery around me came back into focus. The clink of cups, the hum of conversation. Life moving on while mine felt like it was crumbling beneath me.
The Beta woman returned with a steaming cup of tea, setting it down in front of me with a gentle smile. “Here you go, love. You look like you’ve been through it.”
“Thank you,”
I whispered, wrapping my hands around the warm mug, the heat sinking into my frozen skin.
“You just stay as long as you need,”
she said softly, giving my shoulder a comforting pat before heading back to the counter.
I stared down into the tea, the steam swirling up around me, and for the first time since I ran, I let myself breathe. But even with a driver on the way, even with the warmth of the bakery around me, the hollow ache inside my chest didn’t fade.
They didn’t want me.
Not really. And that truth hurt more than I could bear.
◆◆◆
The drive to Dove’s felt endless. I stared blankly out the window, watching the world blur by, but all I could see were the haunting memories of the last few days. The heat, the desperation, the overwhelming connection I thought I had forged with the Alphas—all of it tainted now.
I shifted uncomfortably in the back seat, curling into myself. My mind kept replaying the moment I overheard Zephyr on the phone, his cold, emotionless voice talking about firing me. The memory of his words sent a fresh wave of pain through me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the tears to stay back.
I thought we had something. No, I knew we had something. In the nest, during the worst of my heat, I felt it—a connection. Thank fuck I hadn’t let them bite me and bond me. My Omega had been so close to the surface, desperate for her Alphas, craving their touch, their presence. I thought Zephyr had felt it too when he finally gave in, when he finally came to me.
But now… it felt like a lie. Like I had forced him into something he didn’t want. Maybe that was all it was for him. A duty, an obligation. I had heard him say it—we all agreed. Was it a mistake? Had I read everything wrong?
The drive felt colder somehow, like the chill in my bones had settled and wouldn’t leave. I hugged myself tighter, trying to find warmth, but it was useless.
None of it mattered now. They were done with me.
I tried to shake off the memories, but they clung to me like a second skin. Parker washing me in the shower, so tender and caring. Kage pulling me into his side, purring to soothe me as I drifted off to sleep. For the first time in what felt like forever, I had felt wanted. I had felt like I belonged somewhere. And then it all came crashing down.
Rejected. Again. Like I wasn’t worth choosing. Like I wasn’t enough.
Just like her. Just like the woman who gave birth to me and decided I was nothing. That old wound cracked wide open, bleeding into every thought, every breath.
I wanted to run. I wanted to drown it all out. The pain, the shame, the emptiness clawing at my insides. God, I wanted a drink. Just to forget. Just for a minute.
The driver hadn’t said much during the trip, for which I was grateful. I didn’t have the energy to explain why I was fleeing some small town, dressed in nothing but a robe and clutching my phone like a lifeline. It wasn’t the smartest decision, leaving the Airbnb like that, but I hadn’t been thinking clearly.
I leaned my head against the cool window, the rumble of the car almost soothing in its steadiness. The further we drove, the more lost I felt.
Dove would understand. She had to. I had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. I needed to feel safe, to feel like someone was on my side.
By the time we pulled into Dove’s street, the sun was starting to set, casting a soft orange glow over the quiet neighborhood.
As we stopped in front of her driveway, I didn’t move right away. I sat there, staring at the front door. It was strange, how I could feel both so numb and so raw at the same time.
I needed Dove. I needed someone to tell me that it would be okay, that I wasn’t crazy for feeling this way. But deep down, I wasn’t sure anything could fix what was broken inside me.
The driver cleared his throat softly, breaking me out of my thoughts. “We’re here, Miss.”
I nodded, offering him a weak smile as I opened the door and stepped out. As I walked up the path to my sister’s front door, I could only hope I would find the refuge I so desperately needed.