Chapter 34 Lucy
LUCY
I should feel scared, right?
And I shouldn’t want to be here?
What I should be raced through my mind. A sane person wouldn’t have this sensation in their belly, like building warmness waiting to be released. These Alphas were supposedly anything but tender, yet I couldn’t quit imagining a thrilling life with them by my side.
The transport van shuddered to a stop in the driveway. The gate was sliding closed behind us. Trapped. I laughed quietly, the irony of it all crashing down. I’d traded a cage to die in with a cage to live in, and I wondered if it would be worth it.
“Hang tight for a minute, Lucy.” The driver—the same medical tech from the plane—said, cutting the engine and sliding out of the vehicle. The nurse, also from the flight, shot a smile over her shoulder and disembarked too.
It was hard to sit still as I waited for this next chapter in my life to start.
My real life. I buzzed with nervous energy by the time the double back doors of the van opened.
The tech and nurse stood just outside, one gripping a tablet and a red medical bag, the other holding a second environmental suit and helmet.
Did that mean I’d have to stay in the protective gear longer?
I hoped not. Behind them, I saw the suitcase from Eros, handle pulled up, wheels ready to roll towards DemonX’s home.
I’d half expected it to disappear on the way.
The clothes inside were so soft and wonderful.
I didn’t feel like I deserved to keep them.
I frowned, then my eyes flicked back to the spare TEPU suit.
“Why do I need two?” I asked slowly, waiting for the kind of news I was oh-so-used-to. You’re not doing as well as we thought, Lucy. It’s just a hiccup, don’t worry. The medicine will work soon. We re-ran the tests and they’re concerning.
“It’s purely a precaution in case the one you’re wearing malfunctions before you’re acclimated.” The nurse beamed at me. “Don’t worry.”
She said it like it was the easiest thing in the world—not to worry. Just forget two plus decades of doing exactly that every day of every year. All I could do was nod at her. Healthy people never did understand, not really.
They helped me out, both taking one of my gloved hands.
After a quick check that my suit was working normally, we began walking.
They left the suitcase by the van. Did they do that in case the men didn’t allow me to stay here?
A chill seeped in through the thin neoprene, but it was nothing compared to Seattle.
The Eros tech and nurse stayed by my side, matching my pace.
The house was industrial and unwelcoming, a fortress rather than a home.
Sleek gray siding. Thick wood columns framing the slate steps which led up to an oppressive door, bars over its rectangular window.
I could see no movement inside. No flutter of curtains or separation of blinds as someone stared outward.
Were the Alphas even here? Had they purposefully left, knowing I was coming? If so, it was a shitty start.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up then, and somehow, I knew someone was watching, regardless of the evidence otherwise.
Closer. Closer. Step after step. The suit felt tighter each time my suit-hidden shoes hit gravel.
If they were here, why hadn’t they come out by now?
I willed the door to open.
Open, I mentally urged the door. Please want me, I mentally urged my unseen Alphas. Please let this go well, I begged the universe.
My mind kept racing, prayer after prayer sent out to anyone who had ears.
When the door finally started swinging inward, my heartbeat stuttered.
All I saw were outlines at first, the light at their backs spilling out to war with the light outside. One by one, they stepped onto the porch, coming into stark relief.
The air thickened around me, pressing against the material encasing my body.
I stopped moving, rooting to the ground.
I blinked up at the men, my scent matches, and the clear visor barring me from the outside made me angry—as if it wasn’t clear at all and it was keeping me from seeing the details of these men.
The nurse and tech had to each take my elbow, guiding me forward, or else I might have become a permanent fixture in DemonX’s yard.
Every inch nearer helped me focus on a new detail.
Auburn hair glinting bronze.
Thick, warm-hued lips.
Startling blue eyes.
Silver streaking dark locks.
Black inked across biceps.
Jagged scars peeking out from hidden places.
So tall.
So many muscles.
So… angry looking.
My breath hitched as thrill tainted by anxiety twisted my gut. Would they welcome me, or chew me alive? My pulse pounded. Maybe I was a little scared.
We stopped at the bottom of the steps. The tech started talking. I heard my name spoken, but I couldn’t focus on the rest of his words. He mounted the risers, holding out the tablet. The man with shaggy brown hair took it.
“Lucy. What a fucking fragile name,” he commented dryly as he signed the screen.
I zoned out, feeling like spoiled meat on a supermarket shelf.
The other Alphas didn’t comment. They just signed, one by one, accepting their package. Package, that word echoed in my brain. I shook my head a little, coming down to Earth.
“—so it should be in your email,” the nurse was saying, “from my supervisor. Lucy needs to follow the acclimation process, or she’ll have long-term issues living here.
Once the suit light turns green, she can take that off and begin the daily medicines Eros provided.
That regiment will last three months, and then she’ll just need a rescue inhaler and nutritional support. ”
“Sounds like she should have stayed in Seattle.” The Alpha with bottle black hair shrugged. My gaze traveled down his face, past his sharp jaw, down to the pecs pressing against his cotton tee.
Xander. That was Xander.
I focused, trying to remember the videos and photographs that I’d poured over at Eros.
Kane, incredibly dark eyes, light hair, the most tattoos.
Nitro, the redhead, hazel eyes, a manic look in his eyes.
Fallon, storm grey eyes and silver streaks through naturally black hair.
Asher, the electric blue eyes, shaggy ash brown hair, crooked smile.
The Alphas stayed quiet for a while. They listened, or acted like they were listening, as the nurse and tech rattled off more information.
Finally, when the Eros employees ran out of words, Xander’s voice came to life once more.
“Now that you’ve told us everything we already knew,” he spoke slowly, gaze darkening with each syllable, “I’ll remind you, and by all means remind your superiors,” he said the word superiors with venom, “that this is a trial period only.”
I was aware that DemonX had a contract clause that required them to at least meet and live with potential matches for a while. Hearing him say it, though, confirmed my worst fear—this pack didn’t want me.
Other things were said. Polite goodbyes followed.
The tech handed the man with auburn hair my medicine bag, then he walked back to the vehicle and grabbed my suitcase, rolling it to the edge of the house steps.
The nurse placed the second suit on a lower step when none of the men seemed to want to take it from her, then she patted my shoulder in the way people do when they pity you but can’t afford to get involved.
The male tech just left without a backward glance, not a single kind, parting gesture.
I didn’t move as I heard the van doors open and shut.
I didn’t move as I heard the whine of the gate and the crunch of gravel under tires.
I blinked up at the men, frozen in place for a second time.
"You waitin’ for a damn invitation," Asher barked.
"Maybe she's a medically defunct mute," Kane stared me down, eyes narrowing.
"Wouldn't put it past Eros," Fallon added, “They are masters at fine print and manipulating loopholes.”
“She looks like a fucking astronaut.” There was cruel laughter lacing Nitro’s words.
I bristled when Nitro threw my medicine bag to Asher—who caught it easily—then jogged down the steps, wrapping one arm around my waist and digging fingers sharply into my side. “Come on, Lucy. Home sweet home awaits.”
He didn’t give me a choice. He forced me up the stairs, nearly lifting my feet from the ground when I didn’t comply fast enough.
He all but pushed me through the front door.
The other men were already inside, watching me from various positions lining the foyer.
No one had grabbed my suitcase or the spare suit.
I wanted to say something, but the looks of disdain on all their faces made my throat close.
This was what I wanted, I reminded myself, I could have let Doctor Swann fight for me so I could find a different match, but I didn’t. I chose this.
The door closed behind me with a resounding thud.
As if on cue, my surroundings began to really reveal itself.
Even though I was breathing filtered air with supplemental oxygen, the scent of gas somehow permeated.
It shouldn’t smell like that, not inside a house.
I bit my lip looking from side to side, wondering if the source of the smell was near.
I saw nothing except the Alphas and dozens of photographs lining the entrance walls.
At first, I dismissed the framed pictures.
On second glance, surprise flowed through me.
I moved closer to one of the walls, the images drawing me forward.
My eyes locked onto a snapshot of Nitro—his shoulder pierced by a knife, his eyes alight with a fierce thrill.
I lifted my gloved hand to trace over the knife.
A strange, unwarranted pain made my own shoulder pulse.
A phantom wound. It faded as quickly as it came to life.
“I bet that hurt,” I breathed out in awe.