6. Opal
Chapter six
Opal
T he car pulls up outside the pack house, and just when I thought I would never see it ever again.
There’s the porch swing, swinging for no one in a lonely breeze, and the familiar tree that’s perfect for a tree house.
This house was never mine, and yet the word still rings through my head.
Home.
It's just a shame I have to come back here as a prisoner and not as an honored member of the pack.
Reed has forbidden Zayden from talking to me, and the Omega concedes as he sulks in the front seat beside his hulking Alpha.
I sit in the backseat, arms and legs bound like a criminal.
I guess that is what I am.
I shouldn’t even be alive. The governor should have had me killed, yet he honored Reed’s request to take me home as a prisoner.
I was never Reed’s Omega. But I guess I am still contracted to this pack.
Fuck. I can’t go in that house; I cannot face Levi and Magnus.
I couldn’t bear to see the look of betrayal on their faces.
Zayden doesn’t speak as he unfastens his belt, slamming the car door after him as he stomps toward the house, and my heart breaks.
I know he’s not mad at me, but it still hurts to see him walking away from me.
Reed is right to keep us apart. I don’t even trust myself at this point.
The warden cut all ties with me, but if he ever finds a way to reforge our bond, then who knows what will happen.
He may force me to kill Zayden.
Reed sighs, turning around in his seat to glare at me. I ignore him, keeping my gaze downcast.
Shame prickles my cheeks.
No doubt he is loving every moment of this. Was it not Reed who warned the others from the start about me?
The Acute knew what I was all along, and I bet he is so smug about it.
And now, he gets to have his revenge.
He will make me suffer. Take away all comfort for lying to the pack and trying to kill his leader.
“Home sweet home, Trouble.”
Trouble. I’ve never heard a more perfect description of me.
“What? No sass this time?”
I purse my lips, turning my face away from him.
That girl is dead. He’s dreaming if he thinks he can bring her back.
Reed scoffs, climbing out of the car. He yanks the door open beside me and yanks me out the car with my arms and legs still bound.
He at least gives me back my legs so I can walk, but my wrists remain tied in front of me as he marches me toward the porch steps.
There’s a commotion inside the house as we go through the door, but I keep my eyes on the floor, too afraid to meet anyone’s eye.
I’d prefer to go back to my cell at the prison than face this pack again.
I let them all down.
“Opal!”
That was Magnus, but Reed just growls, tugging me toward the kitchen and down the basement steps.
I should have known they wouldn’t give me back my room or my nest.
“Reed, let’s talk about—” Levi begins, but Reed cuts him off with another snarl as he hauls me down the basement steps.
There’s a simple cot down here, but it’s bare and devoid of any character.
Hardly a nest.
Reed yanks me toward the bed, pulling out a Swiss Army knife to cut my binds loose. But then he produces a set of handcuffs, and he really is full of surprises.
Ropes, handcuffs, knives…
Who knew he could be so kinky?
The Alpha fastens the handcuffs to the bed and then storms back up the steps.
“You are not to move from that spot.”
Well, where else would I go? He just handcuffed me.
Idiot.
He vanishes up the stairs, and I hear them all arguing.
“Reed, let’s just hear her out!” Magnus cries.
Reed’s growl even reaches me down in the basement, and a shudder runs through me.
“Have you forgotten that she tried to kill our governor? That Omega is nothing but trouble. I was right all along, but none of you listened to me.”
“Oh, so you’re rubbing it in our faces. Is that it, Reed? You want us to apologize?” Magnus snarls.
“No. I just want you both to respect my authority in this manner. That Rogue is mine… and I will be seeing to her imprisonment from here on out. No one is allowed to go near her except me. Do I make myself clear?”
“Who gave you the order?” Levi asks, and it’s a genuine question.
“The governor.”
No one argues after that, and it seems Reed has them beaten.
After a while, one of them leaves as I hear their footsteps cut across the kitchen. “I’m going to check on Zayden. See how he is holding up,” Magnus says.
Zayden.
I truly did let him down.
He looked ready to kill Oliver before, and look at what I have done to him. I have turned him into a mess.
I’ve broken that Omega.
I am getting exactly what I deserve, and I lie down on the cot as best as I can as I shut my eyes.
It's not easy with my right arm stretched up above me, but I just want to switch off.
So, I grab the cold, scratchy bedsheets and hide myself away from the world.
Some hours pass when the door opens up above. I don’t have to look to know who it is.
Reed places something down on the bed beside me, but I don’t look up from my blankets.
The Alpha stares at me for some time before he scoffs, thudding up the stairs yet again.
When he’s gone, I pull the blankets away from my head and find that plate of food.
One sandwich, a green apple, and a block of Swiss cheese.
But I don’t eat it.
It is more than I deserve.