Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
REID
The rich scent of coffee woke me, but I didn’t trust it. I blinked quickly to clear my vision and took in my surroundings. The sun streamed through the window, blindingly bright, a floorboard creaked in the hall, and the walls seemed to close in around me.
Nothing was familiar, and every sound made me curl even more tightly into myself, desperate to hide from whatever threat would appear first.
I knew how these things went. Any perceived kindness was a trap. If they intended to offer me coffee or breakfast, it was because they wanted something from me in return.
Checking that I still wore the sweatpants and T-shirt I’d been given last night, I allowed myself to experience a kernel of relief that it didn’t seem like anything was amiss.
Sleeping in unfamiliar circumstances was risky but I’d been too tired to resist and the bed they’d given me was the most comfortable I’d been on in months.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Melinda breezed into the room and came straight to the bedside, carrying a cup of coffee and a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, and toast. She set it on the nightstand. “Here’s your breakfast.”
I eyed the food warily. My stomach grumbled but I didn’t reach for it. For all I knew, the meal could be poisoned.
“Go on,” she urged. “I made it myself.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, evaluating. She seemed genuine; so far she’d been kind to me, but perhaps that was just to make me amenable to their plans.
With a sigh, she picked up a strip of bacon and popped it into her mouth. “It’s perfectly safe.”
I didn’t point out that she could have taken the antidote to the poison before coming in here, or that she might have a vial of it waiting outside the room to drink as soon as she left.
Melinda started to walk away and for a moment, I thought it would be that easy to get rid of her, but then she dragged a chair over and sat a few feet from me.
“Would you like to hear how the other omegas who were there with you are?” she asked, crossing her legs and smoothing the front of her neatly ironed pants.
I shrugged. I should care, but I was in survival mode. If something wasn’t a direct threat, I couldn’t summon the energy to feel much of anything about it.
I sat there, staring into space as she told me about how they’d gotten in touch with the families of two of the captive omegas and moved one into the local Omega House. She must have been paying a lot of attention to have picked up as much information as she had.
Hunger gnawed at my stomach. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. The pack hadn’t treated me as badly as the other omegas, but I was still only given two basic meals per day and the attack had happened before anyone had brought me dinner.
My stomach gurgled again and Melinda broke off a piece of the toast on my plate and ate it, as if to demonstrate that it wouldn’t kill me in horrifying and unusual ways.
“I’m just going to leave this here,” she said, rising to her feet. “I need to check in on my family. My son, Danny, was one of the omegas kidnapped yesterday.”
“I’m sorry for that,” I murmured, keeping my head down as shame curled through me. I’d helped with the kidnappings. I hadn’t wanted to, but with Trent twisting our bond to control me, there had been little I could do to resist.
She smiled. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. You take care while I’m gone.”
With that, she swept out of the room. I glanced through the door as she left the small, single bedroom I’d been shut in.
They’d locked the door last night and the window didn’t open, so there had been no way for me to escape without shattering it.
That would have immediately alerted the bear shifter doctor, who I’d been informed lived above the clinic.
I didn’t fancy being chased down by a bear, so I’d left it alone.
Now, however, I couldn’t help but notice that she hadn’t locked the door. If I tried to run, would I be able to sneak past the nurse and the doctor before they noticed?
There were footsteps in the hall and then the lock snicked into place.
Damn.
I lay back and stared at the ceiling, doing my best to ignore the fact that stomach acid was eating a hole in my gut. After a while, I grabbed a piece of bread and sniffed it. It smelled normal. Not that I knew if poison had a particular scent.
Hesitantly, I took a bite. I chewed, swallowed, and waited.
When nothing bad happened, I took another bite.
Then all of a sudden I found myself wolfing down the toast, slowing only when my parched throat made it difficult to swallow.
I sipped the glass of water on the nightstand, hoping it hadn’t been drugged, and settled back against the pillows.
I wasn’t full, but at least I was no longer mentally foggy because my brain had no fuel.
I must have drifted off because a knock on the door woke me. I frowned. Who on earth would knock before entering? It wasn’t as if I had any say in who came or went.
I stayed silent and a moment later the door eased open and a face peeked through. I relaxed slightly as I realized the intruder was an omega. For a moment, I’d worried it might be that alpha, returned to claim me.
The omega padded inside and closed the door. He was taller than average with brown hair, brown eyes, and a splash of freckles across his nose. There was something familiar about him.
It took me a moment to place him, but when I did, I shuffled up in bed, dragging my knees in close and reaching out as if to defend myself. Useless, since I didn’t have access to my magic and this guy—omega or not—could easily beat me to a pulp.
“Hi, Reid.” He gave me a bright smile. “Don’t be scared. I didn’t come here to hurt you. I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am that you lost your mate.”
“I hated Trent,” I spat, refusing to acknowledge the ache in my soul that said otherwise.
The omega shrugged. “You were still bonded. I’ve heard losing that connection can be very painful.”
It was. Not that I’d admit as much. I’d been told about people who’d passed away soon after losing their mate because they simply lost the will to live. That wouldn’t be me. I was going to live for decades purely to spite that fucking asshole who’d trapped me.
The omega edged closer until he was able to sit on the chair that Melinda had vacated. “I’m Danny.”
Ah, Melinda’s son.
I didn’t speak. I owed him an apology, but first I wanted to know why he was here. Hopefully, if I waited long enough, he’d tell me.
Danny eyed the untouched egg and bacon and his nose wrinkled. “If you’re more of a sweets person, I can bring you a pastry. I’m a baker.”
I cocked my head. Why would he do that? I’d literally helped kidnap him.
“Or not.” He shrugged again, as if it didn’t matter. “Momma said you aren’t very talkative.”
“I don’t trust her.” I didn’t trust any of them. Why would I?
He beamed, apparently pleased by my mistrust. What a strange omega. He snatched a piece of bacon from the plate and ate it. “No poison, I promise.”
I narrowed my eyes. It was less likely he’d have been prepared with an antidote than Melinda, who’d made the food, so perhaps I could believe him. For now, at least.
Tentatively, I reached for the plate and ate a small piece of bacon. Nothing seemed amiss, so I tried a little more.
Danny continued smiling, as if I’d made his day. “I thought you might like to know a bit about Grizzly Ridge. That’s where we are now.”
I nodded, having already realized that, and continued slowly eating.
“We’re a mixed clan. Our family are bear shifters, although my mate is a wolf.” His expression became dreamy. “We only officially mated last night.”
I scowled. He’d willingly let an alpha have control over him?
He shook himself. “Anyway, like I was saying, there are lots of different types of shifters here. We even have a vampire in town and a handful of witches. No warlocks yet though, so you’ll be the first. I have three brothers.
They’re all alphas. One is the sheriff and the other two are on the local search and rescue team.
You already know I’m a baker. What do you do? ”
I didn’t answer. Honestly, I didn’t have an answer to give him.
I’d never had the chance to do anything other than be used for my magic.
I could have been an incredible warlock by now if anyone had ever allowed me to train, but both my clan and the pack had considered that too dangerous—apart from teaching me the basic spells that they wanted to use me for.
The pack didn’t have any other warlocks, but they’d hired one to teach me basic scent and sound masking spells.
Perfect for kidnapping omegas.
“My mate is on the search and rescue team too,” Danny continued, not put off by my silence. “Actually, you might have met him last night. He was part of the raid on the pack house.”
My mind flicked to the image of the wolf bending over me, its teeth dripping with Trent’s blood, its jaws ready to crush my throat.
I shivered. That was Danny’s mate?
“Why would you let him steal your freedom?” I whispered, scared to ask but wanting to understand.
Danny’s face fell. “I love him. The mating bond brings me comfort and joy. It makes me feel connected to him.”
I shook my head. “Alphas just use omegas.”
Perhaps he hadn’t figured that out yet, but he soon would.
Danny sucked his lips into his mouth and his eyes shone with tears. “It shouldn’t be like that. Most alphas don’t treat their omega mates like Trent did. It isn’t like that here. Alphas protect omegas. They cherish them.”
Yeah, I didn’t believe that for a minute. Danny had been brainwashed into thinking what they wanted him to.
“It’s true.” He spoke quietly but urgently. “The alpha who said he was your mate last night—you remember him?”
I gave him a look. How could I forget?
“Right.” He nodded. “He’s my brother. If you were to mate, he’d take such good care of you. He’d put his life on the line to make sure you were safe and happy.”
A spark of anger ignited inside me as I finally realized why Danny was here. He’d been sent in by his brother to soften me up.
Well, it wouldn’t work.
“Get out,” I said bitterly. “Now.”