Chapter 6
DAWN
Three sets of caramel eyes stared down at me. I’d had this dream once, where they all crowded around me, but instead of concern in their eyes, it was love and more than a little lust.
“You have to remember, wolves aren’t like bears and other shifters.
There are a lot of us, and we aren’t about to go extinct anytime soon.
Because of that, our society operates differently than that of bears.
” Her eyes moved to Talbot. “And that includes how Omegas are viewed, as well as kids. They aren’t…
revered like they are here. With you guys. ”
I sucked in a deep breath. “It was just after we met at the gathering. It was the first one for my pack, and we’d basically been ordered to go by the Shifter Council—or else.
They even offered to pay because we’d put them off for so many years, telling them we were poor, so we went, and Alpha Derrick made everyone come on the Shifter Council’s dime. ”
I gave them a lopsided grin. “It was the best day of my life. I’d never been to anything like that before.
All the other shifters, the sounds, and the atmosphere.
Plus, I met these two amazing bear shifter twins.
” I couldn’t help the wistful note in my voice.
“Best thing that ever happened to me. My Alpha said all the right things, even if they were an out and out lie. Pretty sure he would have left me at home, except someone had let it slip that he had two Omegas in his pack, and he was required to bring us.”
The old Omega had died in a horrific way not long after, but I left that part out.
I wouldn’t need that story as evidence in a moment, and I didn’t want to bring that brutality to the front of my brain either.
“It was probably partially my fault for being too happy and stepping out of my place. The Alpha noticed me, and not in a good way. On top of that, despite his best efforts not to seem like the mean, backwater hick he is, the Shifter Council found a reason to reprimand him about the pack’s financial stability.
Good for the pack, but not so good for me.
He decided it was time to work out his Alpha aggression, and I was the most convenient punching bag.
” I sucked in a deep breath through my nose.
“I probably could have taken that. After all, the old Omega told me that was our role now in the pack, but then my aunt’s cubs had revealed their designations—an Alpha boy, a beta girl, and a tiny Omega.
You see, Derrick and his enforcers had also been making connections at the gathering too, and they noted the interest other shifters had in me, an Omega.
I know they are all but extinct in most other species.
Ours is the only one that can churn them out with any kind of reliability, I guess.
I’m kind of mad at the moon goddess for that,” I told Talbot, whose explanation about us being gifts from the goddess kind of stung when it was measured against reality.
“So he came up with a plan and kept it to himself for nearly five years—or at least within his close circle of fucking assholes,” I growled.
“His first step was to marry me off within the pack. Stephen was everything you’d want an enforcer wolf to be—big, strong, and as dumb as a box of rocks.
When he fought, he did so until the other person never got up again.
What my Alpha didn’t know, though, was that Stephen was actually fucking sweet as hell to me behind closed doors.
I think his beast was a little… feral, too strong, and with me, it relaxed. So being with Stephen wasn’t so bad.”
It wasn’t love, but it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. I didn’t tell that to the three men watching me though.
“I got pregnant almost straight away. I also lost it immediately. It took my Alpha a little while to remember that he couldn’t beat me and use me as a baby making machine at the same time.
” A low growl made the whole room vibrate, and I swallowed hard and continued.
So far, no one had interrupted me, though the anger in the room was rising.
“Stephen eventually put his foot down and made the Alpha stop lashing out at me, at least when I was pregnant, and the Alpha did. He stopped.”
The air in my lungs felt like it was made of acid as I forced out this next part. “Once again, I got pregnant. There is no such thing as wolf birth control. It was going fine. I was seven months along… then the Alpha sold the pups.”
“What?” Franklin whispered.
“My aunt’s pups, the little Alpha, beta, and Omega.
I’d taken too long to produce what he wanted, so he sold his own children.
One day they were there, the next, some other kind of shifter—I’m still not sure what—appeared as night fell, bundled them into the back of his van, and drove off.
” My heart was cracking in my chest, or maybe it was a heart attack, but it didn’t matter, because I had to get this next bit out.
“They were crying and… I couldn’t believe he was doing it, you know?
My aunt was screaming. I could hear the pups crying, and I just started beating on him.
He’d ruined my entire fucking life, and now he was selling the pups into whatever kind of fucked up situation.
The Alpha didn’t take it well. This time, he didn’t pull back so he didn’t kill me.
He was out of control, until Stephen grew some balls and pulled him off.
I thought he was saving me, but it turns out, he wanted to save his pup.
They thought I was as good as dead, so Stephen got a knife and—” Bile rose in my throat at the memories.
“He tried to cut the baby out. It was too small to survive, even as a shifter baby, so in the end, I was gutted, my baby was dead, and they threw me in the woods like I was yesterday’s trash. ”
I shook my head, tears rolling down my cheeks even though I said it all so neutrally.
The shock was still like acid in my stomach.
“They probably expected me to be picked off by cougars or something, I guess. It took me thirteen days to heal enough to move, and another two to crawl to the cave where I stashed the letters you sent me and the ticket. Another two days were spent in that fucking cave, thinking I was going to die. Eventually, I made it to town, onto a plane, and then to your doorstep. You know the rest.”
The silence in the room was loud. I was basically panting, my emotions threatening to choke me, and one of the guys was still emitting a low, rumbling growl that made all the hair on my body stand on end.
Talbot lifted the cup of water to my lips, facing the straw toward me, and it was then that I realized my mouth was bone dry, but I was crying.
I took a sip of water and wiped at my eyes.
It was too much for Talbot in the end. He gently picked me up and sat me in his lap, holding me so close that I could feel the thundering of his heart against my arm.
I should protest or move away. I should do so many things.
Instead, I tilted my head into the neck of a man who was almost a complete stranger and breathed in his woodsy scent. I never could explain the connection I felt with them. The gathering was the happiest day of my life, and these two perfect twins were what made it so.
Talbot just held me silently, rubbing circles on my back, and I was totally encased in his strength. That should probably freak me out, since he could snap me like a twig without even breaking a sweat, but it had the opposite effect. It made me feel safe and protected.
Finally, I could hear someone shifting about, and I lifted my head from Talbot’s chest. Vance looked… devastated.
“I should have tried harder to get you out of there. I’m sorry.” He slumped in the recliner, his head hung low, one big hand covering his eyes like he could shy away from the image I’d created.
I frowned, because the point of telling my story hadn’t been to make him feel bad. I was my own person, even if I was an Omega. I made my own choices, and they’d ended badly. Vance, a man I barely knew, had no blame in that. Before I could tell him so, though, he barked orders at Franklin.
“Bring her to a more comfortable bed. Actually, take her to the room at the other end of the den where she’ll be closer.
” He looked at me, and his eyes appeared tortured.
“The doctor said once you woke up, you could move around. You’ll be more comfortable up there, and we’ll get you settled in.
I…” He trailed off. Instead of saying anything else, he just turned and left.
I watched the door shut behind him, his huge shoulders shifting as he moved down the hallway.
Talbot hefted me into his arms like I weighed nothing. “Come on, sunrise. Let’s get you a nicer den.”
He strode out of the infirmary, Franklin behind us. He still hadn’t spoken, but he didn’t need to say anything.
I saw my pain reflected in his eyes.