Chapter 19
NAOMI
The DNA results came back three days later.
Three days of existing in limbo and staying in their home because I was too sore and too emotionally exhausted to face my apartment. The Alphas gave me careful space while simultaneously watching me like I might disappear. Rowan handed me the sealed envelope at breakfast.
"You don't have to open it now," he said quietly. "You can take your time."
I stared at the envelope. Inside was proof.
Confirmation that everything I'd believed about myself was wrong. Or proof that they were lying. That this was all some elaborate manipulation. I’d heard the courier when they’d arrived with news.
Watched him drive away. Whatever was in here was legit and either way, my world was about to change.
"I want to open it now," I said. "I need to know."
Kellan moved to stand behind my chair, close enough that I could feel his presence but not touching. Rowan sat across from me, his expression carefully neutral.
I broke the seal and pulled out the papers.
Clinical. Sterile. Numbers and percentages and technical language that boiled down to one simple truth.
99.9% probability of biological relationship.
I was their daughter. The daughter of two Alphas I hadn’t seen in twenty nine years.
The heir to a bloodline I knew nothing about.
Everything they'd said was true. The woman I'd called mother, who'd raised me, loved me, died protecting me, wasn't my biological mother. She'd been a victim. Just like me. The paper slipped from my fingers.
"Naomi?" Kellan's hand settled on my shoulder.
"It's true." My voice sounded distant, disconnected. "All of it. Everything you said. It's all true."
"I'm sorry," Rowan said quietly.
"For what?" I asked, not sure what he could be apologizing for.
"For you having to find out this way." He paused. "For not finding you sooner."
I looked up at him. "You searched the entire time, though?"
"Yeah, and we never stopped. Never bonded with anyone else." His voice cracked. "Never gave up hope that we'd find you."
They’d searched almost my entire life.
"So someone took me to—what? Sell me? Use me?"
"We don't know their endgame. The investigation went cold years ago. But—" He exchanged a look with Kellan. "We're reopening it. Now that we've found you, we can trace backwards. Figure out who took you. Why."
"And if they come back?" The question came out smaller than I intended.
"Then we protect you," Kellan said firmly. "That's not negotiable."
I wanted to argue and insist I could protect myself. But the truth was, I was terrified. They’d been successful once, what would keep them from doing it again. Everything I'd built, my independence, my plans, my carefully constructed life, felt like sand slipping through my fingers.
"I need air," I said, standing abruptly, "to go home. To my apartment. I need to see something that's mine."
"We'll go with you," Rowan said.
"No. I need to do this alone." I looked at them. "Please give me a few hours. Let me process this."
They didn't look happy about it, but they nodded.
"Take your phone," Kellan said. "Call us if anything feels wrong."
"I will."
I grabbed my jacket and was halfway to the door when my phone rang.
Kira's name flashed on the screen.
"Hey," I answered. "What's going on?"
"Naomi." Her voice was shaking. "You need to get home. Now."
My blood ran cold. "What happened?"
"Mrs. Chen from upstairs called me. Our apartment—someone broke in. Destroyed everything. She said it looks like someone was searching for something."
"I'm on my way."
I hung up and turned to find both Alphas already grabbing their keys.
"We're coming with you," Rowan said. It wasn't a question.
I didn't have the energy to argue.
The apartment looked like a war zone. Furniture overturned. Drawers emptied onto the floor. My carefully organized closet torn apart, clothes scattered everywhere. And on the wall above my bed, spray-painted in red was a sign.
WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. WE'RE COMING.
I stood in the doorway, unable to move or breathe.
"Don't touch anything," Rowan said, his phone already out. "I'm calling the police."
"No police. If this is about me being—" I couldn't finish. "Police can't help with this. They'll just make it worse."
My phone rang again. Danny's name this time.
"Naomi. Thank god." He sounded wrecked. "I'm at the building."
"What happened?"
"Someone broke in last night. Flooded the first floor and basement. They destroyed everything. Months of work. And there's a message for you on the wall. What’s going on?"
"What kind of message?"
"A warning. I can send you a picture."
He did and I sighed.
"I'm on my way."
I hung up and looked at Kellan and Rowan. "My learning center. Someone hit that too."
"We're coming," Kellan said and they followed me out. Kellan asked for the address and he put it into his GPS before pulling off in his big black truck.
The building was worse than the apartment. Water still dripped from the ceiling. The hardwood floors we'd just installed were warped beyond repair. Drywall was destroyed. Electrical work ruined.
And on the wall of what was supposed to be the main classroom, spray-painted in the same red as the apartment was another sign.
YOU CAN'T HIDE. WE WON'T STOP UNTIL WE FIND YOU.
Danny stood in the center of the destruction, looking shell-shocked.
"I'm so sorry," he said when he saw me. He gestured to the mess. "I've already called the insurance company. They'll cover most of it." He swallowed. "What is this about? Who's looking for you?"
"I don't know," I said.
Truthfully, I didn’t know who they were. It was a guess that it was the same kidnappers from before. They knew I'd been found. And they were coming to finish what they'd started.
Rowan's phone rang. He stepped away to answer it, his expression darkening with every word. When he hung up, his eyes met mine.
"That was Taylor. Our general manager at Obsidian." His voice was tight with controlled anger. "Someone robbed our delivery truck this morning. Held the driver at gunpoint."
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"Shaken but unharmed. They didn't take anything from the shipment." He paused. "They asked him where Kellan and I live."
The room tilted.
"They know," I whispered. "They know I'm with you."
"They know we have you," Kellan corrected. "But they don't know where. Our home address isn't on any public records. The driver doesn't know it. They're fishing."
"But they destroyed my apartment. My learning center. They're sending a message."
"Yes."
"What do they want?"
"You," Rowan said bluntly. "They want you back." He stopped. "Or they want you dead so no one else can have you."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"I need to leave," I said. "I need to go somewhere they can't find me."
"No." Kellan's voice was firm. "You're not running. Not from this."
"If I stay, I'm putting you in danger. I'm putting Kira in danger. Everyone I care about—"
"Is already in danger," Rowan interrupted. "The moment we confirmed who you are the clock started ticking. Running won't change that."
"Then what do I do?"
"You let us protect you," Kellan said. "You trust us to keep you safe while we figure out who's behind this and how to stop them."
"I don't—I can't—" I took a deep breath to try to center myself. "Everyone I've ever trusted has either died or lied to me."
"We're not them," Rowan said quietly. "We're not the woman who raised you, as kind as she was. We're not the Alpha who killed her. We're not the people who took you." He moved closer. "We're your mates. And now that we've found you, we're not letting you go."
"Even if I want to go?"
"Even then. Because your safety matters more than your freedom. I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth."
I wanted to fight, to rage against the idea of being controlled, protected, owned. But a larger part knew he was right. I couldn't do this alone.
"Okay," I whispered. "Let’s do this your way."