Chapter 16 #2
“Wait. So, you were meant to find me and Silva? Why? We were eighteen. Why was there even a missing persons case? We had aged out of the system already.”
“It’s mandatory for foster parents to file a report if any of their placements go missing without notice, if they want to keep accepting kids in from the system.
But you’re right, you were already an adult at that time.
They chalked it up to a runaway situation, just two girls who aged out and were free to do as they pleased.
But something tells me that wasn’t what it was. ”
Lexi’s body goes stiff, and I press a kiss to her neck. “You’re safe,” I whisper, and her body relaxes into mine.
“No,” Lexi says stiffly. “It’s not.”
Aiden nods.
“We assumed as much when we couldn’t find you.
No matter what we did, we couldn’t find any evidence that you even existed anymore.
Nothing came up on camera feeds, no leads on the internet.
Nothing. It was too suspicious, and it became our obsession to the point that we left the job and formed our own task force.
We never gave up on finding you both, but in the meantime, we used our talents to help out other Omegas.
Then, just a few weeks ago, we got a hit.
One of our people told us about a little town nestled in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of Colorado.
A town where Omegas could be free and safe to start over.
It was a long shot, but we took it. And well, it’s like the universe was intervening.
” Aiden smiles fondly at Lexi. “We were always meant to find you, Siren.”
Oh, we’re at the pet name stage already. I don’t like it. She’s my Peaches. Not Kitten, not Siren. Peaches.
Lexi looks away, and I know she’s trying to hold it together. This is a lot for her to take in. Knowing what she’s been through, fuck, she must be so overwhelmed.
“I don’t know what to say,” Lexi whispers.
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to let you know why we’re here. I’m sorry about how we found you and that I came on so strong. I’ve been looking for you nearly half my life, Lexi. I hope you can understand why I might have gotten a little overly excited.”
“Why me?” Lexi turns her attention to him. “I’m just some random Omega. Back then, I was some nobody kid. Why not just do what your boss told you to and let the case die?”
“Because we knew. Deep down in our bones, we knew you were out there and that we needed to find you.”
“You’re thirteen years too late for that.” Lexi leans her head against my shoulder. “We didn’t need you to save us because we saved ourselves. After years of living in constant fear of what our lives were going to become, we got out, we fought, we survived, and we built this town.”
“What do you mean?” Aiden’s brows furrow. “You fought to survive? Built this town? You’re telling me you haven’t been here this whole time?”
She snorts. “No. God, I wish, but no.”
“Where were you?” Sloane asks.
“You wanna know why I hate Alphas so much?” Lexi asks.
“When my sister and I were eighteen, we ran from our foster home because it wasn’t safe.
We took what little money we had and tried to start over, but it wasn’t good enough.
We were snatched away in the middle of the night from an abandoned house we were held up in.
Turns out people were watching us, getting information on us. ”
“Who?” Aiden growls, leaning forward in his seat.
“I can’t tell you,” Lexi says strongly. “But they took us and brought us to a place that became our own personal hell. Sure, it seemed like a nice place at first glance. Beats living on the streets, right? Wrong. Because we might have lived in a nice place, been given three meals a day, and slept in our own fancy rooms, but it came at a price.”
“What was the price?” Sloane’s eyes have grown hard with each word I spoke. He’s angry. Not at Lexi, but at what Lexi had to endure.
“The goal was to be sold off to rich, disgusting pieces of shit Alphas. We were forced to take lessons on how to become the perfect Omega.” She laughs, shaking her head.
“More like a glorified sex doll they could use and abuse however they wanted. A breeding mare to give them offspring that would carry on their bullshit legacy. We didn’t choose it, and we didn’t want it.
We’d rather live on the streets, eating out of the trash, than to be sold off like cattle.
So, we came up with a plan and got ourselves out of there. ”
“How?” Aiden’s brows furrow. “Even if you got out, how did they not come looking for you?”
“They did.” Lexi looks away. I know she hates herself for this part, and she will never forgive herself.
But they were victims. Young female Omegas who were just trying to survive.
“One of the girls who escaped with us is good at hacking. She set it up so that she had a drive with everything we needed to put the ringleader behind bars for life, and then gave it to someone she knew. We made them a deal. Leave us alone to start over, and we’d keep our mouths shut.
He knew we weren’t bluffing, and backed away. ”
“What about the other girls? You just left them there?”
“What did you want me to do?” she shouts. “We were trying to survive. We couldn’t have helped them. If we did, we’d have been caught, and we’d all have been fucked. I only cared about getting my sister out. Getting her to safety.”
“What about you?” Aiden asks.
“What about me?”
“Didn’t you want to be safe too?”
Lexi holds his stare before getting to her feet. “I’m done with this conversation.”
“Wait,” Sloane says. “You didn’t answer us.”
“About what?”
“About us courting you.”
Her brows furrow. “You still want to court me? Even after everything I just told you?”
“Yes,” Sloane says without hesitation.
Lexi gapes at him, not sure what to say.
“You were young and put in an unthinkable position. We don’t blame you or the other girls for what you had to do. I’m sure if you could have, you’d have saved them all.”
“We would have,” Lexi whispers.
“Let me guess, you blackmailed instead of taking it to the cops because even if he got locked up, you’d never actually be safe since people like that have other people of their own to back them up.
People on the outside who work for them.
Even if you were placed in Witness Protection, poison always finds its way into the smallest cracks.
You did what you were able to do to survive, and we don’t blame you for it.
We don’t judge you for it, either. If anything, you and your friends are fucking badasses for being able to do what you did.
If anyone else tells you otherwise, they’re not worth your time or energy,” Sloane says all of this with sincerity, showing he believes every word of what he’s saying.
Damn it. I wanted to hate these guys, I really fucking did. Then the fucker had to go and say the perfect thing that would validate the choices the girls made. The one thing that’s been eating Lexi alive for years.
I’ve told her as much myself, but I think it’s hitting her differently coming from these men.
Lexi’s whole body starts to tremble, and a sob slips free. I’m on my feet, wrapping her in my arms tightly, pressing her face to my chest. She clings to me, crying, letting out all the hurt and pain she’s been holding in for years.
The two Alphas watch, on edge, wanting to help but holding themselves back.
I look them both in the eyes and mouth “Thank you.”
They relax, understanding my meaning, and nod.
Without a word, I scoop my girl into my arms and carry her up to bed. I undress her, then myself, and we both get into bed. I pull her onto my chest, and I hold her as she cries herself to sleep, whispering words of comfort and reassurance.
I don’t worry about the Alphas downstairs. They can do what they want. Stay, or go. Right now, the only thing that matters is Lexi.
And our sweet baby that's growing inside her.
I’m not sure what will happen when we wake up tomorrow, but as long as Lexi is by my side, we’ll get through it together.