Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Dhara
“The school never would have released him unless it was Mom. She had to add me so I could pick him up. We’re the only two on his emergency contact list.” My panic was rising, chest tightening until it was painful and hard to breathe.
“Should we go by your house first?” Conrad asked. He was all business now. He’d swept me out of the farmer’s market and into the SUV, peeling out of the lot as he tore back into town.
Tears streamed down my face as I nodded. “Yeah. It’s at least worth a try.”
The truth was I was out of my depth. She’d never done anything like this before.
“Does he have a phone?” he asked. His voice was steady but the worry in his eyes gave away what he was trying to keep locked down. I appreciated that he was staying strong. I needed that right now.
“No. I tried to give him one, and she took it and sold it. When I tried again she kept it and forced me to pay for her lines and overages,” I admitted. Every time I told them something else she did I couldn’t shake the shame that crept in.
I was the one who allowed her to act that way. To use me.
“Fuck. I keep thinking she can’t get any worse and she always proves me wrong,” Conrad muttered.
I let out a humorless laugh. He wasn’t wrong. Every story I told about my mother sent them into a new spiral of frustration and anger on my behalf.
Even if Gavin had a phone, Mom would’ve told him not to tell me anything. He’d protect me just as fiercely as I protected him.
I directed Conrad toward the house, but her car wasn’t there yet.
“Park anywhere,” I ordered, already unbuckling. The second he stopped in the driveway, I threw the door open and ran inside.
I don’t know what I expected to find. There was no car outside. But maybe, on the off chance they’d been here, maybe I could find some clue about where she’d taken him.
The most fucked-up part was that I knew this was a test. This was my mother flexing the fact that she was in charge. That she could do as she pleased, keep me in line, and there was nothing I could do to stop her.
My only reassurance was that she wouldn’t keep him forever. My mother hated taking care of anyone other than herself. She’d come home eventually and try to use this to keep me in line, to push my pack away.
The problem was, I didn’t know if Gavin would come home unharmed.
I pushed open the unlocked front door. It was barely closed and pushed open easily, revealing a trainwreck inside.
We barely owned enough to make a mess but someone had taken time to make sure everything was scattered on the floors, spilled or broken, left behind for me to fix.
Gavin’s backpack had been tossed onto the couch. I knew he’d had it with him this morning because I’d packed it myself.
They’d been here.
I tried to keep myself together as I ran toward his bedroom. My hands shook as I threw open his closet. There were more empty hangers than there should have been.
She’d deliberately made him pack. I doubted this was a quick grab, she’d done this knowing I was at work. My stomach churned at the thought of him being terrified while I was browsing baked goods and produce.
I stood there frozen looking at the empty hangers as a hollow feeling settled over me. The numbness that I rarely let creep in. Gavin needed me present but now it didn’t matter.
Tires crunched outside before hurried footsteps rushed into the house. There wasn’t a point in driving around town now. She’d taken him out of reach.
Somewhere I couldn’t find him.
“We’ll get him back,” August vowed as he pulled me into his arms.
“We’re here, gorgeous. I’ve got my brother on it. He’s tracking them right now. I just got word they stopped at a gas station about two hours away,” Lachlan said quickly. He was deadly calm and somehow that forced me to move.
“He’s tracking them right now? How did he work so fast?”
Lachlan’s face twisted into a dark grin. “He doesn’t share his secrets and I won’t ask. I called the moment we knew he was missing and he got his team on it. She picked him up not long after school started, so they’ve got a head start.”
“There’s no point in following them,” I said, my voice sounding oddly detached. “She will call the police on us if we try. I think she found out about you three.”
“Why would she take him because of that?” Lachlan asked, genuinely confused.
“I told you if she ever found out about you…” The words died in my throat. I didn’t need to finish the sentence.
This was only phase one of her plan. By the time she came back with Gavin, she’d have stewed on it for days. She’ll wait until I’m compliant again, then she’ll strike. A few painful lessons to remind me what happens when I step out of line.
And there isn’t a damn thing I can do to stop it.
My mind spiraled into old, painful memories. I could hear them talking to me, but it sounded distorted. Almost like I was underwater.
My body started to move on instinct. I had to clean before they got back.
I started in Gavin’s room, wanting his space to be ready when he was back.
Then I moved to the bathroom. I scrubbed every surface until the room smelled like bleach.
Without saying a word, I made my way through the rest of the house. I ignored everything they said. I wasn’t even sure how to respond anymore. We all knew how fucked up this was.
My pack cleaned alongside me as the hours passed, trying to urge me out of the numbness that had taken over. It was useless.
I’d fucked up and the consequences were playing out in real time. No sweet words would change that outcome.
At one point, Lachlan disappeared before coming back an hour later with groceries to stock the fridge.
Hours later when my body started to ache and my eyes burned with pure exhaustion, they finally managed to drag me to bed.
Warm arms surrounded me and held me tight, but I couldn’t even register the scents around me.
I barely slept, constantly waking up and drifting off. The mattress dipped a few times throughout the night as they switched places.
The early morning sun didn’t bring Gavin back. I was a zombie as I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth.
The moment I stepped out of my bedroom, someone grabbed my shoulders and physically shook me.
“Enough of this, Firecracker.” August’s voice cracked sharply against the quiet. “Snap out of it.”
I blinked a few times to force my vision to clear.
“We called you out of work today. You’re in no condition to take care of customers. When we get Gavin back, you’re going to scare him. You have to stop.”
He sounded so desperate that it startled me enough to finally break through the fog. August’s face was blurry at first. After a few moments of blinking and taking even breaths, my vision cleared enough to make out his handsome features.
“There you are,” he breathed out, pulling me close and kissing my forehead. This time I could scent him. The familiar smell helped me fight my way out. “Lachlan’s been trying to tell you he heard back from his brother.”
My head snapped toward the other side of the room, searching frantically for my delta. The second I spotted him, I slipped free from August’s grip. Lachlan opened his arms and I didn’t hesitate to fall into his embrace.
My fingers tangled in the front of his shirt as I searched his green eyes.
“He’s safe,” Lachlan said as he stroked my hair. “My brother Nate is keeping surveillance on them. He’ll let us know if anything changes. In fact, he’s recording everything and backing it up for our custody battle. Just in case.”
“This could end up being exactly what we need for an emergency custody hearing,” Conrad agreed.
“Fuck,” I whispered. The word barely left me before my knees gave out.
Lachlan caught me before I hit the floor, guiding me onto the couch with him. My entire pack pressed in around me. Their scents blended together, calming my whining omega.
Sadly, it did nothing to fix my broken heart.
“I worked so fucking hard to keep him out of her grip.” My voice cracked. “And then I let him walk right back into it.”
“None of this is on you,” August said firmly. “She would’ve found another way to hurt you. People like her… no, abusers like her, know exactly how to hurt you. She’s thriving on this feeling you’re experiencing now.”
“Hurting me is all she knows how to do.” My voice was hollow again, but I didn’t let it drown me this time.
“We want to get you out of this, gorgeous,” Lachlan promised. “We’re working on it as fast as we can.”
“I know,” I whispered as fresh tears fell down my cheeks. Though, I wasn’t crying for only that reason. I knew these were probably the last moments I’d get to spend with my pack. Just like before, when she’d sent August away, they would be ripped away from me the moment she came home.
I’d stupidly let myself buy into this fantasy. Hope was dangerous. I already knew that, yet I’d let myself have this anyway. I spent days going on little dates and let August teach me how to connect with my omega and my sexuality. I’d found peace with Conrad and laughed with Lachlan.
Now it was about to be over before I truly had them.
The worst part of all of this was that I’d have to push them away myself.
She would force me to cut ties. I knew how my mother worked by now.
I also knew that I had no choice but to hurt my pack yet again. The right thing to do would be to tell them how this would go. Talk to them.
But selfishly, I wanted to spend today soaking in their presence. Breathing in their scents. Letting myself have one last moment of peace. Knowing someone was watching over Gavin was enough to let me allow myself this one single indulgence.
“Will you guys stay with me tonight?” I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Maybe we could watch a movie.”
Lachlan slipped a finger beneath my chin, gently tipping my face up until I was looking into his eyes.
“Of course, we will, gorgeous.” His thumb brushed over my cheek. “But don’t start shutting us out now.”