Chapter 34 #2
“By murdering innocent omegas?” The injustice of it sucks tears from my eyes. “What would you do if your daughter chose more than one alpha? Would you kill her too?”
The professor’s eyes flick back and forth between me and Officer Brennan. “Stop talking, Elowen.”
But I think I’m onto something. “Did your daughter choose an unconventional pack?”
She blinks. “Shut up and drink the tea.”
“She did, didn’t she? What did you do? Did you kill her too?” I pray Calder is still recording this conversation.
“She saw the error of her ways. Eventually.” Her eyes are like black stones.
I gasp. “You made her choose.”
“I made her see sense.” Her voice is growing shrill.
“Enough talking.” Officer Brennan’s arm tightens around my chest, and he spins me around to face the desk. “Drink.” He forces my head down towards the cooling cup, the knife still pressing into my neck.
I clamp my lips shut as the professor comes into view and raises the cup towards my mouth.
Then the locked door slams open, and my alphas pile into the room.
I don’t waste a beat. I let my knees buckle and sink all my weight down to the floor. Officer Brennan’s grip tightens around my chest, but I grab the cup from the professor and splash the tea into his face.
His hold loosens enough for me to wriggle out from under him as Calder spins him around and drives his fist into the officer’s face. Tyler pulls me into his arms, murmuring, “It’s okay, Elowen. We’ve got you. You’re safe now.”
The room is filled with police officers. I watch from Tyler’s embrace as three cops drag Officer Brennan away from Calder, restraining him with handcuffs. Another officer cuffs Professor Robbins and leads her towards the door.
"You’re making a grave mistake," she says. "I was only trying to help."
"You murdered four innocent people," Julian says. "There's nothing kind about that."
Robbins looks at me with something like pity. "Your pack will destroy you eventually. The strain will be too much. I could have saved you from that. I still can."
My alphas surround me. Calder’s chest is heaving with the effort of getting Brennan off me. “You’re bleeding.” He touches the bloody skin under my jaw, his expression darkening. “We need to get you to the medical center.”
“I’m okay.” But I’m shaking, and Tyler guides me to the seat and sits me down.
They all crouch around me.
“What do you need?”
“It’s over now, Elowen.”
“She can't hurt anyone else."
Tears stream down my face. “I was so scared…”I whisper.
One by one, they kiss me. “You’re safe now, Elowen.”
Evening finds us back in the greenhouse. There’s a small dressing on my neck, and Juniper won’t leave my side, even squeezing her body between me and the alphas protectively.
Professor Robbins and Officer Brennan are in custody. Police officers are still in the building, searching the professor’s office which has been taped off as a crime scene.
Seraphina sends a text: 12 packages collected. You saved lives today.
Then another: Student council is drafting new protocols for omega safety. You should be part of that conversation. When you're ready.
Gideon calls with an update. His voice sounds lighter than before. "Her confession was recorded. Your phone caught everything."
"I'm sorry it took so long," I say.
"Eighteen months." His voice cracks slightly. "Eighteen months of knowing something was wrong and hitting walls everywhere. Now it’s over." He pauses. "Thank you. For caring."
After we hang up, we sit in comfortable silence. Exhausted but relieved.
"I keep thinking about what she said," I admit. "That multi-alpha bonds will destroy me."
"She was wrong," Calder states immediately.
"Was she?" I look at them. "She believed it completely. What if—"
"Stop." Julian's turn to interrupt. "She was ideologically poisoned long before she poisoned anyone else. Traditional doesn't mean correct. Old ways aren't always better."
"We're not destroying you," Tyler adds gently. "We're building something with you. There's a difference."
Calder pulls me against his side. "Four people died because someone decided their choice was wrong. Don't let her poison reach beyond her arrest. Don't doubt what we've built."
He's right. Robbins was sick. Her beliefs twisted into justification for murder. It doesn't make those beliefs true.
"I need to call my grandmother," I realize. "Let her know we're safe."
Mira answers on the first ring.
"It’s over, little one." She knows somehow.
"How did you—"
"I felt the weight lift." Her voice is matter of fact. “You're safe now."
I tell her everything, and she listens without panic, steady as mountains.
"I'm proud of you," she says when I finish. "I always knew you had the Rowan strength."
"Do you want me to come home?" My chest tightens at the thought.
"Are you happy where you are?"
I look at my pack, at Calder's solid strength, Tyler's sunshine warmth, Julian's careful devotion. The greenhouse where we've built something real. The campus that's become home.
"Yes. I'm happy here."
"Then stay. Rowans choose their own path. You've chosen well."
After we say goodbye, I find my pack watching me with varying expressions of hope and anxiety.
"We would never have let you go," Calder says.
Then he kisses me, fierce and claiming, all the fear and relief of the past days pouring into the press of his mouth against mine. His hand cups the back of my neck, thumb stroking the scent gland he’s yet to mark, and I shiver at the promise in that touch.
When he pulls back, Tyler's already there, turning my face toward his with gentle fingers. His kiss tastes like sunshine and joy because we have all the time in the world now that the danger's passed.
"Missed this," he murmurs against my lips. "Missed you without fear."
Julian waits until Tyler releases me, then tips my chin up with careful precision. His kiss is different, controlled heat, deliberate intensity, the kind of focus he brings to everything he does. When his tongue sweeps against mine, I make a sound that has all three of them going very still.
"Inside," Calder growls. "Now."
We barely make it to my dorm room. The door closes and suddenly I'm pressed against it, Calder's body solid against my front, his mouth finding that spot below my ear that makes me gasp.
"We almost lost you," he breathes against my skin. "She almost—"
"But she didn't." I pull his face up to meet his eyes. "I'm safe. I'm yours."
Tyler's fingers thread through my hair, tugging gently until I turn my head enough for him to kiss me again. Three sets of hands, three bodies surrounding me, three alphas who chose me and fought for me and kept me alive.
"Bed," Tyler suggests, voice rough with want.
They guide me there, arrange me between them like they did during heat but different now without my omega instincts desperate for their bite.
Calder kisses down my neck, teeth grazing the unmarked scent gland. "Soon," he promises. "When you're ready."
"Soon," I agree, breathless.