Chapter 1
Chapter
One
Twenty-five years later
OLIVIA
Free just to end up in a mental institution. It feels as if I’ve come full circle, but this is the safest place for me. My daughter thinks I’m hearing voices, and in a way, she’s right.
They just don’t belong to me. The voices belong to my alphas, the ones who bonded me to them against my will so long ago. They taunt me in my mind, and can track me based on what they can see through me. It’s a deep, twisted connection, and how I’ve managed to keep moving.
Cerenity has made a life here, though. She has a club, a best friend, it’s not right to keep running. At least here at Weeping Willow Home, I’m medicated so highly that the voices are silent.
They can’t find me, which means my beautiful daughter is safe.
Drifting from moment to moment isn’t even that bad. It’s quiet and peaceful.
Shuffling in my grippy socks along the hall after using the restroom, I turn my head to see a girl with shorn blonde and pink tufts of hair fighting two orderlies as they carry her.
“Stop!” she screams with gritted teeth. There’s a muzzle over her face, muffling her words.
“Miss Nina, this is going to be harder if you don’t stop,” Dr. Kind says, following them. I don’t typically see him, because Dr. Brunes said he handles the “dangerous” patients.
This girl is a child for all intents and purposes. She looks younger than mine at least.
“Olivia,” a nurse says, getting my attention. “Are you ready for your afternoon walk?”
Taking a deep breath, I force myself to look away from the little omega who is fighting so hard. There’s something not completely right with this place.
Nodding to the nurse, I walk with her outside in the afternoon sun. The walk isn’t far, just to the tree to sit on the chair left for patients. Maybe one day I’ll rejoin the land of the living, but today is not that day.
Three years later
“Mama, are you sure that you want to go back to work?” Cerenity asks.
Smiling gently, I reach out to rub her growing baby belly. My baby is having a baby with her pack. While they’re not perfect, my Cerenity is able to keep them in line. All it takes is a frying pan and smile, and they drop to their knees.
I’m so happy for her.
“I need to do something,” I sigh. “I’m trying to step back into society. I can’t just live here forever.”
“Yes you can,” Jasper says, setting toast and eggs in front of Cerenity and I. “She’ll eat if you do, Mama Quinn.”
My lips twitch as I pick up the fork. They all insist on calling me different forms of “mom”, and I have to admit that it’s adorable. I will gladly accept it.
“I know that, but I’m starting to get restless,” I admit, beginning to eat. True to Jasper’s words, Cerenity follows suit. She's seventeen weeks pregnant, but eating breakfast is something she usually needs company to enjoy.
She’s created so many little rituals to be able to manage the messiness of life. Constantly moving did that.
I did that.
“Behan Communications may be what I need,” I explain, shrugging. “If I hate it, I’ll quit. It’s that simple.”
“Okay,” Cerenity says, nodding as she nibbles on her toast. “Be careful driving today, Minnesotans are frustratingly nice.”
Giggling, I agree because she’s right. I’ve been practicing my driving since I haven’t done any in years, and I think I’ll be fine today.
All I know about the company is that the owners are best friends and they manufacture computers. They also have an entire section of their company that is in charge of charity and philanthropy. That’s where I’ll be working. After so many years of running, I want to help people.
Finishing my breakfast, I give Cerenity a hug as I get ready to leave.
“Be good for your mama, Amelia,” I murmur, rubbing her stomach gently. My lips split in a huge grin as I feel a little kick. “I will never get tired of feeling that.”
“She never moves for me,” Augustine pouts, leaning against the wall. “To be fair, it all freaks me out.”
“Cerenity will be perfectly fine,” I chuckle.
I leave out the fact that I gave birth secretly in a little hospital in the suburbs during a storm so I wouldn’t be found. It was really scary and the electricity kept shutting off. I stayed in one place as long as possible before I had to move again.
I am so grateful to be the only voice in my head now. My daughter and her pack killed my alphas so that I can stand here today sane and happy. I still have my bad days where I get lost in the past and everything they did to me, but they’re not as often anymore.
I have a hard time going to the Omega’s Haven group chats because the stories told remind me of my kidnappers. It’s sad that this continues to happen to omegas. Instead, I teach crochet and knitting circles at the Haven.
It settles my soul, and I can create something that the shelter will be able to use. Now, all the weighted blankets used at the shelter are created by outreach or people who are currently staying there. I love a full circle moment.
“I’ll see you all later,” I say, grabbing my purse. I already completed the necessary paperwork with Human Resources. I was told I just need to report to work to be directed to my supervisor.
The drive to work isn’t too bad, and I park in the underground parking garage at Behan Communications. Making sure my pass shows on the dashboard, I power walk to the elevator.
“Can you hold it, please?” I call out, my high heels clicking against the concrete floor.
There are people chatting in the elevator, and a pair of piercing green eyes is the last thing I see before the doors close.
Shit. My lips purse as I count to five in my head before pressing the elevator button. Checking my watch, I sigh as I wait for the damn thing to come back down. There’s a stairwell that you couldn’t pay me to get inside, not when I have a fear of small spaces.
The elevator is a scary enough space. A dark stairway isn’t something I feel like conquering today. My jacket is open as I wait in the parking lot, and someone comes to stand beside me. The scent of bergamot and spices flows over my senses, and I take a deep breath to settle my nerves.
“Are you okay?” the alpha asks.
Turning, I gaze into a pair of green eyes identical to the ones that just left me waiting for the elevator.
“Yes,” I say with an apologetic smile. “Just a little frazzled on my first day. I don’t want to be late.”
“You still have…” the man glances at his watch. “Twenty minutes before the day starts. These elevators are notoriously slow, so no one will judge you if you’re a tad late on your first day.”
“I might judge,” I say under my breath before I can bite the words.
The alpha barks out a laugh, shaking his head. Holding out his hand, he introduces himself. “I’m Aled Behan. You must be our new hire, Olivia Quinn?”
Heat rushes to my face as I shake his hand. Ugh this is absolutely embarrassing. A light zap sparks at where our fingers touch, and he glances curiously at them.
“I am. It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I say.
“You too,” he says, his voice sounding a million years away. “You know…I think I forgot something important. A meeting… I’m going to hit the stairs.”
Aled gently tugs his hand away from me as if he’s worried I’ll break and then turns away and jogs to the stairwell. My lips are parted in surprise as I watch him, and the door opens for the elevator.
“Better get that!” Aled calls, disappearing into the stairwell.
Confused, I step through the doors of the elevator, waiting until they close to sniff myself. Do I smell?
I don’t think I do…I’ve always smelled like angel cake. I used to think it was amusing because I’m not an angel. Far from it, honestly.
Shaking my head, I remind myself that I am forty-eight years old and too damn grown for an alpha to make me feel small. I’ve paid my dues, more so than others. I am going to put Mr. Behan’s odd behavior behind me and focus on the rest of the day.
While my daughter’s pack has shown that not all alphas are terrible, I have too much experience to the contrary to believe it. This is why I’m on alpha and heat suppressants.
My heats may be less frequent, but very painful. I know it’s not a good long term solution since my resource for them is a mob connection, but it lessens the cramps to a moderate level.
Feeling a little lost, I walk out of the elevator and head to the third floor to find Mrs. Newbury. Apparently, she’ll be showing me where I’m working.
My job is straightforward, and that’s what I need after this odd encounter.
ALED
“We have to fire the new hire immediately,” I growl, pacing back and forth in my brother’s office.
“Olivia has all the qualifications needed for her job,” Maddox reminds me. “What the fuck is going on? Did she fuck up your coffee order?”
“She’s not responsible for my coffee order,” I grumble. I feel as if I’m going to crawl out of my skin. “She needs to go, man.”
“Why?” Cai asks. He’s my fraternal twin and is enjoying my misery way too much. “Olivia is pretty. Is that the reason?”
“If she’s so fucking pretty, why did you leave her behind in the elevator?” I ask in return.
I’m freaking out. All I can think about is her sweet scent, and how much I wanted to bury my cock inside of her. I’m disgusting. I shouldn’t feel this way about her.
“It was full,” my twin shrugs. “Besides, I knew you were right behind me. Somehow, I’m beginning to think that I should have just let her squeeze in.”
Olivia is in her mid-forties, and seems like a woman who is responsible and capable.
She’s completely uninteresting on the outside with her sensible shoes, clothes, and hair.
There’s not a chance in the world that she’d be interested in hanging around in our lives to be a pretty little toy to stick our dicks in.
Women like this want commitment, and the pull I feel toward her means I shouldn’t want to be anywhere near her. In fact, I ran as fast as I could.
“Let’s take a breather,” Maddox says. “What don’t you like about her?”
“Everything,” I admit. “She smells too good, her touch sends odd electrical pulses, and she’s too innocent.”
“You want to fuck her,” Cai sighs. At my silence, he shakes his head. “No, absolutely not. We don’t need that kind of attention here, Aled. You know how hard we’ve been working to clean up our image.”
“Just go meet her,” I beg them. I need to know if this is just me or not. “She smells like angel cake and I desperately want to taste her pussy. Cai, I tend to enjoy the company of men. Women are too messy with their clinginess. Maddox enjoys that more than me.”
“I like when omegas slick on my cock and scream my name,” Maddox says drolly. “That’s a very different thing. Fuck. Let’s go see her.”
“I can’t go with you,” I groan, feeling overwhelmed as Cai punches me in the arm.
Maddox and my twin give no fucks about my wishes, and hook their arms around my arms and legs to pick me up. It’s something we tend to do when one of us needs a reality check. It really fucking sucks to be on the other end of this.
“Put me down,” I complain.
“Suck it up, Aleddon,” Maddox croons, making me laugh.
“You’re acting like children,” I remind him, hoping to appease his older brother syndrome.
“Not working,” he chuckles, striding through the door with Cai. In about thirty seconds, we’ll hit a large bullpen with staff.
“Fuck, I’ll walk!” I yell, pushing them away.
Cai and Maddox dump me to the ground, grinning as I stand and brush myself off. Dammit, I hate them so much. We might be in our early fifties, but act like children when we’re around each other.
Unfortunately for me, we run a business together and the Welsh branch of our crime family. We live and breathe each other’s bullshit. It would just figure if the three of us were scent matched to the same doe eyed omega.
“You’re both assholes,” I mutter, falling into step with them.
“Assholes that you’re stuck with till we’re old and gray,” Maddox smirks.
“And beyond,” Cai snorts. It’s an ongoing joke that they enjoy playing into even though the humor is long gone.
“Ganging up on me isn’t as fun as when I do it to you,” I grumble.
Maddox simply looks amused as we walk through the wide area of cubicles and offices where our employees are already working. I expect that Olivia has to be waiting to meet her supervisor.
“So who does Olivia fall under?” I ask.
“Since you head up the philanthropy department, you are her supervisor,” Cai grunts.
“This isn’t fair,” I sigh.
“You’re the one who is the most passionate about giving back to the community, and have never had a problem with this arrangement,” Maddox reminds me.
“Adjust your cock and think with your other brain,” Cai adds.
God save me from my brothers, because no one else will.