"I should have done that," Finn said. He glanced at me. "I wouldn't really do it, unless you were in danger, of course."
"It FELT like she was in danger," Aiden said. "Come inside, you're going to freeze out here, Li."
Mace scanned me with those dark eyes, but didn't say anything else as I followed the others into the house. His presence behind me made me jumpy and I stepped to the side once we were in the foyer to avoid having him at my back.
"I won't hurt you," he said quietly.
"Forgive me if I don't trust any men right now." I toed off my shoes and took a deep breath, shuddering at the familiar scents . . . the scents that once meant home to me. "I hate being here."
"Why?"
"Memories." I moved into the living room and perched on an armchair as Finn moved to add wood to a fire that was crackling in the fireplace.
"Coffee? Hot chocolate?" Aiden was hovering near the kitchen, looking like he didn't know what to do with himself.
"Hot chocolate, please."
I hadn't had chocolate in a very long time. When Aiden handed it to me, topped with mounds of whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, I couldn't help but smile. My favorite drink.
Another cramp twisted through me and I winced.
"Are you still sick?" Aiden asked, still standing next to me.
"Fine." I took a sip of the drink and willed my body to hold off on the heat. I couldn't do this. Not here. Not with them.
"Do you want the guest room? It's already made up for you," Finn said. He looked flustered. "Just, just in case."
"I guess." It wasn't where I wanted to be, but if it was all there was besides my old nest, I would take it. "I'm going to go lie down." Leaving them in the living room, I hurried to the guest room.
It smelled like them. They'd been in here, changing sheets and fixing things up. There were more pillows on the bed, some of them from my old nest. A fuzzy pink blanket that had once been my favorite was folded at the bottom of the bed. It all stank like them.
Rage boiled over and I let out a snarl, grabbing the blanket and the pillows and stalking out to the living room where the alphas still sat, looking tired. Without looking at them, I threw the blanket into the fireplace and then stuffed the pillows in after it. The flames were partly smothered, but then sprang up again, devouring the unwanted bedding.
"Um, Liora? Weren't those your favorites?" Finn asked tentatively.
I spun around, the fire burning hot at my back and making me sweat. "I want NOTHING from before. No reminders of what I lost because you three imbeciles threw me away. I don't want to think about being comfortable when I had to go through hell. I don't want things that you saved because . . . I don't know why you saved them! You got rid of me. You didn't want me! You, yougave me away to people who hated me and only wanted to use me, but you kept a fucking pillow and a blanket?"
"We still love you. It was painful for us, too," Mace said.
The anger burned brighter, tearing me open inside, spilling lava into my veins as I faced him down. "You're in pain?" I asked softly.
He nodded, eyes bright in the firelight.
"Tell me. Did you get tased dozens of times over a period of months?"
He shook his head, eyes widening slightly.
"Did you have a knot forced inside you so brutally that it ripped you open and you bled?"
"Liora . . ." Finn gasped.
"Did anyone crack their belt, metal side, mind you, across your back and thighs?"
Mace stared at me. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry. There's nothing left of the omega you claim to love. She's gone. Burned away by the things she went through because the alphas she pledged herself to gave her up." I grabbed the fire poker and turned to stab at the flaming pillow that threatened to fall out of the fireplace.
No one said a word as I replaced it and marched back to the bedroom. There, I opened the window, stripped the bed and threw all the bedding out the window onto the back lawn. Then I grabbed the scent neutral spray from the bathroom and sprayed the entire room with it, blocking out most of their scents. Finally, I laid a towel down under the door, then curled up on the bed with fresh air flowing in. It was clean and fresh, free of the reminders I didn't want.
