My fists clench. “Or honesty, apparently.”
Johnson lifts her hand. “Enough. I appreciate this is difficult for you, Ms. Grey, but please try to keep your responses factual.”
I suck in a breath. Her words aren’t unkind, but they’re a much-needed reminder to keep my shit together.
The last Justice sits forward. This must be Garcia. Her pinched face looks down at me as though I’m something she’s stepped in.
“At the time you describe, the Omega Compound was under the control of Christian Winter. We have no evidence to suggest that this evidence is anything more than a reflection of the previous Director. Now that a new Director is in place, changes have been made.”
My flinch is instinctive. I can only imagine what kind of changes my father has made.
Evans steeples his fingers in front of him, his eyes on me. “That is not quite accurate, Justice Garcia. Ms. Grey, can you explain what happened after you left the Omega Compound, please?”
My knee begins to shake.
“I—,” my throat dries, and I cough. Imler frowns and looks down to the clerk with the nasally voice. “Get her some water, please.”
We wait in silence as the beta pours me a glass from the jug on the desk, carrying it over and nearly dropping it as she tries to avoid touching my skin. I think Justice Imler rolls his eyes, but I can’t be sure.
I take a sip, keeping my hands wrapped around it as I brace myself.
“I was taken from the compound by my father the night that I was raped by Jason.”
“Speak up,” Justice Garcia barks, and I square my shoulders, looking into her face and holding her eyes as I speak.
“I was injected with something to make me sleep, and when I woke up, I was in the heat nests.”
Imler speaks next. “Can you describe your environment at the nests?”
I catch his gaze next. “I can. An omega is contained in each cell, which is very small. There is no furniture in the cells as there’s not enough room.”
“But there was a bed,” Miller prompts, and I stare back at her. “No. Omegas are not permitted the use of a bed. It’s rule four of the Creed, Justice.”
Which you know damned well, since you helped to write it.
Hushed murmurs break out, and Miller’s cheeks flush. Evans leans forward. “Forgetting your own rules, Justice Miller?”
He turns to me. “Please continue when you’re ready, Ms. Grey.”
“The cells have no soft furnishings. The walls and floors are tiled, it makes them easier to clean. Lights are kept on constantly, and there are cameras in each cell.”
My hands shake, the water in my hands spilling over the edge of the glass. I try to blot the dampness on my skirt clumsily. “Sorry.”
Johnson responds, her voice a little softer. “Take your time.”
I close my eyes.
“When I woke up, the first time, I was shackled. They sent someone in to hose me down, and gave me underwear to put on. A doctor came to examine me as I had some injuries from my attack. He told my father I was fit for a heat, and I was injected that night.”
Luc’s growl makes my head rise. He’s staring at me, half-risen in his seat. I shake my head at him. “I’m okay,” I mouth. Touching my hand to my chest, I rub at where the bond pulls at me, his anger echoing inside my chest.
“Injected?” Imler leans forward. “With what?”
“Heat hormones. They make you mindless. It’s agony to be injected, and only an alpha can stop the pain through knotting.” I swallow. “It makes you beg. For it to stop, I mean. You’d do anything.”
Imler’s face twists in disgust. “And you experienced a heat this way?”
“I experienced many. I was injected over and over again until I became pregnant.”
