“But we’d like to know.” Jake’s hand finds mine, squeezes. His scent wraps around me—warm chocolate with an edge of protective steel underneath. “All of it. So we know the best way to protect you.”
My Omega is torn, wanting to run from this conversation but also desperately wanting them to understand. I can’t stop the hope that rises in my chest when I look at them and think that maybe they can help.
I set the taco down carefully. My hands are shaking, so I press them flat against my thighs, trying to still them.
They deserve to know. They need to know.
“Okay.” My voice comes out steadier than I expected. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“Everything. From the beginning,” Beau says. “When did this start?”
“I was a kid. Maybe twelve? Thirteen?” The words come slowly, each one heavy. “He was always around—my father’s friend, part of his inner circle back then. And he’d… look at me. You know? In a way that made my skin crawl, even before I presented. I always felt like the way he looked at me was way more grown-up than it was supposed to be.”
Charlie makes a sound low in his throat, almost a growl.
“When I was sixteen, right after I presented, he made a move.” My voice drops. “Cornered me at a rodeo event. Put his hands on me. Told me I’d be perfect for his pack. That he’d been waiting for me to present so he could make it official.”
“Jesus Christ.” Jake’s grip on my hand tightens enough to hurt, but I don’t pull away.
“I told him no. Obviously. I—” My breath hitches. “I kicked him. Ran. But then he went to my father, and they made a contract. A marriage contract.” The words taste like ash. “At sixteen, I was legally allowed to be married off in Wyoming, and my father agreed to it. Signed it. Like I was property he could sell.”
The silence that follows is deafening. I can feel the rage radiating off all three of them, can smell it turning their scents sharp and acidic. Beau’s hand on my knee is trembling. Charlie’s face has gone pale, his jaw clenched so tight I can see the muscle jumping. Jake looks like he wants to put his fist through the wall.
“I told my father what Felton did.” My voice cracks. “What he’d been doing. All the inappropriate comments, the touching, the way he’d corner me alone. Everything.” Tears burn behind my eyes. “He didn’t believe me. Said I was being dramatic. That I was an Omega who didn’t know her place. That a marriage to Felton’s pack would help me learn how to be a ‘real Omega.’ That I should be grateful for the attention.”
“Fuck.” Charlie’s voice is rough. “Did Caleb know?”
“No. At first, I was just too embarrassed, and the way he did it always made me second-guess if anything inappropriate had actually ever happened.” I look down, unable to meet their eyes. “And by the time I presented, you and Caleb had already left. And I just… didn’t know, didn’t want to bring you down or make you feel bad about leaving or have Caleb come running home to rescue me. I thought I could handle it myself.”
“But you didn’t have to,” Charlie says, and I can feel his unhappiness like it’s my own emotion.
“I convinced my dad to let me finish school first. Bought myself some time. And by the time I graduated and tried to open up to you about it… I just couldn’t do it. I think that’s why I kissed you. It had started to get way too real. Felton wouldn’t leave it alone, and I knew he was close to not taking no for an answer anymore.” I laugh sadly and look at Charlie. I swallow hard. “And then…” I look at Jake. “Then I met you. That following summer, at the rodeo with my friend.”
Understanding dawns in his eyes. “That’s why you panicked whenever I mentioned meeting your dad. Why you never wanted to go home.”
“I was hiding. From Felton. From my father. From the whole thing.” The confession makes my chest tight. “I managed to keep him at bay by just never being home. Never being somewhere he could corner me alone. And when my father died, I was never in Muddy Creek.” I have to stop. Breathe. “I had hoped Felton had moved on. I heard he brought another Omega into his pack, and I thought it was over.”
“It wasn’t,” Charlie says quietly, and his hand finds my hair, fingers gentle as they glide through wet tangles.
“No.” I shake my head against his touch. “When I came back for this internship, he was still here. Still circuit director. Still convinced I was supposed to be his. That the contract was still valid. And I just—” My voice breaks. “Wanted to leave the past in the past… you know? Coming home was hard, harder than I thought it’d be.”
My scent must be souring completely now, going acrid with fear and shame, because all three of them move at once. Beau pulls me against his side, his arm tight around my shoulders. Charlie’s hand stays in my hair, gentle and grounding. Jake shifts closer, his leg pressing against mine.
Pack. Surrounding me. Protecting me.
“We believe you.” Beau’s voice rumbles through his chest into my body. “We believe every word.”
“And we’re going to make sure everyone else does, too,” Jake adds, and his scent sharpens with determination.
“The police already have him,” Charlie says, and there’s satisfaction in his voice, in his scent. “The security footage from the arena shows everything. Him following you. Locking you in. And with the three of us as witnesses?—”
“He’s done,” Beau finishes. “He’ll never work in this industry again. And if there’s any justice in this world, he’ll rot in prison for a long time.”
I want to believe them. Want to trust that it’s really over. But years of looking over my shoulder, years of no one believing me, don’t disappear overnight.
“What if they don’t believe me?” The question comes out small. Scared. My scent betrays every fear I have. “What if they say I’m lying, or that I wanted it, or that I led him on, or?—”
“Then they’ll have to go through us.” Jake’s voice is steel. “All of us. And we’re not going anywhere.”
