“I’m sorry to see that.”
Leigh has always been quick to chastise us for our less-than-perfect behavior, but she has no words of condemnation for me now. Not when Rad’s violence is painted across my skin.
Bitsy hobbles to her seat, still unsteady on her feet after the All Saints’ Eve attack. “Excuse my language, Mrs. Parsons, but today is fuckingbullshit.”
“It is,” Leigh murmurs. “Those poor women.”
“Forgive my ignorance, but whatareomega rehabilitation centers?” I ask. “I only know packs sometimes send their omegas to them.”
Leigh screws her lips up in a frown. “They’re little more than glorified prisons. Omegas who commit crimes end up in rehabilitation centers more often than they do in prison. They’re meant to teach omegas how to be productive members of society.” She huffs out a bitter laugh. “Many of their teachings aren’t far off from what I teach you. But their methods are decidedly less kind.”
“They’re dumping grounds for omegas no one wants. For omegas who can’t behave,” Bitsy spits. “An omega stands up for herself to her shitty pack, and they can just send her off to an omega rehabilitation center until she learns her lesson.”
“And now, I expect all those poor women are in the hands of the Soldiers of Saint Aldous,” Leigh sighs. “I can imagine few fates worse. None of you girls are above being sent to a rehabilitation center. It’s one of my greatest fears for all of you. I want you to have good mates that would never send you away. I want you to have mates or packs like mine.”
“Tell us about your pack?” Bitsy asks, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees.
Leigh smiles faintly. “I have good alphas, but I’m an easy omega to keep. I’ve always enjoyed traditional omega activities. As a girl, I wanted nothing more than to be a mate and mother, and I got my wish. My pack isn’t perfect, but they’re kind. They cherish me.” She pauses, steels herself and then forges onward. “But it wasn’t always that way. My first bonded alpha was an alpha of… certain appetites.” She cuts a look in my direction, and I know the appetites she speaks of.
She means an alpha like Rad who likes to force submission, and demands obedience, through violence if necessary.
“I was miserable with him, even though I always obeyed. I did everything he asked of me. I was a good and biddable omega, but he wanted more than that.”
“He wanted to hurt you.”
Leigh looks at me, and for a moment, her expression is haunted. Her eyes crinkle with tension, and fine lines bracket her soft mouth. She nods. “Yes, he did.”
Alyssa gasps. “What happened?”
Leigh holds my gaze as she answers. “My pack dealt with him.”
Bitsy chokes. “Like, ‘dealt with him’ dealt with him?” She draws a finger across her throat. “Permanently?”
The older omega considers her words carefully. “There are only two ways we know of to break a mating bond. That vicious, inhumane hex the soldiers used against our dear Trinity and the death of one of the mated.”
“Whoa. That’s gnarly. Do you still have his bite?”
Leigh shakes her head. “No, thank the saints. Once the bond was broken, a healer was able to remove the scar. And I’m glad. I have enough memories of him. I don’t need to see a reminder of his cruelty on my body.” She sighs. “I sincerely hope you girls can find packs as kind as mine.” She turns to Alyssa with a smile. “You have a wonderful mate, Miss O’Neill. I’m so happy for you.”
Alyssa preens.
“There are terrible, wretched alphas in the world,” Leigh says in a soft tone, as if she’s telling us a secret, but it’s one we all already know too well. “But there are good alphas, too. Find the good ones. They can protect you from the vicious ones.”
My heart skips a beat, and I swallow down my regrets.
Saints, what I wouldn’t do to be able to give myself fully over to my pack’s protection, to let them do whatever they must to deal with Andrew Radcliffe. But there’s too much at stake for such a death to find Rad.
I wish my life was as simple as Leigh’s.
I wish I didn’t need Andrew Radcliffe and the information he possesses.
It’s a bitter, galling thing to need the most reprehensible alpha I’ve ever met, but it’s the choice I’ve made.
I chose this. I chose to stand against Rad and the Soldiers. I chose to fight.
And I will.
I’ll fight for every stolen, tortured omega until I become one myself.
