I guess I get that, especially since he protected them while we fought Sneed. “Yeah. He’s a good guy.”
The drive to The Delta Institute takes a couple hours, and our passengers are so exhausted that they remain quiet for the rest of the trip. The women huddle together in their seats, and the men sit with hung heads. Remembering Em’s reaction to Sneed’s tortures, I can only imagine how traumatized these victims must be. They’ve been held captive for longer than Em was, possibly as long as Auryn was held, so the shocked silence is to be expected.
The dean of the academy greets us at the gate when we arrive. He’s a tall, imposing alpha, with Gage’s build wrapped in a crisp suit, but his warm smile seems to assuage the omegas’ fears.
I imagine they weren’t exposed to many warm smiles recently.
Once introductions are made, Dean Hoffield ushers the refugees inside, leaving Em and myself alone in the van.
“You think they’ll be okay?” Em asks as they disappear through the front doors. “I mean, I know almost as well as Auryn what they went through, and I’m still reeling from my experience. They’re going to have quite the adjustment to make.”
I contemplate my answer a few minutes before speaking.
“I think they’re in the best place they could be. We can’t accommodate them ourselves, but Dean Hoffield has the staff and facilities needed to take care of them.”
“So … back to Auryn?”
My lips spread in a grin. “Sí. Back to Auryn.”
Back to Auryn. Back to Gage. Back to Olly. Back home.
It’s strange that I’ve never considered the compound to be “home” until recently. Until I almost lost that home. Almost lost my life, almost lost Emmett. Until Auryn brought us all together in the most beautiful way. Even Olly is more open with his feelings, more accepting of our primal appetites.
The first half of the drive home passes in silence, but as we near the compound, Emmett seems to become a bit agitated. He squirms in his seat a few times, and finally I question him about it.
“It’s … It’s the way Sneed was wearing my ring. The sight of it alone was enough to bring back the trauma of my captivity and torture, but seeing Auryn slice it off him?” He shudders and shakes his head. “It was like reliving the experience all over again, only it can’t have hurt Sneed as much as it hurt me. And I know that Auryn did itforme, to get revenge for what he did to me, but … I can’t explain it. I don’t feel closure. Quite the opposite; I feel like the wounds have been reopened.”
“Is it physically uncomfortable? Like, are you feeling phantom pains?”
“No, not like that. It’s more like the emotional wounds are raw. I just keep flashing back to her slicing it off his limp dick.”
I don’t know how to help Em with this. I can’t imagine what must be going through his head, can’t comprehend his pain, so I have no idea what he might expect me to do with this knowledge. I try to choose my next words very carefully.
“I don’t think Auryn intended to further traumatize you with that. I truly believe she wanted to help. I don’t think she would ever hurt you, Em, not intentionally. And I wouldn’t worry about leaving her alone with the knife set in the kitchen. She won’t confuse you for Sneed, won’t ever be so angry as to attack you like that.”
His voice grows soft, almost inaudible. “But she cut it. My ring was cut off twice.”
Pulling over to the shoulder, I slam the van into park. This is going to require some hands-on care.
“Hey.” I cup his chin with my hands and tip his head up, forcing him to meet my gaze. “You survived. Do you hear me? You survived, and you’re stronger for it.”
Emmett trembles in my grip.
While I purr as loud as possible, I pull Em in for a kiss. I kiss him like I’d kiss Auryn or Gage, like I’d kiss anyone I love. And I do love Em; I love everyone in our little polycule pack. Losing any one of them would be like losing a piece of my own soul.
“She won’t ever hurt you,” I murmur into his lips. “She loves you as much as I do. Maybe more.”
Em nods and presses his forehead to mine.
“What do you need,hermano? What can I do for you?”
“Just take me home. I want to see my family.”
Chapter 45
Emmett
My head is a mess, and I’m exhausted from the onslaught of tonight’s mission. I’ve been in a lot of scenarios, but never one quite this personal before. And I know it’s not just because of what Sneed did to me.It’s because of what he did to Auryn and all the other omegas.
