“I can’t believe I’m tired. I haven’t done anything but sleep and eat. I ate more today than I did in a week with—”
“You don’t ever have to worry about being hungry again,” I said. “Never. You should get to bed.”
“But you all cooked. I’m going to help do the dishes. It’s the least I can do.”
I loved how she was coming out of her shell already.
“No, ma’am,” Felix answered. “We have that on rotation as well. It’s Cannon’s night to do the dishes. My night to make sure the chickens are up, and Tyrone’s night to parole the boundary before we retire for the night.”
Her defeated look could make puppies whimper. “What do I do, then?”
“Get yourself to bed, omega. Rest. Heal those wounds and bruises. Eat. Sleep. We’ll talk about it more later.”
She tapped her toe on the floor. “You said we’d talk about it at dinner, Cannon.”
“Tomorrow. I promise. Please, rest. You’re safe here. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her eyes grew watery. I would bet no one had ever promised her that before. “Okay. Good night. And thank you for saving me. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened to me if I’d been sold to someone else.”
Chapter Thirteen
Millie
I’d been so sure after my shower that I’d be able to curl up in bed and fall instantly asleep, that I’d go out, wish them good night, and be out like a light. I was wrong. So very wrong.
Instead, we had dinner together, which was nice. Yes, and weird. Not the conversation or the food but the fact that I wasn’t the one expected to cook it. I thought that was a universal omega job, but they didn’t. And it wasn’t like they were giving offwe’ll give you your first day offvibes, either. They had a plan of rotation that was already in place and sounded like they planned to keep. To them, this was how it was in the sleuth, and that was that.
Cooking duty was one of the five million things going through my head as I stared at the ceiling wishing for sleep. So much had happened in one day. I went from being on the auction block, looking like a living Barbie doll to having my hair hacked off, my bruises exposed, and clothing tattered, and being sold. And there was a lot to unpack with my relief at being purchased. Because in every way, that was wrong. Buying a person was evil.
Only, did they really buy me? On paper, sure. But there hadn’t been a single second when I felt anything other than an equal. If I walked out there now and asked them to bring me to a hotel to stay, 100 percent, they would. They’d hate it and be worried about it, but they’d allow it. Why? Because omegas weren’t property to them. They saw me as a full-on person with free will and thoughts and rights. That was so much to wrap my head around.
And then there was the reason my mates had known to find me. I wasn’t really sure what to do about the information aboutTyrone’s dream. Everything about the way he described was pretty much the exact same one I had.
As much as I tried to convince myself otherwise, it was time to admit that we shared that dream. What I didn’t know was if we shared it as in, we were both shown it, or if we were both there at the same time, active participants in a way. The whole thing was kind of creepy.
What if he could wander into my dreams, or I could wander into his? The alphas could and did offer me all the privacy in the world, and they meant it. They didn’t so much as step into my doorway. Only brains weren’t like doorways. We couldn’t spend time in each other’s subconscious and not see things that were private.
I wasn’t sure what to do with that. What would they see? Would they see my past? Would they see how I used to slap on a happy face and pretend everything was fine and think I was dishonest with them, too? Would they see the way others treated me and think that I wasn’t strong enough to fight back, or worse that I liked it? It could go so many ways and my imagination was having a field day thinking of each and every one.
And then there was the way Cannon looked when he realized that Tyrone and I had the same dream. If anything, it looked like jealousy…like he wanted to be the one to have that with me. He was alpha. It would make sense that he’d want that power, and that he’d feel left out.
Getting a feeling like that was one thing, though. You couldn’t help it. But what if it led to him fighting with Tyrone? What if there was a rift between them because of me? They were a new pack. Brand new. This was the time when they needed to be getting stronger together, and the time when it would be easiest to break them apart. I didn’t want that for them.
I sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I counted: one, two, three, four. Trying to get as high as I could before I ranout of breath. I’d used that trick in college when I couldn’t sleep. Suck it in and then release it, counting as I did. Back then, it worked.
Tonight, I kept doing this over and over again. Big fail. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t, not even into my pillow. They would hear and rush to save me, and I didn’t want that. It wasn’t like they could do something to help me sleep. I doubted a sleeping pill would work at this point.
Hours passed when I caved, allowing myself to do what I wanted to since the first time I set foot in that car…to just curl into a ball and let it all out until my body wore out and I fell asleep.
And so I did.
I shed tears for the life I should have had growing up. For the childhood stolen from me. For the way I was never allowed to do something because I liked it. Each and every move I made was designed to lead to the day I was sold, to make me a better commodity.
I shed tears for not having the father I deserved. For not having a dad who liked me for me and wanted to spend time with me, whose biggest wish was for me to have a happy life, the one I wanted.
I shed tears for the omega who’d gone into heat and what might have happened to her. The guilt of using her horror as my escape path hung heavy over me. Cognitively, I understood there was nothing I could’ve done for her, but that didn’t make the entire situation any better.
I shed tears for the way my alphas were treated by others because of me. The way they were taunted, disrespected, and shunned.
