I pulled on a pair of soft leggings and Xander’s t-shirt from last night; it hung nearly to my knees, the fabric carrying traces of his unique Alpha cologne. The whole room smelled like them all, like me too. Our pack aroma laced the air thickly, and Iwondered if it would ever dissipate. I hoped not. I wanted to wake up each morning to the scent of them—Xander, Asher, Nitro, Fallon, and Kane—my Alphas.Mine. Forever.
My body still hummed with the aftereffects of their worship, each movement a reminder of how thoroughly I'd been claimed. I padded barefoot to the bathroom first, taking my medicine, then I went out to the stairs, descending and exiting near the first floor living room. As I moved, I marveled at how quickly this place had transformed from prison to sanctuary to home in the span of mere weeks.My home. Our home. The thought sent a fresh tingle of joy up my spine as I made my way to the kitchen, suddenly parched.
The cool tile felt good against my feet as I crossed to the refrigerator. When I pulled it open, I was surprised to find that the shelves were stacked with bottles of Omega tonic. I grabbed one, smiling when removing it revealed a small note beneath. I picked it up, reading aloud.
“Luce, I checked over the post-treatment recommendations. These are good for you.” This little message was from Fallon.
I slipped the note beneath a different tonic and twisted off the lid of the one I held. Lifting the little bottle to my mouth, I took a sip. The slightly bitter, medicinal taste was familiar as it hit my tongue. I’d drank many of these over the years, though Brightfield had a different brand that tried very hard to taste like cherries but failed miserably. These drinks used to be just another sign I was sick. But now they were here because one of my Alphas wanted to take care of me. Suddenly, the liquid wasn’t as bitter as before.
Finishing the tonic, I tossed the empty container into the recycling. Immediately, I opened the fridge and got a second. The fact that Fallon had stocked so many bottles made something warm unfurl in my chest. Drinking one wasn’t enough.
With the fresh bottle in hand, I wandered through the main living area, my curiosity piqued. I'd been at the compound for weeks now, but there were still rooms I'd never entered, doors I'd never opened. The discovery of the pack suite upstairs had proven that this place held secrets I hadn't yet uncovered.What else might I find?
I moved through hallways, opening doors, peeking into spaces that revealed more about the men I'd given myself to. A small library filled with books that had to be Fallon’s. The shelves were organized by color and genre. An insanely comfortable looking chair sat in one corner, just begging to be used. A floor lamp arced over it, ready to illuminate text. I could picture Fallon in here, reading the night away.
Some rooms I peeked inside were already ones I knew intimately. The bathrooms I’d scrubbed. The closets I’d laboriously organized. Xander’s room, where I’d slept for one terrifying night after Asher’s fire. One room seemed to be nothing but an altar for blades. Everywhere I looked, knives were on display.Nitro.I shook my head slowly.Definitely, Nitro.It probably said something about how I’d changed that I wasn’t surprised or terrified by a room boasting at least a thousand sharp knives.
At the end of an unfamiliar corridor, I found a locked door. I was about to move on when I noticed the key hanging on a small hook beside the frame. Taking it, I rolled the key over in my hands, debating whether to use it.
“Not exactly Fort Knots,” I mused, a smile quirking my mouth. Curiosity overtook me, and I slipped the key into the lock, turning it with a satisfying click.
The room beyond took my breath away. It was a shrine to DemonX—walls covered with framed magazine covers, display cases holding trophies and medals, shelves laden with photo albums and memorabilia. Spotlights illuminated torn andbloodied costumes mounted like museum pieces, each with a small plaque describing the stunt that had damaged it. I recognized some of the items as things my Alphas had used to make the macabre display to greet me the day I’d arrived. Other things were brand new and wildly intriguing.
I moved through the space in wonder, fingers tracing over glass cases that protected newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, and photographs from their earliest performances. Five young men stared back at me from these images. They were wilder versions of the Alphas I knew, with hunger in their eyes and something to prove to the world. Fallon’s hair had no grey streaks. Xander’s hair, to my amazement, was ash blonde instead of bottle black. Asher was grinning, a cigarette pinched between his lips. Nitro held four blades in each hand; hilts tucked between his fingers like they were claws.
A leather jacket hung on a mannequin in the corner, ripped across the shoulder and stained dark at the edges. KANE was embroidered across the back in bold silver thread. Unable to resist, I lifted it carefully from the display and slipped it on. The leather was soft from wear, heavy across my shoulders, the sleeves falling well past my fingertips. I hugged it around myself, breathing in the faint traces of Kane's scent that lingered beneath the leather and motor oil.
In this moment, wearing his battle scar, surrounded by the evidence of their shared history, I felt the weight of what it meant to be part of DemonX. Not just their Omega, but a member of something legendary.Venom. The name they'd chosen for me echoed in my mind, both terrifying and thrilling.Would I join them in the spotlight someday? Would I become part of the story on these walls?
I carefully replaced the jacket and continued my exploration, eventually finding my way into a narrow room lined with monitors. I froze in the doorway, my breath catching as Irecognized various areas of the compound displayed on different screens. The kitchen, the living room, the entryways, the grounds… all captured from multiple angles.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I muttered, moving closer to examine the setup.
Realization dawned slowly, then all at once, leaving me struggling to absorb my feelings. They'd been watching me. From the beginning. When I'd first arrived here—terrified, furious, desperate—they'd seen everything. My attempts to move the mattress in my locked room. My humiliating use of buckets when they wouldn't let me access the bathroom. The hours I'd spent scrubbing their floors on hands and knees, determined to prove my worth.
Every humiliating moment, watched from afar. I’d been their plaything and their entertainment.
Heat rushed to my face, embarrassment warring with indignation.
But then something else occurred to me.
Was this how Xander knew about Asher’s fire in time to save me? I could still feel the heat of those flames if I thought hard enough. And I could still see him knocking Asher to the ground, putting the fire out, and carrying me away.
My anger faded enough that I could temper this new knowledge against how my Alphas had treated me since the hospital. Yes, this felt violating, but it was also the reason I didn’t burn to death as soon as I’d arrived.
My eyes caught on a monitor in the corner displaying a familiar room. The pack suite, where all five of them had claimed me, marked me, and made me theirs only last night. My breath hitched as I realized the implications.Everythingwe'd done last night had been recorded.
I should have been mortified. Instead, curiosity and hunger curled in my belly. I sank into the chair before the monitors,fingers hovering over the controls. A few clicks and I found the recording menu, quickly locating last night's footage from the pack suite. Years of isolation spent treating computers as a portal to the outside world had left me pretty tech savvy.
My finger hesitated over the play button for only a moment before pressing down. The screen filled with images of the massive bed, of tangled limbs and moving bodies. Of me, at the center of it all, coming apart in ways I'd never imagined possible.
I watched, mesmerized by the sight of my own pleasure, by the reverent way five powerful Alphas handled my body. It should have been strange, watching myself this way, but instead it was intoxicating—seeing the beauty they saw in me, the desire I inspired in them. I’d only ever seen my flaws and how sickness had changed me. I’d never taken a moment to consider that maybe the scars and strangeness of disease had formed me into something beautiful.
The footage captivated me completely. I was so absorbed that I didn't hear the front door open or the approaching footsteps. When shadows fell across the large desk and monitors, I startled violently.
"Well, well," Asher's voice drawled from behind me, amusement and heat coloring his tone. "What have we here?"
I spun in the chair, my cheeks burning but my chin lifted defiantly. Five pairs of eyes stared back at me, expressions ranging from shocked to amused to hungry.
