“Kait and I would rather not eat charred eggs for breakfast, thanks.”
Omen rolls her eyes, a smile stretching across her lips as she waves me off. I take a moment to study her, ignoring the signs of her rejection. She’s in a t-shirt this morning, showing me a glimpse of the tattoo on her chest. While I cannot foresee myself ever getting one, I think it suits her. Much more than the frilly pastel church dresses we were forced to wear in the cult.
“You’re practically swaying on your feet, Hannah. You’re as likely to burn the food as I am.”
Pursing my lips, I narrow my eyes at her. If either of us is barely staying upright, it’s her. A strong wind could knock her over.
Before I can argue with her, Foster and Shepherd arrive. Both men are sleep-ruffled, their hair messy and eyes heavy. And they are shirtless.Holy muscles!Foster is lean and athletic, with soft, but well-defined abs. My hands clench into fists to stop myself from fanning my face, because damn, the sight of the two of them in low-slung sweatpants lights a fire between my legs.
Turning away, I try to regulate my breathing and focus on Kaitlin. Icannotbe drooling over the hot Alpha-Omega pair even if they are my Fate-matched mates. I’m married, for goodness’ sake! And pregnant!
“Nope, no way. Hand over the spatula.” Shepherd’s voice is gruff, full of grit in the early hours. It flows through the air and wraps around my body, raising the hair on my arms.
This is extremely unfair. If they weren’t taking scent blockers… I’d be ruined.
Foster steps closer to the table across from where Kaitlin sits and leans down to smile at her. “Good morning, Sweet Girl. Did you have a good sleep?”
My daughter ducks behind the edge of my dress, but nods politely in response to his question.
The breath in my lungs freezes when his brilliant aquamarine eyes flicker up to me. “And you? Did you sleep well?”
Averting my gaze, I give him the same polite response. Fates, we need to get to our safe house and away from these tempting men. They deserve better than a Beta pack mate burdened with a marriage she never wanted. My life is far too complicated to consider belonging to them, even if every ounce of my soul screams to let them claim me.
Thankfully, breakfast keeps us busy. We’re all focused on eating and preparing for the conversation we know will follow.
A sense of confidence straightens my spine as we move into the living room. Slowly dismantling my father’s cult, one piece of evidence at a time, is my life’s work. I’ve spent years helping to build a case against him. Getting Alphas and Omegas out of his reach before he can damage them. Making up for my role as a daughter of the Montgomery cult. Sure, a large part of my decision to work for the DAU and to remain in Whitlan was to protect Omen. Ensuring our parents never get their hands on her is as important to me as breathing. But I also used my role to relieve myself of some of the guilt I felt for being unable to stop the atrocities my father committed.
The people he harmed will forever haunt me, even if I know I am not responsible for their pain.
“The last time we heard from you was when you told us you believed your family had discovered your sister’s identity.”
My lips twitch into a scowl. Donovan is right; that was the last debrief I had sent them. My Beta sister-in-law, Jacqueline, had stopped by the house uninvited. She is a horrible woman.One who fed into the anti-designation beliefs the cult preaches. She’s hated Omen since the moment they met, even before my sister presented. Her hatred intensified when someone suggested that Omen had fled because she was an Alpha or an Omega. Jacqueline had spent the quick visit sneering and telling me she had found Omen, promising she had already shared her location with my father.
After she had left, I sent an urgent message to my contact at the DAU to alert them to the potential threat to my sister’s safety. Part of me hoped Jacqueline was bluffing, but then Omen’s identity had been outed to the media. While there is little doubt that my sister-in-law was the mastermind behind that ploy, it showed me Jacqueline knew who Omen was, but didn’t knowwhereshe was.
I quickly explain all of this to Omen. When I tell her that Jacqueline was the one responsible for drugging her when she presented five years ago, her expression falls. My heart aches for all she has been through. Emerging as an Omega and leaving your entire life behind? That was hell, but she’s spent every day since then hiding, forever a target of our messed-up family.
“There’s no evidence to back my suspicions, but I believe she was working alongside Doctor Harrison, and that’s how she got access to the drug.”
We both shiver, disgust curling our lips at the thought of the Beta scientist our father works with. Father may be filled with hate and high on the power he holds, but he is nothing compared to the Doctor. That man is evil incarnate.
“Wait, if Jacqueline said she knew where I was hiding, do you think-”
“Yes. It is likely Jacqueline Montgomery, or someone working for her, attacked you at the festival in Boston,” Donovan confirms solemnly.
Wrinkling my brow, I instinctively turn to look at Shepherd for an explanation, but catch myself before I meet his eye. I wasn’t aware Omen had been drugged a second time. Now that I think about it, she mentioned that last night, didn’t she? If I ever see my sister-in-law again, I’m going to knock her on her behind. It’s the least she deserves after everything she has put Omen through.
Shaking off the inklings of rage, I continue my explanation. “Three days ago, Jacqueline approached our father to speak privately. From the sounds of his screaming and the shattered glass we had to clean from his office, it was easy to realize she admitted she had found you and confirmed you were an Omega.”
I hadn’t made the connection about the reason for Father’s screaming until I overheard his call with Colin two days later, but I don’t want to worry my sister with information about their trafficking operation. Her heart cannot handle the added stress of knowing our parents are kidnapping other Omegas because they cannot get their hands on her.
Kaitlin walks over to join us, showing me the picture she colored before crawling into my lap. Her weight against my side comforts me. Rubbing my hand up and down her back, I continue explaining everything to the group. “It is likely that Jacqueline is behind the article that outed your identity. They wanted to force you to run, hoping you would make a mistake and be easier to capture. Father sent out several small teams to track you down after he had confirmation of where you were.”
I don’t have to explain to Omen what our father plans to do to her if his men capture her. She grew up in the same household I did. Witnessed the same horrific crimes against the designated. It is the same, or worse, than what will happen to me when he inevitably discovers my betrayal.
“They have something big planned. Something related to Adam Pierson’s campaign for the presidency. Father’s been meeting with both the senator and Doctor Harrison more often over the past two months.”
Thinking back on all the meetings Father held in the past few months, guilt quickly sinks in. I should have done more. Taken the risk and broke into the church office to find out what he is planning.
