“Thank goodness,” she mumbles, wrapping her arms around me and pressing into my side. “I’ve never had so many people at the house before.”
Laughing, I pat her head and turn to watch as Bea bullies Shepherd into letting her hold Everett. She’s a fierce woman, standing toe-to-toe with my scowling Alpha. I trust him with my life, and I still don’t think I could face him. That glare is scary.
Manny tucks himself against my back, chin resting on my shoulder. “I give him five minutes before he demands they give him back.”
Omen laughs, smiling at the two of us before she walks away, off to find one of her mates. She’d been thrilled when I told her Manny was officially joining our pack. They met when Pack Graves had taken her to a studio session. Of course, her mates know him well, having worked with him as their producer for three albums. They’re all thrilled to accept him into our slowly expanding family.
As a teenager, I never could have imagined this future. One surrounded by family and friends. People close enough to celebrate our wins or mourn our losses. It’s crazy to look back at the sad little girl raising her sister and then see all the love we’ve built.
Omen steals Everett from Bea’s mother, earning a glare from my Alpha. He hides his pout, but I can feel it in our bond. The twinge of possessiveness he has over the kids. If Kaitlin could sit still long enough, he would have her at his side instead. Our little girl is a whirlwind of energy as she runs around the yard, playing with Foster and Bea’s mate, Ridley.
Manny chuckles in my ear, nodding to where a flushed Omen disappears into her house.Looks like someone is sneaking away to have some adult fun! “We should do that, too. Sneak around to their front patio so I can finally get a taste of your sweet pussy.”
I groan, a tinge of desire sparking to life between my thighs. Anger thundering down Shepherd’s bond snuffs it out. My eyes fly open, searching for him in the crowd. He’s off to the side, phone pressed to his ear. Manny feels me stiffen and sees the murderous look on our mate’s face. He drags me to him, pulses racing in our ears. “What’s wrong?”
“The security company called. Our alarms were triggered. Police are on their way.” He grits out his explanation, fingers clenched tight around his phone. Someone broke into our house?Without speaking it aloud, we both know who it is. Colin. At my mother’s command.
“Let’s meet them there,” I demand. If there is damage, I want to see it. And if he happens to still be there and is arrested?Even better.
We grab Foster and ask Omen to keep the kids while we run up to the house. She gives me a worried look, but agrees. The crowd here is big enough that I know my children will be safe. Every Alpha in attendance will fight to protect them, and unless Colin miraculously gathers an army, he stands no chance against them.
The three-mile drive to the house takes forever. I can’t stop my leg from bouncing, an angry, restless energy filling my body. There’s no holding back anymore. If I see Colin again, I’m going to snap, and then I’m going to hurt him. For the years of suffering I endured because of him. All the beatings from my parents when he went crying to them. The terror of having my daughter used as a threat to keep me in line.
If the police or federal agents don’t find him first, the only thing awaiting my ex-husband is my fist flying into his stupid, ugly face.
We have to park on the side of the road because local police have the driveway full of cruisers. An officer meets us and asksfor our IDs when we tell him who we are. After confirming our identities, we’re finally let inside.
Nausea churns wildly in my stomach as we step through the door. The wreckage is immense. A clear escalation from Colin’s previous threats. He’s devolving now that my father has been sentenced, likely knowing he is next.
The back door is broken from being kicked open. Shattered glass covers the floor from the door and the picture frames he knocked from the walls. The couch cushions lie in piles of fluff, their covers sliced into ribbons. It looks like he went on a rampage, destroying anything he could get his hands on.
“It’s all replaceable,” Foster reminds me, gripping my hand tightly in his. He’s right. All of this is material. But our sense of safety cannot be repaired so easily.
A heartbreaking thought flutters through my mind, one I’m too afraid to voice. I meet Manny’s eyes over our Omega’s shoulders and gently nudge Foster into his waiting arms. He turns him toward the kitchen, giving me a moment to slip away.
The playroom is just as messy. Kaitlin’s dollhouse smashed in the center of the room. I keep going. Past her bedroom, where her clothes are tossed everywhere. Past the pristine nursery, where a brand new blue stuffed bear sits in Everett’s crib, staring at me with the silent promise that Colin will return. My feet carry me up the stairs to the one room in the house that will break me if he dared to touch it.
An officer stands in the center of the hallway, speaking into his radio. He sees me approach. “We didn’t go into the nest, but we opened the door. There’s no sign of his scent there.”
Swallowing thickly, I step past him and into the open doorway. I’m afraid to breathe for fear that they are wrong and Colin’s awful smell will have tarnished my Omega’s nest. I force my eyes open and nearly wilt in relief. All that greets me are thescents of my pack. Nothing has been moved nor is anything out of place.
Foster joins me sometime later, arms wrapping around my waist from behind. The warmth of his body mixed with the freshness of his lemon tart scent, even bitter from his stress is enough to tear a sob from my throat. “I-I t-thought-”
“Shhh, don’t cry, Angel.” He spins me, tucking my head beneath his chin. “Even if he had gone into my nest, it could be rebuilt. We could rearrange the entire house tomorrow if we wanted to. Create a new safe space for all of us.”
I cling to him, breaking into a million pieces as the weight of everything crashes down around me. The unfairness of constantly being targeted. Taunted by a man who doesn’t really care about me. Who hasnevercared.
Worst of all is knowing my mother is guiding his actions. Colin isn’t reckless enough to pull something this drastic. Not without her whispering lies into his ears.
This torment is my punishment for daring to disobey her. For fleeing their ridiculous cult and living the life of my dreams. For obtaining the freedom she’s never had. Even with my father in prison, his chains still bind her. She’s so brainwashed by his abuse that she’ll continue to act in his name. She won’t stop hunting me until she has what she wants—me, broken and begging for forgiveness, and my son under her control.
Will there ever come a day when I face normal problems?
Don’t I deserve that chance?
Hands grip beneath my thighs, wrapping them around Foster’s waist. He carries me into the nest and burrows us beneath the blankets. The softest purr vibrates beneath my head as I cry. Eventually, the tears slow, becoming cathartic. An expulsion of all my feelings from the years I spent repressing them.
The rhythmic motion of his hand gliding up and down my back beneath my sweater calms me until exhaustion claims me. I float in a dreamless sleep, guided down a lazy river by my Omega’s purr.
