It’s been two hours since Riley first went into the room, and my ass feels as if it’s fallen asleep. My legs also have electric pulses of pain as the muscles lock up and release, but you’d never be able to tell from the lack of expression on my face.
I suppose if Winter and Bellamy are going to go through withdrawals from the drugs they’ve been on, sleep is the best thing for them.
My limbs feel like lead as I cross the house, unable to enjoy the high ceilings, crown molding, or chandelier that came with the house. There’s a lot of history here, yet it doesn’t mean much right now. It’s simply a place to keep my pack and omegas safe from a world that’s shown its ass.
It continually shocks me how people can be so cruel to people who don’t deserve it. I may be a killer, but they always deserve the bullet I put in their brain. In some cases, my pack and I get fancy with our torture, yet this is just our way of rebalancing karmic energy.
Sometimes, it needs it.
It’s difficult not to collapse into my office chair, and I pull the bottle of whiskey toward me because I think I may need it.
“Want one?” I ask, dragging two glass tumblers toward me.
“I wouldn’t normally, but yeah I’ll take one,” Riley mutters, dragging his hand through his brown hair. It’s standing up in places, testament to whatever he saw earlier. “Did you know they’re both branded on their left butt cheek?”
My eyes are probably shooting fire at him but he shakes his head.
“Cassidy doesn’t know either. I noticed it when Winter went to the bathroom. As the drugs move out of her system slowly, whatever weakness she was experiencing is also fading away,”he explains. It’s clear he doesn’t want to have this conversation with me, yet here we are. “Winter held onto the furniture as she walked, and didn’t want any help, which I can understand. I simply explained where the bathroom was, which thankfully wasn’t far. While Cassidy was talking to Bellamy as he woke up again, Winter’s shorts slipped down her waist. I couldn’t see what it said, but it’s definitely a branding burn mark. When I glanced at Bellamy his eyes moved to his step-sister and he rubbed his backside as if in memory of it.”
“So you don’t know for sure if he has the same brand,” I muse. “It would make sense if he did though. Fuck.”
Pouring out a healthy amount of whiskey into both glasses, I push one in Riley’s direction. The door to my office is closed, and there’s no way to overhear us.
“What else?” I ask, watching as he grabs his glass like a life line.
“They’re tight lipped and scared, so outside of the medical stuff, there isn’t much I can tell you,” Riley says honestly. “I have some conjecture, but I don’t want to taint the pool of information that we do have.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. I still want to know,” I say. “I can maintain separation of what you do and don’t know.”
Taking a deep drink of alcohol, Riley nods. He’s seen a lot in his clinicals, and his own omega has deep medical trauma of her own they’re working through. I think Winter and Bellamy remind him of Nina.
I don’t blame him for having strong feelings right now.
“Bellamy told me that they were kept in the cages in between clients,” Riley explains. “The Hug Project used their plug to help alphas as a way to draw them into the business. They had a lot of repeat clients, which means those alphas enjoyed having sex with the omegas, and wanted an easy repeat performance.”
I don’t enjoy having sex with people who are under the influence. Those who do can’t possibly enjoy consensual intimacy either.
“There was always a point to tell the alphas in the room to behave themselves,” he continues. “This was something Winter mentioned actually. They weren’t completely sure how long they’ve been with the people running The Hug Project, but she did remember the speech the woman gave. Winter said her name was Mrs. Beshmal. Apparently, her job was to welcome the alphas into the room, and she did the same for the private time booked as well.”
“Do you know what’s different about the ‘private time’?” I ask, drinking my whiskey to help with the nausea I’m beginning to feel.
“I’ll get there,” Riley promises. “The Hug Project’s ‘hook’ is that since they insist everyone be respectful during their visit, they can act horrified and request for reparations on behalf of their workers. While we know that’s bullshit and the omegas are there against their will, it did scare the alphas into forking over hundreds of dollars to ensure the cops weren’t called on them.”
I think about how disheveled Cassidy was when I found her, and shake my head. She wouldn’t have started anything, even drugged, but being impaired would have made it harder for her to say no. This is the equivalent of being roofied in my mind.
“I believe that the private rooms are offered either after that first encounter, or to their clientele who understand sex is on the table,” he continues. “Since Bellamy and Winter have spent all of their time at The Hug Project sedated and drugged, they couldn’t really say.”
“That’s not sex,” I growl. “That’s rape.”
“Correct. Tread carefully, Abbott. I get the feeling this isn’t the first time they’ve been exploited,” Riley sighs. “Both of them told me they haven’t eaten much recently, and that water wasbarely a suggestion since they were treated like fuck toys. I have some suggestions to help with nutrition and exercise to get them back to top strength, but for now, I doubt they’ll be very hungry. I took some blood to figure out what drugs they’re on because that’ll help while they detox. My money is on an opioid.”
“Detoxing is going to suck for them,” I mutter. “Thank you for everything, Riley. Is there anything else I need to know?”
“This is simply a hunch, but I think they were sold through an auction,” he says. “I don’t want that shit where I live, and I know the other packs we’re close with would agree. If you need help clearing them out, just say the word.”
“I appreciate it,” I say gratefully. It’s nice to have friends I’m not paying.
“Call me anytime, and I’ll come back to check their IV fluids after I drop off the blood samples to the hospital. I have a friend who will run them if I slide him some money,” Riley says.
