“Dax always had a soft spot for you,” Jett said, his voice low and thoughtful, “though I don’t get it. Pussy is pussy. But I gottasay, your thinking you’re tough enough to fight back gets me hard.”
Sidian bit down on his tongue to keep himself quiet.Do not rise to the bait. Never rise to the bait.
“Maybe if your dog survives ours, we’ll let him watch us fuck you.” Jett chuckled, the sound dark, heavy in his throat. “Teach him how to give you what you need.”
Sidian was saved from having to speak by the sound of a door creaking down the hallway, his eyes rising off the floor to see what was going on. The upstairs was dark save for a few dim nightlights, but the figure of the omega who stepped out of what was likely the master bedroom was easy to make out, especially since Sidian knew to expect him here.
“Jett?” Lilac Kincaid’s voice was soft, uncertain. “What’s—What are you doing? Who is that? Is that the omega from the center?”
Lilac knew who he was. Sidian didn’t know if that was good or bad.
Jett grunted. “Dax wants him washed up. Get him changed into something pretty, too.”
“Yes, alpha.” Lilac scurried forward like a small animal frightened of being struck, and Jett shifted his foot away from Sidian’s back just in time for Lilac to take his hands. “Come along now. The master bathroom is through the bedroom. I’ll find you something to wear.”
Behind them, Jett’s heavy footsteps started downstairs. “Show him what it means to be a good bitch.”
Lilac helped Sidian to his feet and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, hustling him down the hallway to the bedroom and pushing the door shut behind them. The bedroom itself was dark, the only light spilling from the dim screen of a tablet sitting on the bed and a couple of ambient lights set into the ceiling. It was a comfort, though, because it smelled of omega.
“I’m so sorry.” The arm around Sidian’s shoulders squeezed as he was turned, nudged toward a closed door. “I didn’t think they could find you.”
Sidian didn’t know what to say about that. “Where’s my daughter? Do you have Amey?”
“Amey?” Lilac cocked his head as he flicked on the bathroom light, and Sidian hissed at the harsh white lighting. “Oh. That’s a nickname for Amethyst, isn’t it?”
Sidian’s heart pounded as he nodded, his nails biting into his palms as his hands flexed, curling into fists, nerves making him feel sick. The bathroom had pot-pourri in it, and the sickly sweet scent made him dizzy; he wanted to burrow into the darkness of the bedroom and find somewhere to hide.
Lilac’s face softened. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up, and then you can go see her, I think.”
The sweet relief that poured through Sidian’s veins threatened to bring him to his knees, but he allowed himself to be led to a glass shower stall in the corner on shaky legs. Lilac left him to wash himself, and though he loathed the thought of undressing anywhere in the house, he didn’t know what else to do. So he focused on scrubbing himself clean as fast as possible, opting for the scentless soap because he didn’t want to remove a single trace of Roman’s scent from his skin.
He might lose him forever. Yet again, Sidian had put Roman in harm’s way because of his own selfishness, and if he couldn’t save him, he’d carry him for as long as he could.
Lilac had left clothes on the sink counter without Sidian noticing him coming and going, which made the hairs on the nape of his neck prickle. The sight of the black satin nightie made his gorge rise, and he set it back on the sink, pressing his hands over his face and taking a deep breath. His father had tried to force him into feminine clothing ever since he had come out. It was part of the reason Sidian lost control.
Get through it,he told himself, sucking in a harsh breath through his teeth. He made himself look at his reflection, at the manic light behind his eyes.It’s just a piece of clothing. It doesn’t matter. After tonight, you’re never going to wear it again.
Because after tonight, either the Kincaids would be dead, or Sidian would be. He couldn’t survive in this house; he would go down with a fight, or he would win. It was as simple as that.
Lilac waited for him on the edge of the mattress, fiddling with the cover on the tablet as he rose on his own weak legs. He looked much as he did in the photograph Sidian had seen, though his hair was longer and just a touch messier. His eyes were almost hollowed out, and he was thinner than an omega should have been, his complexion too sallow. While Sidian had suffered at his pack’s hands during his heats, Lilac bore their abuse daily, and it showed in him. For just a moment, Sidian had hoped this was going to go the way he needed it to go.
“It wasn’t so bad, was it?” Lilac offered him a trembling smile. “Would you like to see her now?”
“Can I?” What he wanted to ask was if the pack would be angry at Lilac for allowing it, but Sidian didn’t want to ask it. He was afraid that if he did, Lilac would realize that the offer might be dangerous and rescind it. Sidianhadto see Amey. If she was in the house, hehadto.
“I don’t see why not.” Lilac took him by the hand, and Sidian let him.
The hallway was still dark, and the lack of voices in the house set Sidian on edge. Were all the alphas outside? He could make a run for it, but without knowing where he was or where to go, all he would do was get lost and die of exposure. It was just like being back in the center except, at the very least, he could see his daughter again.
Lilac pushed open a door about halfway down the hallway, revealing soft pastel walls and racks of toys and children’s books, a dresser and a changing table pushed up against the wall. At the very least, it looked like someone had done the bare minimum for Amethyst, and Sidian was grateful for that. She could have died. She could have died out there, and he never would have known.
The crib was smooth white wood, and the sheet was a soft, floral pattern. An infant slept on top of it in a cute sleep set that was a pale pastel purple, one tiny hand resting on her chest and the other half-curled into a fist next to her cheek. Her dark hair was thick and lush already, the same glossy black as Sidian’s own, her cheeks chubby and her lips parted just enough that he could hear her tiny inhales and exhales. Amethyst was relaxed in her crib, fast asleep and dreaming sweet dreams, and the sight of her brought tears to Sidian’s eyes as a tiny whimper broke from his lips.
“She’s yours, isn’t she?” Lilac murmured, and Sidian nodded as he reached down to touch her small hand, his chest aching when her fingers curled around one of his. “They brought her to me and told me to take care of her. I didn’t know where she came from.”
Sidian swallowed. “She was born at a breeding center.”
She shouldn’t have been. She should have been in a normal omega clinic, surrounded by soft ambient lighting and only people who would love her and care for her. She should have been left in his arms so that he could hold her and bond with her, so that he could nurse her and kiss her and sing her to sleep. Instead, she’d been taken so far away. All the way across the country. She was sosmall.
