by Layla Heart
Because from here on out, there’s only one way that they’re going to try to get Cyra back and that’s by trying to get us arrested... Break us away from Cyra so they’ve got free reign to do whatever they want with her while the whole world sympathizes with them and supports them the whole way. We’ll be the bad guys and they will be the ones people feel sorry for and will try to help.
Hell. What kind of twisted world are we living in?
30
Liam
Was I being childish by teasing Max and the others with those hickeys on Cyra’s neck and then running away? Maybe a little.
But I couldn’t stay to see how they would react, that didn’t feel like a safe plan. Cyra had been so out of it, in her post-orgasm bliss, that she didn’t even notice me making them. I couldn’t help myself. I know that when I really mate her, I’ll mark her with a bite, which will stay visible for the rest of her life, but for now, I couldn’t resist marking her like this, just temporarily.
Hell. Watching her as she came, holding her in my arms. That was the best feeling in the world and I loved it. But, of course, our little bubble of bliss couldn’t last and we had to return to the real world. We had to return to the real world, filled with horrible things.
I sit in the dunes, not too far from the house. Close enough that I can still see the back of the place, but I’m hiding in the dune grass, so it’ll be hard for anyone to spot me.
When Max, or one of the others, doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to hunt me down, I get up. I’d like to take a shower and put on some clean clothes, get rid of this sand all up my ass. Hugging and rolling around in the sand is all fun and games, unless you’re doing it naked and it gets all up in your asscrack and into sensitive places it really shouldn’t be going... Ugh.
When I reach the house, the curtains of Cyra’s room are closed. They weren’t before... Then I glance inside the living area of the house and find Max, Zack and Spence sitting at the table. Silent, but looking decidedly unhappy.
I quickly grab my clothes from the ground and walk through the door into the living area, somehow hoping they won’t stop me before I reach the stairs.
“Cyra is about to run out of her pheromone suppressants, she doesn’t have any heat suppressants less than two weeks before mating season starts and her parents have just announced that they’ve got a more worthy mate lined up for her.” Zack’s voice is deadpan and I still, my heart going from zero to sixty in moments.
Fuck. No. “I’m not handing her over.” I’m almost surprised by the growl in my voice, but when I glance at the others, it’s obvious that they’re thinking the same.
Sighing, I go over to the table, putting my clothes on the chair first, remembering Max’ comment from before. Then I unlock my laptop and click on the program where I’m keeping track of any mentions of Cyra.
Yep. It’s right here. Her parents have announced that they’ve had a mate picked out for her for years, they supposedly ‘just didn’t know where she was’ so they couldn’t tell her. That’s... That’s total bull. Why are people accepting these lies so easily? Why aren’t they questioning it?
The thing about already having a mate for Cyra is a pile of shit so big you can see it from space.
I sit down, the sand not really getting any more comfortable, but I ignore it. “How did she react?”
Zack makes a sound, like a snort. “We didn’t get that far. She got...” He eyes Max. “Someone got into a fight with her before we could tell her.”
I eye Max. I know that he was about to rip me another one when he’d seen the hickey on her before, but why did he get into a fight with Cyra? That makes little sense.
Max shrugs. “I might have been on edge.” Aren’t we all?
Spence sits up straight. “Two weeks. She said she had enough medication left for two weeks. But that doesn’t include heat suppressants yet.” He looks to each of us. “Anyone know where we can get her meds on such short notice?”
I shake my head. My way of staying out of trouble involves staying away from Omegas and just keeping my head down and working hard, and I know the same goes for Max. So my eyes land on Zack, who with his player image, has to have some clue, right?
Zack shrugs and makes an awkward sound. “Don’t look at me. I only do human girls, less drama.”
“Great. So, how are we going to fix this? Are we going to keep her locked up here for the next weeks, or all of mating season? That... That doesn’t sound like a good idea.” I look down at the stream of new messages coming in about Cyra, details about the mate her parents have chosen for her, shit like that. I close the screen, really not wanting to know these things, especially not right now. We’ve got more pressing issues than the mate her parents chose, like her potentially going into heat with all of us around.
Soft footsteps pad into the room, and then Cyra’s voice. “Let me go home.” She speaks barely above a whisper. “At least, let me get back to the city. I know where I can get meds. I just...” Her shoulders fall, her face pained. “I have no way to pay for them. That’s why I accepted to go to the party with Max and Liam, hoping to get some money for meds.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’ll pay for them. I’m not letting something stupid like money get in the way of keeping you safe.”
She jerks her head up, narrowing her eyes, but Spence cuts in before she can say anything. “We’ll all pay for it. If we’re going to be a family, all five of us, then taking care of medication should be a shared thing.” He gives me a pointed look and I nod.
“Yes. We’ll all pay for it. That should cover the costs more easily. We’ll all pay equally.” -ish I keep forgetting her pride, how she wants to do things herself, how she doesn’t want us to do things for her. “But it’s still a ‘no’ on you going back to the city. It’s not safe.”
She growls, balling her fists. “Then, how are you going to make sure I don’t go into heat? How are you going to make sure I won’t drive you all insane?” She’s still angry, obviously. “If you won’t let me get to the city, how will you make sure you get the right meds? That you get what I need?”
“We’ll figure something out. We’ve got time.” I shrug. Though, I have a feeling we’re talking days, not weeks, for how soon we need to find a solution.
“Before or after my parents charge you with kidnapping? Before they get the police to close all of your accounts? Before the whole world will be looking for you?” She comes closer, the fire in her eyes bright. “Because I know about the mate thing. I just saw it on the news. Cat’s out of the bag. They apparently found someone who they think is ‘good enough’ for me, and now they really want me back. Seems that their tears about ‘finally finding their lost Omega’ are great publicity in attracting a rich mate for me. Or maybe the poor Alpha is just impressed by how they’ve been playing the media.”
“Yeah...” Zack stretches, looking at her but then looking away. “I was going to tell you... Just... Stuff happened.”
Cyra sighs, almost defeated. “I knew this was going to happen. I’d just hoped it would take them longer than a day to get to this point, to the point of them parading some Alpha around who is supposed to be my future Alpha. A guy they can’t have known for more than a handful of hours themselves. That my parents might have had some integrity. Seems I was expecting too much of them.” She shakes her head and I reach out to her, taking her hand carefully and she softly squeezes my hand.
“What do you want? What do you want us to do next?” Because we can come up with all the plans in the world, but this is her life, this is her life that’s being all upturned. Everything she’s fought for for years is now being ripped apart by people around her, her parents but also by us. We’re not much better in that regard, not unless we stop making decisions for her.
In this world we live in, she’s not given a choice, her own voice, because she’s an Omega and choices are made for her, never with her. Alphas and Betas make choices for her, not with her, and we have to br
eak that cycle if we’re ever going to make this work.
Cyra looks at our interlocked hands, slowly breathing, her eyes going watery. “I want... I just want to live a normal life. I don’t want to have to answer to my parents or to an Alpha or whatever. I want to be able to live my own life. But that’s not going to happen. That’s never going to happen, is it?”
I stand up, taking her in my arms, my heart breaking at the pain in her voice. “We can try. We can try to make that happen.”
“How? In what world is an Omega like me ever going to be able to control their own life? Not controlled by their Alpha parent and then the Alpha they mate?” Her voice is so sad while also filled with righteous anger.
Max gets up too, wrapping his arms around her from the other side. “A world where an Omega phoenix shifter has not one, but four Alpha mates who are going to fight for her.” He nuzzles against her hair, his low voice muffled. “Your every wish is our command.”
Then Spence appears, also holding her. “If you want to, I can buy you the whole damn cafe you work at, so that you can safely work there for as long as you want. Or work anywhere you want. You say it, I’ll make it happen. I’ll make sure that you can do whatever you want and nobody is going to get in your way, not even me.”
Finally, Zack shows up, smirking. “I know some great bouncers and bodyguards.” Then he puts his fingers under Cyra’s chin, looking at her seriously. “I promise you. I will never stop you from fulfilling your dreams.” He gives her a quick smile. “You’d probably kill me for trying anyway.” Then he looks serious again. “Your life will never be the same, not after this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up on your dreams. It just means you have four Alphas at your side who will move heaven and earth, quite literally in some cases, to help you fulfil them.”
Tears streak down her cheeks as she nods. “Thank you.”
Though, from the look in her eyes, I’m not sure she really believes it. Which is fine. We’ll make her believe. We’ll do whatever we can to make her believe. To make her believe that things can really work out for her.
She’s got four Alpha mates who aren’t exactly cheering at finding their Omega mate either, and I suspect that we’ll be a strange little family, even if you ignore the whole ‘four mates’ part of it all.
We’ve all got our own issues, our own problems to face, and none of us are ready to have a mate or start a family. But it seems that fate doesn’t take ‘being ready’ into account when it throws stuff at you.
31
Cyra
I wish today was over already. It feels like I’ve spent a week worth of energy in just the one day. It’s starting to go dark outside, but I don’t know if today is going to be over any time soon.
“Here.” Zack hands me a plate with some slices of pizza on it as he sits down on the couch next to me.
“Thanks.” I pick up a slice and take a big bite of the gooey tomato and cheesy goodness. There’s little that a gooey pizza at the end of the day can’t fix, at least to some extend.
We eat in quiet as Spence, Max and Liam are sitting at the table, softly talking among themselves about what we need here when it comes to clothes and things like that. More than just the bare minimum. If they should order things and get them delivered or if they can get their own stuff delivered here without tipping anyone off.
Zack puts his plate away, making himself more comfortable on the couch, slouching down, his sexy body on display, as he plays his fingers on my leg. “If you could live anywhere, where would you live?” That question seems to come out of nowhere...
I eye him. “You’re not planning on buying a house right now, are you?”
He shrugs, not looking very surprised with my return question. “Just wondering.” He keeps his voice light, but I don’t think this is just a random question he came up with.
“That’s not a no.” But since he’s not saying more, just looking at me curiously, I answer him anyway. “Somewhere near the edge of the city, so it would be easy to get to work, but also close to nature, forests, lakes, sea, whatever, nature.”
“What type of house?”
“I don’t care.” I let out a little laugh. “I really don’t care. A roof over my head is enough. But...” I look out the window, out to the sea. “If it’s not just me, if it would be with the four of you... Which I’m still not convinced is a good plan.” Mates or not, what am I supposed to do with four of them? Especially since some of them seem out to kill each other every other hour... I shoot him a look and he smirks, winking.
“Better get used to it, princess. We’re not going anywhere.”
“Figured as much.” I find his hand with mine and weave our fingers together, holding him. His roaming fingers were sending all sorts of sparks through my body, and getting fingered by one guy is enough today... “If all five of us have to live in it. It would need offices for all of you, probably bedrooms too. And I’d need my own room, in case I need to get away from you all. And my room needs to be able to lock, and should be filled with... It should be filled with books.”
“What about...” His hand tightens in mine a moment. “What about bedrooms for kids?”
I still and realise that the whole room has gone quiet, deadly quiet, suddenly. They’re all listening now. I lick my lips, shaking my head. “No. At least... I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.” My voice breaks and I stand up, going over to the window as I wrap my arms around myself, tears threatening to spill.
Why did he have to ask me that? Couldn’t he have just let it be? It was almost fun, imagining a place to live, something that isn’t a tiny apartment, but why did he have to bring reality into it?
Zack steps behind me, carefully taking me in his arms, kissing my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. I’m sorry.”
I nod, but my words won’t come. I can’t even think about these things right now. Too much is going on. Way too much is going on. How can I think of a future with kids, with them, when I don’t even know if I’ll make it to the new year without losing them? When I don’t even know if I’ll make it to the new year without my parents ruining everything? How can I think of the future when the now is so uncertain?
Taking a deep breath, I break his embrace. I don’t want to, but I also can’t stay here, not now, not with what’s going through my mind. “I’m off to bed. See you in the morning.” My voice falters at the end. I’m so tired, exhausted, in every way possible.
I give a quick wave to the others, who all wish me a quick ‘goodnight’, and then I’m off to my bedroom.
Closing the door behind me, making sure I lock it well, I slide down and lean against it. This is all going too fast, way too fast. I don’t even have time to think or to breathe. It’s all... It’s too fast and way too much.
I just can’t.
The next morning, after a rough night, full of nightmares about losing Zack, Spence, Max and Liam, full of nightmares that my parents are going to kidnap me and forcefully mate to whoever they want, I finally get up, almost more exhausted than when I went to sleep. I take my meds and have a long shower, being extra careful about using all my products
When I feel as ready as I can possibly feel, I leave my room and find Spence in the living room, already working on his laptop.
He looks up, giving me a bright smile. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”
I shrug. “I had more hours than yesterday?” I still feel wrung out, like someone squeezed all the life out of me.
He nods, eyes darkening, pained, giving me a tight smile. I’m probably not the only one with nightmares and general bad sleep right now. “There’s breakfast in the kitchen, if you’re hungry. And fresh coffee.”
“Where are the others?” I don’t see them, or hear them.
“Out. Mostly getting new clothes and a few other things. Zack refuses to buy anything for the other guys, but also won’t let them buy for him and Max and Liam were willing to put up with the guy for a few hours.” He s
miles slightly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they all come home with clothes for you and not much for themselves.”
I roll my eyes, sighing. “I’m not even... You know what? I’m not awake enough for this shit.” I shake my head and walk into the kitchen, grabbing a plate with croissants and strawberries and a big mug of coffee. Then I sit opposite Spence at the table. “What are you doing?”
He shrugs, giving a quick laugh. “Working. It seems not everyone’s lives have blown up because of last weekend. Clients want to know about their contracts and stuff like that. Not very interesting. I mostly have to delegate some of my clients to people who are actually in the city at the moment, to show them potential buildings. Be a responsible employee and everything.”
“You’re a hardworking guy.” I nibble on a croissant.
“I take pride in my job. And don’t let Zack fool you, but he’s pretty damn good at his job too.” Spence steals a strawberry from my plate and pops it into his mouth, looking pretty damn full of himself, before his face falls. “His Alpha has been giving him shit for not having a mate yet, because it would give him more ‘prestige’ with some of the clients. Like he can’t be trusted because he doesn’t have a mate, no matter how hard he works, how often he proves himself.”
I’m surprised by how angry Spence is about it. “And you?”
He shrugs. “We don’t have huge clients like he has. Our clients don’t tend to care as much about status as the clients that Zack has to deal with. You’re as good as you prove to be, not by how fancy you can deck out your Omega when you take them to a meeting.” He pulls a face.
“Is that why you two went to the party together? To give them the middle finger about mates?” I’ve not talked about it with them, too much has happened in the time since and I’d almost forgotten about their stunt at the Gala.
