by Sara Summers
“Come with me.” I plead, as more of the pack began to filter in. By the looks of the crowd already gathered, almost everyone was there.
“I can’t. But find me after the ceremony, and you can come stay with me tonight. The men will be up late talking business.” She whispered, using her shoulder to give me a little push forward since her arms were full of babies.
“I can’t do this.” I quickly shook my head.
“Yes you can.” Holly nodded.
“Is the soon-to-be Omega here?” a loud, manly voice called out.
I didn’t answer, petrified.
“She’s here!” Holly replied for me. I gave her a desperate look, and she shot me an apologetic smile.
The crowd parted, leaving a trail for me to walk through.
I slowly began to make my way down the makeshift path, wincing every time the crutches stabbed my armpits and biting back a groan every time my foot hit the ground.
Ty, Kyle, and Dean all watched me hobble forward. None of them came forward to help me, and neither did anyone in the crowd, though I could feel every set of eyes on me.
I could tell that the grave had already been dug and filled in, as there was only a small pile of dirt left next to Ty’s feet. He was holding the shovel, so I figured he’d dug the whole thing.
“Does anyone here contest my rights to be the Alpha, or that this female is my mate?” Ty called out in a booming voice, gesturing to me.
I would’ve wrapped my arms around my stomach had I not been balancing on crutches.
No one said anything, no one stepped forward or argued, as would’ve happened in my old pack. Instead, the whole pack stood still and quiet, watching to see what would happen next.
“Then it’s time to bury our old Alpha, and let Matthias take over the role. If anyone objects, step forward now.” Kyle announced. He took the shovel from Ty, and scooped up the last shovelful of dirt.
He dumped the dirt on the grave, and I waited for something magical to happen. They’d had to use Ty’s full name (I didn’t know that was his full name until then), so I figured it must be something special.
Instead of magic, I watched Ty’s shoulders slump. Then, I watched him straighten up. I was confused, since Kyle said I’d suddenly be able to feel the pack. I waited a second, but still… nothing.
“It’s done.” Dean announced. “You can go. The Alpha will come around to greet you all tomorrow, thank you for your support.” He dismissed the group.
“Thanks for coming.” Ty gave me a small smile, then patted my shoulder and disappeared into the old Alpha’s house with Kyle and Dean. I stood there, barely balancing on my crutches.
I watched them leave, though I was wobbly and tired and in pain. Ty left me there, like the rest of his pack had. I wasn’t sure if I should cry or throw one of my crutches through the window of the Alpha house, so I just stood there, unsure what I should do.
“Hey, ready to come to my place?” Holly asked. Her arms were still full of babies, but she was smiling.
“Um, I guess?” I was seriously confused as to what had just happened, but I braved the pain and followed Holly back to her golf cart.
Chapter 14
Holly’s house was one of the furthest from the Alpha house; her backyard was the forest. There weren’t any other homes or even buildings in sight.
She let us in through the front door, which hadn’t been locked, and then led me into a room on the side of the house. She put the babies into separate cribs so they could go to sleep, kissing them both on the forehead.
Holly and I left the room, and she closed the door behind us.
“Okay, I have a confession to make.” Holly admitted as she led me over to her kitchen table. “I didn’t bring you here just to be nice, even though I felt awful that you had to walk by yourself all the way from Ty’s apartment.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch you sooner, by the way.
We sat down at the table, and I noticed a single white rose in a mason jar on the counter.
Someone knocked on the door, but Holly didn’t get up.
“We’ll get it in a second, I have to explain first.” She waved it away. “The thing is, we’re tired of our mates.” Her face hardened. “We’re tired of not mattering, of being left at home to watch the kids, and do the dishes, and clean the house, and everything else. All of us women are tired of it.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“We’ve been waiting for months, trying to find a way to break free. Ty’s a good Alpha, if you ignore the fact that he treats women the same way the last one did. The way he watched you struggle to get to the front of the group, the way he left you without even a hug or kind word? It’s sickening, and it’s how almost all of the males in the pack are.
“Like I said, we’ve been wanting to get out, but we hadn’t figured out a way. When you showed up and told the old Alpha off…” her eyes brimmed with happy tears, “We knew we had a chance. Everyone had to pretend not to like you, but we’ve been dying to talk to you.
“You’re our chance at freedom—everyone’s chance.” She took my hand between hers.
“Wait, what are you saying?” I wrinkled my eyebrows, loster than lost. The medication I was on definitely didn’t help my understanding of the situation.
“We’re getting out of here.” She said, eager. “You’re gonna help us do it.”
“I am?” I checked. “How?”
“The pack is yours now, at least, half yours. You were standing next to the Alpha, so technically, though they didn’t really include you in the ceremony, you just became our Omega.” She explained.
“Okay…” I trailed off, not knowing what that meant. Someone knocked on the door again, and she waved it off.
“You’re Omega, and what you say out rules the Alpha much of the time. We’ve all been studying the books in the pack library, and everything we’ve read points it that being possible. If you were to stand in a group of us, and see that we had been mistreated, you could use your influence to protect and get us away from the Alpha and male who mistreated us.” She was excited, so her explanation was a little jumbled.
“Can you say that again, in English?” I checked.
“Do you think our pack treats women properly?” Holly asked.
“Not at all.” I folded my arms, liking the way she simplified it. The medication was slowing me down, but I could handle questions about my opinions. After my experience at the Alpha ceremony, I had plenty of unpleasant things to say about the males in the pack, particularly my own.
“Do you think there’s any reason that the women of the pack should be required to stay despite the mistreatment we’ve had?” she asked.
“No.” I frowned, slowly understanding where she was going with it.
“Then you have the power to let us go. The Omegas have been doing it for decades. Our mates don’t respect us, so we want to break free.” She said, eager.
I sat up straight, a slow smile growing on my face.
“And even better, the Alpha can’t feel you. He can feel and find any member of the pack other than you. If you let us all go at once, he won’t understand what happened. You can even leave with us! He won’t be able to find you anymore, and he won’t be able to find any of us, either.”
“But where will you go?” I took a second to ask.
“Believe me, it’s well-planned out.” She grinned. There was another knock at the door, but she waved it off yet again. “There’s a panther about 50 miles away, and she’s got a ton of land. She offered to let all of our women stay with her for as long as we want. We’ll go through the river, so our men won’t be able to smell us, and they’ll have no idea what happened.”
“Are you going to come back?” I asked.
“Not unless something seriously changes around here.” Holly shook her head, and someone knocked on the door yet again.
“Okay, really, what’s going on with the door?” I frowned.
“Here.” She pulled my arm over her shou
lder and helped me walk to the door, then pulled it open so I could see. There, on her porch, were dozens of flowers, each in its own vase, cup, or jar. “One flower for every woman who’s been disregarded and mistreated by the man who should treasure her. Each of us is a flower, and we’re wilting. You’re the only one who can save us.” She said softly.
My mouth slowly fell open, and Holly pulled me back inside her house. I heard rustling as we walked back to the table, and somehow, I knew it was more women with more flowers.
My heart started to beat a little quicker as I sat down and realized exactly what was going on.
“You started a rebellion.” I said, softly. Holly smiled wryly.
“Yes.” She nodded once. “Like everyone else, I dreamt of meeting my soulmate and dancing the night away and living happily ever after. Instead, I sit in this house all day long, all alone. I take care of two babies, who are the light of my life.
“When my mate comes home, he eats whatever he told me to cook him that morning, and then he sits in front of the TV while I rub his back and thank him for working so hard. Not once has he thanked me for watching our children. Not once has he told me that he’s grateful for me and all I do.
“All he ever tells me is what I need to do better. My makeup isn’t perfect, I smell like spit up, my hair is a mess. The broccoli is burnt, the clothes haven’t been ironed. I can’t do anything right, even if I only sleep four or five hours, spending all my time doing what he wants.
“He expects all these things from me, but he gives me nothing in return. Nothing except my two babies. They’re worth everything I’ve suffered, being married to him, but I miss my family. I miss freedom, and respect. When it all blows over here, I’ll get to go back to my old pack, and raise my sons with my brothers’ kids.” She wiped at the tears in the corners of her eyes.
“Do you have a big family, back at home?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She nodded and sniffed. “I have five brothers, and they all stayed with my parents in our old pack. I haven’t gotten to see any of them since Dean stole me away.” She said.
I squeezed her hands.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get to be with them soon.” I promised. “I’ll let all of you go free. You deserve it.”
“Thank you so much.” She cried, then came around the table and gave me a massive and wet hug. “Oh! I almost forgot.” She wiped at her eyes, then walked across the kitchen and opened a cupboard. She reached into a bowl and pulled her hand out with a familiar phone.
My eyes lit up.
“Some of the girls went to your car’s wreckage and found this.” She explained. “We heard that you had to borrow Kyle’s phone, and figured you still had phone numbers on it for friends from before you met Ty. We all know what it’s like to lose our families and friends, so we went looking for it.” She handed it to me.
“Thank you.” I said, and this time, I was the one who gave her the hug.
“You’re giving all of us a second chance.” She smiled. “It’s the least we can do.”
Someone knocked on the door again. It was the fifth time, and this time, she didn’t ignore it. Instead, she hurried over to the front, and opened the door.
She hugged the first woman as she came in, then hurried to the nursery to get her babies. That’s when girls and women of all ages started pouring into the house, younger and older children at their sides. It was a good thing Holly had a lot of space, because the women were smashed in so close to each other that I don’t think another person could fit.
Holly handed someone one of her sleeping babies, then she and someone else helped me get up on a chair.
“What do I have to do?” I whispered down to them, holding the back of the chair to keep myself up.
“Say something inspiring, then tell us you see our pain and that we’re free from the Burgandeau pack.” Holly whispered. “Oh, and make sure everyone knows that they’re going to have to be fast.”
“Okay…” I rubbed my temple. I could feel a headache coming on. Considering all I’d been up to with my injured leg, it wasn’t much of a surprise.
“Women of the Burgandeau pack.” I announced. I didn’t have to yell or shout; I had everyone’s attention. There were probably around a hundred and fifty women in the room, plus another two hundred children, but they were silent.
“Six months ago, I was kicked out of my own pack because one male couldn’t keep himself under control. He was more valuable, because of his gender, so they sent me away. I left my friends, who were the only family I ever had, and I came here.
“Since then, I’ve been hiding from the Rockies, because their men can’t control themselves. Whatever else happens, this has to stop. The inequality between our genders? The disrespect? Being treated like tools, like we’re lucky to receive any attention from our men at all? It has to stop, and what you’re doing tonight will make a difference.
“I promise, it’ll make a difference.” I paused, and when I did, I could feel something in the air. It wasn’t dominance, but something much different and much stronger. What I felt was Influence. I cared about the women in front of me the same way I cared about my friends.
I didn’t want them to get hurt, didn’t want them to be mistreated any longer. I loved those women, though I didn’t know them and their individual circumstances, and so that gave me Influence.
Having power after feeling useless for so long was a strange feeling.
“What you’re doing tonight will make history.” I promised them. “Our world is going to change after this, and so will your men. I’ll stay here and make sure of it. They will learn to love you, and I won’t let them touch you until they do.” I swore to those women, and no matter what else happened, I would keep my vow.
I noticed, in the corner of my eye, the woman who had seemed so madly in love at the feast that morning. My heart ached for her.
“You’ve pretended too long, you’ve played along for far too long. Now, it’s time to change things. It’s time to change people, and you’re going to do it.” I said.
The room remained silent, but the Influence seemed to have a life of its own. It pulsed in and out, coming from each and every one of the women. They loved each other, they cared about each other, and they were finally fighting back.
I felt my own Influence grow stronger.
“As soon as I say the words, you have to run like you’ve never run before. You know where you’re going. Run, and don’t come back until I give the word. Don’t call, don’t text, and don’t make any sort of contact. You stay silent until the pack is ready for you to return.
“Get ready. You already know that you have to shift when you hit the river, so be ready for that too.” I warned, then looked to Holly for permission.
She was beaming, and nodded eagerly at me.
“Will our mates be able to find us?” someone yelled out. “They’re supposed to be able to smell us from anywhere in the world.”
“I’ll release you from them too.” I assured her. “Alright. Women of the Burgandeau pack, and any children with you.” I raised my voice louder. It felt right, considering I was doing something big. As soon as I started, the words poured out from a place within me that I’d never felt before.
“I see your pain, and I see your struggles. Because of what you suffer, I release you from the men of the pack, whether you’re their mate or just under their jurisdiction. As the Omega, I override the Alpha and take over as full leader of you and your wellbeing.
“Now, I ask you to go. Run until you find your safe place, and run until I call you back when it is safe to return. Please, go.” I finished.
In what seemed like an instant, the women were gone. They had already planned their escape routes, already knew where they were going.
When the house was silent around me, I managed to sit down on the table, resting for just a few minutes. I pulled my coat tight around me.
Only three minutes later, the house was overrun with males.
Chapter
15
I heard howling, growling, and snarling before I saw anything. Steeling myself to face the anger of hundreds of men, I hobbled out onto the porch. I stood in the aisle between all the vases full of flowers. Each flower was different, like the women who placed it there.
There I stood, surrounded by more than a hundred flowers, each of them smelling like one of the women who had run.
The men gathered around the porch, but Influence was still rolling off of me. They couldn’t get up the stairs to where I was, none of them were dominant enough to face off with my Influence.
The crowd of men grew rapidly, and then the three guys I’d been waiting for shoved their way through the rest of the group with their dominance.
I’d expected Ty to be leading their trifecta, seeing as he was Alpha and whatnot, but Dean was at the front of their little triangle, and he was snarling and growling more than anyone else.
“Where is my mate?” He demanded, stomping up the stairs to his front porch and standing off in front of me. Apparently my Influence couldn’t touch his massive load of dominance.
“She left.” I shrugged.
Dean shoved me backward, before I could use my Influence to stop him. Ty snarled and grabbed his guy, but it was too late. I fell to the wooden planks of the porch and landed on my already-sore butt.
A few of the men actually cheered.
Ty was busy restraining Dean, but Kyle bent down and tried to help me up. I shoved him away, climbing to my feet with a whole lot of effort.
When I stood up, though I was shaky, Dean surged forward again. This time, he grabbed me by my shirt-dress. Thank goodness for my exercise shorts underneath, otherwise I would’ve flashed all those males.
“Where did she go?” he growled. Ty reached forward to grab him, but I held up my hand.
“I’ll ask you nicely this one time.” I warned. “Let go of me.” I threatened.
“Tell me where she is!” Dean snarled.
“Step back.” I commanded, shoving against him with all the Influence I had, the Influence that came from my love for the women who had suffered even more than I had.
