“What am I doing here?” I ask her, but she presses her mouth into a thin line, shakes her head, and leaves quickly. I know she knows the answer, but she can’t say. And there’s something about the answer to that question that she doesn’t like.
I bet I’m not going to like it either.
And then, a few hours later, the door opens and someone else comes in.
It takes me a moment to recognize him in the dim light. He’s older than me, maybe in his fifties, with a grizzly beard and gray hair. He’s slim but muscular. He stands with his palms pressed together in front of him, almost as if in prayer, but nothing about him looks holy.
“Tell me your name,” he says.
“Tell me yours,” I counter.
He steps forward and slaps me across the face. I’m so startled by it that I cry out.
“Tell me your name,” he says again as if nothing happened.
“L-Lane.” My resistance has evaporated.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” He smiles mirthlessly. “Soon enough, you will call me alpha, and then you’ll obey every order you’re given.”
I shake my head. “I have an alpha already.”
“But those bonds can be broken.” He takes my chin in his hand and turns my face side to side, examining it. “You’re lovely and strong, aren’t you? Well, of course you are. You’re an omega. I’ve never heard of a weak or ugly one. No, your genes are ideal to pass along to your cubs.”
For one heart stopping moment, I think he knows my secret.
Then he speaks again. “We’ll begin breeding you immediately. Our pack is in danger of extinction, and you’ll be exactly what we need to save us.”
“Breeding me?” I whisper. A thrill of fear runs through me, but I feel no surprise. On some level, I think I knew this was coming. After all, they kidnapped me because I’m an omega. It’s become pretty clear, based on conversations with my true pack, that some shifters see omegas as good for one thing only.
“You’ll start with me, of course,” he says. “The pack needs a new alpha, someone to take my place when I die. With my genes and yours combined, I know he’ll be strong and capable. And once you’ve had my litter, each of the others in the pack can take a turn. When we’re finished, we’ll have a nice big generation going forward. No pack in the province will be able to stand against us.”
Horror fills me as I see my future stretched out before me. Every man in this pack will take a turn with me. I’ll give them not one litter of cubs, but as many as they want, until I’m no longer able to do it. And then...I don’t know. When they can’t use me anymore, will they just throw me away? Will this be my life now? If so, I was better off with Georgianne and Rick, and I never should have left.
I have to believe there’s a way out for me. Somehow, I’ll get out of this. Emily will help me. I know she’s not on board with the pack’s plans. Maybe, like Zoe, she’s hurt because she wishes she could have helped produce the next generation herself. Or maybe she’s just a decent person and doesn’t want to see another human being go through what I’m about to. Either way, I know she’s my only chance.
And the fact that I’m already pregnant...
I don’t know what that’s going to do. Will it help me? I won’t be able to get pregnant, not for a long time, since I’m already carrying a litter. But when I start to show, this man will probably assume my babies are his. And when they’re born? Will he take them for his own? It would absolutely break my heart to see that happen. But on the other hand, if he figures out they aren’t his, what will he do to them?
The man releases my face and steps back. “Get a good night’s sleep,” he says. “We begin in the morning.” And with that, I’m alone again.
I retreat into the corner of my room and pull my knees to my chest, wrapping my jacket around them to try to approximate some sort of comfort. I lean my head against the wall and pretend it’s Clay’s broad chest. I wrap my arms around myself and pretend that Mike is holding me. And as I close my eyes, I imagine that Bruno is somewhere out there, racing toward me, coming to free me from this horrible situation.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It’s strange finding myself back in Montreal after all this time. The streets are sparsely trafficked this late at night, but they’re so familiar. In many ways it feels like coming home, even though I try to shut that instinct down. I don’t want this place to feel like home to me. That’s a dangerous trap and I can’t allow it to pull me in.
We leave the bikes parked by the side of the road a couple of blocks away from Harlan’s house so that we can make our approach quietly. As we make our way along the sidewalk, sticking to the shadows, I run scenarios through my head. We’re good fighters, all three of us, but I know we’re going to be outnumbered. Harlan’s pack has five men in it. The women probably won’t fight—he’s never trained them for that. Which seems shortsighted and even misogynistic to me now, but I can hardly judge, because I never taught Lane how to fight either. If I had, maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.
No. I can’t think like that. I can’t allow myself to get caught up in what I should have done. I just need to find her and get her back. Nothing else matters until I get her back.
Behind me, Clay and Mike move like shadows. Seeing them in this situation is opening my eyes to just how much I’ve underestimated them in recent weeks. I’ve allowed myself to see Clay as all muscle and no brains. I’ve reduced Mike to just his emotions. But now here they both are, falling in line with my plan without needing anything explained to them. I’ve underestimated my packmates. I won’t make that mistake again.
We turn the corner onto Harlan’s street. Our street. It’s hard not to think of it that way. After all, the three of us grew up here. When we were children, we used to play in this street. A few years later I learned to ride a motorcycle here. This is the most familiar place in the world to me, and something in me wants to relax on seeing it again. We’re home.
No. We’re not home. This is a dangerous place for us, not a home. I need to remember that. I can’t let that thought out of my mind. If I let my guard down, even for a moment, if I allow myself to be lulled into feeling safe here, it could have terrible repercussions for Lane. She’s my omega, and it is my job to protect her. My blood seems to move faster at the thought of her in danger, somewhere in that house, alone and probably terrified. My hands clench and unclench at my sides. I’m going to tear their limbs from their bodies.
“Easy, Bruno,” Clay whispers. “We need to go in smart.”
“Right.” I take a breath. “Best strategy is not to let them know we’re all here. Mike and I will go in hot and demand Lane back. Clay, wait until the house is distracted. Then you sneak in after us and go find her, and get her out. Once you’ve got her, get to the bikes. Take her back up north to the rest of the pack. No detours.”
“How will you know we’re out?” Clay asks. “You’ll need to make your own escape once I’ve got her.”
“Ride by the front of the house,” I say. “Rev your engine twice. We’ll be listening for that, and it will be our cue to cut and run.”
Mike frowns. “I don’t know about this, Bruno. Do you really think splitting up is the best strategy? Aren’t we stronger together?”
“We’re already split up,” I tell him. “They’ve got Lane on her own, and that’s not okay. We’ve got to get her. That’s the most important thing. Whatever else happens in there, we’ve got to get Lane out.”
Mike nods. I can’t help wondering what this feels like for him. He’s imprinted on Lane too. So has Clay. I know they care about her, and I know they feel an instinctive need to protect her. But I’m her alpha, and that adds a layer they can’t understand. It’s my responsibility to keep my pack safe. I’m losing my mind having my omega in the clutches of my old pack, but I would feel this way if it was any of them, too. Letting Clay go off on his own in that house runs counter to every instinct I have but one — the instinct to find and protect L
ane.
“We’ll take them into the den,” I tell Clay. I can see the windows from the street. “Wait until you see the lights come on. Then make your move.”
Clay nods once. “Understood.”
“Be safe,” I tell him. “No unnecessary risks. You’re no good to her if you get yourself into trouble.”
Clay nods once.
“All right then.” I turn to Mike. “Let’s do this.”
Walking up to the front door makes me feel like I’ve traveled back in time. I almost reach out and open it, the way I could when I lived here. Just in time, I catch myself and ring the bell instead.
“Here goes nothing,” Mike whispers.”
The door swings open to reveal Emily. She’s wearing an apron covered in flour and stained with red sauce, and I know she’s been cooking. Her food is so delicious, and I’ve been living on fried freshwater fish and boiled rabbit for almost a month. I take a deep breath and steel myself. “Emily. We’ve come to see Harlan.”
“WHERE’S CLAY?” HARLAN asks immediately.
I expected the question, of course, and I do my best to keep my face blank. “He isn’t with us. Mike and I came alone.”
Harlan frowns, then turns to Vince, who’s currently flanking him. “Search the house,” he says quietly. “He might be here.”
“We didn’t come here to attack you, Harlan,” I say. “We don’t want a fight.”
“What do you want, then?”
“The omega,” I say. “She’s ours.”
“Yours?” Harlan raises his eyebrows. “We found her alone. We brought her back with us. I say she’s ours now. What claim do you have?”
“I’m her alpha.”
“And I was yours,” he points out. “Don’t tell me you suddenly respect the sanctity of that bond.”
I swallow hard. “He’s imprinted on her,” I say, indicating Mike. I don’t want Harlan to know I’ve imprinted too. I want him to think I’m being cool and logical, and not to realize I’m about to scream. But maybe he’ll be moved by the claim of an imprint. “The two of them are mates,” I say.
Harlan just shrugs. “That doesn’t prevent her from being mated to anyone else.”
“Harlan, please,” I say. “They have a bond. It’s cruel to separate them.”
“Is it?” Harlan leans forward in his chair. “And what would you have me do? Allow my pack to die out? Put an end to the Hell’s Bears in Montreal? You cut my pack in half when you took two of my youngest and strongest and left with them. Our women are aging, and all of them are betas. This young omega is our chance to survive, and you want me to hand her over to you because he thinks he’s imprinted on her? I don’t care about any imprint. I care about the future of my family. Who’s going to take over as alpha when I’m gone?”
This infuriates me. “You had years,” I point out. “Years when you could have been working to produce heirs. If this is about the next alpha, why haven’t you been working on it all along? Why haven’t you impregnated a single woman in all the years I’ve known you? Were you just waiting and hoping an omega would come along?”
“Of course, not,” Harlan says. “I thought I had the problem solved years ago. But you ruined everything.”
“What are you talking about?”
Suddenly, beside me, Mike’s eyes go wide and he curses under his breath. “Bruno,” he murmurs.
Harlan leans forward in his chair. “I imagined a son of mine would be smarter,” he says, his voice ripe with sadness. “I hoped you would grow some intelligence, in time. That you’d be ready to lead when your day came.”
“Did...” did he say son?
“But you only seemed to become less and less aware as the years went on,” Harlan says. “You were promising as a child. I hoped you would figure out who you were—who you must be— as you aged. I hoped you would step into your true identity. But you never embraced it. Did you truly not know, Bruno? Or were you just afraid of the responsibility? Is that why you ran away from the pack?”
I feel numb inside. “I’m your son.”
“Of course, you are,” Harlan says. “Fathered years ago, on a woman I knew before Emily. She had to be sent away after your birth, of course. I couldn’t have her around interfering with the way I wanted to raise you. I needed you to prove yourself by discovering the truth of your parentage and your alpha status. Then I’d know you were smart enough and strong enough to lead after I died.”
I can’t speak. This explains everything. This explains why I was the one to ascend to power when Clay, Mike, and I left Harlan. The alpha blood has been in me all along. I was never truly a beta. I was Harlan’s heir. Harlan is my father.
Emily is standing at his shoulder watching me, pity etched into her features, and a certain sadness as well. I think she must have known. I think she always knew, from the moment she met Harlan, that he already had his heir and that she wouldn’t be able to give him one. And now that I’ve broken the bond, I’m sure it’s too late for her to have a child for him. She’s always been kind to me, almost like a mother herself. I’m sorry to have brought her this grief.
But Harlan...
What kind of a man is he? It was appalling enough to think that he could kidnap Lane away from her pack, knowing that she was bonded to us. But how can he steal an omega from his own son? How can he prioritize the continuation of his pack above the continuation of mine? Isn’t a father supposed to want his son to prosper?
Of course, a father is supposed to want his son to know who he is, too. I can’t believe that in all these years, he’s never told me. He’s let me believe my parents were dead. I don’t care if he was testing me. That’s sick. And what could it possibly prove? If I ever figured out Harlan was my father, it would have been visual clues that gave it away. The shape of his jaw is similar to mine, I see now that I’m looking for it, and we both have the same eye color. But I wouldn’t have guessed the truth from these little similarities. I probably never would have registered that they were there.
The door to the den bursts open. My heart sinks into my boots. Vince is back, and he’s pushing Clay ahead of him, holding Clay’s arm twisted behind his back to force him onward. He shoves Clay into line beside me and Mike and retreats to stand by the door, presumably to block any attempt at escape.
“So, he is here,” Harlan says. “That was a lie, then.”
I laugh. “You really want to talk about who’s lying? My entire life has been a lie, Harlan.”
“I found him trying to break into the omega’s room,” Vince says.
“Hoping to steal her back?” Harlan asks.
“Not steal,” Clay says. “She’s one of us.”
“And you’re one of us,” Harlan says. “You should never have left, Clay. It will take time to earn my forgiveness and trust. You were wise to come home when you did so that you could get started.” He gets to his feet and sweeps toward the door, the others on his heels.
Vince is last out of the room, and he shakes his head at us before retreating and pulling the door closed, locking us in.
Chapter Twenty-Four
LANE
I honestly don’t know whether I feel better or worse after they take Clay away from my door.
Because on one hand, he’s here. And that’s incredible. I never believed anyone would be able to actually find me, but Clay has. Somebody knows where I am. I’m not lost forever.
But on the other hand, those monsters who brought me here have Clay now. And that’s the last thing I wanted. What will they do to him? Will they hurt him? Or worse? One thing I know for sure is that they’re not going to want to let him walk out of this house with me. Which means that the absolute best-case scenario, the best I can hope for, is that they let him go and he leaves me here.
That’s not much of a best-case scenario at all.
But on the other hand, Clay doesn’t operate alone. I know that as well as anyone. Clay is a pack animal. And if he knows I’m here, that means the rest of my pack probably knows, t
oo. So, Clay might not be my only hope.
But if that’s true, if the whole pack is here, then it’s going to come to a fight. And I’m not sure we can win. These bears, the ones holding me prisoner, they’re huge, muscular and fierce-looking. And that’s when they’re their human selves. What must they be like after they’ve shifted? How dangerous will they be to face? And if it does come to a fight, will I lose friends?
I can’t stand it. I need to get out of this room, to see what’s going on and confirm for myself that everyone I love is all right. But there’s no way out. There’s nothing I can do.
Maybe when Emily comes with food again, I can push her down and run past her. The idea sickens me. She’s so much older than I am, and she’s been nothing but kind. To repay her with violence of any kind feels twisted. But if it’s the only way for me to get out of this room...I think I would do it. I would hate myself for it, but I would do it.
And so, I wait. I position myself against the wall beside the door so that when Emily comes in, I can grab her and shove her away. I don’t have any idea how long I’ll be waiting for her, but I’m determined to be prepared. I know that when she does come in, I’ll only have a split-second to make my move. Emily might be older, but she isn’t stupid. I’m probably only going to get one good shot at her.
Time drags on, though, and I begin to wonder whether Emily is coming anytime soon. With Clay in the house, maybe everyone is too distracted to think about things like feeding me right now. Maybe she won’t come until they’re finished doing whatever they’re going to do to Clay. Maybe I’ll be too late to help him, and the others if they’re here. The thought fills me with dread.
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