The guards laughed as they pushed Theo and me down the hall leading away from the sentencing hearing. I looked back, trying to catch a glimpse of Cam, who they had knocked unconscious, but a guard butted his gun against my back and yelled for me to keep walking. The walls spun and closed around me, the panic so intense I was sure my legs would give out.
They were taking us to some facility where we were sure to be separated and live out the rest of our torturous lives alone. I couldn’t keep going like this. I’d always had people I loved around me—first my sister, then Cam and Theo, and then Josie. I hadn’t realized what a privilege that was until I lost it.
Theo knocked me to the side as he tripped, his body brushing heavily against mine. The guard pulled him away immediately, but just that touch of his skin focused me and kept me from spiraling. I briefly locked eyes with my brother, and my breath caught at the fierceness of his expression. He wasn’t giving up, so I couldn’t either.
The guards pulled open a heavy metal door, revealing a parking lot and a sunny morning. I breathed in deeply—the first breath of clean air since we were arrested. I could have sworn I caught Josie’s scent on the breeze, but I knew it was wishful thinking. The entire time I’d been in my cell, the guards had pumped a vanilla scent through the vents. The first few days, it had driven me out of my mind. I’d been convinced my mate was being held in the cell next to mine. But I finally realized that the scent couldn’t be hers. It had an artificial, chemical edge, nothing like her natural, mouth-watering sweetness.
“Watch it!” Theo snarled as the guards almost dropped Cam. They just laughed before shoving us into the back of an empty van.
I fell to my knees, somewhat able to stop my fall with my bound hands, but Cam hit the metal floor with a sickening thud. Images of the courtroom guards beating him flashed before my eyes, and I almost choked on my despair. How would we get out of this?
The guards sneered at us before slamming the doors closed, trapping us in darkness. The slight gaps in the door let in just enough light for me to see Cam and Theo’s shadowy forms.
“Is Cam okay?” I whispered, unable to keep the panic out of my voice. I shuffled on my knees until I bumped into Theo. Panic surged through my body as I groaned, fighting against the metal cuffs cutting against my wrists. I needed to touch my brothers, to convince myself they were okay.
“Careful,” Theo said, gripping my hand tenderly. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
His hand was warm against my clammy skin, and a sob burst from my chest. I hadn’t been sure I’d ever feel his touch again. Separating us in the courtroom had been uniquely cruel. I leaned my head against his shoulder for just a moment, soaking up the comforting touch.
Theo squeezed my hand before letting go and crawling over to Cam. He leaned over, placing his head on Cam’s chest.
“He’s breathing and his heartbeat sounds normal. I don’t think he hit his head. Whatever they gave him just knocked him out… at least, I hope so,” he said, uncertainty seeping into his voice. “Bloody idiot. Can’t believe he tried to fight them off.” But there was no conviction in his voice. Cam would always defend those he loved, would never stop fighting.
I reached out, fumbling blindly until I found Cam’s bound hands. There was nothing hopeful about our situation, but I felt the smallest bit of relief that we were together. At least until we got to our destination.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to shut down that train of thought. If I thought about where we were going, I would fully lose my shit. Every minute that passed moved us further away from our omega. The gaping Josie-size wound in my chest burned with despair, and my throat tightened until I wasn’t sure I could breathe, wasn’t sure I could go on. We would never see her again. We had no way of knowing if she was safe. What if they had taken her to the breeding facility? Hot tears fell down my cheeks, landing where my hands were joined with Cam’s.
“Josie,” I choked out.
“I know,” Theo said, devastation clear in his voice.
We lapsed into silence. There was no more to be said.
I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that before the van’s engine roared to life. My stomach clenched. I wished I could stop time and delay the inevitable, hopeless future that awaited us.
The van lurched forward so suddenly Theo and I were knocked to the ground.
“Shit,” I said as my elbow hit the metal side of the van, the pain vibrating up my arm. The tires squealed as we picked up speed.
“Are they trying to kill us before we even get there?” Theo groaned, rolling into me as we took another hairpin turn.
We were tossed right and left before the van abruptly stopped, shooting the three of us forward. We were inches away from smashing our heads on the front grate of the van before we accelerated with a squeal, sending us backward.
“They drive like Josie,” I said with a groan, a reluctant smile tugging at my lips even as my chest tightened painfully with longing. Was that blood in my mouth? Shit… Maybe it would be better for us to die in a car crash instead of facing what came next.
I jumped as a pop song blared through the van. My heart pounded, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
“What’s going on?” I shouted.
Theo couldn’t hear me over the noise. His brow was furrowed as he tried to figure out what the fuck was going on, his eyes darting around the van’s interior. Cam still lay motionless, and I found I was a little jealous he was knocked out for this part of our torture. As the music continued to inexplicably increase in volume, I realized there must be speakers in the back of the van. Who the fuck plays music so loudly? Maybe it’s their way of preventing us from communicating with each other?
My nails scraped against the van floor, trying to find some way to anchor myself as we took another sharp turn. I realized the same song had started over while Theo and I held on for dear life. I caught his mouth moving in a few curse words as he barely braced himself in time to keep from being thrust backward and slamming into the back door of the van… And then it repeated again.
I raised my eyebrows in confusion. This must be some sort of torture technique. The song was fucking terrible. I hadn’t heard it before, but it was a female singer. I caught the line, “That alpha useless ‘till he make me cum/ But he cries when I leave him with the sun.”
“What the fuck?” I heard Theo mutter in the brief silence before the song started playing for the fifth time.
I army-crawled over to Cam, trying to use my body to anchor him in place. I wished we had more light so I could see him. Theo crawled to Cam’s other side, and together we buffered him from being thrown around.
I lost all sense of time, but a couple of hours must have gone by. Every once in a while, I caught a hint of vanilla through the air vents. I didn’t know if I should rage and scream at this cruel illusion that made me believe my mate was nearby or shove my face into the vents so I could breathe it in deeper. I must be closer to losing my mind than I thought. Josie’s scent haunted me in my dreams. Every time I woke up, I had to face reality: we had lost our omega and would never get her back.
The light shining through the cracks in the doors grew dimmer, and all the while, the same song repeated through the speakers until I was softly singing along, “Alphas useless ‘cept their dicks/Ride it like a pogo stick.”
The van lurched with a sickening noise, the metal floor vibrating and shaking beneath us.
“Are we fucking off-roading?” Theo roared.
My teeth clacked together as I braced myself and Cam the best I could.
And then, finally, we came to a stop.
The van turned off, and the song with it, the silence ringing loudly in my ears.
I groaned as my muscles protested my movements, but I forced myself into a crouched standing position. My head swam. I’d had time to think during the drive and had decided I would try to distract the guards when they opened the door. Maybe it would allow my brothers to get away. The chance was minuscule, but they had defended me my entire life. Now it was my turn to fight for them. For the first time, I was glad I hadn’t bonded Josie, thankful she wouldn’t have to feel our bond snap if I died.
“I’m going to distract them. If you can get away, you have to run, Theo,” I whispered, my jaw set, my stance wide.
“Ben, no,” Theo hissed back.
Before he could do or say anything else, the van doors flew open and I lunged at the guard.
The scent hit me mid-air.
Not an illusion or dream or trap.
Vanilla cupcakes.
My omega.
Josie Josie Josie.
Our bodies collided and I managed to get my cuffed hands over her head, pulling her into my body as I shifted to take the brunt of the fall. Air whooshed out of my lungs, but a surprisingly springy surface softened my fall.
I wouldn’t have cared if I landed on a bed of nails. Because my mate was in my arms. Her bright green eyes met my gaze, and her startled expression transformed into the most radiant smile I’d ever seen.
“Not quite the greeting I expected,” she said as we lay in a heap on a springy forest floor. “But I’ll take it.” And then she burst into tears.
