My heart pounded so loudly I was convinced my alphas could hear it.
“Why haven’t we heard anything?” I asked, not for the first time.
It was midday and no news had broken about the government.
Theo sat next to me in the cabin’s kitchen, one hand firmly planted on my thigh and the other one refreshing his news app every few seconds.
“Something’s gone wrong,” I said, my chest seizing. I moved to get up and start pacing again, but Cam’s arms encircled me from behind.
“You’re okay, little omega. We’ll hear something soon,” he said.
“You don’t know that,” I responded, struggling against his hold.
Ben put the apple pie he was making into the oven and came over, lifting me onto the counter.
Earlier this morning, Ben had convinced me to help him bake, but a few minutes into prep, he’d pulled the knife out of my hand with a shout. Apparently, I had been about to slice my fingers without realizing it. He’d wrapped a warm blanket around me and relegated me to the role of pie-making supervisor.
Ben widened my legs so he could stand between them, hugging me tightly to his chest. Cam stood beside him and cupped the back of my neck, his thumb running up and down my skin in a soothing rhythm.
“We’re all together no matter what happens,” Ben said, settling his hand on my breast and pressing against my bond mark.
“You cannot do this in public,” I said sternly, but I couldn’t help smiling into his neck as I nipped his bond mark.
“Shit,” Theo said, standing up so abruptly that the kitchen stool clattered to the floor behind him. I whined, terrified of what he was about to say.
“They did it,” he continued, eyes wide as he held out his phone for us to look at.
Breaking News: The Overthrowers Overthrown: Governor Jacoby, Senator Leader Jericho Porter, and other Designation Government Officials Arrested by Alliance Coup.
“The Alliance presented evidence of the facilities to the legislature, which convened in an emergency session at three in the morning,” Theo said, his fingers furiously clicking through various articles. “They moved to arrest Glen and the rest of the fuckers.”
“What took them so long?” Cam asked, voicing my exact question. My throat felt too tight to speak.
“Glen barricaded himself in his house and ordered his guards to fight to the death,” Theo said with a grimace.
My mind briefly flickered to Dave and I wondered if he’d made it out.
“But the Alliance got him in the end. He was booked into Tansy Prison about thirty minutes ago along with Jericho, Richard, Dr. Bishop, Marshall Whiteburn, and all the guards from the facilities,” Theo said, reaching out to grab my hand and rubbing my bond mark with his thumb.
He held up another article, which had all of their mug shots. I forced myself to look at the faces of the men who haunted my dreams.
They can’t hurt you anymore.
It’s over.
My vision blurred and I looked away. I thought I would feel this huge relief, but telling myself it was over and really feeling it were two different things. What if they haunted me forever? What if I could never heal from what they’d done to me?
“Why do I still feel like this?” I asked, shifting uncomfortably on the counter. My skin felt too sensitive, too exposed.
Cam gripped my face in both hands, forcing me to meet his gaze. His eyes were dark, and I knew he understood what I was asking.
“Just because they’re gone doesn’t mean it all goes away instantly. But it will get easier.”
“Promise?” I asked, lip trembling.
“Promise, sweetheart.”
I tried to believe him, but my chest still felt tight and the device itched. Glen’s sadistic smile flashed in front of me and I whimpered, reaching up to scratch at the device. Theo caught my hand and refused to let it go, even when I tried to break free of his grip. All of my guys pressed against me and purred.
The vibrations in their chest loosened something in mine. I was here with them.
Held.
Protected.
Safe.
“We can get that removed now, angel,” Theo whispered as he kissed my arm.
“Right now?” I asked.
Cam stiffened. “Let’s wait until Angie can do it. With anesthesia this time.”
I opened my mouth to argue, driven by the need to get the device out, to feel less tainted. But then I took a deep breath and closed my mouth. There was no way I would convince them to cut it out of me. And maybe, just maybe, my body didn’t deserve any more trauma.
I closed my eyes, allowing myself to feel their hands on my body, the way they crowded against me and pressed sweet kisses to any skin they could get to.
“Can we stay here for a while?” I asked, breaking the silence. The cabin was small and cozy, and it smelled like my alphas.
“I already contacted our realtor to put the house on the market,” Theo said, causing all of us to turn and look at him.
He ran his hand through his hair. “I mean, it’s not on the market yet,” he said sheepishly. “Just wanted to be prepared if we wanted to sell and buy something new.”
The words he wasn’t saying hung in the air.
None of us wanted to return to the house.
Cam clapped Theo on the shoulder. “Sounds good to me. We’ll find a new house that works for all of us, yeah?”
Ben nodded, squeezing my hand.
I bit my lip. “What about the nest?”
“We’ll pack up anything you want to keep, love,” Theo said.
I gave him a small smile. I didn’t want to leave the things in my nest for anyone else to touch, but the idea of starting somewhere new felt right.
“You know what I think we should do?” Theo asked, the slightest hint of mischief reaching me through the bond.
I raised my eyebrows.
“Go for a drive,” he said with a grin.
I held my breath. Was he suggesting what I thought he was?
Theo pulled the car keys from his back pocket with a flourish and presented them to me.
I squealed, plucking them from his hand before he changed his mind and held them close to my chest. Ben threw his fist in the air with a whoop, and Cam just groaned, pressing his face into my hair. I giggled, tugging down Cam’s shirt so I could place a kiss on his bond mark before hopping off the counter and running to the door to put my shoes on.
“Let’s go!” I shouted, looking back at my alphas. They stood close to each other, watching me with tenderness. A surge of love met me in the bond so strong it almost buckled my knees.
We held each other’s gazes for a moment that seemed to stretch to eternity, the silence holding everything we couldn’t put into words. But in all of it, there was love. So much love, I wasn’t sure my heart could handle it.
And then the spell was broken. Ben bounded over to me, twirling me around in the air. Cam wrapped me up in a jacket, muttering about it being too cold out, and Theo held the driver’s side door open for me.
The air was cold and crisp, and the gravel road stretching from the cabin felt like possibility as I turned the key.
