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The haze lifted, and I found Cy and Odie asleep on either side of me. Their knots had deflated, and I finally got some rest, but I was ready for a long shower and a platter full of cheeseburgers. I was starving and exhausted even with the snacks and water I ate in between waves of the heat.

I lay there, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the soft sounds of my mates sleeping. My emotions were jumbled. I didn’t hate every part of it, but I couldn’t say I was okay with what happened. I’d be fine, eventually, but I doubted I’d let a heat come on any time soon. Part of me was thankful that we knew Vaila had tampered with the suppressants and it wasn’t my physiology that had fucked it all up. However, that also meant we had to question everything she did to “help.” I couldn’t dwell on it now because whatever happened happened, but worry sat low in my stomach at the thought.

Finally, I sat up and slowly adjusted myself until I could slide off the bed without disturbing them. I went into the bathroom and blasted the hot water in the shower before adjusting it to a reasonable temperature. I wanted to be scorched, not boiled alive.

I stepped in, letting the steaming water flow over me and ease the aches I felt everywhere. How long had we been going at it? Everything was a blur. It could have been one day or seven.

I washed my hair three times and scrubbed my entire body down so many times I lost count. My skin was red, but I felt better. The tension that I held in my shoulders and back slowly released, and I sank to the floor with the water washing over me and keeping me warm.

If I stayed too long, I’d fall asleep in here, and I was done with resting. Cy and Odie could sleep as long as they wanted, but I was hungry and wanted to check on Ellie.

I wrapped a towel around myself so I could make my way downstairs and to my room without flashing her. I threw on underwear, loose sweats, and a loose tee. My nipples and under carriage took the brunt of the damage, and walking around was far more difficult than I would like to admit. The slick helped, and I would be in a lot more pain if I wasn’t an Omega, but that didn’t mean I came out unscathed. I did hope their dicks were rubbed raw though. That would be a little win in my box, knowing they felt a little of the pain I was going through.

Ellie’s door was ajar, so I knocked before pushing it open a little bit and peeking inside. The screensaver on her laptop lit up the room a bit, so I stepped in and felt around the bed for her. She wasn’t there, so I looked in the bathroom. I hadn’t seen her in the living room or kitchen, so maybe she was outside suntanning or something.

With urgency, I ran around and checked all the rooms first before running outside. She was nowhere to be found. Had she gone to Gerard’s? Wouldn’t she have left a note or texted us? Certainly she would have taken her laptop and some clothes.

Running back into her room, I scoured her closet. Everything seemed to be there, but a suitcase laid open and empty on the floor. That wasn’t good. Where the fuck was she? Had she planned to go to Gerard’s after all? But why was this all still here?

Stepping back out into her room, that’s when I noticed her phone on the ground under her bed. I dove for it, bringing it out of the dark and turning it on, but it was dead.

Fuck.

I bolted upstairs to get Cy and Odie. Whatever happened, Ellie didn’t go willingly. There didn’t seem to be anything broken or out of place in here, so unless someone fixed everything before they left, there wasn’t a fight. Had she gone willingly? But why would her phone be here?

I threw open the door, slamming it against the wall, startling Cy and Odie awake.

“I’m up. What’s happening?” Cy said as she sat up right.

I climbed onto the bed and showed them Ellie’s phone with my eyes wide and panic lacing my moves. I was jittery and breathing heavily as I grabbed my notebook and scribbled a note to them.

Ellie’s gone, and her phone was under her bed, dead.

“What?” Odie said, trying to turn on Ellie’s phone. She looked around the room for her phone before finding it by the mini fridge. It was also dead.

Odie exited the room with Cy and me on her heels. They were both still naked, but they didn’t seem to care. Odie entered her room and plugged both phones in before getting dressed in biker shorts and a muscle tee. Cy had veered off to do the same and came back in, wearing a loose T-shirt dress in gray. I had never seen her in a dress before, so I was taken aback, but shook my head to keep my mind on the important things.

Finally, the phones turned on, and we realized the heat had lasted five full days. My jaw dropped open. It hadn’t felt that long, and yet it felt longer.

There were unread messages on Odie’s phone but nothing important. On Ellie’s, however, there were many messages from Vaila from the day my heat started.

She spoke with Ellie about how Gerard had asked her to pick Ellie up since she was so close already, and Ellie believed her, just as we had done.

This was all a part of Vaila’s plan. She got under our skin, played the close family friend card well, and we didn’t blink an eye. She gave us everything we needed, and look where it got us. “Vaila took Ellie… why?” Odie ground out, working through the problem out loud.

I didn’t have answers, and neither did Cy, so we all stood there in silence, staring down at the phones on the bed.

Odie started pacing around the room, and Cy sat on the bed with her head between her legs. I remained standing and staring, unable to move my body. I hoped I would wake up from this nightmare and everything would be okay, but I knew I wasn’t that lucky.

Had the cure been a lie too? What about the birth control? How fucked were we?

Grabbing Ellie’s phone, I typed out a message to Vaila.

Where the fuck did you take her?

I watched and waited, hoping she’d respond to me. When she didn’t after a few minutes, I tossed the phone on the bed and collapsed to my knees. All the emotions from the heat and now losing Ellie washed over me. Sobs formed as tears sprang from my eyes, and I curled into a ball.

I know I saved Ellie initially, but I should have left after that. I should have vanished the second Gerard backed off, but they were nice, and I felt like I needed to stay. I hated everything. Was this the curse at play again? Had Vaila lied about how long it would take to affect them? Had I ruined everything again?