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EMME

I n the week since we’d returned home I’d fallen apart.

The moment I stepped into the entrance, and breathed in the comforting scent and vibe of home , my body and mind fell headfirst into bouts of suffering.

The first couple of days were plagued with nightmares, none of which I remembered upon waking, but I was always left with a sense of loss as tears rained down my cheeks.

Kellan and Hunter were the best comfort through the night, and I’d have lost my mind without them.

On the days I couldn’t drag myself from bed, Kellan sat by my side and read to me, the same novel Finley had read to him when he was dying.

My golden boy’s voice wasn’t as deep and rumbly as the bear’s, but it was soothing and lyrical, weaving a tale of romance, betrayal, lust, and intrigue.

He even got a few laughs out of me, especially when he gave everyone their own “voice.” It was all healing to my soul, until eventually I found the will to get my ass out of bed.

After showering, washing my hair, and shaving half my body, I felt like a functioning shifter.

Hunter ushered me downstairs in the hopes I would eat, and after I satisfied our entitled alpha’s demands, I’d found myself helping Florence with her baking.

Then I’d started baking myself.

Using recipes from my time working in restaurants, I soon had cookies, muffins, and tarts lining the benches.

The alphas started handing them out to family on our street, to their staff in Reeves Technologies, and the enforcers guarding the compound.

Even Cora and Warrick left with two huge baskets when they visited, though I hadn’t had the energy to do more than hug them and promise I’d catch up with them soon.

I just didn’t know what to say to anyone.

I didn’t know how to explain that while I was furious and broken over Talon’s actions, I also didn’t completely blame him. There was this annoying sliver of hope lingering in my essence.

I hated Fletcher Davenport with my entire soul, but my feelings toward Talon were more… complicated. He was here in the house somewhere, and I wanted to see him, but I was still too much of a mess to deal with the forced bond.

At least I’d finally found the mental fortitude to reveal the truth to my pack, even if they appeared to already know some of it.

“It wasn’t obvious at first,” I continued, wishing I had more cookies to place on cooling racks to keep my hands busy.

“The way they abused her. Or maybe I was too young to notice. But as I got older, there was no way to hide it.”

None of them moved a muscle, as if they were afraid any interruption would stop me again from revealing my past. Little did they know that an asteroid could be heading for our house and I’d stand here until they knew the full truth.

“The bruises were always there, along with healing cuts and marks. Over the years her spirit was diminished, which ended up being a positive for me, as she lost her will to torture me in her spare time.

“One day, when I was maybe twelve, I caught Blaine biting my mom. That in and of itself wasn’t odd, but I noticed that whenever he did this, she looked paler and weak afterwards. The bite marks stopped healing so quickly, and it was clear that she was suffering.”

Slade’s hard gaze caught mine, but his expression remained neutral as he took a bite of his second muffin. It stupidly pleased me to see them all eating my baking—pride at feeding our mates had my wolf preening.

“I didn’t know at that time, but I figured it out soon after that Blaine was drawing on the energy of her wolf. Her shifter essence. He was taking it and making himself stronger and more powerful. Just before she died, Mom was all but contained to her room, speaking mostly in random mumbles.”

Kellan, on my left side, drew in closer to me, as if sensing the worst was still to come.

“In one of these rants, she cursed the goddess for the design flaw of allowing omegas to power an alpha. Without their consent, basically. An alpha, once bonded, could draw on our essence without asking for permission.”

I sucked in another deep breath, my memories tainted with the spikes of fear I’d felt that day. I’d been unsure at the time if what she said was true, but either way, it changed everything for me.

“She said it was the worst when bonded into a pack of alphas,” I managed to say, my voice roughened with unshed fear and pain.

“It’s an unusual bonding to start with, and it generally happens in times of crisis.

She also told me that alphas will always crave more power and strength.

That it’s in your nature.” I shrugged. “With the Rogers pack, that was absolutely the truth, and they ravaged her during her last years, drawing so much energy that she lost her wolf. On the day she died, she left a note saying her beast was gone, and so was she. Then she hanged herself. I had to cut her down, and in that moment I knew that my designation as an omega put me in a position to lose myself the way mom did.”

All four alphas remained quiet, and even as I examined my hands, I felt their stares on me. My wolf lifted her head, enjoying the attention, but I was nervous to see their reactions… especially Finley.

“That’s how you saved me,” Kellan said suddenly, his voice filled with hushed horror, and I jerked my gaze up to meet his. “After we bonded, you used your essence to give me enough strength to fight the witch magic.”

As impossible as it sounded, I’d all but forgotten that I’d shared my essence with him. As far as I could tell, there’d been no long-lasting or permanent damage from it. “I did, and I would do it again in a heartbeat,” I said, letting my sincerity ring out.

Kellan shifted forward until our foreheads touched, the piercing blue of his eyes intense and desperate as they bored into mine.

“No, you won’t, pretty mate. Never ever again.

I haven’t felt any draw to take more of your essence since that incident, but we don’t know if it truly could be corruptive over time.

Especially once you end up bonding with all of us. ”

Against my will, my gaze darted to Finley, who had his head bowed, the remnants of his muffin nothing more than crumbs in his palms. Despite the small steps he’d made to lessen the chasm between us, we were still very far from being in any sort of good place .

I had no idea how he’d react to this revelation, when he’d been the one pushing for me to tell them all along. To explain so they’d understand my rejection.

As Kellan pressed his lips to my cheek, I let out a sigh. “I’m so sorry that I believed you’d all be the same as the Rogers pack. I was scared and uneducated, and my instincts were to run and protect myself at all costs. But I was wrong.”

Hunter growled low and deep, and when I turned toward him I wasn’t surprised to find myself caught in gold-tinted irises.

“This is not your fault. The way you reacted was logical, and not telling us made sense—we could have reassured you every day forever that we were different, and even meant it, but if this power corrupts alphas over time, then there’s still a chance it could happen. ”

When it looked like he was going to back away, I reached out and grasped his shirt.

“Wait, there’s more to the story. Fletcher revealed to me that he’s the reason Mom died…

She was one of his experiments. He told me he’s been experimenting for years, and that Blaine and his pack were placed in my mom’s life.

They weren’t corrupted by her essence; they came into the entire mating corrupted.

” As the anger washed through me, my voice grew louder.

“And I’d bet my left tit that they weren’t scent matches or even a proper pack.

Everything was a ruse, and it cost Mom her life. ”

Kellan laughed in a harsh bark. “No betting of body parts, Shortcake. I’m quite fond of both boobs, but I do think you’re on the right path with that line of thought.”

There was more, and I hated having to say it out loud, but it was important.

“Fletcher also said that Mom was just a placeholder while they waited for me to come of age to be bonded. He made it sound as if I was the one they wanted all along, but they couldn’t do anything until I was old enough to claim my omega heritage.

My mom’s death was a catalyst that arrived just at the right moment.

I ran right after, but it’s weird that none of them ever tracked me down. ”

Heat rose in the kitchen, and it was impossible to tell who it came from, but a good portion was absolutely dragon in origin. “There’s been a piece of this story I’ve been missing all along,” Slade said, and I was so relieved to hear his voice I almost sighed. “And that piece was fucking Fletcher.”

Of all the alphas, I’d barely seen Slade this week.

Kellan told me he was with Talon mostly, which was in no way a relief, but I was worried about how he was handling everything that happened.

I knew he’d take this hard, and I wanted to be there for him while he dealt with a new dragon, Fletcher’s betrayal, and what happened to me.

Hopefully I was finally in a strong enough mental space to help my alphas now too.

“Was that the only piece you were missing?” I asked him, barely suppressing my happy sigh at being trapped in his glowing green gaze once more.

He considered his response before shaking his head. “No, there’s more. One of them could be that mysterious shifter I was never able to identify. The one present at your birth. I showed you the footage of him crossing paths with the Rogers pack that same night. He has answers. I can feel it.”

I remembered the shifter. He’d been a fairly nondescript looking male, and I’d never seen him before in my life. “You haven’t found out anything more about him?”

Slade’s voice edged into dark and brittle territory.

“I’ve been failing monumentally at tracking lately.

I know it’s due to the sheer level of magic involved, and now that we’re aware it’s a Termaine witch, I’m not surprised.

Their bloodline is one of the ancients, from the first of their kind, and they have proven on more than one occasion to enjoy darker magics. ”

Finley broke the silence as he finally abandoned the muffin, dusting off his hands on his sides as he said, “We’re going to have to bring Jewels back into the ranks, aren’t we?”

A part of me would forever be grateful to Jewels for what she did to save Kellan, but another part of me had really hoped I’d never see her again.

Unfortunately, when no one argued, I knew that in this situation, she was our only chance to even out the playing field.

There was no battling magic without her help.

“Magic protects Fletcher,” Hunter rumbled, words as sharp as daggers. “But he won’t stay hidden forever. Not only will he be desperate to keep his plan moving forward, we’re also holding his weapon. Which he’ll be wanting back.”

Slade stood suddenly, that grim expression tugging down his features once more. “I need to break that bastard before we send him back in pieces.”

My heart lurched at the notion of breaking Talon, and even worse, Slade being the one to do it. Words burst from me in a rush. “Can I talk to him first?”

I didn’t miss the look of horror directed my way from Finley, and I hurried to explain. “I have questions for him, and I need to know if there’s a way to deal with this bond without one or both of us having to die. Fletcher has more knowledge than us, and hopefully that means Talon has more too.”

Hunter shook his head. “If he’s Fletcher’s weapon, there’s no way we can trust him in the same room as you.”

That made sense, but it also wasn’t the entire truth.

“He’s not involved in their evil plan as an equal.

Fletcher treats him like… a pet. No, worse than a pet, he treats him like a weapon that he uses when needed.

He called him dragon, it, or thing. I was the one who gave him the name Talon.

” My chest grew tight as I recalled that look on his face when he finally got a name.

An identity and piece of dignity returned to him.

“He’s never been treated like a shifter, and while I’m furious about what he did to me, blaming Talon would be like blaming the knife for stabbing, instead of the one who wielded it.

Talon might have been the blade that struck, but Fletcher was the wielder.

All of which is to say… this is not black and white, and I need to talk to him. ”

There was complete silence in the kitchen, and then to my surprise, Slade was the first to break.

He waved for me to follow him. “I can ensure he doesn’t get free or hurt you.

” When Hunter made to follow us too, Slade shook his head.

“The rest of you need to wait here. The dragon isn’t going to talk with everyone there. ”

They all looked torn, but none of them argued with Slade.

In his current mood, it was far safer just to do as he instructed.

As I left the kitchen, I gave the mixer and ingredients one last look, relieved that I finally felt like I could move on to the next stage of grief.

I’d been clinging to baking rather than dealing with what happened to me, but one could only hide for so long before reality forced them into the open.

And it was now time to face my demons—starting with the one locked in this house somewhere.

“Can one of you take the tarts out of the oven when the timer beeps,” I called back, not caring who responded.

Finley shouted, “No problem,” at the same time Kellan hollered, “Mine! The tarts are mine and I’ll fucking cut anyone who touches them.”

With a final glance over my shoulder, I chuckled as I caught sight of Kellan with his chest heaving and arms out on either side of him, pointing his fingers at Hunter and Finley. “Don’t even think about it.”

Both alphas wore expressions like they couldn’t believe this idiot was about to fight them over sweets, and I found myself actually happy for the first time in days.

Being with my mates reminded me that I hadn’t lost anything yet.

We were all alive and together, and we would figure our issues out. One way or another.