Page 56 of Bliss & Her Idols (Pack Bonds Omegaverse #10)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Idol Camp, Idol Estate

“ O nly be permanently locked up…?” I mutter under my breath, as I cross the courtyard behind Torin toward the Idol camp, still unable to believe he told me like that.

By the time that this mission is over, I will show Torin that there is no only about him being ripped away from our pack and imprisoned.

None of us would survive that.

Torin’s suffering and pain matter.

“Hmm, what did you say?” Torin glances over his shoulder.

“Nothing,” I reply. “Yet.”

“This is the camp.” Torin gestures at the vast concrete building that looks more like a compound than a dance academy. Even the bright sunshine can’t make the gray walls and barred windows look less bleak.

Torin and I have already scaled a high wall because apparently, the Idols need to be caged even further.

I’d been worried that there would be a high tech security system installed to keep the Idols on campus. Then we would have had to work out how to bypass it, if we wanted to investigate further.

But Torin shook his head. “My brothers don’t need it.

Where would the Idols go? They’ve all signed contracts.

Their families are eager for them to be here for the chance at fame and fortune.

Why would the Betas want to disappoint their packs, huh?

That’s the best control method. Only true rebels like Jin and Zero slip their leashes to roam the estate.

But look how long it’s taken them to truly escape. ”

Jin’s costumes and hidden messages in his concerts…

The code written into Jin’s letters to Cricket…

Jin desperately reaching out to me as a journalist at the meet and greet and on Pack Bonds island…

He’s been fighting for every one of his friends back in the camp as hard as Torin has and possibly, for longer.

Jin has a huge heart. One of gold.

He’s much more than a celebrity or a singer. Fame doesn’t mean anything to him, only the chance to perform.

Yet the parasitic Idol Alphas take the talent of these Beta creatives to enrich themselves, then they drain the joy from them.

They turn their dreams into nightmares.

Cricket and I are the Omegas who picked up Jin’s messages and fell in love with him, during our own campaigns to expose the same industry.

It’s fate that we came together.

And I’m the Omega journalist who will shine a light on the puppeteers who are making the pretty puppets dance. I’ll expose Philomena.

At the same time, I’ll show every Omega that they too can be brave enough to stand up to injustice.

They can have a voice.

Torin grabs me by the arm, yanking me against the side of the rough wall into the shadows.

He holds his finger to his lips. “Someone is coming.”

Adrenaline spikes through me.

My breathing becomes ragged, as I focus in on the light footfalls.

Then a beautiful man in casual back joggers and t-shirt, which is startlingly contrasted by his white hair, rounds the corner.

His brow is creased in concern.

“Jin!” I call out.

Jin spins on the spot. His face lights up. Then he bounds toward us with a wide grin, grabbing me into a tight hug.

His warm citrus scent wraps around me as tightly as his arms are.

“My Queen,” Jin’s voice flows over me like melted caramel, “I knew that you’d win the game of Sniff Out Our Alpha. You’re both like magnets, drawn irresistibly together. I could see it, while you were both pretending to be enemies.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Torin grumbles.

At the same time, I cross my arms. “I was only hoping for hate sex.”

The tips of Torin’s ears turn red.

Jin lets go of me, reaching to grab Torin instead.

As soon as Torin flinches, however, drawing back, Jin understands what it means, before he sees the welts on Torin’s back.

Jin’s lips thin, but he doesn’t say anything.

Instead, his gaze meets Torin’s with a lifetime of shared experience and trauma.

“What’s the next step in making sure that the Head Alpha never hurts anyone again?” Jin’s voice has become steely with determination.

“How about you give me a tour?” I reply.

“I’m the first journalist to have made it onto this infamous estate.

It’s Mena’s weakness that she isn’t treating me like she would an Alpha or Beta.

Because I’m an Omega, she believes that I’m not a threat.

Yet she’s allowed an investigative journalist into the heart of her empire.

I can observe behind enemy lines. I’m your secret weapon. ”

Jin’s expression becomes dangerous. “ You’re the dragon. I know exactly what to show you first.”

He grabs me by the hand.

I try to keep up, as he tugs me at a run after him down the side of the building.

When he stops at a small iron door, I bend over, catching my breath.

Torin swaggers after us. “The dance studio…?”

“The one-way mirror in the studio.” Jin shoves his hair behind his ear.

“Devin and Aran are both teaching today. This little known entrance is used for the VIPs who get their kicks out of watching practice through a one-way mirror. Also, when they’re choosing the Idols, with whom they want to bond. ”

My skin crawls. “They’ve been using it as a viewing room to sell off Idols.”

“Zero and I found it on one of our after curfew adventures. I guess that the twins forgot to lock it. It took us a couple of years to work out what was going on.”

Torin pales.

It appears that even he doesn’t know everything that his family has been doing.

Jin opens the door as quietly as he can, ushering us into the tiny, empty room beyond.

The room is plain without carpets or furniture. But luxury and comfort aren’t the point.

The point is the one-way glass wall that runs the length of the room, which looks into a brightly lit dance studio on the other side.

It’s disconcerting enough for me to grip onto Torin’s arm.

Jin strolls to the front next to the glass, staring intently at the scene that is unfolding in front of us.

My throat is dry.

I stare with wide eyes at the gleaming studio, which is surrounded by mirrors.

The floor and low ceiling are painted in holographic stars.

Words in gold are woven between the stars.

I shiver, when I realize that they are phrases picked out, as if they’re motivational phrases from the Beta Idols Rulebook:

Idols must keep the pack’s secrets

To reach the top in show business, you must smile to hide the tears.

For a star to shine the brightest, it must be motivated by the terror of being forever dimmed in the night sky.

A dozen college aged Betas, who are dressed in the same black joggers and tops to Jin, are lined in neat ranks with their hair scraped back from their heads with clips. It’s not hard to imagine when Jin had once been just like them.

They’re standing eerily motionless.

I stiffen with a combination of rage and anxiety, when I notice the twins in the room.

Despite the fact that they’re teaching, they’re still wearing suave suits with pearly white waistcoats.

They’ve dropped the faked good humor, however, and now simply look mean and intimidating.

What I guess to be Aran, the dance coach, strides up and down the ranks of students.

Devin leans against the wall, twirling a broken guitar string in his hand.

Jin’s gaze is instantly drawn to the guitar string.

He flinches.

“Do you remember the time that we kept the class up for two days straight, until they got the routine right?” Aran glances at his brother.

“Yes, yes!” Devin laughs like it’s a fantastic joke. Except, the scared whimpers from the Idols show that they don’t think it’s funny. “In the end, they were sobbing, and begging, and several fainted. Then this one kid—”

“Pissed himself.” Aran gleefully grins. “Wait, wasn’t it the nation’s favorite bad boy, Ice Dragon? We have to tell that story at the next family breakfast.”

Jin’s shoulders hunch. His cheeks redden.

This is how Jin was trained…?

I should have known, but it still hurts to hear.

“So,” Aran barks, loudly enough to make the Idols jump, “if you don’t want that to be the type of story I tell about you , when you’re winning your first Grammy, get this fucking routine right. Now. ”

Instantly, the Idols leap into a complex dance routine.

It looks perfect to me, breathtaking, but Aran howls with rage.

“Stop, stop . The rhythm is all wrong, you fucking useless pieces of shit. How many times? You’re all on food restrictions for three days.” He dives into the terrified ranks, grabbing a girl by her hair and pulling her to the floor. “Blame this Idol. Devin?”

“My pleasure.” Devin pushes away from the wall with a casual shrug.

Jin’s fingers are now white against the glass.

Torin cusses under his breath.

My brow furrows.

What’s about to happen?

Then I slam my own palm against the glass, when I realize what the guitar string is for the moment that Devin swings it above his shoulder ready to slash it down across the Idol’s shoulders.

Devin misses, however, slamming it against the floor beside the Idol’s head, as she screams.

Then he laughs.

“Why are you so scared? Haven’t wet yourself, have you? Can’t you take some teasing?” Devin crouches down, brushing the hair back from the girl’s tear drenched face. “Hey, don’t cry. Why don’t you come and see me after practice, and I’ll make it up to you, hmm?”

“I’m going to snap his cock off,” Torin hisses.

Only if I don’t first.

Suddenly, the door opens, and Devin hurriedly stands. He smooths down his suit, taking a step away from the Idol.

Who can scare the twins?

Philomena strolls into the studio. “Out.”

Immediately, the Idols help their friend back to her feet and then scurry out of the room with a sense of relief.

Aran runs his hand through his hair, tidying it. “How can we…?”

“Practice is going well?” Philomena narrows her cold blue eyes at Aran.

She’s dressed in a pink suit with ivory high heels.

She looks like she’s just jetted in from a top business meeting and not as if she’s spent the evening beating her brother.