Page 24 of Daisy (Omega Chosen #3)

Our phones go in the junk drawer. Untraceable now.

"Ready?" August asks.

I look around one more time. At the bed where I learned what it meant to sleep without nightmares. The couch where August reads while I fix things with my hands. The kitchen table where we eat breakfast together every morning.

Home.

"Yeah," I lie.

The electronics store is three blocks away. We buy two burner phones with cash. Basic models. No GPS, no data plan. Just calls and texts.

"Bank next," August says, checking Dante's card.

The ATM is inside a 24-hour grocery. I wait outside while August maxes out the withdrawal. Four thousand eight hundred dollars. Dante's entire savings, probably.

When he comes out, his face is grim.

"Done," he says.

We walk back to the car in silence. The weight of what we're doing settles heavier with each step. There's no going back now. We're officially off the grid.

"Black market contact?" I ask as we get in.

"Dante gave me a name. Tyler. Works out of a garage in the industrial district."

I know the area. Rough neighborhood. The kind of place where people don't ask questions and money talks louder than law.

"Dangerous?"

"Probably." August's scent carries anxiety. "But it's what she needs."

The drive takes twenty minutes. Past neighborhoods that get progressively shittier. Buildings with broken windows and graffiti tags. Streets where cops don't patrol after dark.

The garage sits between a liquor store and a check-cashing place. Chain link fence, razor wire. Security cameras that probably work.

"Stay in the car," I tell August.

"Like hell."

"This isn't your world?—"

"You're my world." His hand finds mine. "We do this together."

The bond between us flares. Warm and solid and absolutely certain. August might be beta, might be gentle and scholarly, but he's got steel underneath. He won't be left behind.

"Together," I agree.

Tyler is exactly what I expected. Mid-forties, scarred hands, suspicious eyes. The kind of man who's seen everything and trusts nothing.

"Dante sent us," I say.

His expression doesn't change. "Dante's good people. What you need?"

"Heat suppressants. Omega grade. Strong ones. And blockers if you have them."

"How many?"

"A month's worth."

That gets his attention. Eyes narrow.

"You got yourself one of those omegas? Like Harley?"

"We're here for business," I say. "Not to chat."

Tyler studies us for a moment, then shrugs.

"A grand. For the suppressants and blockers."

"Deal," I say.

Tyler disappears into the back of the garage. Returns with a small bottle. Maybe thirty pills.

"Strong as they come," he says. "One every twenty-four hours. Don't exceed the dose or she'll sick herself stupid."

I hand over a thousand dollars. Still leaves us with plenty for whatever else we need.

The drive back is quiet. August counts the pills twice. Calculates dosage and duration. Thirty days if we're careful.

"It's not enough long-term," he says.

"It's what we have."

"We need to find a more permanent solution."

I know he's right. But right now, all I can think about is getting back to her. Making sure she's safe. That Gunner and Hawk and Dante haven't fucked this up while we were gone.

"She'll be okay," August says, reading my mood.

"How can you know?"

"Because she's surrounded by people who would die before letting anything happen to her."

The truth of it settles in my chest. Four alphas and a beta, all of us willing to move mountains to keep her safe. It should be overwhelming. Should be too much.

Instead, it feels right.

"Never thought I'd find an omega," I say. "Never thought I'd get the chance."

"And now you have."

"What if I'm too much for her?" The words scrape out raw. "I'm too big, August. Too fucking rough. She's so small, so delicate. What if I hurt her just by existing near her?"

August's hand finds mine, squeezes gentle.

"You won't," he says with absolute certainty.

"Cass, you're the most naturally protective person I've ever met. You'll figure it out."

"And if she never stops being afraid of me?"

The question I've been avoiding. The one that cuts deepest.

August is quiet for a long time. Thinking.

"Then we love her anyway," he says finally. "However she'll let us."

The simplicity of it takes my breath away. Love her anyway. However she'll let us.

"That enough for you?" I ask.

"Is it enough for you?"

I think about her small hand pressed against Gunner's leg. The way she looked at Hawk when he made her laugh. How she trusted Dante enough to fall asleep beside him.

Maybe she'll never trust me the same way. Maybe I'll always be the one she's afraid of. But if I can keep her safe, if I can be part of protecting what's precious to her...

"Yeah," I say. "It's enough."

The miles blur past. August sleeps fitfully in the passenger seat, exhaustion finally catching up. I drive through the night, suppressants burning a hole in my pocket, thoughts churning.

What we did today changed everything. No more normal life. No more safe apartment. No more library job for August or legitimate work for me.

But when I think about Daisy's terrified scent, her frightened eyes, the way she whispered that she felt safe...

Worth it. All of it.

By the time we reach the motel, dawn is breaking. I park outside our room, engine ticking as it cools. August stirs, blinking awake.

"We're here," I say.

He stretches, works out the kinks from sleeping in the car. His scent carries exhaustion but also relief.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Ready."

But as we walk toward the door, something makes me stop. The weight of everything we've just done. Everything we're walking into. The life we left behind and the uncertain future ahead.

I turn to August, cup his face in my hands. His hazel eyes widen in surprise, but he doesn't pull away.

"Thank you," I say quietly.

"For what?"

"For this. For her. For choosing us over safe."

Before he can respond, I kiss him. Deep and desperate and full of everything I can't put into words. A year of love and trust and the promise that whatever comes next, we face it together.

When we break apart, August is breathless, cheeks flushed.

"Come on," he says softly, taking my hand. "Let's go home."

Home. Not the apartment we left behind, but wherever the five of us end up together.

Time to find out if four alphas, a beta, and an omega can build something worth keeping.

Together.