Page 16

CHAPTER 16

RIVEN

I blinked, staring at the spot where a man was just standing, and now there was nothing. I knew teleportation magic existed, but I’d never seen it in person before, and that on top of all the events that had already happened was almost too much to handle.

We were out. We weren’t safe, not yet. But for the first time in forever, I was breathing air that wasn’t tainted by the Magic that kept the prison secure. Okay, it smelled like garbage, but it was so different from anything I’d smelled in a decade, I almost didn’t care how gross it was.

While I continued to stand, shaky on my feet and so fucking overwhelmed, Brynn dropped the duffelbag on the ground and knelt next to it.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’d like to have clothes on to figure out the next part of the plan.”

I looked down, just now registering that all three of us were naked. Somewhere where we could be discovered at any moment. Brynn dug around in the bag. “How the fuck did he fit all this in here?”

He pulled out a pair of sweats, and after quickly checking the tag, stood up and put them on, not bothering with underwear. After another second or so he found a shirt and something for Reeve and I to wear. Laurent was right, the sweats were a little short and dug into my hips, but it was better than nothing. I threw on a long sleeved shirt, and Reeve a worn looking hoodie.

“Shit, there’s only one pair of shoes. But, oh here’s the money. Maybe once we come up with a plan and get away from here, I can get shoes for you two somewhere.”

It wasn’t my biggest worry. Now that I was coming to terms with finally being free, being somewhere unfamiliar was unnerving, and I wanted to move.

“Laurent said this is your old stomping grounds, Brynn? Is there somewhere we can go, at least to hunker down for the night before we head out?”

Brynn stood and walked to the end of the alley. I just held my tongue before I yelled at him to stop. I figured he wouldn’t appreciate it. He took a look around before coming back.

“Yeah, I know where we are. One of the children’s shelters I used to stay at when I was a kid is around the block. There’s a diner a few blocks back. They have a storage shed in the back of their property. We can see if it’s free for the night. I stayed there a few times.”

My heart hurt knowing my mate was all alone for all those years, never knowing where he’d get to sleep each night. We were here now. As long as we could find the property we’d bought secretly right before everything went down–and our uncle didn’t sell it on us–then he’d never have to question where he’d sleep again. We’d take care of him.

Brynn had found a couple baseball caps in the bag, and I put one on, lowering the brim to cover most of my face. Brynn did the same, while Reeve put his hood up. Then I swung the duffle over my shoulder, and we walked out of the alley.

I thought we’d stick out like a sore thumb, but Laurent had dumped us deep in the shifter slums. There weren’t a lot of people out this late, and the ones that were, well they had bigger things to worry about than us. The few shifters that came close immediately crossed the street once they got a good whiff of Reeve and me. It wasn’t our fault, it had been a long time since we had to tamp down our scents, so our alphaness was strong right now. We were leaking all over the place, which was rude, but I was struggling to get it under control. For now it worked in our favor since people were staying out of our way, but we’d have to get it together quick before the cops started looking for us. We were a fucking beacon right now.

It seemed it was even affecting Brynn, because just as he turned us off the main drag and down another stinking alley, he tilted his head giving both of us some serious side eye, “You think you can tone down the alphaness some? Every omega in a five mile radius is probably running this way right now. And if any of those shits present to you, heads will roll.”

I grinned. Our mate was jealous. Any other time I’d tease him, but this wasn’t the time.

“Sorry. We’re not used to having full control anymore. My wolf is a little punch drunk with the power. I’ll try to tamp it down.”

Brynn’s expression turned sympathetic. “I can’t even imagine. Just wearing that collar for a week was brutal. Just do what you can. We’re almost at the shed anyway.”

Reeve reached out and squeezed my hand, for support, and I held onto the lifeline. We leaned into each other as we walked behind Brynn, and soon I was able to box it in better so I wasn’t leaking my pheromones all over the city.

Brynn stopped when we reached a run down parking lot with a building that looked like it hadn’t seen a renovation in fifty years. Only one street light was working in the lot, and the fluorescent sign that only said “Diner” was mostly out, with only the D and er lit up. There looked to be only two cars in the lot. One was missing all four tires and was balanced on cinder blocks.

Brynn ignored all that and took both our hands. “Stay out of the light,” he whispered, “If old man Johnson sees us, he will pull his shotgun on us, and he won’t think twice about shooting.”

“Lovely,” Reeve muttered sarcastically. But still we followed Brynn, careful to stay out of the dim light of the diner.

The shed was behind the diner, down a bank, and hidden mostly by trees and brush. Though calling it a shed was disrespectful to sheds everywhere.

“You stayed here?” I asked in disbelief before I could stop myself. Both Brynn and Reeve glared at me, and I looked sheepishly down at my feet, cheeks red. I didn’t mean it exactly like that, but the more I learned about my omega’s life the more it hurt.

“Sorry not all of us had the luxury digs of a max security prison to call home.” I flinched. Touché.

“Sorry,” I murmured. “That came out wrong.”

Brynn just sighed, looking a little defeated. “Look, let’s just get inside. It sucks, but the roof is surprisingly solid, and it’ll give us a place to rest for a few hours before we take off.”

Reeve cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead softly. “Sounds good. Thank you for finding this place for us.” Then he walked forward, carefully navigating the terrain on bare feet until he got to the shed.

I flashed Brynn an unsure smile, relieved when he returned it. “Come on, alpha. I think we all need rest.” He took my hand, and despite everything, I was grinning like a fool when we walked to where Reeve was checking out the shed.

The shed didn’t look any better from the inside. It was dark and humid, despite it being kind of chilly. I let my wolf take over my sight so I could see clearer, which was probably a mistake. Cobwebs draped down from the ceiling and covered half of the tight space. And yup, that was a fucking rat. Welcome to freedom.

Brynn ignored all that and headed to a metal chest that was pushed up against the back wall.

“Sweet, it’s not empty.” He pulled out two sleeping bags, a blanket…and two pairs of boots. He glanced at the tongue of the boots. “It’s really our lucky fucking day. They’re alpha sized. Probably not perfect, but at least you won’t have to trudge around barefoot.”

“What is all this?” Reeve asked, kneeling next to Brynn.

“Like I said, it’s kind of a common stopping place for shifters who live on the streets. I don’t know who started it, but one day this chest was filled with blankets, protein bars, and bottles of water. The next time I came here there were old clothes and a sleeping bag. It’s kind of an honor system thing. Take what you need and drop off what you can.” He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed, “I guess it’s our way of taking care of each other.”

I squeezed Brynn’s hand. “I like that.”

We got quiet after that as we helped Brynn set up a little sleep area. The two sleeping bags weren’t big enough for the three of us, so we opened them up, and used one as the blanket on the ground and the other as a blanket for us to share. It would be tight, but with Brynn snuggled in the middle we could make it work. Worst case I’d shift to my wolf to sleep. Once we were settled, I dug the food out that was in the bottom of the bag. It wasn’t much: beef jerky sticks, a jar of peanut butter, a box of protein bars, and a bag of nuts, plus some waters and hydration powders. Brynn grabbed the bag of nuts and the peanut butter and sat crossed legged in the middle of our bed set up, digging in. Shrugging, I grabbed a beef stick.

“So…” Brynn asked after a while, “What’s this place you told Laurent about?”

“Right before we were locked up, we knew shit was getting bad and staying in the city wasn’t an option anymore,” Reeve started, “Riv and I had saved up a bunch of money, and we had our uncle who’s kinda estranged from the rest of the family find us some property in the outskirts. It needs to be fixed up. We never got the chance before we were picked up.”

Brynn frowned, considering. I had a feeling about what he wanted to ask but didn’t know how to bring it up. I was honestly surprised he hadn’t asked us what got us locked up already. But if he was tying himself to us, he deserved to know.

Reeve must’ve felt the same, because he told him, “You can ask us, it’s okay,” his tone soft.

Brynn startled, lost in thought before his cheeks reddened. “Am I that obvious?”

I grinned. “Kind of.”

He shoved some nuts in his mouth. “It’s just…I don’t want to be rude, but I do feel like I should know what happened.”

“You’re right,” Reeve agreed, “We probably should’ve told you before we bit you. I’m sorry. We weren’t trying to hide it or anything, we’re just not used to being around people who don’t already know.”

Reeve sucked in a breath. “Nearly eleven years ago now, we killed our sister’s boyfriend.”