Page 9
9
Luca
I’m groggy and terrified when I wake up next. My body feels wrong, disconnected, like I am trapped beneath the surface of something, my limbs too heavy, my thoughts slow and slurred. Like I don’t belong in my own skin, like something is missing, something vital, something that should be there but isn’t. It’s like being in heat but without all the fun parts.
And that’s when I realize I’m in a nest of sorts but it’s not mine. None of my favorite blankets are here, my pack’s scents gone, replaced with something almost chemical. The pillows beneath my head are too soft, fresh in a way that doesn’t belong to me, that doesn’t smell like home. The blanket draped over me is thick, but the fabric is stiff, starched, and way too clean.
Panic slithers into my chest, slow at first, and then all-consuming as I try to figure out where I am. I force my eyes open, but my vision is still unfocused, still swimming through the lingering fog of whatever they forced into my system. Sweat beads on my forehead as I gasp, warmth surging through the room like someone tried to make a nest but had never seen one before and didn’t have the instincts for it.
It’s entirely too warm and too uncomfortable in here.
Muffled voices near the door grab my attention, low enough that they probably think I can’t hear them. I still, my breath catching in my throat, as I listen in.
“Did we really have to rip him from his Alphas? Wait, one of those was a Beta. I don’t fucking know but I’ve heard about that pack. There was no reason to pull this Omega away like that. God, it smells like dying Omega in here.”
Another voice, much softer, nicer follows. “I gave him the salve, so his new bond mark shouldn’t hurt. But I’m not even worried about that. He’s been bruised pretty badly. The officer that filled out the paperwork wouldn’t say which Alpha did it.”
“What the fuck do you mean?”
The softer voice lets out a heavy sigh. “The domestic dispute that’s like the talk of the city. Well, it’s hush hush but we all know , you know?”
“No fucking way. Hudson and that video game guy? Keller? Jesus Christ. Wait, that would mean Hudson… I don’t believe that shit for a second.”
The softer voice chuckles. “And yet, that’s what’s being said. Something about Mr. Keller saving him and trying to protect him. I don’t believe that shit for a second either though. I’ve met Hudson and he’s terrifying but he’s not… mean.” There’s a certain admiration in her voice that disgusts me. “Whatever the case, it’s going to be all over the news. Because guess what? Mr. Keller already has an Omega. ”
The other voice gasps. “Oh, the plot thickens!”
Giggles kick up before settling, a third voice stepping into the room. “Stop gossiping you two. Our only job is to protect Luca Ellis from more harm. Anything about his current situation is to be left at the door. I’m going to reach out to his parents to see if we can’t give him a familiar face or two during all of this chaos.”
No! A groan tears from my throat as I struggle to sit up and fight back against that option. Calling my parents would put me right back in the hands of Hudson, I just know it. Footsteps rush toward me, the third voice attached to a small Beta female. She helps me sit up before sitting on a chair close to the bed. “Hey, you were out for a little bit.” She reaches forward, placing a hand on my forehead to check my temperature. “Good, you seem a bit better. My name is Nola and I help out around the place. I know everything is pretty disconcerting when you first arrive so don’t feel the need to move around too fast. How are you feeling?”
I hate that question. Mostly because I have no idea how to answer it. Physically, I’m okay. Hudson’s infected bite in my shoulder no longer hurts the way it used to and it’s not oozing puss, thank god. And while my body is achy, I’ve been worse off. Mentally, though? I’m a mess. My thoughts are everywhere, the bonds I have are strained, and I still can’t forget the look on Blake’s face when they pulled me away from him.
“Luca?”
I lean back into the pillows, drawing what little comfort I can from them. “Been better,” I force out, my throat raw. Whatever drug that nurse gave me was very strong. “When do I get to go back? I don’t belong here.” My eyes start to roam around the room, the only color is the nest portion. The other two voices are still standing at the door, watching curiously, both Betas who seem to want more information into my situation. So much for any kind of sympathy.
“You’re perfectly safe at Hearthstone and the staff is here to make sure that you have everything you need.”
“I need my mates, my Alpha,” my words get caught in my throat as a sob hits the air. “I need my family, my home, my nest. You can’t give me any of that here.” I curl my fingers into the blankets, wishing it was Blake beneath me, his pear scent wrapping around me as he told me that everything would be okay. I need him to call me ‘cupcake’ and for Grayson to lick the bite on my lip and for Maceo to hold me and Luther to fuck me—
A soft hand on my thigh drags me back to reality. “Luca, I need you to breathe. It’s a big change, I know and not always one that Omegas think are right. But we’re here to help. I promise.” Her voice is too smooth, too practiced and I decide that I instantly hate Nola. “We’re going to call your parents—”
“If you want me safe, you won’t do that. They’re the ones that basically sold my freedom in the first place.”
She doesn’t react, doesn’t deny it which makes me hate her even more, My pulse pounds in my ears, my throat burning as I push forward, forcing the words past the tightness in my chest.
“They sold me to Hudson because they wanted money or status or I don’t fucking know,” I snap, my voice cracking under the weight of it. The Beta’s expression flickers, before returning to that practiced, smooth expression that is supposed to calm me. It doesn’t. “He’s the one who gave me that awful bite on my shoulder. He owned me. And you think sending me back to them is going to make me safe?”
She pats my leg, condescending in a way that makes my stomach turn. “You’ll get used to things here,” she says simply, brushing past everything I just said like it doesn’t matter, like my voice doesn’t matter. “Dinner will be served shortly and I’m sure getting food in that stomach of yours will help.”
Dinner? That means I’ve been out for hours . I try to feel through the bond and realize that there’s just darkness, just nothingness . “Why can’t I feel them?” Panic sets in again as I run a finger across my lip and nothing, not even a tingle runs through me. “Where are my mates? Why can’t I—”
“Luca Ellis.” Her voice is much firmer now as she clamps her hand around my leg. “Calm down. Look at me. There you go.” The softness is gone, an angry Beta staring at me. “We placed a salve on your bites to temporarily numb them so you aren’t constantly bombarded with all of the chaos. You were brought here so that you could detach from the ongoing investigation and find some peace. I assure you that if you let yourself relax a little bit, you’ll find that you can enjoy yourself.”
There’s no fucking way she’s bonded and telling me that. No way that she’s telling me not being able to feel my mates is preferable to knowing that they’re okay, that they’re coming to get me. For the first time in a really long time, I’m completely alone in my head and I hate it. The silence is deafening, threatening to consume me, my Omega whining for what it thinks it’s lost. And then I catch the small window off to the right, thick metal bars running along the frame, reinforced. My stomach turns, a sick, twisting dread curling through my gut, because this isn’t a sanctuary, and it sure as hell isn’t a safe space. It’s a cage.
One glance back at Nola and I know she realizes I’ve caught on. “What really is this place? I know it’s an Omega center but what is it really for?”
Her shoulders fall as she stands, smoothing down her dress. “It’s a place created to rehome Omegas. Many are brought here from terrible situations, this place providing safety where they’ve had none. Some of them believe that they’ll fare better on their own so there are certain lengths we’ve gone to ensure their safety. Luca, I’m sure when they rehome you, you’ll find the peace you’re looking for.” She leaves me with a tight smile, closing the door after her.
Rehoming me is such an impersonal way of saying that they’re ripping my mates from me. I’ve heard horror stories but never thought they were true. They were supposed to be nightmares to scare little Omegas into being submissive and pliant. The idea of running through scent cards and being forced to pick someone else is just not going to happen.
They can block my bonds but that won’t stop me from wanting what I’ve just gained—what they’re trying hard to rip from me. I’m sure it starts with the salve and grows to something else but I won’t let myself be here long enough to find out what that is.
The longer I sit here, the silence curling in on me, I start to realize how wrong everything is in this room. Even with the dim lighting, the walls are too white and the pillows just… not mine. Rage builds in my chest until I’m chucking the plush mess onto the floor, growling with every blanket I chuck across the room. I even discard the comforter until it’s just the cold, hard mattress left and I’m on my knees, my hands fisted on my thighs.
I don’t want their things. I don’t want this.
I want home.
There’s no emotions from my bonds, just… nothing until an absolute crushing dread slams into me. My bond with Blake isn’t a physical one, a tether created over time that should be impossible but exists out of spite. Blake knew this would happen. He’d been freaking out about it ever since they took Luther from us and now I can feel the horror of being separated from my first love in a way that I hadn’t before.
"No, no, you can’t take him from me,” I plead into the stale air.
The memory of his voice echoes in my head, that frantic panic in his eyes as the nurse led me away, as my legs buckled under me, as I tried to hold onto something—anything. I choke back a sob, curling tighter, my nails digging into my palms. I try to breathe through it, try to push past the weight of it all, but it’s too much. It’s too fucking much.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but the tears start anyway, streaming down my cheeks and soaking into my shirt. The threat of Hudson stealing me away was always my worst nightmare but this? This hurts so much worse.