Page 20 of Therefore

Chapter Seventeen

Trystan

T he air was sticky and damp on my skin when I woke up. I didn’t have the energy to open my eyes, but I could feel my pulse throbbing in my forehead. Weird. I didn’t remember drinking. Didn’t remember much of anything after Emerson went to work.

Wait. I’d showered—had to clean up after the night we’d had. Then pancakes, but I didn’t get to eat them. My stomach cramped. I definitely hadn’t eaten in a while. But why didn’t I…

The door. Roman.

Fuck.

I forced my eyes open and took in my situation.

Whoever brought me here had dumped me on my stomach, and judging by the numbness in my cheek against the concrete floor, I’d been here a while.

My lack of movement and the pain in my biceps meant my hands were bound behind me.

Why was this becoming a familiar way for me to wake up?

But unlike last time, whatever held me pulled at the skin of my wrists and ankles. Ah, my old friend, duct tape.

A soft, familiar voice reached my ears. “Trystan? A-Are you awake?”

Craning my neck, I searched for the source of the voice and spotted a small blond curled in the corner. “Pearl? Fuck, what are you doing here?”

She looked awful. Hair that had previously been in a tight, high ponytail was dishevelled around her pale face, barely held up by the light pink scrunchie atop her head.

Dark circles surrounded her eyes, a mix of a lack of sleep and the remains of makeup.

Dirt covered her pastel leggings and sweater. How long had she been here?

Pearl’s lip quivered. “I don’t know. I was helping out after-hours yesterday, then I was gonna go to the gym. He offered me a lift, and I got in the car, but…everything’s fuzzy after that. I woke up here alone, and I’ve been so scared…”

She sniffed, and her body shook, but she looked too dehydrated to cry. Rolling up into a sitting position, I bum-shuffled over to her and leaned next to her, attempting an awkward, armless hug.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re gonna be okay, Pearl.” I pressed my cheek on the top of her head as she leaned into me, sniffling quietly. As shitty as our situation was, at least she seemed to find some comfort in my presence.

The room we’d been left in was sparse, nothing but a concrete floor and a table and chairs in the middle of the room. Hell, we didn’t even have flattened cardboard to sit on. Worst basement prison ever.

A tiny window—too small for me to climb through, but possibly big enough for Pearl—let in sunlight from the top of the wall opposite the stairs. I doubted the door up there would be unlocked, but we’d need to get free of the tape before we could find out.

“We need something sharp to break through the tape. Look around for a stone, a wire, anything with an edge will work.”

Pearl’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I have a key inside my scrunchie.”

My brain took a second to reboot. I’d never heard those words in that order before.

“You what?”

She grinned and pushed her head against the wall, rubbing her ponytail back and forth, steadily loosening it. “There’s a pocket in my scrunchie I keep my spare house key in. Some jerk stole my bag at the gym a few years back, so I’ve always kept a spare for emergencies and for going on runs.”

“You’re a fucking genius.”

Leaning over her, I bit her scrunchie, feeling the key inside the soft material against my teeth, and pulled it off her hair. Spitting it out, I dropped it into her waiting hands behind her back. “Stab the tape and get yourself loose.”

She didn’t waste any time, immediately yanking the tiny zip open and pulling out the key. “What about you?”

“I’m okay. I’ll wait. Focus on yourself right now.”

As I rested against the wall, breathing deeply to try to ease the relentless pounding in my head, I watched her saw at the edge of her bonds.

Pearl didn’t deserve to be here. I was stuck because of years of bad decisions, but she was a good person who worked to help people.

How the hell were we in the same shitty situation?

“So, you’re an omega, too, hm?” I asked, once again the king of small talk.

Her eyes flicked up to me. “He wouldn’t have taken me if I wasn’t. I’m guessing you don’t have many omega friends.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Painfully.” She scoffed. “You say omega like it’s a curse.”

I raised one eyebrow, looking around the musty cellar. “Have you seen where we are right now? It sure as fuck isn’t a gift.”

“Depends on how you look at it. Right now, I’d say it’s the worst thing to be in the world.

But other times…” She finally pulled her hands free with a rip and immediately started on her ankles.

“Even though I take suppressants to get through the workday without being distracted by a bunch of alphas, I’ve embraced my inner omega.

I love making my nest when I go into heat, and I love leaning into the side of me that wants to feel safe and cared for.

There’s nothing wrong with it, and I won’t pretend that there is. ”

Pearl’s attitude shocked me. I’d never met anyone so openly proud to be an omega, but it was an obvious thing to hide in my world.

Being an omega was seen as a weakness, a liability.

But for Pearl, it was an accepted part of her, and of course it was.

Alphas didn’t feel the need to hide their designation from the world, so why should omegas be ashamed of being what they were?

Emerson accepted me. Bee accepted me. Maybe I could accept myself, too.

“Wait, go back a minute,” I said, thinking of what she said before. “Do you know who took you? Roman’s client?”

A fierce expression took over Pearl’s delicate features as she freed her legs. “Yeah, and I feel like an idiot for trusting him for so long. I called him harmless. How fucking stupid of me.”

A click at the top of the stairs snatched our attention, and my heart sank. We were out of time.

I quickly whispered, “Give me the key and pretend to be asleep. When he comes to me, sneak upstairs and go for help.”

Pearl nodded, shoving the key into my hands and repositioning the tape around her ankles before lying down with her arms behind her back. Aside from her hair, she looked the same as when I’d arrived.

As the door unlocked and footsteps descended the stairs, I gripped the key in a fist and scooched away from Pearl as much as I could. Hopefully, she’d have enough room to creep out.

Sitting upright against a wall, I waited to greet my captor. Shiny leather shoes caught my eye first, followed by trousers an inch too long in the legs. Emerson was going to be pissed.

Harris quickly zeroed in on Pearl and approached her unconscious-looking form.

“Seriously? You go for the sleeping girl first?” I rolled my eyes with a chuckle. “Roman was right. You really are pathetic without your girlfriend.”

Harris turned to me, slowly stepping away from Pearl. “Oh, good. The thief is awake. Well, at least we’ve found a job for you where you’re supposed to whore yourself out to anyone who asks.”

“You sound jealous. Not been getting any with your girlfriend behind bars?”

He grabbed my hair so suddenly, pulling me inches off the ground, I nearly dropped Pearl’s key. “Why don’t you shut your mouth until it’s ready to be filled, omega slut!”

I shook in his tight grip, unable to get to my knees or get my feet under me properly to take the pressure off my scalp. As I twisted in his hold, my neck strained, and Emerson’s mark burned against my skin—a comforting reminder of him, but still a raw wound on my throat.

“What the—? That bastard fucking claimed you? Oh, of course he did. Emerson gets the promotions, the fancy office. Why wouldn’t he get the omega, too?!” Harris released my hair with a push as he paced back and forth, muttering to himself under his breath.

After a minute of his ramblings, he scrubbed his hands down his tired face and squatted over me.

He yanked my head to one side and inspected Emerson’s mark closely, a disgusted sneer across his face.

“Ugh, it’s fine. This is fine. You won’t be worth as much, but the mark’s fresh.

After spending a few heats without your precious alpha, the bond will sever on its own. ”

My omega prickled at the thought of anyone other than Emerson touching me, especially during a heat, but I held it together on the outside.

“Oh, good. That means you only have to keep Emerson away for a year or so. Totally doable for the obvious brains of the operation like yourself.”

“A year? Oh, little omega. You’ll be going into heat later tonight.

” Harris’s eyes shone as he pulled a small vial of red liquid from his pocket.

“See this? I forget the full name, but Miranda’s people called it ardour .

Amazing stuff, really. Just a teensy-tiny injection of this will force your slutty omega body into heat within minutes. ”

What the fuck? I’d heard rumours about shit like that, but I didn’t think it was real, let alone that fast acting. If this was what they’d been doing to the omegas Emerson was representing in court, Harris knew it worked. Even a dumbass couldn’t fuck up a little injection like that.

I swallowed at the gravity of the situation, desperately trying to subtly pull at the tape around my wrists with the key, whilst keeping my eyes away from Pearl so Harris wouldn’t suspect she was awake.

If she didn’t get out now, we likely wouldn’t get another chance.

Once we were in heat, it would be over for us.

“People pay good money for dark web livestreams of omegas being denied, you know.” Harris chuckled, sending a chill down my spine that had nothing to do with the concrete floor.

“But don’t worry. Once you’re begging just right, we’ll have plenty of cocks ready to replace your precious alpha.

How long is your average heat? Three days, maybe four?

How many dicks do you think you could take in four days?

And with the number of ardour vials that are stashed upstairs, you’ll be in heat a lot longer than that. ”

Sweat beaded at my hairline as I focused on maintaining eye contact with Harris, even through his threats.

The longer he focused on me, the better Pearl’s chances of escape.

Except for one problem. She wasn’t creeping up the stairs.

Instead, she carefully picked up one of the rickety chairs and approached the maniac planning to drug us.

Don’t be a hero, Pearl. Just get out while you can!

Harris grinned at me, nothing but mania in his grey eyes. “Miranda might be gone, but you and Pearl are gonna earn me the money I need to get her out of there. And you’re gonna fucking beg to do it, like a good little omega.”

Pearl raised the chair above her head and swung it down hard, slamming it on Harris’s back and knocking him to the floor.

He yelled as he hit the concrete but stayed conscious and rolled to his back. Reaching behind him, he pulled a gun from his waistband and aimed it straight at Pearl. “You really shouldn’t have done that, you stupid little whore.”

I struggled harder against the tape, pushing to my feet as I cried out, “Pearl, run!”