We had relocated to Silas and Knox’s assigned housing. Well, I suppose it was my assigned house too, considering I was officially a part of their unit and employed with AIED. My stomachflipped when I first arrived back at the townhome tucked into one of Arca’s controlled districts. The area was quiet and heavily monitored, mostly inhabited by Arca personnel.
We headed up the short flight of stairs at the entrance, passing our elderly neighbor, who was watering a tiny pot of flowers on her stoop. I waved and she smiled back at me. I couldn’t help wondering if the woman had any idea there was an interrogation and torture workshop hidden beneath our shared building.
As if hearing my thoughts, Silas leaned over and whispered in my ear, “If you think we’re dangerous, watch out for Mrs. Lexington. Former ARCA Advanced Security and Intel, back before AIED even existed. I don’t even want to know how many bodies are buried in her backyard,” he said with a chuckle.
When we crossed the threshold, I surveyed the space.
It was so familiar, the same place they had brought me to when I first left jail.
Only this time, I didn’t go downstairs.
I went up.
The stairs ascended, stopping at a narrow landing with asmall bedroom at the end of the hall. Simple. Clean. Almost bare. A bed against one wall, a dresser in the corner, and a comfy chair sat by the window. No decorations. No personal touches. It felt less like a space someone lived in and more like a room waiting to be claimed.
Except for one thing.
My nest.
The alphas had carefully arranged a massive pile of blankets, soft pillows, and familiar items from the safe house in the corner, spilling over itself in a way that felt comfortable and safe.
Mine.
All mine.
“It’s not fancy or anything,” Silas had said, his voice uneven, as if he wasn’t entirely sure how I would react.
“It’s perfect,” I whispered.
I rose onto my toes and pressed a small kiss to his neck, right over the mark I had left there.
Knox leaned against the doorway, watching us with a faint smile. “You can decorate however you like,” he said.
My fingers lingered in the fabric of the nest, before I looked back at them.
“And you’re sure it’s… safe?” I asked. “He can’t find me here?”
They didn’t hesitate to assure me it was.
Marco’s empire had crumbled. His resources stripped away piece by piece as Arca reclaimed control over everything he had once held. A new crime family had taken power, one that didn’t know me, didn’t care about me, didn’t even know I existed.
Everything had fallen into place exactly as planned.
Marco was finished.
Almost every omega had been recovered. All except one—the girl he had holed up with in a stash house, along with two, maybe three, of his last loyal men. She was working overtime to keep them on his side.
It wouldn’t be long now.
And Silas had promised…
That he would make sure I was ready.
I now idled by the workshop door, shifting my weight as I stared at the handle. My fingers brushed it once, then pulled back. I hovered, caught between hesitation and curiosity.
Silas turned the corner and stopped when he saw me pacing.
“Do you want to go downstairs, little mute?” he asked, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips.
