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“Electricity’s up,” Devlin announces, slipping into the room quietly. “How is she?”
“Knife wounds. One penetrated her shoulder from the back, and another in her stomach, newer,” Max explains gruffly. “The wounds are precise. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. Avery, can you get me the poultice from that cabinet? Yes, that one. Thanks.”
“Max, you can’t apply it over her clothing,” Devlin advises gently. “You need to strip her.”
Hearing that, I see red.
My heart rate soars, and I struggle to regain control of my breathing. In through my nose, out through my mouth.
“Scissors,” I hear, followed by the sound of fabric cutting. “Shit, is that…”
“A brand,” Ashton states, his voice low and dangerous, “and it’s in the shape of a sugarplum.”
“Someone is fucking with us.” Devlin nearly loses his composure, a rare occurrence for the one who is usually the epitome of control. “We’re in a tough spot. All we can do is patch her up and make her comfortable.”
“Seraphina isn’t going to take this well,” Ashton notes, and he’s right. “She won’t be able to rationalize this until after her heat.”
“She’ll understand,” Max mutters, his voice devoid of emotion. “I need to sew her wounds. I’m not a healer, but she might need one.”
“In the middle of a snowstorm?” Avery scoffs. “That’s not happening.”
“Someone should check on her, make sure she’s still asleep. We need a game plan to break the news to her about the woman left practically dead at our back door,” Devlin says, his words imbued with his usual calmness.
I don’t want his calm. They’ve been keeping secrets from me.
“Not me,” the twins declare in unison.
Max snorts. “Chickens.”
“Then you do it,” Avery challenges.
“I’m busy,” Max retorts.
As a logical woman, I usually pride myself on rationality. However, as an omega, there are moments when logic seems to slip away. I’m aware of the unfolding events and understand their intent to keep me safe, but secrecy isn’t the right approach. I could have been understanding, or so I believe, until a woman’s soft moan from the kitchen reaches my ears, and my control vanishes.
Turning around, with sweat beading on my skin, I tiptoe through the living room, up the stairs to the second floor, then along the hallway. My head whooshes with the pounding of my heart.
Worse yet, a cramp ripples through me, stealing my breath and knocking me against the wall with a thud. I gasp. Hopefully, none of the guys heard that. Gritting my teeth, I ascend to the attic space where the nest is, but I can’t bring myself to go in there.
It smells like us.
It smells like the last forty-eight hours of our bodies intertwined, a mix of happiness, hope, and everything between. I wanted so much to be theirs, to be the one they’ve been waiting for, but as I stand before the door to the nest, I can’t bring myself to enter. I simply can’t do it.
Tears sting behind my eyes, and a hiccup escapes my lips. I stumble back down the steps and make my way to the omega suite. Their footsteps echo loudly through the house, but I don’t care. My heat surges through my consciousness, overwhelming my senses as I slam the door behind me and slide the deadbolt into place. Maybe it was a mistake for them to install that lock.
Blinking back the tears streaming down my face, I grab blankets off the bed and my phone, then stumble into the bathroom and slam the door shut. Damn my hormones. Damn my irrational behavior.
All my life, I’ve dealt with the repercussions of being an omega. I’ve endured Thea’s cruelty and her unhinged behavior, but in this moment, I feel just as unhinged myself.
Why couldn’t I have been born a beta?
I hiccup again as reality and logic slip away from me. Tossing the blanket into the bathtub, I crawl inside and pull it over my head just as another cramp rips through my body.
I can’t suppress the scream that tears from my throat. In a last-ditch effort, I call the only man, the only alpha, who has never let me down.
My brother.
CHAPTER 30
