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Adding pressure onto my shoulders, he steers me toward the front of the room where an elderly man is sitting at a counter.
“Hey, Alistair,” Damon calls out over the buzz of men’s voices. “A word, old man.”
I look toward the aged man as he walks out from behind the counter and comes to meet us. He’s missing his left arm. The long sleeve of his shirt simply hangs from his shoulder. His right eye is shut closed and he walks with a staggering gait. One look at his stern expression and I know the man’s a veteran.
“We’ve got a new recruit,” says Damon, giving me a light push.
Alistair stares at me through one bright blue eye. “This one’s a girl,” he says like Damon’s made a big mistake. “What do I do with her?”
“Caleb wants her on cleaning duty.”
I feel several gazes on me. From the corner of my eye, I spot the man I injured earlier. He’s surrounded by his companions.
These were all the men I fought earlier tonight.
Their harsh glares tell me they’ve recognized me as well.
I’m still so broken over my family’s betrayal, I can’t bring myself to worry about them. All I want to do is hide somewhere and lick my wounds.
“Will it be safe for this young woman?” Alistair asks in a lowered voice.
“Oh, kitty will be fine on her own,” Damon says, slapping a hand on my shoulder. “Look what she did to Garcia.” He points toward the man who has thick bandages taped over his broken nose.
The other guys in the hall hear him as well and they all turn toward Garcia. A couple of them start sniggering and pointing at him.
The injured man’s face goes red and turns to a shade of puce.
Great. I’m barely here for a second and I already have an enemy waiting for a chance to get back at me.
“This is an all-men's dorm,” Alistair says. “Where is she supposed to stay?”
“Anywhere that costs you the least,” says Damon. “She’s working here to pay off her family’s debt. The more she makes, the faster she can get out of here.”
“Isn’t this going a tad overboard?” Alistair mutters. “How much does she owe him?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Damon says in an airy tone. “They owe him his hopes and dreams. They’ve fucked it all up.”
I stare at the guy beside me. Even though he’s making a joke out of the whole situation, I can feel the truth seeping from his words.
Caleb and his mates wanted an omega to act as their surrogate. They wanted children.
Do you still think we’re the bad guys?Julian’s voice rings in my head.
My fists tighten. No. They weren’t villains for wanting children. A willing surrogate was the safest, fairest way for them to build their family.
It was my parents who cheated them.
I step away from Damon. The weight on my chest makes it painful to speak but I try. “I’ll start working from tomorrow.”
“See? She’s got the spirit,” Damon says, squeezing my shoulder.
Confusion flickers through me. He should be hating me like Caleb, not acting like he’s my friend.
I think of the first moment we met. It started with me throwing a heavy trophy at his head and making him bleed. Later, I kicked him hard enough to hurt but he didn’t retaliate back.
I felt his strength when he held me in his arms. No matter how much I kicked and flailed, he never loosened his hold. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s extremely powerful.
So, why not strike back at me?
