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“Just tired,” she says. Cam and I watch her stride ahead of us, headed toward Denver. Putting as much distance between herself and this conversation as possible.
“Denver was right,” Camden muses. “She’s hiding something. Pretty obvious, there’s something going on with her family.”
I’ve got my suspicions about what it is. I pray I’m wrong. That Camden will laugh it off and tell me the whole idea is crazy.
“Did you see the scar on her neck?” I ask.
“Yeah. I was hoping I was wrong about what it was.”
“A bonding scar, right? That’s what I thought, too.”
Camden’s blue eyes narrow. “But I didn’t sense a bond, did you?”
“We wouldn’t feel it, not if the bond’s gone or weak. Say, like if she was away from the Alpha for a year or so.”
Neither of us speaks, and I know that we’re in agreement. It all adds up—if Roger or Grayson Castle or maybe someone close to them forced a bond on Brooklyn, of course she’d run away. She knew she had the skills to survive out here. It explains why she never went home, why she’s been running from us. Because the men she should be able to trust betrayed her.
“Should I ask her again?” Camden suggests. “See if I can get her to tell us what happened?”
I shake my head. “Seems like the more we pry, the harder she pulls away.”
Brooklyn is a wild creature, ready to flee at the slightest provocation. Whatever’s going on, the only way she’ll share it with us is on her own terms—when she’s ready.
“All I know is, if they hurt her, there’s no fucking way we’re giving her back.” Camden’s voice is low and raw. All his easy-going nature’s gone, leaving an Alpha who looks fucking dangerous.
“No,” I agree. “If they forced a bond, I’d kill them before I’d hand her over.”
“What about Denver?” he asks.
I consider. On the one hand, Denver’s military—how’s he going to feel about disobeying orders, especially from someone who hired us? On the other hand, he’s not a complete asshole. I can’t picture him handing Brooklyn back to her abusers.
“Guess there’s only one way to find out,” I say.
TWENTY-THREE
—
B R O O K L Y N
I walk as fast as I can, trying to get away from the sound of the Alphas’ voices. If I have to listen to them anymore, there’s no way I’ll be able to hold back the tears. I pinch my arm, hard, trying to get them to stop welling in my eyes.
They mean well. I know Camden and Memphis are just asking me about my family because they want to know more about me. With anyone else, asking about their family is basic, polite small talk with easy answers. I’m close with my Dad. I miss my brother. I can’t wait to be with them again.
Not for me. For me, there are no easy answers. My so-called “family” is nothing but a sick joke. I don’t even have the comfort of a clear good-and-evil story. Yes, Greyson did horrific things to me, but I didn’t tell him no. I didn’t try to stop him.
I wanted him. I wanted his knot.
That makes me just as disgusting as he is.
I’ve walked fast enough that I reach Denver quickly. I don’t move into his eyeline—I don’t trust myself not to cry yet. I just breathe in his scent, warm steel and peppercorn. It’s cold comfort.
We made a deal that I wouldn’t run away anymore. When the pain of my heat was so terrible, I felt sure that it would kill me, Denver saved me. I owe him for that. But now that I’m lucid again, it’s hitting me what I’m walking into. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to bear it.
I know exactly what will happen to me once I’m back in the Castle mansion. Papa will lock me up, keeping me confined to the grounds where he can keep an eye on me. Where Grayson will have total access to me, whenever he wants. I’m sure they’ll have a nice story to tell the world about it, too. About how I was so traumatized by getting lost in the wilderness that I’m scared to leave the house now. Who would question it? I look different now, after surviving the past year. Thinner, sharper.
I look haunted.
Even if Papa did let me leave the mansion, I’m an Omega. There are laws, making sure I’d have escorts no matter where I go. Men on my father’s payroll, who can report back to him on everything I do. Everyone I talk to. They’ll make sure that if I tell anyone what Grayson did, that I’ll be punished for it.
