“Is she asleep?” I ask Gunnar as he steps into the living room, dressed in fresh clothes.
“Yes,” Gunnar replies, flopping onto the couch and staring at the television screen beside me.
An action movie plays, but I’m not focused on it.
I’m preoccupied with thoughts of Lena and the stranger she encountered in her apartment this morning. I have a bad feeling about it, which only intensified when we heard that strange noise at the door earlier. It could be a coincidence, but I rarely believe in those.
“Did you find anything outside?”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t. But I really believe someone was here trying to break in.”
“But I checked the perimeter when we got home, and you did too. I don’t understand how they could have gotten in when the gate to the property is access-controlled, and so is the front door,” says Gunnar.
“If someone did follow us in, they must have been very sneaky. There’s no other explanation.”
“I don’t like it,” Gunnar says, rubbing his chin in thought. “I promised Lena she’d be safe here. I think we should search the perimeter again. If any intruders are idiotic enough to stick around, we might be able to catch them.”
We head outside, making sure to close and lock the front door securely behind us. Max is still at Lena’s place, searching for clues and gathering her belongings, so I don’t want to leave her unprotected and vulnerable while we search the property.
The shadows of the trees and bushes lining the front lawn stretch across the grass, and the solar-powered garden lamps flicker to life.
My eyes adjust to the semi-darkness as my wolf senses take over. I scan the garden for anything strange or out of place. I glance at Gunnar and nod to my left, indicating we should split up. He nods and quietly moves to the right, careful not to make too much noise. If someone is still lurking outside, we’ll catch them by surprise.
I stalk around the property’s border, checking under hedges and in low-hanging branches for anyone who might not belong there. There are no visible footprints, and the scent lingering in the air is my own. I take another deep breath, trying to decipher any unusual smells, but I can only detect faint whiffs from the flowerbeds and cut grass.
When I round the side of the house again, Gunnar is standing by the front door, fiddling with the access pad.
“Anything?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Nothing. No unfamiliar scents, footprints, or anything disturbed around the perimeter existed. Not even the access pad looks like it’s been tampered with. If someone was here, they were a professional.”
Unease coils in my gut at Gunnar’s assessment. Everything is far too clean for my liking.
“Let’s go inside and check the CCTV,” I suggest. “Maybe it picked up whoever was out there.”
Once inside, Gunnar checks on Lena briefly while I pull out my laptop and open the camera feed.
“She’s still out,” he says with a wry grin when he joins me at the dining room table.
“Must have been one hell of an orgasm you gave her,” I chuckle, and he laughs. I would love to hug and cuddle her right now, but her safety is my priority before I can relax.
I rewind the CCTV recording to the afternoon from when we arrived home from the hospital.
Everything appears calm until the camera picks up someone on the western side of the property creeping through the bushes. They disappear from sight until another camera captures them walking along the front of the house and peeking through windows.
Right around the time we heard the noise at the front door, the camera showed a person right outside twisting the doorknob.
I squint at my laptop screen, and Gunnar leans close behind me to get a better look. The picture is grainy, but I can zoom in on the person’s face. It’s a dark-haired man, but I can’t make out much else about his features. The facial recognition software linked to the CCTV cameras identifies him as Zorin Marlow.
“Who the fuck is Zorin?” Gunnar asks incredulously. “And why the hell is he on our property?”
“Good question,” I murmur. “Save this picture and put him on our radar. We need to find out more about him before we do anything else. I’m going to check on Lena.”
Lena is awake when I walk into the bedroom. She’s wrapped in the comforter, her hair tousled from sleep. She looks so adorable that I want to kiss her all over her beautiful face.
“Hi, Princess,” I greet, smiling as she looks up at me. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did,” she says, stifling a yawn. “I feel better now, though.”
I chuckle. “You needed it.” I sit on the bed and tuck her into my side, her soft breathing soothing my soul as the curve of her breast presses against me. “I don’t want to scare you, love, but I saw the intruder on the property earlier.”
She pulls back to look at me, her eyes wide with fright. “What?!”
“Gunnar and I searched the area earlier, and whoever was here is long gone.”
“Do you have a picture of him… or?”
“Yes,” I say, nodding. “We’re going to research him before we do anything else. We need to figure out why he’s here and if he’s after you.”
“Can I see who it was?”
Her question takes me aback.
I don’t want to worry her, and I’m unsure how she will react to seeing the person trying to break into our home. I suspect this Zorin person might also have broken into Lena’s apartment.
“Damon, please,” she begs when I take too long to answer. “I need to see who it was.”
“All right,” I sigh, standing up from the bed. “Give me a minute.”
I return a moment later with my laptop and the picture of Zorin pulled up on the screen. I sit again and turn the screen to face her.
Lena’s face pales instantly, and she slams the laptop shut. What the hell?
“Lena? Is everything okay, darling?” I ask tentatively, wondering why she had such a visceral reaction. She ignores me, turning away and tucking the comforter more tightly around her. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
She remains silent, her gaze fixed firmly on the comforter. Concern wells in my chest as I watch her.
“Do you know him?” I prod again, unable to let this go. “Is he the one who was in your kitchen this morning? Does he—”
“No, I don’t know him,” she snaps, pushing my hand off her waist.
I sit back and watch her roll onto her side, completely shutting me out. Her reaction to the picture of Zorin confuses me, and I want to push her for answers, but I know she will only isolate me further if I do. A dozen questions race through my mind, and a burning need for answers overwhelms me.
Does she have a pack? If not, why is she so determined to be alone? Was Zorin her alpha before I found her?
Her breathing deepens, and I realize she’s either fallen back asleep or is pretending to sleep. Knowing I won’t get anything from her at this moment, I sigh and leave the room, shutting the door gently behind me.
Hours later, I’m struggling to fall asleep, tossing and turning in my bed as I think about the day and the trespasser on my property.
I’m sure everything is linked, but I don’t know the connection. Suddenly, a soft knock sounds on my door, and I sit up and switch on the bedside table lamp.
Lena stands in the doorway in her pajamas, looking at me with uncertainty.
“Lena?” I say, completely surprised to see her there.
“I can’t sleep,” she mumbles, fiddling with the oversized white shirt she’s wearing from one of us. “May I stay here with you tonight?”
“Of course,” I say, throwing the bed covers open. She climbs in and snuggles into my side.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier,” she says softly a few minutes later. “The things you want to know about me… they’re hard to talk about. I don’t like bringing them up because it’s a touchy subject.”
“I understand,” I soothe, stroking her hair. “I’m sorry for pushing you. If you don’t want to talk about it yet, I can respect that decision.”
“Thank you,” she says, nuzzling into my chest. “I don’t like it when we fight.”
“Oh, that wasn’t a fight at all, sweetness,” I say, chuckling softly in the dark as I pull her closer, hugging her soft body against me.
After a couple of minutes, my body finally relaxes with my omega by my side, allowing me to fall asleep at last.
Lena
Sunlight filters through the curtains in Damon’s bedroom, and I crack my eyes open, stretching leisurely when I find myself in bed alone. My ankle throbs, but the pain isn’t as intense as it was yesterday, and I know that today, I should be able to walk on it a bit more.
A familiar pink suitcase sits at the end of the bed, and I sit up to look at it properly, my stomach sinking when I realize it contains the clothes and toiletries that Max had brought for me from home.
Damon was serious about me staying with them, especially since I’m pregnant. I haven’t had a chance to process the pregnancy, and I place a hand over my belly, thinking about being a mother.
The thought fills me with dread. If I stay here, I’m less likely to leave eventually, and I don’t want that.
I need to be on my own, where I know I’ll be safer, and to keep the baby safe.
Having made up my mind, I get up and dress, determined to leave the pack house today. I wheel my suitcase into the kitchen moments later, and all three alphas stop eating their breakfast to stare at me.
“What are you doing?” Gunnar asks, pointing his knife at my suitcase. My stomach rumbles at seeing bacon and eggs on his plate, but I ignore it. I can eat at home.
I square my shoulders, stiffening my spine as I look him in the eye.
“I’m leaving,” I state. “I’ve made up my mind, and this is the best decision for me. We’ve had our fun, but I know it can’t last. I would rather be at home.”
Max’s knife and fork clatter to the table as he shoots up from his chair.
“Lena, please!” he says despairingly, breaking my heart. “We’ve had this discussion. You know you’re better off with us.”
“After your promise to me yesterday, this is what you decide?” asks Gunnar, betrayal in his voice.
“Enough,” Damon says sharply, authority lacing his words. “You’re not going anywhere, Lena. We are your alphas, and we must protect you as our omega. You’re in a vulnerable position, and if you think I’m letting you out of my sight with our pup, you are sorely mistaken.”
Panic tightens my throat with every word that leaves Damon’s mouth.
“Pup?” Max says in shock, and Gunnar’s eyes widen as they both look at me.
I’m trapped, with no way out. No autonomy, no choice—just an omega subject to a new set of alphas.
My breathing hitches as I remember the footage of Zorin from last night.
He’s here, and I know he wants something from me. The room starts to spin as I hyperventilate, but the breaths I take do little to calm my racing heart.
I topple slightly to the left, losing my balance as I try to stay upright. Max and Gunnar are by my side in an instant, steadying me and gently guiding me into a chair.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Damon?” Gunnar snaps, jumping to my defense. “Why are you acting like such an asshole? She’s carrying our baby!”
“I beg to differ,” Damon says coldly, his expression softening as he looks at my belly. “Lena and the pup are safest here, where we can keep an eye on them at all times.”
I try to ignore him, focusing instead on regaining control of my breathing. My stomach rumbles again, but this time, instead of hunger, I feel a wave of nausea rising.
“I need the bathroom,” I gasp, scrambling to my feet. I make it just in time to vomit the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
The bathroom door is still open, and between bouts of vomiting, I can hear the worried whispers of the alphas.
“I’m here,” Damon says gently from behind me. He holds my hair back and rubs my back as I continue to be sick.
Damon’s presence calms me, but reminds me of the life growing inside me. I place a hand on my belly when I catch my breath, wondering what my future will look like once the baby arrives.
He may think he can keep me safe, but I know I’ll be safer if I escape the city. I need to leave when the alphas least expect it.
