Broken Dreams (Unhingedverse)
Broken Dreams: Chapter 16

BRET

“Alpha Bret, come in,” Madam Clara says. I’ve bought omegas from her before, in fact, this is where I bought Linus.

She caters to my needs more than that bitch Ophelia, and will allow me to tour her inventory as needed. The extra perks have me coming back for more, and she’s near where the club is currently located.

Walking through the warehouse, I see the smooth walls of the building, clean floor, but that’s where the “luxury” ends. These omegas are less high maintenance than Ophelia’s, as some of hers get their own nook to sleep in with their own things. Honestly, it’s wasted time and resources for sex slaves. They need to know their place, which is on their knees working.

My omegas sleep on the floor, against walls, and only the ones who are regularly on my dick get anything nice. Alisa has a blanket and a pillow because I regularly fuck her. I’m sure everyone is jealous of the nice things I give her, though no one’s tried to steal them.

“I have some new stock in,” Madam Clara prattles on, making me nod pleasantly despite the fact that her voice annoys me. She’s an alpha, and she moves in a way that says she expects the world to bow down to her because of her designation.

It’s not an attractive thing to see in a woman.

“Lead the way,” I say pointedly. It’s three in the morning, which is the only time I had to come in. Thank God she doesn’t seem to sleep much.

Her hips sway with purpose rather than seduction under her long sleeve jumpsuit as she walks. The long entryway leads to an open area that I’m sure catches a draft in the winter. Cages line the walls as she leads me to the middle of the space.

“How many did you say you needed?” she asks, greed and excitement in her eyes.

Clara has been laying low after an idiot mafia man tried to sell an omega out of Minneapolis to her. It’s well known in the trafficking circles, and I always keep my ear open for trouble and gossip. She hasn’t had an auction in almost a year, though she’s still making good money on the side.

I think she may be considering moving her operation out of the Chicago area completely. Being on the wrong side of a pack isn’t a good place to be, and somehow they haven’t been able to replace her to throttle and torture her. That’s the problem with these meat head packs: they’re too small minded.

“Two,” I say shortly, my eyes moving over the raised cages. She has a crane that allows her to move inventory wherever she needs, which also means she doesn’t need as many staff.

Clara also has several firearms on her and is deadly. Just because she’s pretty, doesn’t make her a pushover.

Losing Makayla and Linus is really putting a crimp in my business. I need fresh meat I can put on display, offering them up to the highest bidder to have the first fuck.

There is a female and male omega watching me with wide eyes in a corner. They’re actually in the same cage, squished together tightly. Hmm.

“What’s their deal?” I ask gruffly. I only care about their background because omegas that already have some kind of history together sometimes are more inclined to protect the other.

This means they’ll behave so the other isn’t hurt. It doesn’t always work in their favor, and I will twist that familiarity so they’ll bend in every way possible for me. It’s why I was always on Makayla’s ass. Linus did whatever I needed him to in an effort to protect her.

They thought they were so smart, but I knew they were special to each other. Captivity has a way of bringing people together, however I don’t have that kind of time. I need a pair of already bonded omegas.

“They’re siblings,” Clara murmurs. “Well, step-siblings, but they won’t leave each other’s side. It’s easier to keep them in the same cage and frees up space.”

The callousness of her tone makes me smirk. She doesn’t give a shit about these people unless it’s regarding how much she’ll make. If she wasn’t such a hard nosed bitch, I’d like her more. I just know she’s going to drive a hard bargain for them now that she knows I like them.

Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers.

Moving toward the cage, I squat down before the siblings. I can market them as blood relatives and I’ll make a killing. I have a group of clients who would lose their minds over watching them fuck and fucking them.

The girl is wearing panties and nothing else, Clara’s version of late night staging. She has pretty, long blonde hair, though it’s not as light as Makayla’s. Still, my clients love blondes, and she has interesting eyes. One of her eyes is blue while the other is a milky white.

“Is she blind in either eye?” I ask Clara. I don’t need an omega who may be defective.

“No, Alpha,” Clara says. “Apparently it just happened when she was a kid. Their aunt sold them to me. They’re both eighteen.”

Hmm, that’s perfect.

“Have either of them been through a heat?” I ask, already beginning to count my potential money. I don’t know how they’re still here. “Also, how long have they been here?”

“Neither have, but they’ve both presented as omegas,” she says. “They’ve only been here a week.”

It’s my lucky day. Fuck yeah.

Smirking, I run my gaze over the boy. He’s lean and not overly muscular. There’s definitely a certain type of alpha who enjoys this body type. His dirty blonde hair and blue eyes definitely give boy next door vibes, making my dick threaten to thicken. I’m not typically into fucking males, but I could fuck his ass from behind and forget he doesn’t have tits.

Yeah, they’ll do just fine.

“I’ll take them both,” I say, standing. I brought one of the panel vans we use for cargo, and there aren’t any chairs. The cage will be perfect in the back. “Cage too. I’ll keep them there until they’re ready to see clients.”

Clara’s eyes widen slightly before she remembers herself. It’s none of her business what I decide to do with them. Sometimes, I’ll buy an omega because I know she’ll be snuff fodder for my clients. Then, when they manage to kill her because they can’t help themselves, I make them pay me reparations. I just enforce the rules of ‘you break it, you buy it.’ Rinse and repeat.

I fucking love my job.

“Eight hundred thousand for the pair of them, and I’ll throw in the cage for free,” she says.

Hiding my smile, I nod, pulling out my phone to wire her the money. I’m getting a hell of a deal for them, and I know it. She’s really shooting herself in the foot for not auctioning her omegas. The mob mentality is where the real money is.

“I’ll go wake someone up to put them on the trollies,” she says. “I’m also moving out of Chicago next week. I need to get out of here so I can begin my auctions again.”

Ha! I fucking called that one.

“Any ideas of where?” I ask. I don’t have an issue with the auctions, but I’ll miss being able to buy at a lower premium.

“Not yet, but when I’m settled I’ll have a reopening announcement sent out to avoid being found,” she says. “If I could replace a way to do a floating auction, I would.”

My lips curl as I think. “If you bought good transport vehicles and marketed the auctions well, I think you’d be able to do it,” I tell her, making sure the transaction went through. “All set on my end. Let’s get this done so we can all catch some sleep.”

Something crosses over her eyes I can’t quite figure out before she nods and leaves to replace the help she’ll need for transport. Deciding it’s none of my business, I glance over the rest of the inventory and decide I made the best choice.

They’re all gorgeous creatures, but the control I’ll be able to have over these omegas will be incredible.

As for Makayla, her and Linus’ freedom won’t last for long. I contacted her father with word of her escape. If she went back for any reason, he’ll replace out for me and I’ll make my move.

Sometimes greed is bigger than familial love. Teenage angst is a bitch, but you can always sell your asshole teens and make a shit load of cash.

Barking out a laugh, I decide that I missed my calling for parental guide books. Pity.

I spend my time making plans for the omega siblings before me as I wait, eager to make up the money it’s costing me not to have my prime omegas. They’ll pay for escaping.

Just wait.

DUNCAN

My father is on my doorstep, glowering at me, while Linus and Quinn are safely ensconced in the new dance room I spent last night setting up. It only took two days for Dad to show up after receiving his text from Hudson. That must have taken some restraint.

She texted us the second he left the house to drive down here. She’s always been on our side for everything. Only Dad and the other mafia families have been pressuring us to replace an omega, preferably female so we can start popping out some kids.

Omegas aren’t broodmares, and I refuse to treat Quinn as such. We haven’t even talked about it. This is too new. I’m not going to pressure her.

I warned Quinn and Linus not to come out unless they felt it was absolutely necessary until Dad was gone. I don’t trust that Hudson didn’t have something to do with his daughter’s disappearance, especially after Quinn looked conflicted when I asked her.

No one is to be trusted outside of my very small circle. Fuck, I don’t even trust my own father right now.

“Hello, Dad,” I say, brow raised. “Lovely for you to drop by unannounced. Won’t you come in?”

“Don’t be a smart ass,” he grumbles, coming inside.

The walls in the newly transformed dance room happen to be soundproof because Grandma Diedre has an interesting sex life. She merely gave me a wink when she made it very clear there were a few rooms that are soundproofed in the house.

The ballroom is a room that I don’t know what to do with, so I’ve left it alone. Our gardens and courtyards are gorgeous and well tended by gardeners we trust, but otherwise, we don’t have many people on property. We enjoy our privacy.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I drawl, closing the door behind him.

I have always butted heads with my father. He’s old fashioned in family life, while being willing to make calculated decisions in work that have served him well. Honestly, the older I get, the less I trust the man. It’s sad to replace out the man who raised you is a weak-willed alpha.

It’s probably why I spend so much time doing the opposite of what he does. I want to give back to the world, while he looks for opportunities to take.

“Where’s your good for nothing brother?” Dad asks, crossing his arms over his expansive chest. He hits the gym too hard and looks a little ridiculous to me.

I hate how he puts my brother down, especially when Callum works really hard and is such a good person. It’s always been like that, though he puts up a really good front to the rest of the world that we’re the apples of his eye. Hah.

“He’s in the office,” I say, leading the way toward Callum and away from our omegas. This was a tactical choice, since it’ll give them safety and privacy.

Quinn and Linus are practicing and getting ready to start their first shift tomorrow night, and I know they’re buzzing with excitement. Quinn has expressed that she’s nervous about how much more difficult even one word answers are becoming, and I believe it’s stress as well as the big changes she’s experiencing.

I asked if she wanted to see a professional, but she refused. She’s been tight lipped about the past, and I believe she wants to tell me, but writing it all out would be worse than saying it.

I asked her for a list of people I needed to kill, and she smiled before giving it to me: Alpha Miles Kellogg and Bret Harris. Linus circled the latter’s name, throwing in his two cents about the club’s alpha.

I’ll replace a way to track them both down and kill them, though I worry Bret may replace us first.

“Hudson won’t leave me alone,” Dad groans. “Do you have Quinn or not?”

“She’s not a possession, even if she was here,” I state. “I will never stop looking for her, so if you ever want grandchildren, maybe you should pray I do.”

“She was never right for you,” he sighs as we walk into the office.

“What brings you over?” Callum asks, not bothering with the pleasantries. He has a lot less time for his bullshit.

“Quinn Hughes,” Dad says.

In another life, we were both lawyers, I’d swear it. We both took multiple logic courses in college, just for shits and giggles.

“What about her?” he asks. “There’s no one here by that name.”

Hiding my smile, I walk over to lean against the desk next to my brother.

“Why does Hudson think his daughter, who has been gone for twenty years, has suddenly popped up to be with two degenerates like us?” I ask.

Quinn’s father actually called us this when we left her house the day she was kidnapped. The fucker. I’ve had to keep myself from blowing his brains out on multiple occasions. It’s actually why Callum and I have distanced ourselves from him. If I can prove that he sold her, I won’t hold back.

“You’re no such thing, you’re Kellys,” Dad sniffs, ignoring the question. “Hudson got a tip that his daughter had been seen recently, and wants to reunite with her. You know poor Ayla has never been the same since she lost Quinn.”

I don’t know how the poor woman is still with us, to be honest. She’s so fragile and quiet, if I knew Quinn would remain safe, I’d replace a way for them to see each other. I’ll ask Quinn if she wants to see Ayla, and then go from there. Fuck, there’s so much shit to navigate through.

“Sympathetic segues won’t get you anywhere with us,” I remind him.

“So why are you really here?” Callum asks. “We aren’t responding to Hudson for a reason, and that’s because he’s not worth our time. The two of you made every effort to keep us away from Quinn before she disappeared. You won, you kept us from her forever. That’s quite a flex and a desperate one, but whatever.”

My brother has a sharp tongue, same as I do. Mine gets a bit more use because I care less about what people think. I only behave when absolutely necessary.

“Stop putting words in my mouth,” Dad growls as I struggle not to roll my eyes. “None of that happened. You were too old for her, my God, you’re so dramatic, Callum.”

Meh, it was only four or five years. It doesn’t mean we couldn’t have accompanied her to the mall.

“It’s a moot point now,” I remind him.

“It’s not, because someone took a photo of her,” he says, pulling out his phone to hand it to me angrily.

Going into Minneapolis was a gamble, but hiding isn’t living either. Quinn deserves to build a life, confidence, and everything that comes with that. We’re willing to help her fight the demons who come along the way, even if it means our own father and hers.

Glancing down, I see a photo of her getting out of the car and shrug. My new SUV has tags that aren’t connected to my brother or I, and it’s currently in the garage. My father has never seen it.

“She was fourteen when she disappeared, how do you know that’s her?” I ask. Without him noticing, I forward the photo to myself and then delete the message from his phone before closing everything out to hand it back to him.

Dad colors slightly as he shoves it into his pocket, looking as if his clothes are too tight as he shifts on his feet.

“There’s the imaging available now to age a person’s photo, right?” he asks uncomfortably. Technology isn’t his strong suit. “The hair is right, though a lot longer, and she’s always been pretty.”

“There are a lot of pretty omegas in the world that aren’t Quinn,” I remind him gently. Callum snorts, annoyed, and I can tell this visit is going to end sooner rather than later.

“She could be dead,” Callum says. In truth, the girl she was isn’t alive anymore. Too much has happened, and she’s changed a lot. “Why is Hudson suddenly going on about this?”

“He showed Ayla the photo,” Dad says grimly, making me feel lightheaded. God, way to kick me in the damn knot. “She is adamant that it’s Quinn, and wants to see her. You know her mental health hasn’t been great recently…”

I’ve never wanted to kill my father until now, and Callum’s fingers are twitching as well. Goddamnit, Dad.

“Hypothetically, because I think you’re both insane for entertaining this, what do you want to happen if this is her?” I ask.

“She needs to be reintroduced into society,” he says eagerly.

As Dad drones on with excitement, I grunt as I listen. Everything is about status, how they can use people, and elevate the families. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not.

“I think that’s one of the worst things possible, and a great way to get her kidnapped, hypothetically, of course,” Callum adds. “Quinn has been gone for twenty years, why is a party a good idea?”

“Hudson thinks she should be packed up to keep her safe, and I agree,” Dad says. “He has a list of packs to court her.”

The razor thin control I’m keeping on myself is the only reason I haven’t hit him yet. If I react, it’s an act of admission that I have Quinn in our house. I’m not prepared to do that without discussing it with her.

“If she was found, a list wouldn’t be necessary,” I state instead. “She’d be thirty-four years old and an adult.”

“It’s barbaric to arrange marriages, even in our world,” Callum says. “Now, I have an appointment with Pack Dresmond I need to get to.”

That’s news to me, and I think it’s untrue. I’d know if he had any plans to see them.

“You need to stop chasing a packed up omega and replace one of your own,” Dad snarls, and I do openly roll my eyes at that. “I mean it! People are beginning to talk. It’s embarrassing.”

“Adira is our best friend,” I say slowly, as if he’s an idiot. This is an argument I have regularly on the phone with him, but shield my brother from. “We are not chasing an unavailable omega, Dad.”

“I also don’t believe anyone will be speaking ill of a senior member of the families,” Callum drawls. “It would be a very bad life choice.”

Dad blinks before shaking out his hands at his sides discreetly. My eyes are drawn to it, as it’s his tell when he’s hiding something.

“Are you threatening me, boy?” he asks.

“Simply reminding you of her status,” I stare. I will firmly stand at Callum’s side and burn my bridge with Dad if necessary. It just hasn’t been yet. “As we have plans, I believe we’ll cut our little visit off here.”

Huffing out an annoyed sound, Dad nods as he accepts the dismissal for what it is. This is our house, he can only pretend he can tell us what to do now.

“You’re playing with fire,” he says loudly as we escort him out. I think that because he’s walking in front of us, he believes we can’t hear him. The man is getting old. “It’s not smart to let someone like Hudson wait too long.”

“He’ll wait as long as is necessary,” I mutter, opening the front door and waiting for him to leave.

“I’m just saying—” he attempts to continue as he leaves, and Callum shuts the door on him. Dad yelps as it hits him in the ass on his way out, and I can’t help but snicker.

“He was saying nothing,” Callum says, locking the door. “Let’s go clear the house.”

Callum sounds resigned as we search all the areas he was near or walked past for any kinds of bugs, all while making sure he leaves as we watch the cameras. It’s sad that this is what our lives have come to, but we can’t afford to let any breaks in security invade our spaces.

We harbor too many secrets.

“He was on the phone the second he got in the car,” I state, knowing he saw it too.

“Hudson has his claws in him. Okay, the house is clear, we need to talk to Quinn about her mom,” he sighs.

This is going to fucking suck. Ayla was always a wonderful mother, she simply trusted her husband too much.

Since the walls are soundproof, I open the door slowly to the dance room, peeking in to see Quinn and Linus taking a break to drink water. They’re both sitting on the wood floors, breathing hard as their heartbeats begin to slow down, and their adrenaline levels begin to drop to normal. Their cheeks are flushed from exertion, reminding me of what they would look like after sex. Ugh, I can’t think about that right now, not when I need to have such a serious conversation with them.

Callum leans down to grab Quinn’s pen and paper by the far wall, and we walk toward them.

“Hey,” Linus says, searchingly looking for something wrong before slumping slightly. I hate seeing that, and it makes me want to kill my father and Quinn’s to call it a day.

Unfortunately, that still leaves Ayla.

“My father is gone, and there’s no signs of bugs or cameras in the house,” Callum says, dropping to the ground in front of them. Following his lead, I fold my legs to sit as well.

“Quinn, your dad is like a dog with a bone. I’ve had my phone on silent in a desk drawer since he began texting me, and am using a burner for work,” I say wryly. “My dad showed me a photo of you getting out of the SUV, which I deflected because it’s new and he doesn’t know about the purchase.”

“Sneaky,” Linus mutters sourly.

“You have no idea. The plates won’t even lead back to us,” I say to him, enjoying the way his lips twitch.

They have every right to be annoyed and worried. All we want is to keep them safe, but it’s a careful balancing act between that and caging them.

“I told him there’s no real way to tell if it’s Quinn or not due to being gone for twenty years, and Dad said that Hudson put an old photo of yours through an age imaging program,” I say. “I tried to deflect but⁠—”

“He showed the photo to your mom, Quinn,” Callum rasps. The blood runs out of her face so quickly, I throw my hand out to catch her, sure that she’s going to faint. Instead, she shakes her head, forcing herself to breathe, holding Linus’ hand tightly.

With her free hand, she reaches for the pen and paper.

Tell me how she is?

We’ve been beating around the bush about how Ayla is, giving her little details, but refusing to explain the full truth.

“Hudson institutionalized her just after you disappeared,” Callum says, his voice dead as he forces himself to tell her.

I feel the prick of tears stinging because our mom passed away when we were ten, and we leaned hard on Ayla. Back then, she was so damn strong and sweet. She’s the only reason we have any good inside of us at all.

“She was overcome with grief, but Hudson wouldn’t let Callum or I see her,” I say. “God, I don’t think we were much better if I’m being real straight with you. You were our best friend, our everything back then.”

A jagged breath fortifies my brother as he continues. “Your dad refused to take any of our calls, and my father told us to let him handle his family as he saw fit,” he mutters. “Three weeks later, Ayla was out, and looked so fragile, I was afraid to hug her. She’s a ghost of herself now. I fucking hate that he gave her hope.”

I can’t kill that hope, Quinn scrawls out. I won’t.

“Hudson wants a party,” I say, shaking my head as a tear falls between my anger and grief. “He’s so fucking insistent on keeping up with social niceties. Dad said that he even has a list of packs to introduce you to.”

I’m yours!

Her words make Callum and I growl with approval, because she is. Fuck, we’re going to need to at least put in paperwork before this farce if we’re going to keep her from having to deal with that.

“You are, both you and Linus,” I agree. “There are few packs that will want to get between a scent match, but there’s only one way to get around it outside of a bond bite.”

Her curious look is only there before she writes, Yes. File the paperwork.

Smart girl.

“I’ll print it out, and I guess I’ll have to return the dickwad’s phone calls,” I say. “I’m sorry, I know he’s your dad, but he’s shown time and again that he doesn’t deserve to be.”

Quinn surprises me as she releases Linus’ hand to crawl across the floor toward me. Her pink hair is up in a cute little pony tail, her breasts contained in a new sports bra we picked up along with pretty bras. Watching her crawl does so much shit to my brain, reminding me that she’s fucking mine. She crawls right into my lap, facing me as she swipes her thumb over my cheek slowly to catch a tear.

“He kept it together the best while our dad was here, so it’s coming out now,” Callum explains. “I can’t deal with this bullshit.”

Quinn throws her arms around me and I smile, hugging her back as she scent marks my neck. All I need is the people in this room right now. Adira would be walking out of here to kill everyone who made me upset. While sweet, that’s not the energy I need right now.

I need to make sure I can make them as safe as possible.

“Do you remember the training Callum and I gave you as a kid?” I ask her. Twisting until her butt is in my lap instead, she reaches out for the pad she left on the ground. Linus appears amused, while my dick is being pressed against her ass, which is encased by a pair of leggings that should be illegal.

Linus hands Quinn the pad and pen, wearing leggings as well that show off his dick and a white tank top. The universe is trying me today, and I’m not a good enough alpha for this. Fuck my life.

Ducking my head to kiss Quinn’s neck, I murmur, “Thank you for taking care of me.”

Her shiver speaks volumes to me, as her scent fills the air.

“What were you saying?” Linus teases as she huffs. Oh, she’s a cute brat. I love it.

The training didn’t work. I froze.

“I don’t think there’s much you could have done against a group of men so much bigger than you,” Callum says. “The girls and guards as they joined later both stated there were several armed and masked men.”

Quinn drops her head as she nods.

“This time, you’ll have weapons on you wherever you go, including Club Serenity,” Callum says. “There’s a lot I can hide in your hair or along your thigh in the form of a knife. I want to make sure you know how to use it before I arm you so you don’t cut yourself.”

“That would suck,” Linus says.

“You’re learning too,” I say. “You need to be able to protect both yourself and Quinn. You’re the one with her the most outside of us.”

The way his chest puffs up makes me smile. He’s been watching out for her for a long time, even when he couldn’t keep her completely safe.

“So, are we doing this? Telling your dad you’re alive and with us?” I ask.

After paperwork, Quinn insists.

“You got it. Let’s go get that done,” Callum says before Quinn starts furiously writing.

I’m broken. I can’t speak, I’m not the same girl anymore. I don’t know why he’s being so insistent about this. I doubt he will be once you tell him. In fact, after the paperwork you should start with that. ‘I found your daughter, but she’s broken.’

“The fuck I will,” I growl, my hand cuffing her throat, my thumb on her chin as I push her head up to look at me. “You’re not broken, everything works just fine. Speech is overrated, and I almost broke my father’s face several times because he doesn’t know when to shut up.”

“What Duncan is explaining badly is that there’s nothing wrong with you,” Callum says. “Trauma took your voice, you’ll replace it when you’re ready, okay?”

Quinn blinks up at me to agree since she can’t move her face, and I kiss her upside down. It’s messy, wild, and exactly what I need. Her chest is heaving for an entirely different reason when I release her.

“Now, let’s do paperwork so I can convince my dick to calm down,” I grunt, helping Quinn up before standing. “I can’t tell you how far out I’ll be able to push this ridiculous party he’ll want to have, but I’ll try to make sure we have a say on where we have it.”

“We could have it here,” Callum says, making a face. “The security agency is filling out well, and we can pull some of our allies to help too.”

Weighing in my mind, I nod. It feels an awful lot like deja vu, but it’s worth a try.

“Yeah, we can do that.”