Broken Dreams (Unhingedverse)
Broken Dreams: Chapter 7

DUNCAN

Another scent match.

I wasn’t sure at first, the scent of dark molasses and sweet tea curling around the room gently while Linus stood apart from us to hold up his watch post. It wasn’t until he climbed into the bed with us that the realization slammed into us. Holy fuck.

He’s ours.

We have another omega to bring with us, one that will hopefully go willingly before we can explain everything to him. I’m afraid we won’t have the time to ease him into things. He’s very attached to Quinn, which means he won’t want to be left behind. This just got a whole lot more complicated, but doesn’t change the fact that we’ve found what’s ours.

At that moment, an hour after Linus got into bed with us, Quinn scoots away from Oliver, his knot softening enough for her to be able to do that. I bet his cock was nice and warm after her brief nap.

It’s been hours since she started her heat, and my mind immediately moves toward her natural needs.

“Do you need a bathroom, Makayla?” I ask, eying her wide eyed surprise. I doubt she’s ever been asked this during a heat.

Fucking useless alphas. Every single one that’s come before us is garbage if they didn’t at least think of something so simple. I’m extremely grateful that Callum and I were paired with alphas that care about her well-being, even if she’s not theirs.

It’s what decent alphas do. Their inner selves crave the happiness of the omega they’re around, and nothing less is acceptable.

She slowly nods, wincing as she rubs at her stomach.

“Point me in the right direction, and we’ll get you squared away before your heat spikes again,” I tell her as I stand.

Slowly, as if she doesn’t believe me, she follows my lead, her gaze beginning to search for Linus. Sleepily, he glances up at her.

“I’ll take you,” he says, scrambling up. The only reason we’re offering is in case she falls because of an intense heat wave. The cramps she’s had have been insane, and we’ve already caught her twice when she’s overbalanced and almost fallen.

Her legs are wobbly as she stands there, and Linus ignores any semblance of her independence as he lifts her into his arms, walking to a door in the corner of the room. I watch as it snicks closed before I take a breath.

“I had no idea it would be like this,” Alesso says softly, careful of his voice traveling. “I just wanted to experience what it would be like to be with a female in heat without any strings. Sounds stupid now that I think about it.”

“I did know, which is why I’m here,” I mutter. “To get her out.”

“I feel as if there’s a story here,” Lucas says, sucking on his bottom lip as he glances at me. “Am I going to get my ass kicked later for treading on your girl?”

“No, because I need your cock to keep her happy,” I say, shrugging. “Callum and I have been looking for her for a long time. This was our only in, which is why we haven’t used our names much where she can hear. She can’t recognize us yet. It would be…”

“Confusing as fuck,” Oliver says. “Makayla is also in the middle of a very painful and intense time, so this is definitely not the best moment to throw this on her. Fuck, I’m confused by all of this too. I don’t typically make it a point to intrude on another pack’s omega.”

“Ah, funny story,” Callum says, his gaze heavy with intent as he stares at me. “Linus appears to be ours as well.”

“That he is,” I whisper.

“They can’t stay here,” Lucas says, lips pressing together. “I don’t know how scent matches will work here, I have a feeling the owner has been fucking with their body chemistry. Maybe scent blockers or something? They haven’t realized they’re scent matched. Bret isn’t a good man…”

“He’s not. I bet he has the omegas here loaded up on a ton of shit that’ll wreak havoc with their instincts. We have a plan, I just need to know that if we need a little help you’ll be on board,” I say.

As they all nod, I watch as the door slowly reopens.

“Until then, we continue to help her through her heat,” Callum rasps, his voice so low neither omega hears us.

With that agreement, I force myself to smile as I see the now shivering omega in Linus’ arms.

“She’s spiking again,” he says, gently giving her to me.

“Let’s see what we can do about that, hmm?” I ask, wrapping my arms around her.

Makayla snuggles into my body, while Linus’ brows rise high on his forehead. I can tell this isn’t her normal behavior, but this isn’t a normal heat either. It’s one with her scent matches and some extra help.

She doesn’t know that yet, but her instincts are stirring.

Her skin is hot, and they both smell delicious together. Linus’ cock bobs in front of me unashamedly, making my mouth water. Instead, I raise her ass gently to impale her pussy on my cock. I notice immediately that Linus took a little longer in the bathroom to clean her up, which immediately makes me think higher of him.

He obviously adores Quinn. Unfortunately for him, I won’t hesitate to use that against him if it means that he’ll follow us to safety. I understand sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don’t. I only want to be their devil in private, with conversations beforehand that tell me how far I can go with them.

“Do you want to suck Linus’ cock?” I croon.

The way her head lifts as if I promised her a sweet treat makes me chuckle, and I drop down onto my back so she can ride me.

“Well, come on then,” I prompt him, already beginning to purr as the omega begins to perfume.

The other alphas groan, because Linus is sexy as fuck, there’s no bones about it. As his cock slides through Quinn’s pouty lips, I have to admit this was a good idea. He should be part of all of her heats, and if I have anything to say about it, he will be.

LINUS

Makayla is being adored by these alphas, spoiled and taken care of. It’s going to suck when this ends soon, and she has to go back to real life. Sometimes, generosity and kindness are the worst things sex slaves can receive. Even Christian’s kindness fits the bounds of our rules, reminding us of our place.

It’s better that way, right? Knowing what the next day will bring, when it’s being used as a cum rag and being put away sore and destroyed, helps put our barriers up.

Unfortunately, they’re shredding mine as well. While male alphas often use me for their pleasure, they also don’t care about me in any way. I’m not even attracted to any of them, my body reacting to their pheromones of its own volition.

The only exception to this has been Christian, and now the alphas in this room. They’re beautiful men, strong, powerful, and most of all respectful of Makayla and my needs. To me, that’s sexy as fuck.

The way she’s blossomed in their arms makes me a little jealous, but also happy because she deserves good heats. The life we’ve been living isn’t something either of us would choose.

It’s been two more nights of sex and knots for Makayla, her heat abruptly cutting off as if hitting a time limit. This is what happens when your body chemistry is constantly being fucked with to maximize another man’s greed.

She simply curls up with a little moan on Alesso’s cock, snuggling up to sleep.

“And she’s done,” I murmur, lips twitching. “I’ve heard she’s very abrupt when her heat breaks. Someone actually complained about it and fucked her anyway.”

“She’s adorable,” Alesso murmurs, gazing down at her with affection. “It’s like someone cut her strings. I can’t say I’m upset about it. My dick is fucking tired.”

“Ditto,” Oliver groans. It’s two in the morning, so I’ll be able to clean her up and get her to sleep. I’m not looking forward to Bret’s anger tomorrow. That’s if we don’t run into him in the hall as he comes to let these guys out. The club is still busy at this time.

We’ll have to sneak through the back hallways.

“Up we go,” Duncan breathes, jumping up to grab his clothes.

A part of me is a little sad that he’s leaving, but I know he has to. My heart fucking hurts, which is silly. Taking a breath, I grab my ridiculous leather pants and pull them on, wincing at my still hard cock. It won’t go down for a while, despite how many times Makayla has swallowed down my cum.

Damn pheromones and alphas. I don’t have time to pout, I have to get Makayla from where she’s slumped over on Alesso and go. The other alphas get dressed while I lift Makayla slowly off Alesso’s dick. His hiss makes me wince, because it’s clear he doesn’t want to let her go despite his sore cock.

Holding her in my arms, I begin to leave, when Duncan holds his hand up.

“We can’t let you do that yet,” he says. “Just wait, okay?”

“I don’t want to deal with Bret,” I admit, sighing. “He’s going to be in a shit mood because I didn’t work for four days.”

Alesso, Oliver, and Lucas all pull out their phones and click something on it.

“Now he can’t complain, because we all just sent him remittance for your absence,” Oliver says with a shrug.

“I’ll also send ours once we leave,” the alpha with the crown murmurs. “Hopefully he decides to check on us soon, or we’re just going to walk out like we own the place.”

“Walk out?” I ask, confused. Surely he’s not suggesting…

“Oh yeah. I’m Callum, by the way,” the alpha says. “You two can’t stay here anymore, Linus. It’s clear that Bret is one bad mood away from snapping Makayla’s neck.”

Blowing out a breath, I look down at my best friend’s body.

“Help me get this on her,” Callum says, holding up his long sleeved shirt. Oh, the reason I can still see his tattoos is because of his bare chest.

God, get it together, Linus. I feel tired and spacey, and I’m unsure what’s got me feeling so odd.

Shifting her in my arms, I help him get his shirt onto her body. It smells like coconut and oak, clean and fresh. I usually can’t tell what a scent is so clearly because of all of the other scents in a club. My nose is finally a lot clearer than it typically is.

The shirt falls to her thighs, and I drag my gaze back to the alphas. I need to wrap my mind around this. Something tells me that I’m about to run out of time.

“What is happening? Why would you want to get us out of here other than our wellbeing? In my experience, alphas aren’t this nice,” I ask point blank.

“Fuck, it’s awful that you have to say it like that. There’s a lot of good alphas, you’ve simply been shown the worst of us. Do you want the truth?” Duncan asks, brow raised.

“Yeah, of course,” I say, eyes narrowing. “I’m lied to enough, thank you very fucking much.”

“Feisty,” Alesso murmurs. “That’ll be fun for you two.”

“I’ve known Makayla since she was three years old,” Callum says, licking his thumb and rubbing it under the crown on his arm. Slowly, the name Quinn and a date in Roman numerals appear. “Her real name is Quinn, and she was kidnapped when she was fourteen. We’ve been holding out hope that we’d be able to replace her ever since.”

“She’s our scent match,” Duncan says, his ears straining as he holds it against the door. “There’s a lot more to tell, but I can hear the prick coming now. This is going to move really quickly. Quinn needs you. Go with us for her.”

“The rest of the details you can figure out later,” Oliver adds.

God, they sure did band together quickly for people that don’t know each other. At least, I don’t think they do. Ugh.

“Linus?” Bret asks, opening the door. Fuck, there goes my exit, though it seems that isn’t my destiny tonight. “Where are you going?”

“Makayla just finished her heat and the sheets are filthy,” I say, leaning into the role I would usually play. I always come get her once her heat is over.

It’s how I tend to overhear so much that her marks say afterward.

“I need you out on the floor,” he grumbles, coming further into the room.

Duncan moves in a way that pushes Bret away from the door, but he’s so focused on me, he doesn’t pay attention outside of a grimace.

“I can be there as soon as I lay her down,” I say. “I’ve been in the same clothes for four days, I don’t think I’m ready to see any clients.”

Wrinkling his nose as he thinks about that and sniffs, he shakes his hair.

“It is beginning to smell a bit ripe in here,” he admits. “I’ll walk the alphas out then while you’re doing that.”

“We actually just sent you enough money to excuse him from his place tonight as well,” Lucas says, stalking toward Bret.

The alpha has his prey in his sights, and he’s not ready to let him go yet.

“What do you mean?” Bret asks, still gazing at me.

If stupid could be stamped on his forehead, that’s exactly what I’d do right now.

“They wanted to pay for my time during Makayla’s heat,” I explain. “You can’t double dip, boss.”

The last part has me stepping back with my precious bundle, because the blood is rising in his face until the blood vessel in his forehead begins to pulse. I’m intentionally pissing him off, desperately hoping these men mean what they say.

If Makayla is leaving, then so am I. There’s no way I could survive without her. She’s a part of me. I’m throwing caution to the wind here.

Don’t let me down, guys. I’m doing the exact thing I begged Makayla not to do: take a stand and push back.

Fuck me.

Thankfully, Lucas’ arm wraps around Bret’s throat, tightly holding him as he blocks his airway. The narcissistic alpha flails and pushes Lucas away, but is unable to. Honestly, I’m not surprised since Bret isn’t at his healthiest, his muscles poorly formed. The man is one of the laziest fuckers that I’ve ever met. His screams are cut off by Lucas’ thick arm, his gasping breaths nonexistent as he finally begins to sag against the alpha.

“Goodnight, asshole,” he rasps. “We’ll show ourselves out, thank you very much.”

“There’s a back exit, correct?” Duncan asks, his words forceful and sharp.

Lucas drops Bret to the ground like a sack of potatoes once he’s sure the bastard is unconscious, and the five alphas in the room gaze at me for a response.

“There is,” I breathe. “Fuck. Okay. If we’re doing this, we’ll need to keep silent and get to the back hallways. The guards get lazy at this time of the night.”

“Lazy how?” Callum asks curiously.

“They’re more interested in watching people fuck,” I reply. “I haven’t checked, but sometimes not all the sex is kept in the private rooms. If Makayla is here, there’s no reason to be as careful.”

“I have a lot of questions,” Callum grunts. “Let’s get the fuck out of here for now.”

“We’ll follow you, none of us parked in the front as instructed,” Oliver says.

A nod is the only sign I receive that we’re moving before the door is opened and Duncan moves out of the way so I can go first. Taking a deep breath as I walk barefoot out with the alphas at my back, I concentrate on my task so I don’t hyperventilate.

The first lesson taught to a Slick Dreams omega is that there’s no escape. Anyone who talks about it is punished, but since no one does, I don’t know what it would look like. We’re gaslit and threatened into following Bret’s rules.

Getting even this much space from the sleazeball’s words is a mindfuck. He’s seeded fear into my veins for ten years. My muscles tense, waiting for him to jump out at me, despite knowing he’s still unconscious in the room behind me. It’s a trauma response, I’m just trying to get the rest of me to realize it.

My breaths are coming even faster, and Callum puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Focus on the next thirty seconds, and then do it again,” he says so only I can hear. “You’re doing so fucking well.”

The praise helps clear the terror from my lungs as I take a breath and keep moving. I can hear the thudding music through the walls as clients continue to enjoy Slick Dreams’ amenities.

We haven’t seen Christian since his last visit, which means Makayla and I will probably never see him again. As much as I downplay the way I feel about him because it’s easier to swallow when he has to leave, I’m going to miss him.

Makayla’s weight in my arms also helps to keep me centered as she puts her hand on my skin. This girl is my rock, the reason I get up in the morning. I need to do this for her as much as for me.

My steps take me to where there’s usually a guard, and I begin to slow down. The alphas take my lead, forming an arc behind me as they glance around, listening for anyone who may pop up.

“There’s usually a guard here,” I breathe, not wanting to be too obvious about it.

“Do you have an escort to take the little whore to her room, or is the boss selling her to these men to fuck while she’s unconscious?” Saxon asks, seeming to come out of nowhere.

Fuck. This warehouse has alcoves all over, which makes it easy to hide.

“Unconscious gang bangs seem fun,” Oliver says with a dark chuckle. He’s believable in a really creepy way.

My skin pebbles with goosebumps in the face of a predator. Outside of the bedroom I’m realizing these men are scary and dangerous. Figures I’d have a goddamn type.

“He’s taking us to an available room,” Lucas adds.

I’m almost stiff with stress now that Callum is no longer touching me.

Please don’t notice I’m being shady as hell, Saxon.

“I am,” I murmur. “Bret told me to do it.”

“Did he also tell you that he wants you on the floor working?” Saxon asks, brow raised. He’s a brick house of muscle, the type of person you’d expect to constantly be at the gym.

I’m hoping there’s also very little brains in his thick, bald head. Swallowing hard because it’s no secret this beta makes everyone nervous, I nod.

“He did,” I rasp. “It’s the next place I’m headed after a shower.”

Saxon’s nose turns up as if he can smell me from where he stands. I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly. I didn’t do much, but four days of being around sweating alphas and laying on slick stained sheets are bound to take its toll.

“Give her to me,” he says, making it clear this is an order and not a suggestion. “I’ll take her.”

“Jostling her could wake her up and ruin things,” Duncan murmurs carefully.

“There’s drugs to put her back under for hours,” Saxon says breezily.

The alphas behind me silently seethe, but Saxon is too stupid to realize the can of worms he’s just released.

“Makes no difference to me,” Alesso lies. “Go ahead, Little Omega. Do as you’re told.”

I flinch though I know he’s playing the role of a cruel alpha, moving very slowly to give her to him. I make sure to take a step to the side, instinct telling me that I don’t want to block Saxon from the alphas behind me.

A knife sails through the air a hair’s breadth away from my shoulder. It’s moving so quickly Saxon doesn’t see it until the hilt is buried in his throat.

“Breathe, Little Omega,” Alesso reminds me, his hand clamping over my mouth to muffle my yelp. Fuck, that’s embarrassing.

Duncan moves quickly to kick Saxon in the chest, effectively forcing him to fall back so Callum can catch him. The tag team defense is done so Duncan can remove the knife and silently shove it up into Saxon’s brain through the back of his thick neck.

“If we’d had more time, we’d have tortured him,” Callum says sadly with a sigh. “He’s too big to take with us.”

“Shame,” Oliver growls in agreement.

I’m not sure what’s happening right now. It’s not normal for people to kill so easily like this. I’ve seen a lot of death while I’ve been here, don’t get me wrong, this is different for some reason.

It’s ruthless and feral.

“I really don’t want to know how you managed to get a knife in here,” I mumble behind Alesso’s hand.

“I have hidden pockets in my pants,” the alpha behind me murmurs. “Now, let’s get the fuck out of here. Can you keep it together for us? For her?”

These alphas fight really fucking dirty, but I don’t need the reminder of what’s on the line. Nodding behind Alesso’s hand, he lets me go.

“It wouldn’t be a rescue without a little bloodletting,” Callum mutters, grabbing the beta under his arms to drag him away.

“There’s a storage closet two doors up,” I tell him.

Duncan grabs Saxon’s feet, and between the two of them they manage to get him into the closet. If I had to guess, Saxon weighs in at over three hundred pounds. I know I wouldn’t be able to get him to move at all. It’s impressive that they make it look so easy.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Lucas says, as if it was a fit of anger gone wrong. “Don’t step in the blood.”

I’m barefoot. The reminder is jolting, a clear sign that I’m pulling away emotionally from what’s happening in order to be able to get through it. This is how I deal with a lot of the shitty things in my life, but I have to force myself to stay present.

Callum and Duncan wait for us as I pick my way carefully around the damp areas on the carpet. The flooring is a black fabric, so it’s not very noticeable in the low light here. As I walk by, Callum hands Alesso back his knife, freshly cleaned off somehow.

Shuddering, I decide I don’t want to know. Everything feels bigger than it should be, the knowledge that I’m walking away from the horror of the past eight years fucking with me in a big way.

“Where to?” Duncan asks, his voice low and dangerous to match the fact that he just killed someone.

In any other circumstance, it would be sexy. Right now, I’m simply terrified. All I want is to keep moving.

Taking a page from Makayla’s usual silence, I jerk my head forward, and the alphas follow me without a word. The sounds of the club are louder back here. True to form, the guards are lecherously watching their own private sex show as the omegas work their clients over.

The only person who would be dancing tonight is Makayla, so the stage is empty. I use the shadows to my advantage as I walk past.

My goal is to make it to the back door on the far side of the building, and the further I walk, the quieter it is.

“Here,” I grunt, nodding at the back door. “It’s not hooked up to an alarm. Bret is too cheap, and it’s not worth it when we won’t be here long.”

“I bet he’ll rethink that,” Alesso says with a savage smile, opening the door.

It isn’t an emergency exit, just a simple levered handle leading to the outdoors and fresh air. No alarm sounds as we walk out, no one yells. For years, the simple fear that we’d get caught and the constant vigilance of Bret and the guards have kept us all in line.

Tonight, every omega is working except for Makayla and I, and if the alphas hadn’t killed Saxon, we’d never have made it out. I’m taking a breath of warm air because of them.

I’ll never forget that, even if this is a mistake.

“Took you long enough,” a deep growl says, making the hair on my body stand up as he appears next to me. Oh fuck.

The alpha has red hair covered with a black knit beanie so it won’t stick out like a beacon in the night. I can only see a small bit that tells me it’s unruly as it peeks out of the hat. He’s wearing all black, but what gets my attention is a baby head tucked underneath a black long sleeved henley.

Is that an actual baby? What the fuck is a baby doing on what seems to be a rescue mission? God, who is this guy?

“Heats aren’t an exact science, Kane,” Callum says sarcastically as we keep walking over the black concrete. “Be careful of glass that may be out here, Linus.”

It’s pitch black as we walk. It’ll be easier to pick it out later than try to look down and possibly trip.

“We picked up an extra omega?” another alpha asks with black curly hair. Without me realizing, three other men have slid out of the shadows. They all have guns in their hands, looking for danger they may not replace.

“Long story, Jed,” Duncan murmurs. “The owner of the club is unconscious and we killed a guard. These alphas helped us get out with minimal noise.”

“That’s how we like our operations,” the beta says under his breath. He has long locs that are bound in a bun at the base of his neck. He also has a gun in his hand as he watches his phone for something. “I’m a superstitious fuck, so let’s not say the actual word, yeah?”

“No problem of that here,” Alesso says. “I’m just as superstitious. My car is just there. It appears you’re in good hands.”

“Thanks for your help,” Callum says. “If you ever need anything, here’s my card.”

The alpha hands him a small black rectangular card, and Alesso nods as he glances at it.

“Just a number. I expect nothing less,” he says with a smirk as he peels off from the group.

The other alphas slowly do the same, leaving me with Callum, Duncan, and the four other men who look as if they’re either about to rob a bank or break two omegas out of a sex trafficking club.

“Did you kill anyone important?” the last alpha who hasn’t spoken asks, his gaze unsmiling and dead as he walks beside us.

“The better question is if he deserved it,” I rasp, surprising myself. Shit, what happened to being silent and still?

“Touché. You have a good point there,” the alpha says.

“It’s too bad we can’t burn the building down, Demon,” the alpha with red hair sighs.

“I’m sure Adira will insist that we replace a way to shut this operation down either way, Kane,” Demon says.

“We need to get back to her,” Callum says, snapping my attention to him.

Do they have another omega? Are they fucking collecting them? Fuck, that’s not fair to Makayla.

“She’s our omega,” Jed says, as if he can smell my building anger. It’s hard to hide it once I get going. It’s why I try to stay as even keel as possible. Makayla tends to pull it out of me. “We left her locked up tight at their house while we came to help the Kelly brothers.”

Callum and Duncan Kelly. So they’re both alphas that garner loyalties from others. That’s good to know.

“Oh,” is all I can say as we walk toward an alley.

“Adira is also Callum and my best friend,” Duncan says. “We saved each other. I’m sure you can understand that.”

I do, but my relationship with Makayla is less than platonic. Rolling my lips in, I say nothing as we continue to use the darkness to our advantage.

“They’re not fucking,” Kane says, smirking. “She’s ours. We just share her, in the most platonic of ways possible, with them.”

“Quinn has nothing to worry about, and we’ll have no problem telling her that,” Jed grunts. “Here’s our ride. I’m getting twitchy.”

“I’ll bring the truck up,” Callum says as he disappears with the other alphas down the alleyway.

Shit. Duncan crosses his arms over his chest as we wait, and I hold Makayla tightly in my arms. Did I just fuck up?

It feels like I did.

DUNCAN

Explaining my friendship to a second outside person wasn’t on my bingo card for tonight. I knew I’d have to discuss it with Quinn because Adira is going to want to meet her. We’re so enmeshed in each other‘s lives, it’s ridiculous.

Yet, we’re happily co-dependent and reliant on each other.

It’s also a really fucking complicated story.

“Adira Firestone is my best friend outside of the girl in your arms,” I say thickly. “The pack who just walked into that alley is Pack Dresmond, and one of the most feared groups of people in the Midwest. Callum and I despise anything to do with sex trafficking and auctions, because in our hearts, we knew that she’d probably been sold. Pack Dresmond was in one hell of a power struggle between their father and their omega and needed help.”

“Where are you going with this?” Linus asks, brow furrowing. “Omegas are really jealous. You need to know that…”

Oh, I’m quite aware, Little Omega. Adira is just different.

I can’t tell him that without him getting jealous on Quinn’s behalf. I need to explain somehow though, because I can see him being a hellcat. Fuck, I don’t know why that thought turns me on, but I need to rein it in.

“I know. Some shit went down and I bought Adira with my brother at an auction,” I tell him. “The alphas at auction are⁠—”

“Terrible,” Linus rasps. “I know from experience. I hated every minute of being sold.”

“Yes,” I agree, not explaining exactly how awful that day was. “So we bought her for Pack Dresmond, because they couldn’t be seen buying her. The problem was in seeing how broken she was and lost, we saw a lot of ourselves in Adira. She’s had a long road, but she’s happy now. There are still times where she seems lost and her emotions are too big to process, which is when we step in. I’m sure you noticed her pack is a bit unhinged.”

“They’re fucking scary,” he says, gaze wide. “You have some really interesting friends, Duncan.”

Hearing my name on his tongue makes me fucking purr, and I can feel the way I affect him. I need to hold it together, but I’m going to have to tell Linus he’s our scent match.

Maybe I’ll do that when he’s in the car and he can’t run. Shit, I think Adira’s guys are starting to rub off on me. I’m just as much of a caveman as they are.

“Adira holds their leashes and they’re only deadly these days with her approval,” I say instead. “She’s just as scary in the right circumstances. Her broken pieces fit theirs well, but sometimes she needs us to help bridge the emotional gap between them. They’re not perfect by any means. Callum and I are her soulmates, yet not her pack or scent matches. There’s absolutely no sexual attraction between us. We’re just⁠—”

“Her people,” Linus says, almost in a grumble. “It sounds like you hold a safe space for her. What kind of people would we be if Makayla or I choose to dislike her?”

My lips twitch as he includes himself in his statement, opening the back of the cab as Callum drives up. Something tells me he took his time pulling up so Linus and I could talk.

“There’s a blanket for the two of you in the back and pillows,” I say as he climbs in with Quinn still in his arms. The omega doesn’t wobble as he climbs up, not at all bothered by her weight.

That’s another thing I’ll need to talk to Quinn about. Her name. What the hell does she want to be called after all of these years? That’s a question for later. As is how I’ll speak to my childhood best friend who no longer talks.

“Get comfortable,” Callum says, twisting in his seat. “We have a ten and a half hour drive back to Minnesota.”

“Huh,” Linus murmurs, almost to himself. “It beats anywhere else I’ve been in my life. Maybe it’ll treat Makayla and I better.”

My heart. Jesus Christ. You’re killing me, Linus.

Closing the door carefully once I’m sure they’re settled, I shut my eyes for a moment.

“He’s yours, isn’t he?” Morris asks out the window of their vehicle, forcing me to look at him. He’s practically hanging out of the damn thing.

That’s something I’d expect from Kane to be honest. The alpha in question opens the passenger side window, imitating Morris. Ah, I feel like I’m actually in my dimension now and not the Twilight Zone. Fucking fabulous.

“Very astute,” I sigh. “He doesn’t know yet. I’m trying to figure out how to tell him.”

“Can you put the car ride on speaker so I can hear when you do?” Kane asks, eyes wild. I am not a damn circus exhibition.

His baby doll is almost hanging out of his long sleeved shirt. I guess he decided the baby carrier was too conspicuous. Parenthood is going to be really fun for them. I can’t wait to watch as an adoptive uncle. Something tells me this kid is going to need me to have a normal-ish life.

All I know is that they’ll be really well loved. That’s all anyone can ask for.

A hand yanks Kane back inside as he snickers under his breath, and I decide we’ve lingered long enough.

“See you back at my place,” is all I say instead, getting into the truck.

Let’s see what this drive has in store for us. I should tell him before Quinn wakes up, right?