Page 33 of Omega's Bears

I don’t want my children to have anything to do with it.

I get to my feet and walk away from the fire, away from Luka, away from the stolen meal he’s creating, over to my private alcove. This hasn’t felt like a place intended for me to be alone in some time now, but today, I want to be by myself. I can’t believe how much my mood has crashed just by finding out Luka’s secret.

Another secret. I was so happy to think that all the members of our clan were finally on the same page with one another. I was so happy that they considered me an equal, worthy of helping them make decisions about our common well-being, worthy of being included in important discussions. Now, I can see that I was fooling myself. I was never equal. I’ve always been sheltered, protected from the worst of the Hell’s Bears’ lifestyle.

Maybe it’s my fault. It’s not as if they covered up the fact that they robbed that convenience store. Maybe I just wanted to believe the best of them. How else can I account for letting myself think it had been a one-time thing? Of course, it wasn’t a one-time thing—they were too practiced, too good at it. I’m willing to bet that some of these days they told me they were out hunting, they were actually out stealing.

Is it even true that they don’t own guns? What if that’s a lie? What if they do? Can I stay with them if they’re actually violent criminals?

But how can I leave? How can I hope to go off on my own? I’ve never lived without a clan before. And now, with a litter on the way...how could I protect them? I’d have to take care of the whole litter by myself, give birth all alone....

I can’t leave. The knowledge sinks into me like a stone. For now, at least, I’m going to have to stay. Maybe I can figure something out, come up with a plan that would allow me to get away safely. I can’t stay here if they have a gun. But I can’t just run for it either.

The first thing I’ll have to do will be to figure out whether or not there’s a deadly weapon around. If there isn’t, maybe I can stay. I don’t want to leave, after all. I love all of these men. They’re my clan. They’re the fathers of my children. I’m a Hell’s Bear, and this is where I belong.

Until my decision is made, one way or the other, I’m going to have to keep my pregnancy to myself. It’ll be hard to leave the clan, but if they know I’m pregnant, it will probably be impossible. They aren’t going to allow me to leave with their cubs. It has to be a secret, at least until I know what I’m going to do. So, we’re back to lies, deception, and covering up the truth. I should have known it was too good to last.

I’m jerked out of my thoughts by the sound of voices, louder and more frantic than usual, coming up the tunnel. I peek out of my alcove just as Jack emerges. His face is pale. He calls out to Luka, who jumps to his feet and runs over, and they both reach in to help Ryan to his feet.

He’s badly injured, I can see that immediately. He’s been slashed across the chest and is bleeding freely. Luka and Jack help him to the nest and lie him down carefully. Forgetting my worries, I hurry out of my alcove and over to his side, dropping to my knees. His eyes are closed, his breath shallow. I look up at Jack, terrified.

“What happened?” Luka asks. He’s already cleaning the wound, one hand applying pressure carefully.

“Wolves,” Jack says. His voice is a growl. “Shifters.”

My heart stops.

Jack’s eyes cut to me, and I know he sees something in my face, but he doesn’t say anything. He rummages in his bag, pulls out a clean, dry shirt, and begins tearing it into strips so Luka can bind Ryan’s wound. The two of them work in silence for a few moments. I remain on my knees, holding Ryan’s hand, my mind racing. Wolf shifters. I know immediately who it must be. I don’t know whether they’ve just caught up with me, or if they’ve always known where I was and have just taken this long to put together a plan of attack. But one thing’s for sure. The wolves have found us.

All the secrets are about to be revealed.

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