“It’s okay, I’m here now,” I said, rubbing circles around his back. “We’re going someplace special now with Mommy’s friends.”
“Where?”
“It’s a surprise,” I said, setting him down and finding him an outfit to wear.
Gabeand I sat in the backseat of a large SUV.
Liam was driving with Jack sitting next to him. The beta sat in the middle seat in front of us, constantly turning to play peek-a-boo with Gabe and making Gabe laugh uncontrollably.
I didn’t know what to think.
This was an impossible situation to get out of. No one was giving me a straight answer about when exactly we’d go to Howl’s Edge. We were driving past farmland, pretty far out from the city. I was upset and hadn’t said a word for an hour.
“Why isn’t she talking?” asked Jack.
“Vanessa has every right to be angry at you,” said Ryan. “You literally tore her from her home.”
I was grateful to Ryan for speaking up and coming to my defense. Of the entire group, I hated him the least.
“Thanks,” I said in a low voice.
“Hey, no problem,” said Ryan. “Do you need anything to drink for this long ride? I have water bottles up here.”
“No thanks,” I muttered, staring out the window at the large plots of land we drove by. My son squeezed my hand in his little ones. We were leaving behind everything I had ever built for my son and me. The little taste of the freedom I had was now gone.
“Are you sad, Mommy?” His inquisitive, bright green eyes didn’t miss a thing. I could swear his intelligence level had to be above average for a kid his age.
“No, baby,” I said. “I’m just sleepy.”
“We’re almost there,” said Liam.
After another thirty minutes of driving, I gasped when I saw their house. It was enormous. Nothing like I’d ever seen. The house was tall and covered in large glass windows. The cobblestone driveway wound up to the house, surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges and shrubs.
I was the last to leave the van as I held Gabe’s hand tightly. There was a large pool in the front of the house. I never taught him how to swim, and he was never around water like I had as a kid growing up next to the ocean of Howl’s Edge. A pang of homesickness came over me. The palm trees and the sand under my feet. But at the same time, it was a place that I never wanted to step foot into again.
Walking into the actual estate was something else. The landscaped gardens were a lush tapestry of vibrant flowers, shady trees, and trickling fountains.
“It’s beautiful,” I muttered under my breath.
“I agree,” said Jack, looking in my direction.
“It doesn’t mean I’m okay with being kidnapped,” I said, making sure he understood that loud and clear.
No matter how fancy his house was.
As we walked inside, I noticed the grand staircase with bronze banisters. It was simply stunning. I couldn’t stop staring at everything. The magnificent high ceilings and the large fake palm tree in the corner. A white recliner was in the middle of the living room, with a cream-colored coffee table in the middle. A large flat-screen television sat high above the fireplace. There was a maid quietly setting up food on a majestic oak dining table that could easily seat sixteen people. After living in my small apartment for three years, this was a lot.
Even though I had lived in the Royal Palace before, it was still breathtaking to me, all the same. I loved nice things, even though sometimes it could be at the expense of others. I never forgot how much Queen Ophelia hated me when her husbandstook me as their second omega because she couldn’t have children anymore.
“I can show you to your room before we eat,” said Jack. I silently followed Jack up the staircase while carrying my squirming three-year-old in my hands, who was starting to get fussy without his afternoon nap. I couldn’t help but notice Jack’s muscular ass as he walked up the stairs.
Jack opened the door to a room with a king-sized bed. It was a simple room with a white comforter and oversized pillows. The room had sheer white curtains and a large thick beige rug with circles on it. “This is our guest room. You’ll be staying here until we can get you back home.”
I nodded, not saying a word.
“You know- we’re just trying to save your life,” he continued as he leaned against the door. “You should be grateful we’re bringing you back to your true home. You don’t belong here.”
Ignoring him, I sat Gabe on the floor and walked to the window. I noticed a large building in the back with a large white dome.