Page 103 of Toxic

They wouldn’t understand. But I couldn’t give up, no matter how this situation with Winter looked. Like a powerful magnet, Soren kept pulling me toward him, nonstop, for 67 days straight, and I just couldn’t resist it anymore.

My fate was sealed.

***

The next day in the afternoon, I decided to leave. There was nothing left for me here—no future. I couldn’t get Soren back by just sitting in my room. I needed to change that, even though I didn’t have a clear plan.

My dad circled around me with a concerned look and sadness in his eyes as I carried my things to the car trunk. I took everything with me, determined to build my life in the city and fight for Soren there. I could see Dad wanted to say something reassuring, but he couldn’t find the right words.

Just as I was about to get into the car, I noticed another vehicle driving up my parents’ driveway and I gaped. It was an unfamiliar dark Range Rover with three people inside. I recognized my youngest brother, Sun, sitting in the car with two men—a small omega and a ridiculously massive alpha.

With my mouth still hanging open, I watched Sun get out of the car. He didn’t look like his usual bratty and confident self. He was pale and seemed different—almost broken? With some shock, I noticed bruises on his face!

The small, strikingly beautiful omega with caramel-blond hair followed him, tightly wrapped in a blanket. His face was bruised too, including a circular mark on his neck. Noticing that, I went speechless, letting out only a low growl when the alpha emerged last. He was nearly as tall as Archer, around seven feet, super muscular, and had a military-like silver buzz cut. His expression was grim—the kind of face you wouldn’t dare mess with unless you had a really good reason. He looked about thirty and had an almost eerie presence about him.

My father and Snow appeared at the doorstep, observing the unexpected guests.

"What’s going on?" I finally muttered. "Aren’t you supposed to be in college, Sun? It’s already September."

Sun glanced at me gloomily and… ignored me—so very unlike him, not to have some jab ready to throw. Instead, he rushed toward Dad and hugged him tightly—something he had never done before! That sight alone told me something unusual had happened, and I was tempted to ask, but Sun spoke first.

"Dad, I need your help," he whispered, peering intensely into Dad’s wide eyes.

"What’s going on, honey? What happened?"

"I’ll explain everything. Let’s get inside; I need to talk to you face to face."

Only then did he turn around and introduce the others.

"This is Summer, and that’s Ragnar. If it’s not a problem, I’d like them to stay with us for a while…"

"Of course," Dad hurried to say, making a wide gesture. "But please, tell me—"

"In a moment. Let’s go inside. It’s quite a long story."

Sun headed toward the entrance with Dad, the small omega shyly walking behind them. On the steps leading to the door, the omega swayed, nearly losing his balance. Snow moved to help, but the omega flinched and jumped back, out of his reach. It looked really strange. The omega’s beautiful face seemed almost wild for a second, like a scared animal.

I couldn’t stop gaping. My eyes met Snow’s, and I raised my eyebrows, trying to gauge his reaction, but his expression remained unreadable, typical. Although, he seemed strangely focused on the small omega.

For a moment, I stood there, indecisively swaying from one foot to the other.

"Skye," my father said, stepping closer and placing a hand on my shoulder. He probably noticed my inner conflict about what to do next. "I know you’re ready to go. I’ll text you later, explaining what happened here. Don’t worry about it." He smiled warmly.

I nodded slowly, still glancing toward the strange trio disappearing inside the house.

"Yes, let me know what happened. But I… will be on my way. I need to do this."

His expression was a little rueful, but he didn’t comment further.

As I walked back to my car, the last thing I saw was Snow, still hesitating on the doorstep. He looked dazed and strangely uneasy, which was so unlike him. I had a feeling a lot was about to change within my family.

But I wasn’t part of this anymore. I had my own path, and I needed to focus on finding my happiness.

***

The drive downtown took about an hour and a half. During that time, I received a text from my father saying, "Sun’s story is really shocking. For the last two months, since he left for summer courses, he wasn’t on campus at all, we had no idea! He was… a ‘guest’ in some mobster’s house. This omega is this mobster’s husband! Their story is really disturbing, and it may not be over, but I don’t want to go into details over text. However, feel free to call me later if you want to know more."

But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know more. I had always disapproved of Sun’s risky lifestyle—his reckless approach to education, his constant pursuit of flashy boyfriends, his extravagance, wasting every damn dime he got from our parents, and his strange attempts at a shadowy modeling career. If not for our parents, he wouldn’t have applied to college at all! Sun always needed tutoring, claiming he required someone to force the knowledge into his head since he was too lazy to study on his own. He was constantly glued to social media, and on top of that, he had an arrogant attitude—even toward our parents, who were nothing but angels to him. He wasn’t always like that, but as a teenager, he became more and more obnoxious, at least to me.

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