Page 6 of Rescue Me

“Pathetic,” Lyle mutters from behind me. “He’s not even worth the pack bond.”

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I taste blood again, but I stay silent. It doesn’t matter what they think of me. It doesn’t matter that I want to scream, to run, to disappear. I can’t. The contract my parents forged ensures that. Legally, I belong to them. If I leave, they have every right to drag me back, to punish me, to destroy whatever is left of my life. And if I tried to explain that my parents forged my signature, someone would end up in jail—with my luck, it would be me.

And even if I could escape, where would I go? My parents don’t want me. My friends—what few I had—don’t even know what’s happened to me. I’m alone, completely and utterly, and that’s exactly how they want me.

Jackson's voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Do you know why Hailey is crying in her nest right now, Beta?”

I don’t answer. I don’t know. I never know. And when I don’t know, it’s usually worse.

He stands, glaring down at me, his hands flexing at his sides. Lyle leans against the counter, arms crossed, the faint smirk on his lips telling me he already knows how this is going to end. Jackson’s eyes are sharp, gleaming with predatory intent. “Her scent,” he growls. “Her nest reeks ofyou.”

The words hit me like a slap, the accusation sharp and nonsensical. “What?” I blink at him, confused. “I—I haven’t been anywhere near her nest.” I don’t go upstairs for that very reason unless it’s during her heat when I need to strip the bed or provide meals.

“Liar,” Lyle snaps, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. Before I can defend myself, something heavy hits me square in the chest, falling into my lap. I look down and freeze.

Shirts. My shirts. A handful of them, crumpled and carrying faint traces of my own scent, tangled with the detergent I use. Shirts I’ve been looking for for weeks.

The pieces fall into place and the weight of it crushes me. She stole them. Hailey, with her sly smile and calculating eyes.Sheset me up. She must have snatched them from the laundry, or even from my room, stashing them in her nest to frame me. To make it look like I was trying to force myself into the pack, trying to insert my scent where it didn’t belong.

My mouth opens to protest or to explain—I’m not sure, but Jackson cuts me off. “You’ve crossed a line, Reid. To invade an Omega’s nest? Do you know what that means?” His voice rises, fury spilling out in waves. “You’ve disrespected Hailey. Disrespected us. And you have the nerve to stand here and deny it?”

“I didn’t—” I start, my voice cracking, but it’s no use.

“You didn’t?” Lyle rounds the corner and then his boot slams into my stomach, the air ripped from my lungs. I collapse forward, clutching my abdomen as I wheeze, the pain exploding through me. My vision blurs, but I don’t cry out.

I curl into myself, instinctively trying to shield my vulnerable spots as Lyle looms over me. “You’re pathetic,” he spits. “You think you can claim what isn’t yours? You think you canforcea place in this pack?”

“I didn’t,” I rasp, my voice barely audible. “I would never—”

“Shut up,” Jackson snarls. He crouches down, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back until our eyes meet. His grip is iron-clad, his face inches from mine and I can see the raw, unfiltered anger in his gaze. “You don’t belong here, Beta. You never have. You’re lucky we even let you in this house.”

Hailey’s lies are gospel in this house and I’m nothing more than a scapegoat. A tool to be used and discarded.

Jackson shoves me back, my head hitting the tile with a sharp crack. The world spins, but I force myself to sit up, clutching my stomach as I gasp for air. The pile of shirts lies in front of me, a damning display of my supposed “crime.”

“You’re a threat to her,” Jackson says, his voice cold and final. “To her safety, her stability. To her heat.”

I flinch at the word. Heat. The accusation is heavier than I imagined. To disrupt an Omega’s nest during their heat is a violation of pack laws, an unforgivable act. They’ve twisted the narrative so thoroughly, turned Hailey’s lie into a weapon, and now they’re going to use it to destroy me.

“You’ll leave,” Lyle growls out, his teeth bared as his Alpha bark pushes through. “Until Hailey’s heat is over, you’re out of this house. Out of this pack. You’re lucky we’re not reporting this to the authorities.”

“I didn’t do it,” I whisper, the words barely leaving my lips. I know they won’t believe me, but I have to say it. “I didn’t—”

“Get. Out.” Jackson’s command roars in my ears. “Now.”

I stagger to my feet, every muscle screaming in protest, my body trembling from the blow to my stomach. My face burns with shame, my mind racing as I try to figure out what comes next.

For now, I’ll leave. I’ll do what they say, because the alternative is worse. But as I head down the hall to grab my things, the thought gnaws at the edges of my mind.

How much longer can I survive this?

Chapter four

REID

My body aches with every step toward the motel a few streets over, the pain radiating out from my stomach where Lyle’s boot struck. Each shallow breath feels like fire and I’m pretty sure something isn’t right—maybe a cracked rib, maybe worse. I should get it checked out, but what would be the point? I don’t have the money for medical care, not with most everything funneling straight to my parents. And even if I did, any doctor I see would be obligated to notify my Alphas.

Jackson and Lyle would spin the story before I even had a chance to open my mouth. They’d tell the doctor that I’d been careless, that the injury was my own fault, that I was clumsy or reckless. They’d turn my suffering into another lesson about why I’m inadequate.

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