Page 73 of Nest Of Lies

Beat them, cheat them, steal them, kill them. Whatever she wants, we will give it to her.

And whoever makes our omega scream is going to wish they were dead.

As we get close, I can’t hear Lia. But I can hear the things she’s saying about my omega.

I hear everything, and I promise that, one day, she will pay for every hurt she puts on my Lia.

Chapter twenty-six

Lia

A few hours earlier

I wake up feelinglike I’ve lived this nightmare before. I’m in Zaden’s bed, which is the only reason I don’t lose my shit completely. The scent of the pack calms me but only a little bit. I’m alone in the bedroom. I search each corner of the room, twice, still no one appears. The tiny kitten is curled up beside me, looking for all intents and purposes like a little fluffy queen. Where are they? The more the seconds stretch, the more that panic grows, burrowing into my psyche and turning me cold. The panic is right there, pressing at me. Each gasp, each breath, takes me close to blind panic.

I’m alone! The fever seems to have gone away, and my head feels clearer, but I’m exhausted, and all I want to do is crawl into the arms of whoever is closest. Tell me I’m safe. Tell me I’m not sick and broken.

It takes an extraordinary amount of effort to force myself up out of the bed. I slip on a jumper I find hanging over a chair and slip my feet into someone’s oversized man slippers.

I can hear voices, and though I don’t recognise them, they pull me unerringly towards them. It’s a relief to hear people. It’s a safety that I’m ashamed to say I can’t resist.

In the kitchen, I find four women and a man I recognise. He’s leaning against the wall, his belly jiggles as he tilts his head back and roars with mirth.

“Hey!”

I jerk around and see a woman of about sixty, who smiles warmly at me. She has chocolate brown eyes and tanned skin, but her smile is warm. I feel instantly at ease.

“Come, try some of these. Mills made them.” She takes my hand and guides me into the kitchen. I stand beside her and glance at the others around the island. “My name is Io.”

“Hi,” I say shyly.

She smiles and puts a chunky biscuit in my hand. “Eat this. You’re Lia, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Zaden told us to take care of you today.”

I focus on her. Zaden left? They left? That panic rears its head, and I feel completely lost like I’m going under, and there’s no way to pull myself out. They left me. “Oh, where are they?” I sound so calm. That’s good. No one will know how crazy I am.

“They’ll be back later today,” Io says dismissively like it’s not a huge deal that those bastards swapped me from my house to theirs, and then abandoned me like I’m some nothing.

“Oh.”

“This is Brenda,” Io says with another one of those huge smiles. I think it’s probably impossible to hate her.

I look where she’s indicating and find a woman with blonde hair with tips that are magenta. She could be around twenty-five. Brenda is cute. She’s small and has a spray of freckles across her face. The woman next to her is her opposite, despite having similar-coloured hair. She’s tall with a huge bust and has her hair in pigtails, and her face is distinctly unfriendly.

“Pasley.”

Pasley doesn’t smile. She glares at me as if she resents my presence, but she is the only one.

“Last but not least, we have my girl Bertie.”

Bertie is a short woman with a big ass and a cracking smile. When she waves at me, I feel at ease. She bustles around the island and gives me a tight hug. She smells like cinnamon, and it’s reassuring.

“And I am the great and powerful Wayne Eldorn, but you can call me Badger.”

I blink at him. “Badger?”

---