Page 83 of Marigold Run

Mari says loud and clear, “I need to know why you’d mate a pack that rapes omegas.”

Confusion grips me, and my gaze flicks to Izan. His baffled expression mirrors mine.

“Is she delirious?” Everly asks no one in particular.

“No!” Hutch barks as he rolls his hips against Everly’s ass, seeking any friction he can get. I can’t believe his pants are still on. It’s an impressive amount of self-control given the amount of omega slick that must be saturating that side of the room. “She’s asking about Don!”

This time my confusion twists with shock, followed by deep shame. “We were never mated,” I say as calmly as I can, but my mind is a fucking storm of horrors. All I can think about is Mari’s reaction when she saw the picture of my old tattoo. Did it knock an old memory loose? Had she seen that tattoo before? And if she had, why did it scare her?

“Did he hurt you?” I ask through clenched teeth. “Did he make the scars on your thighs?” My fists curl tight as rage pounds in my skull. “Tell me what he did to you.” A vicious growl rips through me, and Izan places his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll rip him to fucking pieces!” I roar at my pack alpha.

“It’s okay,” Izan says softly, giving me the most tender look. “Let’s take care of our girl first.” His dark green eyes hold me, waiting for me to agree. It takes everything in me, but I finally do it. I nod, slowly lowering my fists. Then Izan turns his attention back to Mari. “Please, omega. Tell us what happened.”

Slowly, Mari pulls in a deep breath and she closes her eyes. Then she begins to talk.

She tells us a story of how she and her brother were being chased through the woods. Of how Cardis and Androsthreatened them and attacked them. How she fought but was thrown over the cliff. We’re all quiet while she speaks.

Izan’s rage is so thick it's almost suffocating, but I’m so deeply ashamed throughout the whole thing, I can’t even look the omega in the eyes. Those were my packmates.

While it’s true that when that happened to Mari, I was already with Izan, it doesn’t make up for the fact that there was a time when I happily called those alphas my friends. I even considered Andros and Don to be family.

Mari finishes her story with a needy whine, curling in on herself. Another wave of pheromones hits the air, and this time it's so strong the purifier can’t catch it all. My cock springs to life. I’m suddenly rock hard and stuffed in my waistband, but I don’t feel any desire to fuck right now. I’m too devastated by the trauma my omega endured.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, hanging my head. “You have to know that I would never do anything like that.” I force myself to stare deep into Mari’s soft brown eyes, pleading with her to believe me. “If I had known they did that to you…” I trail off, fantasizing about all the ways I’m going to kill Don and his pack.

Then, as if pulled by a magnet, my eyes meet Hutch’s, and he nods, knowing exactly what I’m thinking. They’ll pay. We’ll both make sure of it.

“Omega.” Izan inches forward, being very mindful of the purifier overhead. “Let us tend to you. We can sort all of this out in a few days.”

“No!” she hisses. Her pretty face is twisted with so much anger and pain. “I want to talknow.” She sucks a sharp breath in between her teeth.

“Okay. Um.” Everly speaks first. Hutch still holds her tight, pressing her against his groin, but he’s not humping the beta anymore. He’s staring at Mari, clearly as gutted as I am. “Can I ask you a question?” Everly asks softly.

Mari is so pale, panting through her cramps. “Yeah.” I can’t believe she’s still conscious.

“Why weren’t you in an academy?”

And that’s the million-dollar question.Havenfield couldn’t tell us, and Mari claimed she couldn’t remember. But right now, I have a feeling our sweet omega remembers way more than she has let on. In fact, it’s clear she remembers everything.

Licking her lips, Mari lifts her head a little higher as her cramps ease for the moment. “About six years ago, two of my alpha fathers died in a car accident,” she says simply, before sharing the rest of the horrific timeline of events with zero emotion. “Then my omega mother slowly wilted away from a broken heart. After she passed, my last remaining father killed himself. I won’t say how, so don’t ask.” She narrows her eyes at Izan, waiting for him to accept her terms. He nods once, silently pledging that none of us will ever ask. “Before my only parent killed himself, he slipped into a pretty deep depression. He kept ignoring the letters from the government saying I had to be enrolled. I think he was too grief-stricken. Right before he died, I saw a letter that said if I wasn’t turned over by a certain date, I was going to be ‘collected,’” she says the last word with a bitter snarl. “A few days later, he killed himself. I grabbed Stefan and ran.”

Everly’s mouth hangs open, clearly too shocked to speak. Hell, we all are.

“Did you sayStefan?” Izan asks, leaning in as if that name means something to him.

“Yeah.” Mari pushes her wild blonde hair out of her face. Her hand is trembling, the pain slowly returning. “Why?”

“No reason,” Izan says, but I see the brief look he shares with Hutch.Do we know a Stefan?We don’t really know any omegas. We are technically acquaintances of a few of them through theirmates, but I rarely remember their names. There’s no point. Alphas and omegas aren’t friends.

“I’m so sorry,” Hutch says, his voice gruff. Strained. “What you went through was horrible. Horrible.”

Mari shrugs, then rubs her stomach. “Lots of bad things happen to lots of people.” Her gaze drifts over her nest and the corners of her eyes droop. “All I wanted was to protect Stefan from those bad things. I wanted him to be happy.” Her chin quivers, and my heart breaks. “We ran for so long. For so, so long.” She hiccups and tears drip down her flushed cheeks. “We were so tired all the time, and scared and hungry. I just wanted him to be okay.” She hangs her head, her golden hair swinging forward into her face.

“Omega,” Izan whispers, taking one step away from the wall, but before he can get another word out, Mari snaps her head up, glaring right at me.

“And thenyou.” She looks possessed. Like a switch has been flipped, and a completely different person has taken over. “I invited you into my nest,” she snarls. “I kissed you and asked you to touch me. I have neveraskedan alpha to touch me before.” Her nose scrunches as her upper lip curls with anger. “And you ended up being one ofthem!” she screams at me.

In any other situation, I’d be enraged at being spoken to like that. Especially by an omega, but I deserve this. I’ve made too many shit choices in my life. I’ve let down Hutch, Izan, and Everly. Even myself. And there’s nothing I can do to fix it…almost nothing.

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