Page 35 of Broken Dreams

“Linus?” Bret asks, opening the door. Fuck, there goes my exit, though it seems that isn’t my destiny tonight. “Where are you going?”

“Makayla just finished her heat and the sheets are filthy,” I say, leaning into the role I would usually play. I always come get her once her heat is over.

It’s how I tend to overhear so much that her marks say afterward.

“I need you out on the floor,” he grumbles, coming further into the room.

Duncan moves in a way that pushes Bret away from the door, but he’s so focused on me, he doesn’t pay attention outside of a grimace.

“I can be there as soon as I lay her down,” I say. “I’ve been in the same clothes for four days, I don’t think I’m ready to see any clients.”

Wrinkling his nose as he thinks about that and sniffs, he shakes his hair.

“It is beginning to smell a bit ripe in here,” he admits. “I’ll walk the alphas out then while you’re doing that.”

“We actually just sent you enough money to excuse him from his place tonight as well,” Lucas says, stalking toward Bret.

The alpha has his prey in his sights, and he’s not ready to let him go yet.

“What do you mean?” Bret asks, still gazing at me.

If stupid could be stamped on his forehead, that’s exactly what I’d do right now.

“They wanted to pay for my time during Makayla’s heat,” I explain. “You can’t double dip, boss.”

The last part has me stepping back with my precious bundle, because the blood is rising in his face until the blood vessel inhis forehead begins to pulse. I’m intentionally pissing him off, desperately hoping these men mean what they say.

If Makayla is leaving, then so am I. There’s no way I could survive without her. She’s a part of me. I’m throwing caution to the wind here.

Don’t let me down, guys.I’m doing the exact thing I begged Makayla not to do: take a stand and push back.

Fuck me.

Thankfully, Lucas’ arm wraps around Bret’s throat, tightly holding him as he blocks his airway. The narcissistic alpha flails and pushes Lucas away, but is unable to. Honestly, I’m not surprised since Bret isn’t at his healthiest, his muscles poorly formed. The man is one of the laziest fuckers that I’ve ever met. His screams are cut off by Lucas’ thick arm, his gasping breaths nonexistent as he finally begins to sag against the alpha.

“Goodnight, asshole,” he rasps. “We’ll show ourselves out, thank you very much.”

“There’s a back exit, correct?” Duncan asks, his words forceful and sharp.

Lucas drops Bret to the ground like a sack of potatoes once he’s sure the bastard is unconscious, and the five alphas in the room gaze at me for a response.

“There is,” I breathe. “Fuck. Okay. If we’re doing this, we’ll need to keep silent and get to the back hallways. The guards get lazy at this time of the night.”

“Lazy how?” Callum asks curiously.

“They’re more interested in watching people fuck,” I reply. “I haven’t checked, but sometimes not all the sex is kept in the private rooms. If Makayla is here, there’s no reason to be as careful.”

“I have a lot of questions,” Callum grunts. “Let’s get the fuck out of here for now.”

“We’ll follow you, none of us parked in the front as instructed,” Oliver says.

A nod is the only sign I receive that we’re moving before the door is opened and Duncan moves out of the way so I can go first. Taking a deep breath as I walk barefoot out with the alphas at my back, I concentrate on my task so I don’t hyperventilate.

The first lesson taught to a Slick Dreams omega is that there’s no escape. Anyone who talks about it is punished, but since no one does, I don’t know what it would look like. We’re gaslit and threatened into following Bret’s rules.

Getting even this much space from the sleazeball’s words is a mindfuck. He’s seeded fear into my veins for ten years. My muscles tense, waiting for him to jump out at me, despite knowing he’s still unconscious in the room behind me. It’s a trauma response, I’m just trying to get the rest of me to realize it.

My breaths are coming even faster, and Callum puts his hand on my shoulder.

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