Page 55 of Monster

The buses came into view.

“Once you clear these kids and we have some time to ensure they pose no threat—we can discuss finding new homes for them.” Declan turned to face him.“I’m sure we have some bears who could open their homes to a child or two.”

The buses pulled up, the side doors opening. A couple of soldiers descended—and allowed Deacon to climb aboard. He scanned the bus’s interior—there were at least fifteen children, ranging in age from toddler to pre-teen. Most fell somewhere in the middle.

“Let’s get these guys loaded up into rooms—two to a room, so they’re not alone,” Deacon said to Malachi.“We’ll get them fed and checked by the docs. Killian, Finn, and Logan are inside, ready to take a look.”

“You got it,” Malachi said before shouting a few orders to the men.

Deacon turned to see the alpha right behind him.

“We saved two busloads of children from Zed.You think that’s enough to get your den off our backs?”

The alpha nodded.“I think it might appease them to learn that news.”

* * * *

What if…

Samuel followed Cal through the backdoor of the farmhouse, sensing something had been wrong with the shifter for hours.Since they’d freed the children, Cal had become cold—distant. They were finally alone… and he could ask what was wrong.

But something made him hesitate.

He could feel intense pain inside Cal.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Cal moved across to the bare space of wall and pressed his back to it. He turned to face Samuel and slid to the floor, his bottom hitting linoleum.

Samuel moved closer.“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“My memory is still hit or miss—I think I’ve got it all and then something happens and a recollection hits out of nowhere.Most of them were early on, soon after my release—but this one…” Cal swallowed and took a shuttered breath. He turned to meet Samuel’s stare. “An omega in a cage was brought into the room with me. I could smell the scent of seed on him from another male.”

He paused, his face a mask of pain.

“They used… they used the neural implant. They forced me to…”

Samuel cupped the side of Cal’s cheek.“It’s okay… they can’t hurt you anymore.”

“They made me have sex with that omega—who already had the scent of seed.It was close enough that there’s a chance… there’s a chance one of those children… is mine.”

Samuel froze as he realized what Cal was saying.

“I mean, I don’t know if anything happened… I can’t really recall if it was more than once.” He swallowed, anguish on his face. “I chalked it up to them being perverts and wanting to force us to have sex. Either they got off on it or wanted to humiliate us… or show how much power they had over us. Maybe it was all of those things, who knows?”

“You need to tell this to someone—Deacon or Malachi. They need to know what happened,” Samuel said.“And we need to find out if you have a son.”

“And then what? We raise some science experiment as our child—the child I can’t give you? A child of rape.” Cal scrubbed his hands over his face.

Samuel stroked Cal’s arm. “What Zed did to you and that omega—and those children—is wrong.And not your fault, or theirs. The children are just as much a victim as anyone.” He paused and lifted Cal’s chin with his hand. “And if there’s a little piece of you out there, no matter how he was made—we need to protect him.”

Cal met Samuel’s gaze. “I was afraid you’d hate me for what I did to that omega.”

“You were under their power. How could I hate you for that? Especially seeing how torn up you are about it?”

Cal drew Samuel into his lap and wrapped his arms tight. Samuel nuzzled closer, loving the feel of his male.

“I don’t deserve you,” Cal whispered before pressing a kiss to the top of Samuel’s head.

“We both deserve one another—together we’ll figure things out. No matter what.”

“I love you,” Cal murmured.

“I love you, too.”

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