Page 33 of Omega Alliance

I chuckle and shake my head. "I had a rap album. It was not well-received."

Her jaw drops at this small revelation.

I love that I have her complete attention, that I've managed to shock her in a good way. And so I continue, "You can find it in the music library on Jax's phone. Well, I guess it's your phone now. Anyway, you can listen to it later, if you want."

"No way! We're listening to it right now," she says with an even wider grin.

"Yeah, turn that shit up!" Dani crows beside her.

And that's how we bide our time until we're far enough from the OA to risk stopping at a drive-thru and getting everyone fed.

My heart soars as we settle into an easy rhythm with each other, or at least an easier one. Apparently Sin had to run away in order to be able to stay.

Oh, God. I hope she stays…

sixteen

SIN

It's easier now. With the pack. Now that we're all escaping, and not just me.

Slowly they are revealing pieces of themselves to me—Levi with his shooting lessons in the forest, Kieran leading a rap-a-long in the car, even Jax entrusting his phone to me before he had to leave. I wish he was still here with us but understand why he had to go.

Already Pack Thorin has given up so much, and they've done it all for me. I have to make sure it's worth it in the end, and that starts by letting them in, no matter how hard that might be after years in near solitude.

We share sloppy burgers and greasy fries as we continue our drive across what mostly amounts to endless wilderness. Dani and I count the moose grazing on scraggly trees near the highway and reach seven before it's finally time to stop for the night.

"This is the last town before we reach the border," Kieran reveals as he maneuvers the car into a gravel parking lot outsidea small inn that looks more like an abandoned cabin than an actual place of business. "When the shops open tomorrow, Dani will head out for supplies to make sure you’re absolutely unrecognizable when we cross into the Yukon. Ever since the United States and Canada merged into a single super state, it's become easier to hop the border, but that doesn't mean it will be easy for us. The officials won't ask for ID, but they'll still be looking closely. Dani, can you make Sin a disguise like you did for Levi?"

"Of course I can," she quickly answers from her place at my side. "Provided I can find the right supplies."

"But how will we explain the presence of two females in our vehicle?" Levi says. "The officials are sure to ask about it."

"Good question. We'll need to pose as betas. All of us. Levi and Dani, you'll take the back seat. Sin, you'll be up front with me."

I scrunch up my nose in thought. "How will I pretend to be a beta?"

"Suppressants," Kieran says with something steely in his gaze. "I already picked some up before our rescue operation, just in case."

As far as I know I'm already on suppressants, or at least I was before the escape. The directors wanted to keep me perfect and virginal, which meant they made sure I never went into heat. And it's probably a good thing the pack has some more pills for me to take now, because I'm not ready to face my first heat. The fact that it's been delayed for so long will probably make it that much more intense, if I remember correctly from what little my mother shared before we were separated.

I want to be ready someday soon, but it's such a big step. And what if I got pregnant? I can hardly handle my own life, let alone being responsible for something as small and helpless as an infant.

A sharp pain flares in my temples and I reach a hand up to massage my forehead. "You guys are going through a lot of trouble to get me out of here. Are you sure I'm worth it?"

Dani removes my hand from my head and threads her fingers through mine. "Surer than sure," she says, then lays her head on my shoulder and snuggles in.

"You wait here," Kieran commands. "Levi and I will go book a room. Once we have the key, we'll sneak Sin in, just in case anyone is paying attention."

Dani and I stay cuddled up in the back seat as we wait for the alphas to return. She doesn't speak and neither do I. We're both exhausted, but happy to be together.

"How could you possibly question whether you're worth it?" she says after a while. "You are everything."

I sigh and squeeze her hand tight, not knowing what to say. My headache has eased to a dull throb but threatens to return should my anxiety spike again.

"You don't believe me, and that's okay. One day you'll know." She sounds so sure. I wish I could be sure like that, but everything is in such flux now. It's hard to imagine a future like the one Dani sees.

I close my eyes and rest my cheek on her head. We sit like that, silent as the moments creep by.

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