Page 93 of Verses and Blooms
Rows of cells lined the walls. The bars faced the front, concrete keeping the other cells hidden from view, including a single concrete wall that bisected the hallway.
They wanted us isolated and alone, yet we were so close all along. Talking meant punishment, it was safer to simply comply.
“My cell was that way,” I said, pointing down the left side of the hall. “The only time I left was for the heat cells, or the rooms.”
“What rooms?” Colt asked.
“Where we met the buyers. Then there was the auction floor,” I said, my voice flat. “They never put me up for sale, but sometimes they’d march me by during them to remind me what waited if I didn’t behave.”
My feet were moving before I realized I was walking. They let me lead for once, Ares and Rydell falling in step beside me, Colt, Cooke, and Vance behind us.
When I reached my cell, I stopped. It was exactly the same as I remembered. The filthy mat, the threadbare blanket, a rusted bucket in the corner, a forgotten tray of moldy food.
“Once a week they’d hose us down,” I said quietly. “Icy cold water that made your skin sting. Through the bars, of course. It’s a miracle none of us died from it.” No one stopped me. Maybe they knew I needed this and I was grateful for their silence.
My hands were fisted at my sides, old memories tempting me but I couldn’t let them take hold.
I needed to do this.
Turning away, I walked down the hallway. My steps were well-practiced as I navigated through the cold hallways.
I turned a final corner and pressed one of the bricks. They never thought I watched, my head always turned to the floor, but I was always doing both.
A click echoed through the hall as it pressed in.
When the door started to swing open, Rydell shoved me against the wall, pressing me to the cinderblock as gunfire erupted.
“Keep eyes on the outside! No one escapes! We found the rat’s nest!” Cooke shouted into the comms as the team burst in.
I sank into Rydell, squeezing my eyes shut and praying to any god that might be listening to keep them safe.
The firefight echoed around us, the air filling with shouts and screams. The stench of gunpowder and pheromones was thick enough to choke on.
“You’re safe, omega,” Rydell said fiercely. His alpha was out, his body tremoring with adrenaline as he kept me barricaded against the wall. “If they try to touch you, I’ll rip their heads off.”
I believed him.
Then I smelled it. A scent that made my blood turn to ice.
Cigars and stale coffee.
Seamus.
The moment I peeked around Rydell’s side, he saw me. His face contorted in pure, raw hate. The feeling was mutual.
“You did this!” he roared, lunging past the guards who barely managed to catch him. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance. I could have had my taste, then slit that pretty little throat.”
“I suggest you shut the fuck up.” The air cracked as someone’s fist slammed into his stomach. He doubled over, gasping.
“Chief ordered him secured,” someone said. “The omega wants to talk to him.”
“What?” Ares growled. He already knew I’d want answers, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“We can do it right here,” I said, pressing against Rydell’s arm. He didn’t let me go but shifted so I was shielded still, but able to see.
Seamus stood there, bound now, with blood running down his chin and bruises already blooming over his cheeks and jaw.
“Why did you come back for me again? Why kill my buyer?” I demanded.
