Page 203 of Sweetheart: Part Two

“No.”

Still, I stared at her, not processing it. It flew in the face of everything I’d been taught to expect.

Jackie leaned back in her chair, considering, and returned to tapping her pen. “Zeus Rogan dark bonded an omega, forced her into proximity with her mates then tried to issue a command that she kill one of them—a gold pack and a rogue, no less.”

“What does that mean?” Ebony asked.

“Gold packs and rogues are closer to nature than any of us. Least bound by artificial laws such as dark bonds. Your scent matches, with whom you’d fallen in love, were under threat. I can’t imagine a force on earth strong enough to have got in your way. Not laws, not alpha auras, not dark bonds. I rarely get to say this, but be grateful, Vex, that you let those eyes of yours turn gold. Had you not, that command would have bound you, and Ebony would very likely be dead.”

Goosebumps rose on my skin, and I tugged Ebony closer.

“Add the poison to the cleaving, I think most alphas—at the least—would have had their bonds broken. Your eyes and your connection with your mate is something to be proud of.”

For the first time since we’d woken, the twilight grass in the room became something more. Not weak, or faint, but possessive.

Still. That was wrong. “None…” I cleared my throat, eyes darting around the rest of the room. “B-but none of this would have happened if I wasn't a gold pack.”

“Forgive me if it’s an overstep—but it seemed that pack had it out for your mates, with or without you.”

“So…” I swallowed. “That’s it. No charges. I’m just… okay to go.”

I was… free?

“While I’m sure your mates have an army of lawyers queued up on your behalf, I’ll save you the worry. I’ve already seen the summary of the report to the GPRE by the Arkologist on your case, Dr. Henreka Davis.‘Alpha recklessly makes dares of nature and finds himself dead’isn’t a strong start to a prosecution.”

I nodded, still reeling. “Thank you.”

Jackie smiled. “Do you have any other questions?”

I shook my head. “That’s all.”

“I’d like to put you in touch with one of my colleagues. While I specialise in this side of things, you’ve gone through a huge trauma. She specialises in healing after events like that.”

“Atherapist?”

“I think it would be beneficial,” she said as she got to her feet.

There was a time in my life I might have laughed at that—as if my life could be fixed by something like that. But even in this conversation, threads had begun to untangle that I hadn’t even known were present. I felt… strangely light.

It wasn’t just that. I’d never been in a position to have been able to afford one.

“Wait!” I called as she reached the door. She turned back to me. “Is this… what the others are getting?”

“The others?” Jackie asked.

“All the omegas and alphas who were rescued from the trafficking ring last week?”

Jackie’s smile was sad. “Unfortunately roles like mine are new, and they aren’t supported in the public system.”

Something tightened in my chest. “No… no, you don’t understand. What I went through was nothing.” Not compared to what I knew went on. My mates made me valuable to them. “They need the help more than me—”

I hadn’t realised how tightly my fingers had curled around Ebony’s shirt until I felt his touch brush the back of my hand.

“We’ll cover it.” Ebony said to her.

Jackie fixed her golden eyes on him in surprise. “Efforts like this won’t come cheap.”

“Get my pack lead in touch with someone who can organise it.”

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