Panic hit so strong that I stumbled, and Priest's hand momentarily brushed my back, shoring me up with an instinctive comfort I couldn't put my name on.
"What,why?"I demanded, but a moment later I registered her scent—thick and sweet, almost cloying.
Oh, my foolish sister…
"Astrid!" I grabbed her shoulders and felt the tiny shudders moving through her. "Tell me you didn't come here when you're in heat. Tell me it broke and you're not doing something so supremely stupid."
Her nose scrunched, eyes squeezing shut. I knew that guilty look.
My sister was here, suffering through a heat that had to be demanding, probably painful—forme. My chest tightened, my eyes stinging, but worry made my voice sharp instead of wobbly when I ordered, "You go home and get laid right now!"
"That's the plan," she agreed, her eyes averted with self-consciousness. "But not at home. Oh god, with Dad in the next room?"
Oof, yeah. That was not an option. "Good point," I said, trying to laugh. "So … we're going together, then?"
My stomach sloshed with vomit and dread, but she'd be locked in her heat fordays; that'd be enough time for me to bury my emotions and get back to normal. I'd be fine.
Astrid nodded. I knew by the way her brown eyes hardened and her mouth parted that she was going to ask a question I did not want to answer. My shoulders bunched, airways tightening.
"Luna, what happened in—"
"Nothing, Astrid," I said too quickly.
I scrambled for something to say so she'd drop the subject and never bring it up again. "You got here in time. Some of the other girls weren't so lucky."
I had to get out of here before I threw up, or before I snapped at my sister to stop her pushing for answers. I felt the impulse rise like poison, trapped between my teeth for now. But for how long?
I spun and walked away, heading for the row of bikes where a scowling, dark-haired man leaned. If I had to steal a bike just to escape, I'd do it. I could figure out how to drive one. Probably.
"You can ride with me if you want," Priest offered calmly, an ever-present shadow behind me. I wasn't sure if he was a stalker or reassuring back-up yet.
He was the only person who knew what had happened, other than me and Anatoly. I had to keep him close, and make sure he kept my secret.
I sensed Astrid's eyes on me as I climbed onto the black and chrome bike Priest pointed out, but it was better for both of us that I didn’t tell her anything right now. Maybe … maybe in a few months or years when the memories had begun to lose their cruel sharpness, I could hint at what had happened.
"You want those guys in there dead?" the dark-haired, mean-looking biker called. It took me a moment to realise he was askingme. "Say the word, and it's done."
Did I want them dead? Yes. Badly and shamelessly. But I didn't want anything to do with a single one of them? I wanted to forget they'd ever existed.
I held the biker's dark stare, long enough to make him uncomfortable. "Do what you want with them, I don't care."
He nodded, contemplating me. "I'll make it hurt, then."
A sick thrill moved through my belly, joining the sickness there.
"Good," I muttered, and caught my breath when Priest stepped closer to his bike, hovering, watching.
"Shift back so you can hold onto me, darling."
I gave him a sharp look at the term of endearment, but his unflappable expression didn't change. I shuffled onto the back of the seat and held my breath when he threw his leg over the bike, sitting in front of me. His scent invaded my senses, as much a relief as it had been in that fucking bedroom. Clear, fresh water washed away every other scent until I could breathe a little easier, the tight sickness in my stomach relieved a tiny bit.
Waiting for the okay to ride away was pure hell. So was seeing the omegas brought out of the house, only one woman alert enough to still look human. The others were skeletal, barely alive creatures.
That could have been me. Itwouldhave been if not for Astrid, her mate, and this biker club.
I'd stopped believing in magic and happily ever afters at some point while Anatoly rutted into me. Probably when he pulled out of me and I thought it was over. He’d merely flipped me onto my back so he could watch me cry, and so I could choke on his scent, unable to escape.
But there was no denying a higher power existed. Fate, destiny, magic—somethinghad led Giant and Astrid together so his friends could rescue me. Or maybe this was all God's hand.