Page 179 of Dark Haven Omegaverse

We shuffled out of the room and back to the common room. It was only then that her words had sunk in. My stomach churned and bile rose, so I ran to the bathroom.

I barely made it before I emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet. The dry heaving continued as my panic continued to bear down on me. The light dimmed as shadows moved in behind me. Fuck them. I didn’t need this right now.

Every bit of hope I clung to that this wouldn’t come to pass was gone. I knew in my heart that my true protector was Monty. Hel already had access to him, and I didn’t put it past her to not snatch him away.

My demon and I may struggle from time to time, but I’d raze the world... or Helheim, for him.

Like he’d do for me.

It was her line about choosing that struck me to my core. The sacrifice had to be willing and it was my choice to make.

If I had to make it, it would be to save one of my men. That was the only way.

“Hey.” Drake’s voice was much gentler than it usually was.

“She wants me to kill myself for her, Drake. Hel wants me to give up everything I fought for. Three months of happiness and it just gets to be ripped away? How the fuck is that fair?” He didn’t flinch at my hysterics, simply running soft touches down my back.

“It’s not and I’m not going to let you do it,” he said. Drake meant his words, but it didn’t matter.

“False promises. Every one of you has them for me but you aren’t the one who has to make this choice.”

“You’re not fucking making this choice, do you hear me?!” He yanked me to my feet, hands clenching my arms so I couldn’t escape. “Look at me. You aren’t going through with this.”

His words were a low, venomous growl.

“Drake, what else can I do?” I questioned around a sob. “I can’t lose my mates.”

“What if you’re wrong? What if sacrifice was never the right choice? What if instead you were supposed to kill someone else? It could all be wrong and your death would be for nothing.”

“Well, there’s one way to figure out what’s going on,” I said. Moving away from him, I went to the sink and washed my hands, then brushed my teeth.

He followed as I walked to the elevator, not even bothering to look at the common room and offer any explanations. His protests fell on deaf ears.

Kol shoved his way in next to me, followed by Monty, then Roman, then Drake. Apparently, I wasn’t going alone. Hell, I wasn’t even sure where Roman had come from, but the commotion was likely enough to wake the dead.

“Where are we going?” Roman asked. His voice was still rough with sleep.

“The courtyard. It’s time to have a conversation with Hel.”

Monty let out a cold chuckle, but neither he nor Kol argued. In fact, Kol took my hand in his. I think it was hard for him toface Hel, to know he’d dedicated his life and given years to stone for her, just to be betrayed.

It was strange holding hands with somebody that had long claws but I intertwined my fingers with his regardless, soaking in his strength. All of our scents mixed, a blended smell that brought back memories from my heat. We were truly a pack now, and I could lose it all.

I knew there was no turning back from this point forward.

Whatever Hel said would solidify the battle to come.

“Any luck finding the warden?” Drake asked.

“The warden?” I questioned. At the mention of his name, there was a foggy memory in my brain but I couldn’t manifest it completely.

“Somebody drank too much and forgot,” Drake teased but it held no humor. “The warden tried to attack you and Layne in the basement. Kol saved you guys.”

“Holy shit.” I grimaced as the memory finally popped in my head. “What a fucking twat.”

“Agreed,” Roman said with a chuckle. The fact we could find humor in a dark situation spoke a little too loudly about the trauma we’d all endured.

The elevator door opened and we walked out, stopping abruptly as Kol spread his wings, blocking the rest of us from whatever was on the other side.

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