Page 1 of Nothing is Free

PROLOGUE

DAMYN

My grip on the steering wheel tightens as I glance into the rearview mirror. The leather material of the wheel rubs against the leather of my gloved hands, creating a squeaking noise from the friction. The sound a stark contrast to the soft, ambient sounds of the heavy inhales and exhales of the unconscious woman behind me. The lights of the city of Frankfort are diminishing rapidly with every mile, giving me the head start I need to disappear with my beautiful Butterfly. I look away, turning my wild eyes back to the road ahead, ignoring my image, the constant reminder of my failure in the form of a scar that almost cost me my eyesight in my left eye. The bones in my fingers pop, the joints cracking along with the tense set of my jaw when I think about the day that changed my life all those years ago. I don’t have the time or the headspace to dwell on the past—especially that day—but at the sight of her, it all comes flooding back unbidden, no matter how hard I try to push it down.

“Focus, Damyn,” I tell myself as I check my mirrors before switching lanes, weaving in and out of the flow oftraffic with ease, staying vigilant for any blacked-out SUVs in the distance. I didn’t think I would make it this far before they discovered her missing, but as I had watched her make her way into the main building of her best friend’s distillery, I’d known it was now or never. Security had been tight, but I am used to lurking in the shadows these days, well, years really. Hiding amongst the trees I’d kept watch from a distance, eyes constantly on her as she had moved around the various marquees, doing her job with practiced ease. My sweet Butterfly had no idea that tonight she would come face to face with her past.

I am not the same man I was six years ago. My days of falling in line at the whims of the upper echelons are over, my family included. Now, I dwell in the dark, nothing exists but her; my thoughts, my needs, my desires are singular. Everything in my life revolves around the woman I now have unconscious and bound in the back seat. The look on her face when she had seen my reflection in the mirror—those gorgeous big brown eyes, a kaleidoscope of emotion—shock, surprise, regret even, washed over her in the split second it took me to shove the hood over her head and drag her away.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath as I squeeze the life out of the steering wheel, which groans in protest as I second guess my decision. Wait. No. I regretnothing. I had no choice. I used to be content to watch her from afar, kept her in my sights, protecting her and her little Omega bestie while they traipsed through the streets of Chicago, unaware of my presence. She’s mated now, the little voice of reason that’s barely hanging on by a thread reminds me. But I ignore it, of course. I have listened to reason for six long fucking years. I should have tossed reason out the door the minute she decided to get on a plane and follow Mercy Smooth back to Kentucky. I tsk, sucking air through my teeth I check themirrors once more. The road behind me is dark with only a few headlights sporadically appearing. I blow out the breath I’ve been holding, knowing there is no way for Freeya’s mate and one of his Alpha's security team to find us now. Leave it to my little Butterfly to flutter into the embrace of a pack of capable Alphas. But she is mine. Mine! Maybe I’m just fucked up. I know what I’ve done will lead me down a road to nowhere, but I have to try. She was meant for me once, and in my mind, my soul, my heart, I never let her go.

Pressing my foot down on the gas with an anxious urgency, the sound of a soft moan filters through my racing thoughts. I peer over my shoulder and glance at my newly acquired prize, pleased to see she is still passed out cold. Her breathing even, the press and swell of her breasts rising and falling gently against the black fabric of her skintight dress is so hypnotic that I almost forget to keep my eyes on the road.

She looked absolutely stunning tonight. A part of me wanted it to be the last time I set my eyes on her. A part of me wanted to back away into the night and leave her there with her new pack. I wanted, in that moment, to be the better man and admit defeat. They did what I could not. Claimed her. She deserves to be happy. For so long I watched the loneliness, the rejection break her apart slowly. But when Mercy had come along, she had given my Butterfly friendship, family, and a purpose. What we had was a stained past. Our futures changed the minute fate designated her a Beta. Abandoned. Alone. Her own family tossed her away, but not me. I can’t watch from the sidelines for another minute longer. I can’t watch her find love and happiness without her knowing she already had it, with me.

My obsession with Freeya Stuart had taken root the moment I laid eyes on her. There had been no slow burn, no easing into my feelings, it was a pure lightning strike connection.My heart had collided with my ribcage, my breath quickened, mouth parched, and my head swam leaving me unsteady on my feet as I had taken in smooth ebony skin, sad dark brown eyes—eyes like mine—and long limbs with just a hint of her curves buried under too many clothes. We were kindreds, she and I, destined to be together. Time had stopped for me the day my eyes met hers and I’d known right then I would do any and everything to keep her. She was mine. For just a moment, she was mine. Until she wasn’t.

“A Beta!” my mother screamed in outrage the day we heard the news. My pack and I, well, my newly formed pack, no longer had an Omega. Freeya had presented as a Beta instead of the Omega her parents swore she would become. I mean, there was no rhyme or reason to their logic but people with money will do just about anything to ensure they get the right end result. Doctors, blood tests to check hormone levels, and endless examinations, they treated their children like cattle, not people. The Stuarts had five other daughters, Freeya being the second youngest, but the ones before her had all presented as Omegas. So, it was to be expected. Until biology decided to shit on their plans to accumulate even more wealth on top of what they already had.

“None of that matters. I still want her,” I replied as I drove frantically through torrential rain. My windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with the sheets of water blocking my view of the road ahead. I needed to get to the Stuarts to tell them it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to make my intentions to claim her regardless of her designation over the phone though. Instead, I felt the need to approach her fathers in person out of respect. “She is still from a prestigious family, it shouldn’t?—”

“This isn’t the way it works, Son. We had an agreement. It is not just our family invested but the rest of your pack’sfamilies as well. Our world has to be carefully cultivated in order to maintain the status quo,” my father said, his voice sounding weary and drawn as it boomed through the speaker phone.

A horn honked somewhere behind me, but I ignored it. I could just about see the red tail lights of the car in front of me before I swerved my navy-blue G-Wagon around a stationary car, almost clipping the back bumper.I needed to focus before I had an accident.

I scoffed. “Fuck the status quo. Fuck the other pack families. I am not tied to any of those men really. Yeah, we went to the same schools and partied within the same circles, but there is no real connection. Yes, I know packs form this way all the time, but is it wrong to want to build those relationships organically? After all, they were meant to be chosen by you. As far as I am concerned, if I can’t have her, I damn sure don’t want them either. No Omega. No pack.”

As soon as the words left my lips, I knew it to be true. I was sick and tired of being arranged and rearranged to fit the ever-growing demands and changes from my parents. We were a wealthy family, I didn’t begrudge the money, but I was determined to have this one thing. I wanted her and I was willing to give up everything to have her.

My mother shrieked in horror; I could picture her neatly manicured fingernails clutching her long smooth black hair. It was always her go-to dramatic reaction. I knew those dark brown eyes of hers were boring into my father, waiting for him to respond to what she would deem outlandish behavior on my part. That’s probably why my father sounded so beat down.

“You can’t be serious, Damyn. I will not stand for it. You are a Gregory, an Alpha, it is your duty. You can have anyone?—”

“My sentiments exactly. I can have anyone,” I interrupted, as the sound of my mother’s ridiculous cries rang out through the SUV. I wanted Freeya. If that meant I went at it alone without a pack, I would. Nothing was wrong with a single Alpha and Beta being together. Besides, they should be more than happy to know that I would provide and take care of her. There was no turning back for me.

“Son, just come home. You shouldn’t be out driving in this weather,” my father pleaded. “You rushing over there to knock down their doors won’t do you any good. The girl is gone, her parents have already sent her away.”

“What. . .away. . .what—” My words were cut off as I felt the wheels of my SUV hydroplaning. Horror filled me, chilling me to the bone as I realized I’d lost control of my car. In this treacherous rain, my SUV didn’t stand a chance. Chances of regaining control were slim to none. . . Would this be where I died? Hearing my mother’s words, ‘she’s gone,’ ‘they sent her away’, was too much to bear. Especially now that I was facing what could possibly be my final moments.

“The Stuarts have no need for a Beta daughter. They sent her away. The girl is basically disowned. Honestly, I think it’s a bit extreme. The poor girl had no control over what she would become. I think they did it to save face,” my mother chimed indignantly, unaware of what was happening to me.

My G-wagon spun out and before I knew it, the car behind me slammed into my driver’s side door, sending me careening off the road. My seatbelt locked, stealing my breath, and pain ignited in my chest, a grunt was all I could muster. My eyes widened as my car slid out of control. The rain made it impossible to see what direction I was headed in. I spied a guard rail and closed my eyes hoping it would stop my momentum enough to slow me down. Before I hit the guard rail, another car hit me from behind and I was senttumbling over the edge of a steep ravine with nothing but my mother’s words ringing in my ears as I plummeted to what I was sure would be my death.

“Damyn!” My parents both shouted, just as the front of my car hit a tree and the world went black.

Pulling myself from the memory of that day, the day I died and was reborn, I glance over my shoulder once more; Freeya’s sleeping form rocks gently in the seat. The warm glow of the highway lights passing over her face grants me a glimpse of her plump puckered lips, relaxed face, and long black eye lashes brushing her cheeks as her eyes move rapidly behind her lids. I sigh, my heartbeat slowing as I take another deep breath and turn my eyes back to the road. She will hate me for this. After everything I’ve done to keep her safe, to keep her away from the bloodsuckers she calls parents, she won’t understand, not anymore. To her, I am probably a part of her past that still leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Tainted memories of a life that I can honestly say she is better off without. She is better off a Beta. Our world treats Omegas like possessions, objects, prizes to be won, to be bartered. We are all just people, despite our designations. What right do we have to place ourselves on pedestals that we don’t deserve? I’m an Alpha, I know what that means, yet, after everything, what I am doesn’t mean shit if I can’t have the life I want. The life I would have chosen if given a chance. The fact that my parents arranged our mating, handpicked my pack mates, and attempted to plan my life like I was nothing more than their pawn, were red flags enough for me to recoil away from the type of cookie cutter life they sought for me. Everything that happened to me, happened for a reason, and as fucked up as it is, I am happier here in my darkness.

My little Butterfly moans softly. Her slight groan lancesme with regret. I didn’t mean to hurt her, but I know I did. I will make it up to her. I will make her see that this can work. I want to keep her to myself like I had planned to the day I rushed to retrieve her from her parents. The day I almost died to get to her. The day that I failed, too late to claim what was rightfully mine. My Butterfly. Now, to have her I have to cage her, keep her close and away from those who have also laid claim. But I will never give her back. She will fight me, try to run, resent me, but I will drag her back each and every time. Until the day they come for her, because I have no doubt they will, she will be mine in every way. When they do, I will face my death. They will have to pry her from my cold, dead hands. It will be the only way they will be able to take her away from me. As long as I draw breath, I will keep coming for her. Freeya has bound my heart and my soul. She is the owner of my being, everything held within her dainty grasp. I’m done being her shadow, done hiding. Now is our time, and I will take it any way I can get it. Even if I have to make a deal with the devil to achieve it.

CHAPTER 1

DEZ

Unease settles in my chest as the entire marquee erupts in applause. Mercy, humble as always, smiles shyly as everyone gives her a standing ovation. Everyone is on their feet except for my pack. My brothers are all in various states of distress. Avion’s eyes are on high alert as he searches the crowd, his teeth working the inside of his cheek, a clear sign of his worry and anger. Vic stands in a rush, rubbing at his chest as Omari follows him, eyes wild, looking crazed as he mouths something I can’t hear over the noise in the tent. Avion’s eyes find mine, and I spring into action. I don’t need to ask questions. I can feel what they feel.Her. Something’s wrong.

“Freeya, baby, talk to me,” I call out to her as I slowly glance around the table of guests. Hopefully I will catch her with her assistant Kiah. Having memorized her itinerary for the night I know they have to organize the catering staff. She should be back from the toilets by now. I swear I am going to put her over my knee later. I told her not to take out her earpiece, not for anything, even if she needed to take a piss. Stubborn woman.

The sound that comes back to me has my blood running cold. Static. Nothing but static. I keep my face as neutral as I can as I turn my head toward three sets of expectant eyes. I give an imperceptible shake to Omari’s dismay and take off without vocalizing my fears to them.

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