Page 187 of Bliss & Her Idols

Torin sets down his guitar next to me, pulling me onto his lap.

His arms around me are a support, holding me to his strong chest, rather than caging me. “I want to spend my life alongside you all, while we support each other. We can find our freedom in our own way. That’s love to me. I know it now.”

I turn to press a kiss to his palm. “We’ve got each other’s backs.”

Torin wraps his arms around me tighter. His shirt is warm from the sun, as I rest my cheek over his heart.

“I always intended to find a journalist to witness what was going on in the Idol camp,” he says, quietly. I glance up at him, in shock. “I had an entire plan worked out, until meeting you little darlings blew it the fuck up. Because you were my scent match, and more than that, Jin trusted you. So, I took that risk as well. Trust means more to me than love. I knew that you could help me to rescue Jin and the rest of the Idols. But I didn’t dare dream thatyou’dfall in love withme. That an outcast Alpha like me would be worthy of having their own bonded pack.”

I stare at Torin in shock.

He’s been playing an even longer game than I knew.

Why am I surprised?

He made a pact with Jin and Zero when he was only fourteen.

Just how many years have these men been plotting to bring down the most wealthy and powerful music empire in the world?

Was Jin waiting until the end of his ten year contract?

Did he truly have the strength of character and endurance to suffer that many years, knowing that he could speak out afterward?

Except, wasn’t thatprankin the woods played when Torin was only in kindergarten?

Have they been surviving…plotting…much longer than I’ve realized?

I’m a survivor too. So are Piper and Chase. Yet we had each other.

Did Torin have the Beta Idols as his true family?

“What happened on that night in the woods, when the twins abandoned you?” I ask. “How did you escape?”

Torin stiffens. “I didn’t. If I never made it home, then even when the others noticed, it would have been written off as an accident. I’m certain now that they intended me to die.”

They were trying to murder him…?

My gaze flies to his face in shock. “Why?”

Torin’s expression is stony. “Because they blame me for Mom’s death.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Dad was Traditional. He believed that an Omega’s worth was in being a breeder. Her health was weak after giving birth to the twins. I believe she hoped that adopting Rory would free her from the curse of the cycle of birthing Alphas.”

My chest tightens. “Tor…”

His gaze is distant and pained. “But Dad insisted that she try again. And she did…with me. Yet she never truly recovered. I barely remember her. She died when I was only aged two. Dad didn’t get over the blow and died the following year. From that point, I was left to the twins to torment as a way to work out their grief. I was under the Guardianship of my sister, who became the Head Alpha. Since Mena was so busy with also taking over the business unexpectedly, however, I was mainly forgotten. The invisible Alpha. If it wasn’t for Ryan remembering to order me clothes and that I needed schooling, I would have become feral. It was Sarah who stopped me starving because it’s the rule that Omegas, Beta, and children aren’t welcome in the dining hall. Yet if the Idols hadn’t also shared their food with me, I wouldn’t have lived to escape into high school.”

I grasp Torin’s chin, forcing him to focus on me.

I hate the faraway look like he’s lost back in his past again. “But you did make it out of that forest.”

He blinks, focusing on me with an effort. “I wandered around for hours, lost, hungry, and sobbing. I was found by Jin and Zero. They’d heard the twins joking about their plan earlier inthe day. They’d had to wait until lights out to risk slipping out of camp to search for me. They’re only a couple of years older than I am but they’re brave and resourceful. Nobody knows that they saved my life that day. After that, all the Idols took turns sharing their food with me. They created a secret protective bodyguard around me. It didn’t always work but it stopped the twins from carrying out any more extremeaccidents. The Betas were my friends, my family, andmysaviors.” Torin’s expression becomes fierce. “And that’s why I need to become their savior now. Every Idol past, present, and who is taken into the corrupt system in the future.”

I clasp his hand in mine. “You will. And we’ll start with Zero.”

Torin nods, fervently.

---