Page 152 of Bonds of Pain
“I should have gone with her,” Cillian whispers, so softly I almost miss it.
“You were barely conscious,” Poe reminds him gently. “You wouldn’t have made it a mile.”
“When I think about what Thane did to her—“ Ares’s voice cracks with emotion.
“Stop,” Logan commands, but there’s no Alpha force behind it, just exhaustion. “We need to focus on what we’re going to do next. We can’t stay holed up here for long.”
The floorboard creaks beneath my foot.
Four heads snap toward the door, bodies tensing instantly for combat. I’ve been discovered.
“Who’s there?” Ares demands, already moving toward the door with predatory focus.
Taking a deep breath, I step into view, gun lowered but still in my hand.
“Surprise,” I say, hating how my voice wavers.
Four pairs of eyes widen in perfect synchronization. For a moment, no one moves or speaks. Then, chaos erupts.
Ares and Poe jump to their feet and cross the room toward me, only stopping when I hold up my free hand. Logan and Cillian are right behind, slowed by their injuries but just as eager to crowd my personal space.
Their voices overlap, apologies tumbling over one another as they crowd closer, each trying to convince me of their sincerity. The air fills with their mingled scents—bourbon and chocolate, bitter clove, driftwood and sea salt, and that faint floral note that is uniquely Cillian’s.
“All of you, shut up!” I shout over the deafening chorus of male voices.
To my shock, the room instantly falls silent. Four pairs of wide eyes stare at me, reactions ranging from Poe’s subtle smirk to Logan’s swallowed indignation. The power of my voice, of being heard, sends an unexpected thrill through me.
“Maya,” Cillian begins cautiously, taking a small step forward. “Why did you come back?”
I look at each of them, these men who’ve been both my captors and my saviors, my tormentors and my protectors. The question hangs in the air, demanding an answer I’m not entirely sure I have.
“I went to see my mother,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “She confirmed everything Thane said. I was created as part of an experiment—one of dozens of engineered Omegas born to desperate betas who let themselves be guinea pigs in exchange for social advancement and credits.”
Logan’s face hardens. “That has nothing to do with?—“
“Let me finish,” I cut him off, surprising myself with my boldness. More surprising is how quickly he falls silent. “The king funded those experiments. He promised the Great Houses more Omegas than existed naturally, and when he couldn’t deliver, he turned to science. To Thane.”
I lower the gun to my side but keep it in my hand, a reminder to them all that I’m no longer the helpless Omega they first encountered.
“There have to be more facilities like the one where Thane held us,” I continue. “More doctors conducting experiments on unwilling Omegas. More betas volunteering their unborn children for genetic manipulation.” My voice catches. “I can’t just walk away knowing that’s happening.”
Ares crosses his massive arms. “So what? You’re planning to take down the entire system by yourself?”
“No.” I meet his gaze squarely. “That’s why I have you.”
The room goes still as understanding dawns on their faces. Poe is the first to grasp my meaning, his dark eyes widening slightly.
“You want us to help you fight back,” he says quietly.
I nod, turning to face Logan directly. “I’ll stay with you—with all of you—if you agree to lead an uprising against your father.”
Logan’s golden eyes narrow, his jaw clenching. “You don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“Don’t I?” I step closer to him, close enough to see the flecks of amber in his irises. “I’m not asking you to do anything more than you once asked of me.”
“Which is what, exactly?” he challenges, voice dangerously low.
“To give up everything.”
