Page 25 of Omega Hunted

Cassian shook his head once, and my fragile hope cracked.

“Not me, no,” he said quietly. Silence settled between us before he let out a slow breath. “Raff wanted us to.”

His eyes drifted away from me, and he made a small gesture around the room, as though everything here explained what he meant.

I looked around automatically.

The solid walls. The mugs on the shelves. The discarded sweatshirt folded over the back of a chair. The quiet warmth of the house. The isolation.

None of it meant anything to me.

I didn’t know who Raff was. I didn’t know why saying his name made Cassian’s voice soften, or why the air between us suddenly felt heavy with grief. Whatever had happened, it lived here with him. I could feel that much.

After a long moment, he looked back at me.

“I assume Ronan still has contacts,” he said. “If getting you and your daughter somewhere safe means calling in every favor he’s owed, he will.”

There would never be a safe place for me, and the truth of why was heavy and dangerous. Once I explained it to him, I couldn’t take it back. Cassian would know exactly what I was and why everyone wanted my baby, and he’d have every advantage. He was bigger than me, stronger than me, an alpha standing between me and the only road off the mountain. If he decided to lock the door, sell me back to my family, or hand me back to Center 14, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop him.

My hand settled over my stomach. I was so tired. Tired of running. Tired of hiding. Tired of being treated like some mythical prize instead of a man.

A fucking unicorn, I thought bitterly.

My cat stirred. Trust him.

The certainty wasn’t loud. It wasn’t overwhelming. It was just… there. I’d stopped trusting my own instincts a long time ago, but I’d never stopped trusting my cat. I let out a slow breath, lifted my head, and met Cassian’s eyes. I could keep my secrets but that would mean nothing after a while. I had to roll the dice and see how they fell.

“My baby has a pure bloodline,” I said quietly, and every trace of color drained from his face. He stared at me as if I’d said something impossible, shock widening his eyes.

My fingers tightened over my stomach until they ached. I could never know whether the people around me wanted me, or the price attached to my blood. If Cassian was going to sell me, hand me over, or decide my daughter was worth more than my freedom, I needed to know before I trusted him. Before I slept under his roof believing I was safe.

Better now, before I started believing in him, before Asha was born, while there was still some chance that I could get away. I held his gaze, waiting for greed to replace kindness. Waiting for him to reach for a phone, call someone, claim the reward, or lock the doors and tell himself he was doing the right thing.

Instead, he only stared at me, shock still stark in his eyes. “Pure,” he said, his voice low. I nodded. “But that’s… there’s… the only pure-blood omegas are from the Families…” He went still, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. What the hell had I brought to his door? I forged ahead.

“As long as people think I’m just another runaway omega, my family is the biggest threat.” I drew a shaky breath. “But the second anyone finds out what I am, everything changes. I’m not some random omega who escaped Center 14 anymore. I’m an investment.” I looked down at my stomach. “And so is Asha. My family will want her for the same reason they wanted me. Another pure bloodline they can bargain with, another alliance they can make.” My throat tightened. “That’s all we are to them. Something valuable they can sell repeatedly.” Cassian didn’t speak for several seconds. His jaw tightened, and when temper flashed in his eyes, fear punched through me. I shrank back, one hand going instinctively to Asha. I’d known this was coming. I’d known the truth would change everything.

“Soren—”

“Please don’t take my baby.” My voice broke, and I curled both arms around my stomach. “You can have me. Sell me, hand me over, do whatever you want, but please, Cassian, not Asha. Ronan said you were a good wolf; please, take her somewhere safe. Somewhere no one knows what she is. Tell them she’s nobody. Tell them anything.” I couldn’t stop shaking. “Please. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t let them have my daughter.”

Cassian stared at me, horror cutting through the anger in his expression.

“Soren, no.” His voice came out rough. “No one is taking Asha from you. No one is selling you. Goddess, is that what you thought?” He took a step toward me, then stopped when I flinched. “You and your daughter are safe here. I swear to you.” Then he looked away, dragging a hand over his face, and I realized his anger had never been aimed at me.

“But you know what she’s worth,” I whispered. “What they’d do to get her.”

“I know what she’s worth to you, and that’s all that matters.” He took a ragged breath, as if he was trying to pull the shock and horror back inside him to focus on the rest of this story. “When you say a pureblood alliance,” he said at last, his voice quiet and controlled, “you mean one of the Families wants your baby.”

I nodded.

The Families had been around for generations, older than governments in some places, older than the laws that pretended to keep them in check. They’d carved cities into territories and built empires on fear, money, blood, and loyalty. Politicians took their calls. Judges looked the other way. Police learned which doors not to knock on, and which names never made it into reports. Businesses paid what they were told, and entire communities knew the cost of attracting their attention.

Good people stayed away from them. Bad people wanted what came with their protection.

And everyone feared them.

You didn’t refuse a Family. You didn’t steal from one. You didn’t betray one.