"We need to leave, NOW!!" I said, rushing into the main hall where Senex, Izzy, Jodi, and other dormants were talking. They all seemed startled by my sense of urgency and immediately sprang into action. This wasn't the first time we had to vacate our home on short notice, and it wouldn't be the last.

"What's going on?!" Izzy asked, rushing after me to my room, followed by Jodi.

"Colby was lying. He didn't stumble upon us by chance." I said, darting around my room and filling my bag.

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked, shaking his head but helping me pack.

"I don't have time to explain, Izzy. Right now, we have to leave before—"

"Aren't we going to bring Colby with us?" Jodi asked, cutting me off.

"Hell no!" I scoffed. "Did you hear the part where I said he lied?" I said, scowling at her.

"But he's pregnant," she said with a concerned expression. "You two may have your differences, but we can't—"

"JODI, ENOUGH!!" I yelled. "He won't be for long, and like I said, right now we need to—"

"What do you mean 'he won't be for long'?" Roselyn, what did you do?" she asked, cutting me off. I stopped with my back to them, sighing heavily.

"He didn't act alone, lads," Senex said from the door, coming into the room slowly. "It's done, Jodi. Let it go, love." He said in a warning tone.

"Senex is right. Colby doesn't deserve your kindness, Jodi, and right now isn't the time to have a bleeding heart," I said, turning to them.

"What. Did. You. Do?" she demanded an answer from us.

When I didn't answer, Izzy realized what my silence meant. "Lyn, you didn't..."

"He's put us on the path of a very dangerous Alpha. The type that will use your kind heart against you, and Colby is just like him," I said coldly. "Don't be fooled by the fact that he's an Omega!"

"So you killed him?!" she said incredulously.

"No! He just drank some water!" I said matter-of-factly.

"And what did you do to the water?!" she asked, stepping towards me, but Senex stepped in front of her. Tension filled the room as we all had a stare-down.

"I dosed it!! There!! You happy?! It'll induce a miscarriage, and if he's pregnant, he'll be in some pain. Be thankful I didn't kill the bastard, but we need to leave!!" I said, trying to stress the seriousness of the situation to her.

"What Alpha do you know that will let their pregnant Omega roam the forest into a completely different territory?!" she scoffed. "How could you say 'if' he's pregnant?! You know he's pregnant! I'm sure Senex confirmed that for you already!" she said, pointing at me, visibly angry.

I sighed heavily again, pinching the bridge of my nose in irritation. "Jodi—"

"No, Roselyn!" she said, cutting me off. "What you've done is inexcusable! You should be ashamed of yourself; both of you should be!" she said before leaving the room angrily, leaving us behind in silence.

"Lyn, did you really give him suppressant? Even though he said he—"

"GO PACK!!" I snarled angrily at him, cutting him off. He stared at me for a moment before hesitantly leaving the room.

"Damn it!" I whispered to myself, punching the wall.

"They'll be okay, lad. You should tell them—"

"No! I don't want to retell that story to anyone, ever!" I said to Senex, holding back tears. "Thank you for helping me, Sen." 

He simply smiled at me with a curt nod. "Anytime, pup. We're going to have a rough time ahead of us," he said before leaving the room.

I noticed the wall had cracked where I punched, and once again my hand was covered in black fur with dangerously sharp claws. This time I didn't freak out as much because I was aware the effects of the imprint were the cause. Slowly, the fur and claws receded into my skin, and my hand was back to normal. A part of me was scared, but another part of me was excited about the potential upper hand this would give me if I could learn to control it. Although this was just another secret I was keeping from the twins, my heart ached at the fact we didn't have time to go over every detail right now. I'd just have Senex help me explain it all to them once we were safe.

There were some things I didn't tell them out of embarrassment and others simply because I didn't understand how to explain them. Before my memories returned, I'd been lying to myself, saying it was to protect them, but now? What was I continuing to lie to them for? Was I afraid they'd reject me? They already accepted me even after revealing I was an Omega—well, Jodi accepted me. Izzy could change his mind once he found out I wasn't his mate. Was I afraid of losing my friends or of being alone again?

After everyone had finished packing, we were all ready to head out, but Izzy and Jodi were nowhere in sight. "Where are the twins?" I asked Senex.

"They were still loading the van last time I saw," he said, pointing before getting into the truck.

I frowned at his words before heading in the direction he pointed. They were indeed loading a truck, but with what was the question. Everything had already been packed that was needed, and I was unsure how much time we had before Alec arrived.

"Guys, what are you—" My words were caught in my throat at the sight of Colby, drenched in sweat. He let out shuddering breaths as he clung to a blanket they had placed on him. Blood stained the bottom half of the fabric. I would've smiled at his pain if my friends didn't look so worried for him.

They both turned to look at me. Izzy seemed nervous, but Jodi was clearly angry. She spoke before I could question them. "We aren't leaving him," she said sternly.

"Lyn, this isn't right," Izzy said apologetically but agreeing with his sister. "What you did—"

I brushed past both of them, intentionally bumping them as hard as I could. Jodi was prepared, but Izzy stumbled slightly. "Lyn!"

"Let him go!" Jodi commanded her brother. "We're no saints, but he'll have to act like a monster on his own." She said, causing me to stop in my tracks.

I wanted to defend myself and tell them why I'd done what I did. Tell them the reason I acted so harshly was only to repay the same "kindness" Colby had shown me in the past, but I swallowed down my words and my pride. Looking over my shoulder, I was met with familiar eyes that stared at me like I was a stranger. It was happening. I was losing my friends, and I was going to be alone again. Alec hadn't even shown up yet, and already he was taking things away from me with Colby as his accomplice.

It made me angry, and the resentment I felt from ten years ago filled my senses yet again. I wanted to kill Colby and just be rid of him. I should've done it when we were alone earlier and dealt with their reactions later. I got into the truck and slammed the door so hard the glass cracked. "Oh, give me a break!" I said, slamming my fist on the steering wheel, and sure enough, the cracked glass shattered into pieces. "Can this day get any worse?" I groaned to myself. "Wait, no! Don't answer that!" I rushed to say, hoping Apollo wouldn't jump at the chance to make anything worse.

We decided to move our base to the mountains further into the forest and away from Moon City. It was a good location because there was a separate outhouse I could stay in, away from the dormants. I still needed to tell everyone about myself, and so did the twins. Our scents could put them all in danger. Colby's and mine in particular.

When we arrived, I parted ways with everyone else after giving them orders and went directly to the outhouse, leaving Senex in charge of them in my absence. Apparently, the twins had the same idea I had because they arrived just as I finished setting up inside. I planned on ignoring them until they entered with an unconscious Colby. Jodi was really good at pushing the limits of my temper, but this was one subject I wouldn't budge on.

"I'm a lot of things, but you both know patient has never been one," I said, turning to them with a menacing gold glare.

Jodi shot me a glare of her own before putting Colby down on the couch in the living room. Ignoring me, she checked his temperature, which pissed me off even more. I stormed over to her, grabbing her wrist and yanking it away from the Omega. "He's not staying here!" I shouted.

She yanked her hand away from me with vicious force. "Haven't you done enough?! You've killed his pup; are you going to kill him next?" She asked, motioning to Colby on the couch. 

"I SHOULD'VE!!" I shouted, and she just scoffed. "Oh, Gods! Would you give your self-righteous bullshit a rest already?! He isn't some dormant or an Omega in distress that needs to be saved! How many times do I have to tell you that for it to get through your fucking head?!" I asked, tapping the side of my face in frustration. "He is going to lead that Alpha directly to us!!" I exclaimed, pointing at the unconscious Omega. "Why can't you just listen to me?!"

"Because you've never blatantly disregarded a life so completely without any compassion at all before!!" she shouted at me. "I knew you hated kids, but I never imagined you'd forcefully make someone abort their pup!! That wasn't your decision to make, and you even looped Senex into your bullshit!" she said, baring her fangs at me.

"FUCK HIM!!" I yelled at her, motioning to Colby. "And fuck you for defending him!!" I said, pointing at her.

She puffed out her chest in anger and marched toward me until Izzy stepped in between us. "CALM DOWN!! BOTH OF YOU!!" he yelled, holding his hands up to push us back. "We can talk about this without yelling," he said sternly, looking between Jodi and me.

"Neither of you have any idea the danger you've put us all in by bringing him with us. You should've just listened to me and—"

"Well, we didn't," Izzy said, cutting me off. "We're not kids anymore, Lyn. We do things together! Just tell us what's going on." He said softly, walking closer to me, and I backed away.

"Alec will follow his scent, and he'll come here." I said, feeling the walls close in on me and my chest tighten.

"Of course he will!" Jodi chimed in. "He's his mate!"

"He's not coming for him, you idiot!" I hissed at her. "He's coming for me...." I said quietly.

"Who is Alec?" Izzy asked, concerned.

I looked at both of them before speaking, and after a long moment of silence, I knew I had no other choice. "He's the reason I ran away from home," I said ominously. "He has been fixated, obsessed with me since the day he laid eyes on me. He works for my father, and he'll come here, and he—" I stammered over my words, beginning to feel overwhelmed, drowning in the fear that came with the memories of Alec.

"What did he do to you?" Izzy asked, seeing the tears fall from my eyes.

I couldn't tell them; I wouldn't. They'd look at me like I'm weak, and it's already bad enough I'm an Omega now. I took a second to regain my composure and pushed the fear back down. "Lyn, who's your father, and what does this Alec want with you?" he asked again.

Wiping the tears from my face and ignoring his questions, I grabbed my bag and pulled out a case of suppressants that Senex had given me before going into the mountain with the others. Jodi and Izzy exchanged confused looks before I walked over to Colby, jamming the syringe into his neck.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jodi exclaimed.

"We have to mask his scent," I said, emptying the entire contents into him.

Before she could say anything else, I was about to inject myself when she grabbed my wrist. "Are you out of your fucking mind?! You're really going to inject this shit into your body?! Do you know what this does to people?!" she asked, and I pulled away from her violently.

"The next time you call me a monster, we're done," I said through clenched teeth, getting in her face. I pushed a case of suppressants into her chest forcefully as I spoke. "He needs a dose daily to mask his scent. Since you give a fuck about what happens to him, it's your responsibility. If he doesn't take it, I'll shoot him. If you try to stop me, I'll shoot you first," I said coldly.

She stared at me with a shocked expression as I injected myself with the suppressant. Instantly, I felt lightheaded and stumbled as I went to the door. Izzy rushed over to me in an attempt to support me. "Don't touch me!" I warned in a bitter tone, and he stopped in his tracks.

As I walked out the door, Jodi called after me, but I ignored her. I refused to stay in the same space as Colby. I simply couldn't handle it, and my urge to kill him was already unstable. If I hurt the twins or killed Colby while hyped up on suppressants, I'd lose my friends forever, and I'd also never forgive myself. Even the cold of winter didn't feel as frigid as the thought of harming Jodi. I didn't mean what I said, but the childish part of me wanted to hurt her feelings like she did mine. The mature part of me had to be strong for them and for myself. I had to be. I couldn't let Alec find us. I couldn't let them experience that type of evil. Their father paled in comparison to Alec's cruelty. Sitting outside, I found myself thinking about Tsuki. I wondered if any of this would be easier if I could just get to him, but trying to do that was also dangerous. So I just sat there on a fallen, snow-covered tree with my thoughts, all alone in the cold.