Chapter 3: The Escape That Failed

POV: Lucian Thorne (First-Person)

The door slammed shut behind Seraphina, and the silence that followed was heavier than any scream.

I stood there in Damien's oversized black t-shirt, my bare feet cold against the marble floor, and I felt something I had never felt before in my life. Humiliation. Deep, burning, soul-crushing humiliation.

The Alpha who turned into a whore Omega. That's what she had called me and the worst part? The whole city probably thought the same thing by now.

"I need to leave," I said.

Damien turned to face me. "Lucian…"

"No." I held up my hand. "You have a fiancée. You have a contract. You have a life that doesn't include me. So I'm going to walk out that door, and you're going to let me."

"You can barely stand," Damien said.

"I can stand fine." I said to him.

"You're shaking." He said to me.

It was just how amazing he noticed that about me. I looked down at my hand and I realized he was right. They were trembling but I didn't care.

"I've survived worse than a little shaking," I said. "I'm a Thorne. I don't need a babysitter."

I turned and walked toward the door. Every step felt like wading through water. My legs were weak. My head was spinning. The heat was still simmering under my skin, waiting to boil over again. But I kept walking.

I reached the door. I grabbed the handle.

"Lucian, stop." He ordered.

Damien's voice was way too calm, that It made me want to punch him.

I yanked the door open. The hallway stretched out in front of me, long and empty. Freedom. All I had to do was take one step and then the heat hit me like a truck.

It started in my chest, a sudden burst of fire that spread through my veins. My knees buckled. The floor rushed up to meet me. I threw out my hands to catch myself, but before I hit the ground, strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back.

I was pressed against Damien's chest. He was so warm. So solid. I hated how good he felt.

"Let me go," I gasped.

"You can't even walk," he said quietly. "Where are you going to go? Back to your father, who threw you out? Back to your family, who will sell you to the highest bidder now that you're an Omega?"

"Shut up," I whispered. But his words cut deep because they were true.

"Your heat is still active," Damien continued, his voice soft but firm. "It will last three more days. If you leave now, you'll collapse in the street. Someone will find you. Someone who isn't me. Do you know what happens to unbonded Omegas in heat on the streets of this city?"

I did know. I had seen it happen. Omegas were snatched off the streets every day. Sold. Traded. Used. My father had always said it was their own fault for being weak.

I had believed him. Until now.

"I hate you," I whispered.

"I know," Damien said. He lifted me easily, cradling me against his chest like I weighed nothing. "You can hate me all you want. As long as you're safe."

He carried me back to the bedroom and set me down on the bed. I wanted to fight. I wanted to scream. But my body was exhausted, and the heat was draining every ounce of strength I had left.

Damien pulled the blanket over me. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching me with those gray eyes.

"Your family called while you were asleep," he said.

My heart stopped. "What?"

"Your step-brother. Tristan. He left a message."

Damien pulled out his phone and played it on speaker.

Tristan's voice filled the room. Smooth. Smug. Like nails on a chalkboard.

"Lucian, baby brother. I heard the news. An Omega? How tragic. Father is devastated, of course. But don't worry. We've already taken care of everything. The board voted this morning. You've been removed as heir. I'm the new CEO of Thorne Industries. Oh, and your apartment? We've changed the locks. Your bank accounts? Frozen. You have nothing, Lucian. Nothing but that bastard growing in your belly. Do us all a favor and disappear. Or better yet, sell yourself to the highest bidder. That's what Omegas are for, right?"

The message ended.

I couldn't breathe. My chest was tight. My vision blurred. Tristan. My step-brother. The boy I had grown up with. The boy I had protected from bullies at school. The boy who had always smiled at me while sharpening a knife behind his back.

He had taken everything.

"Lucian," Damien said softly. "Breathe."

"I'm going to kill him," I whispered. "I'm going to kill all of them."

"Not today," Damien said. "Today, you rest."

"I can't rest!" I yelled, sitting up. The room spun, but I ignored it. "He took my company. My home. My life. I have nothing. I am nothing."

"You are not nothing," Damien said, his voice fierce. He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "You are Lucian Thorne. You are the strongest person I have ever met. And you are carrying my child. That makes you everything."

I stared at him. My eyes were burning. I refused to cry. I had not cried since I was eight years old, when my mother died. I was not going to cry now.

But the tears came anyway.

Damien pulled me into his arms and held me. He didn't say anything. He just held me while I shook. While I sobbed. While the walls of my old life crumbled around me.

When I finally pulled back, my face was wet and my chest was hollow. Damien reached out and wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

"I'm going to help you," he said. "But first, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

I looked at him. The man who had stalked me. The man who had saved me. The man who had a fiancée and secrets I couldn't even begin to unravel.

"No," I said honestly. "But I don't have a choice."

Damien nodded. "That's enough for now."

He stood up and walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the frame.

"Get some sleep," he said. "Tomorrow, we start planning."

This was getting more interesting than I thought that I asked

"Planning what?"

Damien looked over his shoulder. His gray eyes were cold and deadly determined. "Your revenge."

(End of Chapter 3.)