MIA’S POV
The nightmare jolted me awake, Xavier’s angry face from earlier still haunting me. My throat felt like sandpaper – I hadn’t had anything to drink since morning.
At least they couldn’t deny me water.
The house was quiet as I crept downstairs, my bare feet silent on the cold floor. Maybe I could slip out after, get some air. Anything to escape the suffocating weight of this place.
Light spilled from the living room. I tried to sneak past, but-
“Where are you going, little sister?” Rolex’s voice froze me in place.
They were all there. Four pairs of eyes locked onto me like predators watching prey.
“Just… going outside.” My voice sounded small even to my own ears.
“You must be hungry,” Sean said softly. “Let me make you something.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “Now you want to feed me? After starving me for days?”
“Watch your tone,” Nathan growled, but I was beyond caring.
“Or what?” Tears spilled down my cheeks. “You’ll hurt me more? Lock me in my room? Make me beg for food like a dog?”
“Mia-” Xavier started.
“No!” All the pain, all the fear, everything they’d put me through exploded out. “You guys already said that you don’t accept me as mates but act possessive when someone shows me kindness. You call me sister while trying to r@pe me. You’re all liars! Monsters!”
Nathan moved so fast I didn’t see it coming. His hand struck out, shoving me hard. I hit the ground, my hand twisting beneath me with a sickening crack.
“Ungrateful bitch,” he snarled. “After everything-”
Pain shot up my arm as I scrambled backward, cradling my broken finger. Blood dripped where I’d scratched myself in the fall.
“See?” I choked out through tears. “This is what you really are. This is what you do to your mate.”
Horror dawned on their faces as they saw the blood, my twisted finger.
Pain throbbed through my finger, each heartbeat sending fresh waves of agony. Sean reached for my hand, his doctor’s instincts taking over, but I flinched away.
“Let me see,” he said softly. “It needs to be set.”
Before I could refuse, the front door opened. Diego’s powerful presence filled the room, his eyes immediately landing on my crumpled form, the blood on my clothes.
“What happened here?” His alpha command made us all freeze.
As I opened my mouth to tell him the truth about these monsters.
Nathan moved to help me up, his grip painfully tight on my arm. As he lifted me, his lips brushed my ear, voice so low only I could hear.
“Say a word about what really happened,” he whispered, “and starvation will be the least of your worries. Understand?”
Fear froze the truth in my throat.
“I… fell,” I managed, avoiding Diego’s concerned gaze. “Down the stairs. It was my fault.”
“All this blood from a fall?” Diego’s eyes narrowed.
“She hit the banister,” Xavier supplied smoothly. “We were just trying to help when you came in.”
Sean knelt beside me, reaching for my hand again. This time I let him, knowing resistance would only raise more questions.
“It’s broken,” he confirmed, his touch clinical and cold. So different from how he’d been in my room that night. “I’ll need to splint it.”
Diego watched as Sean worked, his expression unreadable. “Mia, are you sure that’s what happened?”
Nathan’s threat hung in the air between us. If I spoke up, would Diego even believe me? Or would it just give them another reason to punish me later?
“Yes,” I said quietly. “Just a stupid accident.”
The lie seemed to satisfy Diego, but as Sean finished bandaging my hand, I caught Rolex studying me intently.
Diego smiled, patting my head like I was a child. “I’m glad you’re all getting along better. Family should stick together.”
If only he knew. But Nathan’s threat echoed in my mind, keeping me silent.
“We’ll take good care of her,” Nathan said, his voice dripping with false concern. The moment Diego left, his gentle facade dropped.
“Please,” I whispered, cradling my injured hand. “Just leave me alone.”
Nathan’s laugh was cruel. “Leave you alone? When you’re running around with rival alphas? Making us look weak?” He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Poor little omega, always playing the victim.”
“I’m not playing-”
“Aren’t you?” His grip tightened. “Crying to get attention, trying to turn our father against us. Just like your mother, aren’t you?”
Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. Even Sean and Xavier stayed silent, watching their brother’s cruelty without interference.
“Look at her cry,” Nathan mocked. “Such a good little actress. But we know what you really are – nothing but Lillian’s daughter, trying to destroy our family again.”
“I am not acting; leave me alone,” I snapped at him.
Their cruel laughter followed me as I stumbled away, my broken finger throbbing in time with my heartbeat.
“Just like your mother,” Nathan called after me. “Running away when things get tough. But at least she was smart enough to know her place. What kind of omega thinks she deserves four alpha mates?”
“A worthless one,” Xavier added. “No wolf, no strength, no value.”
I kept walking, each step carrying me further from their mockery. Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them see me break again.
Five months. That’s all I had left until graduation. Five months of hell, and then I could disappear. Start over somewhere they’d never find me.
My hand brushed the mate marks on my neck – four crescents that were supposed to be a blessing. The Moon Goddess’s gift, linking me to four powerful alphas.
Some gift. Some blessing.
In my room, I pulled out the small box where I kept my savings. Not much, but maybe enough to get far away when the time came. Somewhere I could forget about mate bonds and alphas and the crushing weight of being an omega.
My mother had run. Now I understood why.
The mate bonds pulled at my chest, trying to draw me back to them. I pushed against the sensation, imagining walls around my heart.
They might be my mates, but I didn’t have to accept it. Didn’t have to let them break me completely.
Five months.
I could survive five months.