“Welcome.” She steps aside, inviting us in. “The Safe Harbor House never closes.”
Inside, the hallway glows with soft lamplight. Landscape photographs line the walls, and fresh flowers sit in a vase on a small table, their fragrance gentle beneath the stronger scent of cinnamon and cloves from a simmering pot somewhere deeper in the house.
The air is clean here, filtered through pheromone neutralizers that hum from discreet wall units.
“You must be Auren.” Maria turns to him, her posture open. “We have a room ready for you upstairs. You’ll be sharing it with one other Omega. The room has a private bath, and we have fresh clothes for you to use if needed.”
Auren curls inward, his chin dropping until lavender strands swing forward like a curtain. “I don’t belong here. This place is for Omegas with no one to care for them.”
Maria’s stance doesn’t change, hands loosely folded in front of her. “This place is for anyone who needs a safe transition. Whether that’s escaping an unhealthy situation or simply taking time to consider their next steps.”
The radiator in the corner clicks, heat rising to fight the chill we brought in with us. Murmuredvoices drift from a common room further in the house, and someone laughs, the sound bright and unexpected.
“We’ll go over house expectations in the morning, when you’ve had some rest,” Maria continues. “There’s no rush. Right now, we focus on getting you settled.”
Auren shakes his head, droplets flying from his damp hair. “No, I’m not staying here.”
Trained to respond to the pull of his need, my heart clenches. “You need people who know how to help.”
His fingers twist in the blanket, knuckles white. “I needyou.”
Maria takes a step back. “I’ll give you two a moment. There’s some paperwork we’ll need to complete, but it can wait a few minutes.”
Her footsteps fade down the hallway, rubber soles silent on the polished wood.
Auren’s mask slips a fraction, irritation flashing beneath the fragility. “You can’t leave me here.”
I bend my knees, bringing us eye-to-eye. “I’m not your Alpha, and this is the last time I will take care of you. After tonight, I never want to see you again.”
His pupils contract, amethyst swallowed byblack. “Are you punishing me? Is that why you’re doing this?”
“No.” I steady my breathing, keeping my posture relaxed even as my stomach knots. “This is about boundaries.”
The blanket slips from his shoulder to puddle on the ground, leaving him shivering in the hospital gown he’d refused to change out of. “What about our history? What about everything I gave you?”
My palms flatten on my thighs. “What about everything you took?”
Auren straightens in a sudden motion, the softness from before wiped clean. “You’re doing this because you’re weak. You couldn’t keep me safe, and now you’re proving you never could.”
The words slice into old wounds, practiced strikes at weak points he’s spent years mapping.
“You’ll never be a real Alpha,” he continues, violet eyes narrowing. “You’ll never have a real pack or pups. You’ll be alone in the end.”
My stomach contracts, acid burning up my throat. I swallow, moisture evaporating from my mouth.
“Maybe.” The admission costs me, scraped from a place deep inside, still convinced he might be right. “But I’m still not taking you home.”
His face twists, beautiful even in his cruelty. “Your new pet Alpha won’t last. He’ll see the same lack in you I did. And when he leaves, you’ll have nothing.”
I straighten to my full height. “I can live with that. I hope you can find it in yourself to do the same.”
His lip curls with disgust, and he holds out his hand. “Give me your phone. I’m calling Mark. When he finds out where you’ve put me?—”
“He already knows,” I tell him. “We spoke while you were giving your police statement. His law firm will be in contact with you in the morning.”
Mark and Jacob had eventually returned after they left Auren’s hospital room the first time, but they never went inside. Auren’s decision to push the abuse narrative had been the final straw. Mark now plans to file a defamation suit and pursue a false-report claim with the police. The mix of civil and criminal complaints will keep Auren tied up in court for months.
Footsteps approach from the hallway, rubber soles squeaking on the wood. Maria comes back down the hallway with a clipboard, her professional calm offering no hint of whether she caught any part of the conversation.