Time had lost all meaning to Liam Haley, his days marked only by the comings and goings of his two alpha captors, as well as the steady stretch of his belly as his baby continued growing inside him. A baby forced into him by a strange alpha during his first heat, thanks to the asshole who ran the omega halfway house Liam had been taken from.

He paced his prison, one hand over his swollen belly. His best guess was he’d been here four months, because his morning sickness had mostly abated, but he’d never been pregnant before. Hell, he’d only had one heat. And at eighteen, he’d heated at an average age, but good goddess, he wasn’t ready to be an omegin. He didn’t even have a real mate.

Technically, the alpha who’d impregnated him was his mate, but where was the man? Why had Fynn Lawry stood there during Liam’s heat and watched more than once while the strange alpha knotted him without a condom? And Fynn had been strangely excited when Liam’s test came back positive.

And then week after he took Fynn’s pregnancy test, he’d woken up in this room with healing tattoos on both wrists and an incredibly sore throat. Plain, plaster walls, rough carpeting, and a completely boarded-up window suggested an abandoned office of some kind, but Liam had no idea where he was, or if he was even still in Sansbury Province. All he knew was this room and its cot, the bucket to piss in, and a few ancient magazines for entertainment.

He had all the magazine pages memorized and still no idea why he was here, but he was plagued by the same stressful question: would his captors let him keep his son? Neither of the two alphas holding him were the man who’d bred him, and they wouldn’t tell him why he was here.

Or why they’d moved locations a few weeks ago. Weeks? Months?

Whatever.

He’d been awake for a while, and other than to deliver his breakfast shake, his captors hadn’t come for him. Red usually took him to another nondescript room and forced him to work out on weights and a treadmill, and Liam didn’t understand it at all. He was slowly gaining weight and more muscle definition, but what was the point? They never answered his quietly rasped questions, and he’d stopped asking after the first time Blue threatened to shut Liam’s curious mouth with his dick.

After the trauma of his first heat, Liam didn’t want to have sex again, ever. Sometimes he wondered if that was why he was here. It had been his first thought upon waking as a prisoner, but his captors never looked at him in a sexual way, and they didn’t touch him more than necessary. He occasionally caught the scents of other alphas and omegas in the hallway, but only saw Red, Blue, or a nameless doctor who’d examined his healing throat.

Liam touched the scar there and grimaced. After falling asleep in his bed at the halfway house, he’d woken up in another room like this, his throat sore, and his ability to speak at full volume gone. He could now barely talk above a whisper, never mind bother screaming for help.

Or screaming when they eventually did other things, because he knew he was here for a reason.

Bored and restless, Liam began reciting a poem he’d memorized ages ago from one of the magazines. It helped center him when he started wondering, kept his brain from spinning out too hard into nightmare scenarios about why he was really here. He’d let himself do that once, during his first few weeks, and he’d panicked so hard Red had sedated him.

He wasn’t completely sure they weren’t still mildly sedating him with his food, but he recited the poem anyway. The magazine article had done a feature on ancient poems by their ancestors, and this one had stuck with Liam. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as long as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth.”

His soft, whispery voice annoyed him, but he needed to hear something. His cell was too damned quiet, and it was driving him crazy. It had been hours since his last shake, so where were Red and Blue?

A sudden, sharp pain in his belly made him cry out and clutch at the spot, low on his left side. He froze in his pacing to breathe through it, uncertain what was causing it. He’d never had any sort of cramps before. What if something was wrong with his baby?

Do I really care if I lose it? I didn’t ask to be pregnant.

Old, agonizing thoughts swirled through Liam’s mind. Thoughts he’d entertained daily after Fynn made him take a home test, and they’d gotten worse during his first few weeks here. He hadn’t consented to the alpha who’d knotted him, and he hadn’t wanted to be an omegin at eighteen, any more than he’d wanted his parents and two siblings to die in a horrible car accident that only Liam survived.

Survived with internal injuries and a fractured collarbone. After a long stay in the hospital, he’d been given to Fynn to finish his recovery and to be taken care of until an alpha wanted to mate him. Except Fynn had arranged for him to be impregnated, then gave him to these alphas, and Liam had no idea why. His life had become a nightmare since that accident, and he wished every night when he went to sleep that he’d wake up in his family home again, surrounded by people who loved him.

And every morning he woke up in this shitty place, alone.

The cramp struck again. Sweat broke out on his face and neck, and he stumbled to his cot to sit.

Is this a miscarriage? Do I want it to be?

No. He might not be sure he wanted the baby—if his captors even let him keep it—but a new life was inside him, and Liam would see this through. And what if it was a miscarriage? He had no way of getting his captors’ attention, other than banging on his door. And he didn’t know if they were nearby, or even in the same building as him. What if he bled to death?

Liam moderated his breathing as the second cramp went away, and he didn’t move for several minutes, terrified of a third.

An odd noise in the hall caught his attention. The doors were thick and sounds difficult to pick out—scents too—but it was something like banging and loud voices. Alarmed, Liam rose and bolted to the corner of the room farthest from the door and squatted there, both hands protectively over his belly. He’d never heard this sort of commotion before, not here and not at the other location where he’d been kept.

Something was wrong.

The door lock turned, and Liam held his breath, fear jolting down his spine. As the door swung open, he braced for anything.

He did not expect the man who stepped inside to be wearing a patrolman’s uniform. Tall, thin, and definitely beta, the man instantly tried to hunch a bit and seem un-threatening when he spotted Liam cowering in the corner.

It didn’t help.

The man came forward a few steps, and then dropped down to one knee, his expression so gentle Liam’s lizard brain wanted to trust him.

“Hi, there,” the man said in a deceptively calm voice. “My name is Patrolman Zain Bauer. I’m with the Sansbury Constabulary. You’re safe now, I promise.”

Liam stared at the man, certain he’d lost his mind. He could easily be lying, placing some sort of trap that would get Liam punished. “What do you mean you’re a patrolman?” His voice barely carried in the small room, but the beta understood.

“We’ve been searching for this fight ring for weeks, and you’re safe now,” Bauer replied. “We’re liberating you.”

Fight ring? What was a fight ring?

Liberating made sense, though, because he was a prisoner. Still, Liam didn’t trust anyone. A constable had escorted him from the hospital to Fynn’s halfway house, and look what happened? “Show me proof,” Liam said.

Bauer slowly tugged the badge and name tag off his uniform shirt, and then slid both over, along with his wallet. Liam grabbed the items just as another cramp hit. He hissed in pain, and the patrolman lurched toward him.

“Stay away,” he tried shouting, but damn it, he barely rasped the words. The patrolman froze, though. Liam worked through the cramp while he examined the items on the floor. They seemed legit, and his name tag matched the provincial credit card and his photo ID. “Okay.”

“Do you need an ambulance?” Bauer asked.

“I don’t know.” He cowered again when Bauer tried to get closer. “How do I know this is real? It doesn’t feel real.”

“It’s real, believe me. We’ve been searching for these guys for weeks, like I said.”

“But I’ve been missing for months. How can you have only been looking for weeks?” It didn’t make sense. Surely someone had noticed he was missing from Fynn’s care sooner than a few weeks ago.

“It’s a long story, but we’re here to take all of you to the hospital to get checked.”

“All of who?” There were other prisoners? How many people did Red and Blue have here?

Bauer tilted his head. “The other omegas. Oh.”

“Oh what?”

“You don’t know what this place is, do you?”

Liam shook his head no, and then became aware of other voices, footsteps outside his room, and a new mix of alpha, beta and omega scents. He looked past Bauer to see another patrolman helping a heavily pregnant omega walk. Neither looked in his room, intent on their destination. Maybe this was real after all.

“Two alphas named Dent and Udall have been buying pregnant omegas from Fynn Lawry to bulk them up,” Bauer said, “and when they’re really showing, they made them fight each other in front of a hidden audience. The audience paid to watch, and they also gambled on the winner of each fight.”

Liam’s jaw dropped open, and he stared in shock and dismay at the patrolman, whose own expression was of mild outrage. And as far-fetched as the whole thing sounded, it also made sense. He’d been impregnated, then given to Red and Blue. They were bulking him up.

Goddess, if the constabulary hadn’t shown up when they did…

The thought made acid bubble up into his throat, and Liam retched. Bauer moved forward again, but Liam held up a staying hand. He didn’t want anyone touching him, not even a beta law officer.

“Bauer?” a deep voice said from the doorway.

Liam’s head snapped up, and he cowered at the sight of a tall, broad alpha in the doorway. He wore a constable’s uniform that seemed a bit tight around the middle and around his thick legs. An air of authority poured off him in waves, and instead of terrifying him, it calmed some of Liam’s raging anxiety.

“He’s a bit freaked out, sir,” Bauer replied. “He didn’t know anything about the fighting.”

The alpha took three slow steps inside the room. A scent like cedar, warm and comforting, filled Liam’s nose, and it kept him from trying to hide under the bed. He stayed still while the alpha came closer, until he stood just behind Bauer. Liam saw flecks of gray in his unshaven whiskers and light strands in his dark hair. He couldn’t begin to guess the man’s age, but something about him felt stable and kind.

And he really liked the man’s scent.

“Hi,” the alpha said. “My name is Senior Constable Isa Higgs. What’s yours?”

“Liam Haley,” he replied.

“Hello, Liam.”

He liked the way Higgs said his name, and that was weird. Really weird.

“He had some sort of pain earlier, sir,” Bauer said.

“Is that true?” Higgs asked.

Liam nodded. “I started having cramps a little while ago.”

“Then I think we should get you to the hospital so you can get yourself and your baby checked out. How far along are you?”

“I’m not sure. What’s the date?” When Higgs told him, Liam felt sick to his stomach. “Almost six months. I’ve been here that long?”

“You’ve been here the entire six months?”

“No, about five of them, I guess. About a week after I learned I was pregnant, I ended up here, but no one would tell me why.” He shivered and clutched his belly tighter. “I can really leave?”

“Yes, you can really leave.” Higgs’s tender smile warmed Liam’s insides.

And then a horrible thought occurred to him, and Liam shrank back, closer to the wall. “What happens to me after? The last time I went from a hospital to a halfway house, I ended up in hell.”

“That won’t happen again, Liam, I promise.” His already deep voice pitched lower. “All of you will be protected by the constabulary. I’m sick that this happened under my watch.” Higgs seemed genuinely upset about this omega ring he’d stumbled over, and that helped Liam trust the man a bit.

Plus, that scent…

Liam used the wall to stand, but another, stronger cramp hit him, and he cried out in his small, raspy voice. Higgs appeared by his side and easily scooped Liam into his arms. Being so close to another alpha should have terrified him, but instead, Liam wrapped his arms around the big man’s shoulders and allowed himself to be carried. Out of that awful room, and into the hallway where other men moved and talked, most of them in one uniform or another.

Several people gawked at them, but maybe it was because Higgs was their boss. Liam didn’t care. He concentrated on breathing, but this pain wasn’t going away. His eyes stung with tears, and his chest felt tight, so he clung to Higgs while he was carried down a dreary stairwell.

“You’ll both be okay,” Higgs said. “We’re going to take you to the hospital and get you checked out.”

The reassurances helped, so Liam wallowed in them, and in that delightful cedar scent, until they were outside in bright sunshine. Liam hid his face, the glare painful and blinding after so many months indoors.

“Sorry, little one, I forgot about the sun,” Higgs said.

Little one?

Liam was a bit taller than the average omega at five-seven, plus he now had actual, defined biceps. The nickname should have annoyed Liam, but it didn’t. It was…sweet.

Higgs carried him to an ambulance. “His name is Liam Haley and he’s been cramping. About six months along.”

“Any spotting?” an EMT asked.

“Um.”

“I don’t think so,” Liam replied. He didn’t feel any wetness down there.

“Let’s get him inside the bus,” the other EMT said.

Higgs tried, but Liam resisted being put down. He enjoyed the warm strength of the older man’s arms, his scent, and how he made Liam feel safe. Liam had never reacted to an alpha like this, but his scent also told Liam the man was mated. This was probably paternal attention on Higgs’s part, nothing more.

“I need to send you to the hospital, Liam,” Higgs said, his voice rippling down Liam’s spine in a wonderful way. His body was alive everywhere they touched, and it didn’t make—

The mating bond. Is this what it feels like? How it is my luck I’d feel the bond with an older, mated alpha?

His life well and truly sucked.

“Okay.” Liam allowed Higgs to put him on his feet, but he didn’t let go right away. He looked at Liam with eyes so dark brown they almost seemed black. But they were kind eyes full of compassion.

“You’ll be safe at the hospital, I promise,” Higgs said. “We’ve already got officers there to protect you.”

Liam nearly asked who he needed protection from, but didn’t. Someone would eventually fill him in, and he needed to save his meager voice for then. When all the questions would begin. “Thank you,” he said.

Higgs reached up, as if wanting to ruffle his hair, but dropped his hand for a shake instead. “I’m sure I’ll see you again. Now go take care of you and your baby.”

He loathed parting with an alpha who made him feel so good, but it was a lost cause anyway. Two beta EMT’s helped him into the back of the ambulance, and once Liam was strapped in, one of them went up front to drive. Cut off from Higgs’s scent, old anxiety stole in on stealthy feet, and Liam fought back tears.

His entire life had just changed again, and he had no idea what would happen next.

* * *

After a lengthy exam in the emergency room, Liam was taken up to some sort of isolation ward. Patrolmen stood guard outside of it, just like they’d watched downstairs. So far, Liam had only seen one other pregnant omega, but as the orderly wheeled his gurney down the hall, he spotted two other rooms with residents.

He was installed in a private room. A nurse came in to hook him up to various wires and tubes, and he got a pitcher of water and a cup. Liam drank, grateful for the liquid, which only reminded him how hungry he was. “Emergency said your cramps were likely nothing to be concerned about,” the nurse said. “But we’re still going to have Dr. Troi take a look at you. He’s a beta physician who specializes in obstetrics. He comes highly recommended.”

“Thank you,” Liam said. Despite his reaction to Higgs, he wasn’t sure he could bare himself to an alpha. Be so exposed.

“Of course. My name is Aiko. You just press that buzzer there if you need anything.”

“I’m hungry.”

“That’s good, because lunch trays are being passed out shortly. We want to make sure everyone’s settled.”

“How many of us are there?”

“Four here in this ward. One of you poor souls was taken up to the ICU.”

Liam couldn’t make himself ask why, and Aiko probably didn’t know, anyway.

“Now,” Aiko said, “the stand you’re attached to is mobile, in case you need to use the bathroom over there. But please don’t go wandering until you’ve been seen by Dr. Troi.”

“Okay.” Liam had so many questions for the other three omegas who’d been rescued, but those cramps had scared him more than he wanted to admit. That, and learning he would have one day been expected to fight other omegas, cemented the fact that Liam wanted to bring this baby to term. He wasn’t sure he wanted to keep it, but damn it, he’d give the boy life.

After Aiko left, Liam closed his eyes and tried to parse everything he’d been told by both Bauer and Higgs. His alpha captors got pregnant omegas from Fynn, bulked them up, and made them fight each other. What on earth would compel omegas to do such a thing?

Punishment.

There must have been a punishment for not fighting. Maybe even for losing. Hopefully someone could give him more information soon, so he could stop speculating and driving himself nuts. He wanted to speak to the other omegas, but he’d promised Aiko he’d stay put until he was seen by the OB.

Fuck it, that could be hours.

Liam swung his legs off the bed and gingerly stood on the cold tile. A pair of paper slippers and a cotton robe were in the small closet. He couldn’t put the robe on over his gown with his arm attached to tubes, so he tied it around his waist to keep his ass from flapping out the back of the gown. With one hand guiding the stand he was attached to, Liam crept into the corridor.

Six doors, three on each side. His room had an extra bed, and since there were only four of them, they must each have a private room. Fine by Liam. Even though he’d spent the last couple of months isolated, he didn’t want to be forced into close proximity with strangers.

He crossed the corridor and peeked into the room across from his. An omega his age was curled on his side facing the door, arms wrapped protectively around his very pregnant belly. He had the exact same wrist tattoos as Liam, and he was also silently crying; Liam wasn’t sure what to do. Comfort this stranger? Leave him in peace?

The omega decided for him by lifting his head, his red cheeks streaked with tears. “I don’t know you,” he said in a voice as soft and broken as Liam’s.

Liam wasn’t sure if opening with the fact that he’d never fought anyone was the right tactic. “Hi. I’m Liam.”

“I’m Brogan. Guess they hadn’t paired us up yet. I’m glad.”

“Yeah.” Liam was glad too, but for a very different reason. “Are you hurt?”

“Not really. Tired.”

Liam took another step into the room. “Have you been seen by this Dr. Troi yet?”

“No, but I wasn’t in the ring today. I think the hospital is prioritizing the two omegas who were in the fight when it was busted.”

“Oh.” Liam wanted to ask questions, but he also didn’t want Brogan to hate him for having never fought. “Uh, how far along are you?”

“Eight months.” Brogan caressed his stomach. “Is it horrible of me to say I’m not sure if I want to keep him?”

“No.” He took a chance on coming closer. Brogan had the same raspy voice, and it was getting hard to hear him. “I’ve had similar thoughts. Did Fynn…is he why you’re pregnant?”

Brogan scowled. “Not directly, but he was there. All those lies about being there to protect us and keep us safe until we mated, and he…fuck.” He turned his face into the pillow and started sobbing.

Liam went to him without thought. Their big bellies made hugging Brogan difficult, but Liam did his best, offering comfort to someone who was clearly suffering. “I know,” Liam said. “I know, me too.”

Brogan cried harder.