My mind went to a blank place as the men said they were here to rescue me. That I was safe.

I didn't believe it.

"I'm gonna have to take him out in a fireman's carry, we need to get him out of here. I think between Levi's bullet and our rushing the room, we must have pushed the kid into his happy place—wherever the fuck that could possibly be."

I wished I had a happy place. Blank was all I could manage. The only time I felt anything close to happiness was when they'd shot me up with something, and I couldn't handle that idea. I'd only thought of one thing for the last twenty-four hours: protecting the life growing inside me. If they managed to drug me, that meant I failed.

Arms did lift me up, though, and then I was staring down someone's back, looking right down at the dead man. I couldn't look at him. I had to look anywhere else.

The only other thing in my view was the carpet. How had I not noticed its terrible mustard and ketchup diamond pattern? Then the man carrying me shifted, and we were moving. The bouncing movement did nothing to settle my mind or my vision.

We lunged over something, and then I saw Soup Strainer lying on the floor, his eyes glassy, staring up at the ceiling, his face covered in blood. That mustache probably wouldn't strain so well with the blood drying in it.

This was one fucked-up trip. I had to come down at some point, though. Highs never lasted forever, no matter what drug they used. But this was a strange trip—everything was so steady. But I didn't recognize any of these guys—except the dead ones. I didn't normally picture them dead when I was tripping...

Suddenly, I slid backward as the man dropped me into his arms, then hoisted me into a van. He climbed in after me, then slid the side door shut. The van moved in stops and starts, and on one of the stops, the front passenger door opened, a man jumped in, and then the van took off in earnest.

The new man smelled amazing—like memories of home and holidays—things I hadn't thought of in years. I wanted to climb forward for a better scent, but that might change the flow—the scent might disappear. I wasn't willing to risk that. I just wanted to hide in those memories forever.

We transferred to a plane, two rows of seats pressed against the walls of the plane's body, and I ended up across from the good-smelling man. The scent had only intensified. He met my gaze evenly, and I let myself get lost in his eyes, barely blinking for fear he would suddenly disappear. Then my stomach grumbled, and he broke the connection—but only for a minute. He pulled out a bag from underneath his seat, retrieved a small bar, and tossed it to me.

Thankfully, it landed in my lap. I doubted I could have caught it. I picked it up cautiously. It was a protein chocolate bar.

Suddenly ravenous, I tore into the package, swallowing the bar in three bites.

Something about this man who smelled like home seemed so real. I focused on him, feeling anchored by his presence. He smiled at me and let me look my fill.

When the plane landed, I stayed in my seat while the others started unbuckling. I watched as they pulled the two drugged omegas from the plane, carrying them over their shoulders. Like I'd been carried, I realized.

I started at a hand on my shoulder, flinching away from the touch, but it was my anchor. He paused, and I relaxed. Without a word, he slowly unbuckled me and slid his arm under my knees, silently communicating each movement before he committed.

"For the love of Mama C's meatloaf, Levi, hurry up. Just sling him over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes and let's wrap this shindig up."

The man's chest rumbled where he held me against it. "Shut your piehole, Ezra. Sometimes I wonder who thought it was a good idea to train you up and send you out on rescue missions. You have the empathy of a gnat."

"Oh, come now, Levi! I have at least as much empathy as a squirrel."

"You have the attention span of a squirrel," my anchor—Levi—grumbled.

This wasn't a hallucination. I wasn't making this conversation up. This was real... wasn't it?

I reached out and ran my finger over the leather of Levi's jacket. Down the rough teeth of its zipper. This was very real. I buried my face in his jacket, clinging to its fabric. It had worked—the phone call had worked! I was safe. My baby was safe!

"Good job today, men."

I didn't recognize that voice, but I recognized the tone of authority. “Boomer, Zeke—get those two to medical. Levi, I can take Cody to Papa, if you want to head home."

Levi—leave me? I scrambled to clutch him closer, not able to speak, fear overwhelming me. Levi whispered calming words in my ears, words I couldn't process, but his tone reached through my panic and eased my fear.

"I'm not going to leave you," I finally heard him say clearly.

"Okay, then." The leader's voice was amused. "Follow me, Levi."

I relaxed in Levi's arms, my fear finally fading enough for my interest to perk up and start processing information. First things first, beyond smelling absolutely amazing, I could tell Levi was an alpha. I hadn't been around an actual alpha in so long. Were all alphas this comforting?

A second scent was all it took to tell me the answer was no. His leader was also an alpha, but I had no desire to crawl up into his arms and live there.

Instead of going into the big building we'd landed near, we started across the grass, over a hill, and up to a two-story, well-kept house. The leader opened the door without knocking, and we followed him in.

"This must be Cody," a gentle voice exclaimed. "Jonah called ahead." The speaker was an older man, an omega, and he had kind eyes.

"Of course, he did," the leader said, dropping his bag to the floor.

Levi dropped the arm supporting my legs as if to set me down as well, but I wasn't ready for that. "Stop," I commanded desperately. Levi froze, then his arm returned to support my legs.

"Why don't you sit?" the older man said.

After a nod from me, Levi chose an armchair and settled me on his lap, moving his arm from under my legs to circle my waist. I liked this even better than him carrying me. And I was grateful he'd chosen the chair and not the couch. I wasn't ready to be that close to other people yet.

The older man dropped down to one knee beside us, so his head was level with mine. "I'm Justin, Cody. But you can call me Papa P if you prefer—everyone else does."

I nodded shyly, a little surprised that everyone knew my name, even though I had been the one to call them and tell them where to look for me.

"Can I get you some water? Or some food?"

I shook my head. Levi opened his mouth to say something, but a small, loud omega burst into the room at that moment. "Where's that mate of mine? I need to give him his reward kiss for not getting hurt."

The leader swung the small omega up in his arms and kissed him passionately, and I watched with unabashed interest. I had a lot of experience in the sex department—too much—but this open eagerness between both men was something I hadn't seen.

And then I realized a woman had come in behind them. In her arms was a baby.

Not a newborn, but a baby nonetheless.

"That's Preston, Noah's mate," Levi said quietly in my ear. "And Preston's mom, Cindy, is holding their daughter Amy. Well, her name is Amelia, but we call her Amy. Drives Preston nuts."

Noah finally set Preston down, but my eyes were completely focused on the baby.

"I'm going to go find Dad and report in—you all good here?" Noah asked.

"No need to find me." Another man entered the room, an older version of Noah. "I'm right here."

I couldn't take my eyes off Amy. My fingers finally unlatched their clawed hold on Levi's jacket. "Is it okay if I...?"

Levi followed my gaze. "Oh! Hey, Preston, is it okay if Cody holds Amy?"

I barely breathed while Preston took his little girl from his mother's arms and brought her to me. "Be careful," he warned me. "She's a heart stealer. If she tries to leap out of your arms, feel free to set her on the floor."

I nodded, leaning forward to sniff her head. She was bright and clean, like a baby should be. Was I really going to have one of these? Was I really free and safe?

Yes, I told myself, feeling Levi's comforting presence surrounding me. I didn't know these people yet, but I could tell they were different from the men who had kept me captive for years. They had nothing in common with the men who had used me for years. And Levi...

I wasn't sure what it was, but there was something special about him.