Liam woke to Aiko gently nudging his shoulder, and it took him a moment to get his bearings. The bed next to him was empty, so Braun had gone home at some point during his nap.

“Sorry to wake you, hon,” Aiko said, “but there’s a constable who needs to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Liam finally noticed Tarek standing in the doorway. “You can come in.”

Tarek’s expression was serious, but also friendly. “Hello again, Liam.”

“Hey.” He used the bed controls to sit up higher, and that put pressure on his bladder. “Ugh, can you hold on a minute?”

“Of course.”

Aiko helped him stand so he could use the bathroom for the billionth time today. If it was this bad already, the next few months were really going to suck. Tarek was waiting alone when Liam returned. Liam perched on the edge of his bed, curious why Tarek was here.

“I need you to do another photo identification for me,” Tarek said.

“Okay.”

Tarek spread nine photos out on the rolling table like before, and Liam studied them one by one. He pulled two of them away from the others. Either man could have been the doctor who’d attended to Liam during his captivity, but they looked so damned alike. The doctor had possessed a coldness in his eyes that Liam disliked, as if the man simply didn’t like seeing patients. Or maybe Udall and Dent paid him not to care that he was participating in the mutilation and torture of young omegas.

Liam picked one up and stared at the man’s eyes. Cold. The other man’s eyes were not. “This one,” Liam said, handing over the first photo. “That’s the doctor I saw during my captivity.”

“That’s good, Liam, thank you. Everyone else has identified the same man. We have him in custody, but our evidence is somewhat flimsy at the moment, and he’s refusing to cooperate. These ID’s may get that icy veneer to crack.”

“I hope so.” Tarek’s words came back to him. “Everyone. Does that mean you talked to Brogan? How is he?”

“He’s back in his room, and he’s resting.”

“How’s the baby?”

“Still in NICU, but improving. They should both be okay.”

“I’m so glad.” Liam glanced at the clock on the wall. Not yet supper time. “I’d love to visit him. Brogan, I mean.”

“I don’t see why you can’t.” Tarek handed him the robe so Liam could tie it around his waist, and then Tarek knelt to help him into the paper slippers. The gestures were so kind that Liam kind of wanted to cry.

“Thank you,” Liam said. “You and Constable Higgs have been so kind through all this.” For the first time since waking, Liam was keenly aware that Higgs wasn’t there, and that Tarek had done the photo ID. It shouldn’t make him as sad as it did.

He’s got other cases and stuff to work on, too.

Or maybe he was staying away on purpose, because he’d felt the mating bond, and it was inappropriate in every way.

“In a perfect world,” Tarek said, “kindness would be our default mode, and no one should have to thank another for showing compassion.”

“Yeah.”

Liam shuffled across the hall to Brogan’s half-open door. Brogan was asleep, but seemed troubled. His face was pinched, his hands clutching the blanket near his chin. Liam went to him and rubbed Brogan’s shoulder. Slowly, Brogan’s face smoothed out and his fingers relaxed. Being around his omegin had always made Liam feel safe as a child, and he was glad be there for his new friend.

Tarek was gone, so Liam pulled a chair next to Brogan’s bed and waited, one hand holding Brogan’s. He’d started nodding off when Laine, another rescued omega, popped into the room. They’d chatted briefly yesterday, and all Liam really knew was Laine had been in two fights, and he was seven months along.

Laine stood behind Liam’s chair and put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s going to be okay, right?” Laine asked.

“That’s what everyone keeps saying,” Liam replied. “I hope it’s true.”

“No one is saying what will happen to us once the hospital discharges us. I don’t think I could stand another halfway house, especially not when I’m going to give birth in two months.”

“Don’t they have homes for unmated omegins?”

“Yeah, but they’re usually older omegins whose alpha has died, not teenagers impregnated against their wills.”

“True.” Liam reached up with is free hand to squeeze the one on his shoulder. “I can try talking to the senior constable in charge of the case. Maybe he’ll know.”

“Constable Higgs? He seems nice. Is it terrible of me to trust mated alphas more than unmated?”

Liam bit back what he knew about Higgs’s past, because that wasn’t his to share. Their conversation last night had been a bright beacon in an otherwise dismal evening. “No, it’s survival. When you’re omega, there’s no such thing as too careful.”

“True.”

Brogan groaned. His eyes squeezed shut before he blinked them open. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Liam said. “How do you feel?”

“Awful.” His hands slid down to his still-distended abdomen. “Fuck, I miss my baby. I haven’t been able to hold him yet.”

“You will soon. He’s getting the care he needs so he’s strong enough to come to you.”

Brogan sniffled and wiped at his eyes. “I was so scared today, Liam. So scared. Thank you for being there for me.”

“Of course.” Liam stood so he could kiss Brogan’s cheek. “You’re my friend. We all need to stick together.”

“Agreed,” Laine said.

As if sensing the unofficial group gathering, their fourth omega waddled into the room. Eight months like Brogan had been, Jaysan was heavily pregnant and already out of breath by the time he sat in Liam’s vacated chair. Liam and Laine sat on either side of Brogan’s bed, and they all joined hands in a linked circle.

“I know we just met,” Liam said, “but I think it’s important we stand up for each other. We don’t have any other advocate here, other than maybe Constables Higgs and Bloom.”

“The law isn’t exactly on our side,” Jaysan said. “Even though we were all taken by an alpha during heat, none of us felt the mating bond, and we don’t even know who our abusers are, so none of us have the legal protection of an alpha. The courts get to decide what happens to us now.”

“Surely after the bust of Fynn’s house, they wouldn’t give us to anyone who wasn’t thoroughly vetted.”

Brogan snorted. “Wouldn’t you have assumed Fynn was thoroughly vetted.”

Liam frowned, but that was a good point.

“Why bother wondering?” Laine asked. “We don’t get a choice about where we go, so can’t we talk about something more pleasant? Brogan, what are you naming your son?”

“I don’t know,” Brogan replied. “I’d like to meet the little man before I name him, you know?”

“Makes sense.”

“Hopefully, you’ll see him soon,” Liam said.

They were still sitting like that, a silent circle of support, when Aiko came in to check Brogan’s incision, which cleared the room. Dinner would arrive soon, so Liam returned to his room and picked up one of the newspapers Braun had dropped off that morning. Goddess, but had that really all happened in one day? Meeting Braun, Brogan’s delivery, seeing Higgs again and being comforted by him.

Would Higgs stop by and visit him again tonight? He hoped so, but the man did have a job and a family, and maybe he didn’t have extra time for one lowly omega bearing another man’s offspring.

No sense in wallowing in that right now.

Liam unfolded the paper and started catching up on the world he’d been shielded from for the last six months.

* * *

Five identifications by all five omegas didn’t do anything to break Rajel’s cold, uncompromising exterior. During questioning the next day, he seemed confident that even if charges were filed, nothing would stick or even go to trial. Which meant the constabulary had to keep digging, and that meant going into all Rajel’s financials.

But even Isa had to admit the man was smart. Rajel didn’t bank with Bellair Financial and had no ties to Jo Ferral that they could find, which meant Rajel had no direct link to Mad Dog Productions, which had done all its financial transactions through Ferral. And when questioned, Ferral swore up and down he knew nothing about the actual fight ring operation, all he did was see the numbers.

It ended in a frustrating as hell day for Isa, and after stopping for a quick takeout dinner, he found himself once again in the hospital isolation ward. He told himself he was there to visit the omegas, especially young Brogan, but that was mostly a lie. His intense desire to see Liam again kept his visits with the other omegas brief, and then he was knocking on Liam’s mostly-shut door.

“Come in.” Liam’s voice barely made it to Isa’s ears, and that broke his heart every single time.

Isa pushed the door open and stepped inside. Liam was in bed surrounded by newspaper pages, and he visibly perked up when he saw Isa. “Good evening,” Isa said.

“Hey, you’re here.”

“I wanted to see how everyone was doing. You had an active day yesterday.”

“No kidding.” Liam cleared off a spot on his bed. “Please, sit. I’ve spent today getting caught up on the news. Goddess, but so much has happened. I’ll have to go live in the library for a week to catch up on everything I’ve missed.”

“Quite a lot has happened.” Isa eased onto the bed, and the tension from his day unwound under the caress of Liam’s scent. “How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted, mostly. It’s hard not to worry about what will happen after the hospital discharges us, but there’s also no sense in worrying, because I don’t have a choice.”

“What if you did have a choice?”

Liam tilted his head. “But we don’t.”

Isa pulled on an idea that had been floating in the back of his mind all day. “I imagine you and your friends won’t trust another halfway house, or be comfortable there, given your pregnancies.”

“No, we won’t be. None of us. We’ve talked about it.”

“As you know, Sansbury Province has somewhat relaxed laws when it comes to unmated omegas and guardianship. For example, a mated alpha can apply for custody of an unmated omega, or if a beta couple wishes to take one in, an alpha, mated or not, can sign off on being responsible for the omega in their care.”

Liam nodded along. “Yes, I’ve heard of those laws.” His eyes flashed with something kind of like hope. “Would you try to place us with beta couples?”

“Or a mated alpha/omega couple, yes, that was my general idea. You’d have a more stable home life and a support system after your babies are born.”

“Babies?” Liam looked at his stomach in horror.

“I mean collective babies. Your group, not that you’re having more than one.” Multiples were incredibly rare, because of anatomy restrictions and the body’s inability to properly nurture more than one fetus at a time.

“Oh.” Liam relaxed against his pillows. “For a second, I thought you knew something I didn’t.”

“Of course not. I’d never violate your privacy.”

“I know. You’re a good man, Constable Higgs.”

“I’m here as a friend right now, Liam. If you’re comfortable, please call me Isa.”

“Isa.”

He liked how his name sounded when Liam said it. “But what do think about my idea? We’d even let you guys meet your potential host family and make a choice about living with them.”

“Are you serious?”

“Perfectly.”

“How do you even find volunteers for something like that?”

“One way is through the adoption network. Beta couples who wish to adopt are carefully screened and vetted, so they would be trustworthy candidates. And if any of you plan to put your child up for adoption after birth, you’d be part of the network already.” Mated alpha/omega couples would be more difficult to vet, but his omegas would most likely be more comfortable with betas than around another alpha. The only reason Isa had brought that possibility up was because he wanted to take Liam home with him.

Which is a very, very bad idea.

Still, he hoped he’d planted the seed in Liam’s mind.

“I don’t know if I want to keep my baby or not,” Liam said. “I really don’t. On one hand, he’s a reminder of what happened to me, but on the other, he’s part of me, too.”

“You don’t have to know that right now, Liam. As I’ve said, you have time to make your decision.”

“You’d think I’d know if I want it or not, because the pregnancy was forced on me. But because it was during the lust-drunk craziness of heat, I don’t have any really traumatic memories to associate with the ordeal.”

“Hey.” Isa squeezed Liam’s nearest hand and nearly sighed at the simple contact. “A man penetrated you without permission, and heat or no heat, that’s rape. It doesn’t have to be violent, bloody, or dramatic for it to still be a traumatic experience.”

“I guess. I don’t—oh. He’s kicking again.” Liam brought Isa’s hand to the side of his belly for a second time, and Isa smiled as the tiny child gave a mighty kick.

“He’s a fighter, this little one,” Isa said. “Just like his omegin.”

Liam wilted, his hand falling away. “I didn’t fight anyone. Not like the others.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Liam.” He reluctantly pulled his hand from Liam’s belly, because it seemed inappropriate now. “You fought to stay alive while held captive. You fought to stay present and stay sane, to face whatever was going to come next. You fought for Brogan this morning, and something tells me you’d fight any comer to make sure you and your friends stay safe.”

Isa’s words worked, because Liam brightened again. “I would fight anyone to keep us all safe. It’s not fair how omegas are treated sometimes. I read an editorial in one of the papers about that trial you mentioned. The Iverson trial, and how it’s changing the way a lot of people, especially betas, see the imbalance in alpha/omega couples.”

“Kell Iverson’s trial was an extreme example, but he’s far from the only omega who’s been abused by his alpha.”

Liam eyed him, a new wariness in his expression. “You were never abusive to your mate, were you?”

“Goddess, no, never. I loved Herris, and we were able to create a balanced relationship and a happy home. I’ve never understood men who hit their spouse, alpha or beta. It’s unfathomable to me.”

“I believe you. I’m sorry I had to ask.”

“I understand where it comes from. You need to protect yourself and your baby. Assess potential threats. But I promise, Liam, I only want what’s best for you.”

Me. I’m what’s best for you. I can take care of you.

“I know,” Liam said. “You are one of exactly two alphas I trust right now.”

“Then I’m honored. When your trust is broken, it isn’t an easy thing to offer again.”

“No, it’s not.” Liam ducked his head a bit, then looked up from beneath a fan of thick, black eyelashes. “I feel safe with you, Isa. And with Constable Bloom.”

“Bloom is a good man and an exemplary alpha. I wish more were like him.”

“And like you.”

Isa fought against ingrained instincts that told him to hug Liam, kiss him, show him that Isa wanted him. That despite having mated once, he felt the bond with Liam. He fought the urge to promise him safety and love and unerring support, because Isa didn’t want Liam to feel some obligation to accept his offer. He honestly wasn’t sure if Liam reciprocated the mating bond, because he’d never heard of an omega feeling one while pregnant.

Not that he’d questioned a lot of omegas about such a thing, but the vast majority of omegas mated before becoming pregnant. Maybe Liam couldn’t feel it yet, because of the child in his belly. But why would the goddess bless Isa with two mates in his lifetime? Why was he so special?

“I do my best to set an example for the young alphas I work with,” Isa said. He was especially proud of the change he’d seen in Karter Jenks in the last six months. Jenks had completed his constable training and been assigned to Isa’s division, and the guy had been an alphahole-in-training, with some of his narrow-minded, conservative views. But working with Bloom, and seeing firsthand what unleashed alphas could do to their mates during the Kell Iverson trial, had changed Jenks. He’d become a better man, mature enough to mate with Jax Orris last month.

Liam was quiet a moment, his expression pensive, before he asked, “They’ll never find the alphas who raped us, will they?”

“I don’t know. So far, we haven’t been able to trace them using Lawry’s financial records, so if they weren’t being paid, those alphas were doing Lawry favors. But he isn’t talking, so there’s no telling who they were, or why he brought those specific alphas to the house.”

“And if it was just random guys off the street, we’ll never know.”

“That’s unfortunately true. As much as I’m loathed to admit it, not every case is solved to our satisfaction. I’d love to be able to tell you that the alpha who hurt you is off the street, but I can’t. Not yet.”

More than anything, Isa wanted to find the man who’d abused Liam and make him pay with blood and tears, but Liam couldn’t give a good description, or remember much about his scent, thanks to the haze of heat. Heat was when omegas were most vulnerable, and Lawry had taken advantage of that over and over.

Oh, how he longed to go to Lawry’s jail cell and show the man exactly what Isa thought of him and his cruelty toward young men he’d been trusted to protect.

“It means a lot that you want to, though,” Liam said. “A hell of a lot.”

Isa nearly asked Liam to move in with him then and there, but he resisted. Before he made that offer, he needed to speak to his sons, especially Demir. He needed Demir to understand that he wasn’t bringing a new omega into their home as a substitute for Herris. There was no substitute for his kind, nurturing, late mate. None. No, Isa wanted to give Liam a safe home in which to live, until he gave birth, and eventually found a mate of his own.

He just needed to convince himself of that, and that he had no ulterior motives.

“I should get going,” Isa said. “Family obligations and all.”

“Of course. You’ve had an active couple of days, too. Enjoy your family time.” The pain in Liam’s eyes made Isa do something he probably shouldn’t have—he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

Liam shivered, but didn’t move from the soft touch.

“Good night, Liam,” Isa said.

“Night.”

Liam watched Higg—no, Isa. He could use the man’s first name now. He watched Isa leave with a small sense of despair. Not only for losing the man’s comforting presence and scent, but because Isa was going home to see his family, while Liam’s family was dead.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d found a new sort of family with Brogan, Laine, and Jaysan. And while he hadn’t yet met the omega up in ICU, he was family, too. Liam’s brothers-in-arms, because they had a battle yet to fight. But Isa’s idea to have them each taken in by a beta couple intrigued him, because it demonstrated forethought. Isa actively cared what happened to each of them when they left the hospital.

But what if it’s not really us? What if he doesn’t want the constabulary to face another scandal if there’s another Fynn Lawry out there selling omegas?

Liam didn’t want to believe that was the reason. Isa seemed like a genuine man, and Liam couldn’t deny his attraction. Or the fact that one simple kiss on the head had sent a blast of arousal through him. But he simply couldn’t tell if it had been a paternal kiss, or if Isa felt the mating bond, too. And he was too much of a coward to ask.

He didn’t think he could stand it if Isa said no.