Chapter 94: Bounty Hunter Arc: Five
Lacy opened the door to her apartment, allowing her Alphas to enter. Salmona walked over to the window and looked out. The city of Ashley as bright and lively as ever. It was a beautiful city.
Samantha walked to the kitchen and leaned on the counter while Lacy went to sit on the couch. She held her hands in her lap, silent. No one talking, everyone just in their own thoughts. Especially now that all three had their orgasms.
The Omega looked at her Alpha, going from Samantha to Salmona, sighing.Salmona remained by the window, her fingers tracing the cool glass as Ashley’s lights blinked below. Street lamps cast long shadows across the room, painting stripes over Samantha’s tense shoulders where she leaned against the kitchen counter.
Lacy watched them both from the couch, she gripped her knees, waiting, anyone of them to talk. The silence wasn’t peaceful; it thickened the air, pressing down like humid summer heat before a storm.
Only the distant sound of traffic filtered through the glass as well as conversations taking place on the streets below, a reminder of the world continuing outside their stillness.
"How is Aurora?"
"Happy to see you," Samantha said to Lacy.
Lacy shook her head. "I’m not going back," she said with a firmness, one even the Alphas never heard before. Samantha exchanged looks with Salmona, placing her hands in her pocket and pacing back and forth.
Salmona turned from the window, her silhouette sharp against the city lights. She didn’t speak. Instead, her gaze locked onto Lacy, heavy with unspoken questions.
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating, broken only by the faint rustle of Samantha shifting her weight against the counter. Lacy stared at her own hands, fingers twisting in the fabric of her pants.
She traced the frayed edge of a seam, focusing on the tiny threads coming loose. Anything to avoid the weight of Salmona’s stare.
Salmona rubbed her chin, irritated by Lacy defying them, saying she wasn’t going back. She looked at Samantha but being the weaker one, Salmona walked over to Lacy and grabbed her by the wrist forcefully. She proceeded to drag Lacy to the door but the Omega screamed and kicked, she kicked Salmona in the knee, causing her to fall.
Lacy scurried back to the couch. When Salmona rose up, she was dead set on Lacy. She marched to Lacy but Samantha got in front of her, pushing her back.
"Stop it, stop it!" Samantha yelled out.
"Do you love me, Salmona?" Lacy screamed out.
"YES, OF COURSE I DO!"
"Then why do you treat me this way?" Lacy said, her eyes having tears at the corner of them.
"I...I..Omegas are supposed to listen to their Alphas. We want whats best for you."
"No, you want to lock me away. I’m staying here and if you refuse to it then then...Ill have Theresa duel you!"
The Alphas stopped in their tracks at hearing their mother’s name. For Theresa to duel them would mean Lacy would belong to her.
Salmona’s fingers curled into fists, knuckles crscking as the name hung between them like a blade. Theresa. Their mother. The only Alpha who could command their obedience.
Samantha’s breath hitched audibly, her hand flying to her throat as if warding off a blow. The silence returned, heavier now, charged with the ghosts of pack hierarchy and old wounds.
The twins thought back to when Theresa had beat them for beating Lacy, thought back to Theresa signing off on the papers so Lacy could have a food truck back in Hoshimura.
Salmona’s fist slammed against the wall, plaster dust drifting down like dirty snow. Her chest heaved. Samantha’s eyes darted between Salmona’s trembling shoulders and Lacy’s tear-streaked face. No one moved. The city lights blinked outside, indifferent, as if to say the world was still turning.
Samantha’s knuckles pressed hard against her lips, muffling the tremor in her breath. Dust motes danced in the slanted light from the window, catching on Salmona’s rigid silhouette. The air tasted like plaster and salt-Lacy’s tears drying on her cheeks. .
Salmona’s gaze cut to Samantha. A flicker of understanding passed between them, sharp, instinctual. Theresa’s name had carved the room open.
Memories surfaced: the sting of their mother’s palm across Salmona’s jaw, the cold click of the pen signing Lacy’s food truck permit, the way Theresa’s eyes had held disappointment deeper than any wound.
Salmona’s shoulders slumped, just slightly. The fight bled out of her, replaced by a weary tension that settled in the lines around her mouth.
Samantha stepped forward. "Lacy, we won’t hit you or beat you."
The Omega still shook her head. "I’m not leaving Samantha."
Samantha back away. She looked at Salmona, not sure of what else to say. "Let’s go."
"What?" Salmona said.
"Let’s get a hotel and think things over," Samantha suggested. She turned back to Lacy. "We’re not giving up."
Salmona hesitated, her jaw clenched tight. She glanced at Lacy, huddled on the couch, tear tracks glistening on her cheeks then back at Samantha. Her fingers twitched. She gave a sharp nod.
Samantha moved first. She turned toward the apartment door without another word, footsteps hollow on the wooden floor. Salmona followed, slower, her shoulders stiff. At the threshold, she paused.
Her gaze swept the room, the overturned coffee table, the dent in the wall where her fist had landed, Lacy’s trembling silhouette against the cushions. Then she stepped out, pulling the door shut with a soft, final click.
Click
!The door clicked shut. Silence rushed back in, thick and immediate, pressing against Lacy’s eardrums like cotton wool. She stayed frozen on the couch, staring at the dent in the plaster where Salmona’s fist had landed.
The air tasted stale, thick with the lingering scent of aggression and the sharp tang of plaster dust. Her own heartbeat thudded against her ribs, a frantic drum against the sudden stillness.
Lacy uncurled her fingers from the death grip on her skirt, watching the tremors run through her hands. The silence wasn’t empty; it echoed with Salmona’s slammed fist, Samantha’s choked breath, the ghostly scrape of Lacy’s own scream.
She pushed herself up, legs shaky, and walked to the dented wall. Her fingertips brushed the cracked plaster, cool and rough against her skin. The violence felt etched into the apartment now, another layer beneath the faded paint.
Outside, Samantha strode down the rain-slicked sidewalk, shoulders rigid beneath her coat. Salmona followed half a step behind, head lowered against the drizzle.
They had made a promise that they were not going to put their hands on Lacy anymore, but was defiant and determined. Something the Alphas hadn’t seen in a while.
Neon signs bled color across wet pavement, reds and blues smearing like cheap watercolors. The city’s heartbeat thrummed around them: tires hissing on asphalt, distant sirens wailing, the rhythmic thud of Salmona’s boots matching the pound of her own pulse in her temples.
The hotel lobby swallowed them whole, overly bright lights, the sterile scent of bleach and desperation clinging to cheap carpet. Samantha slid a credit card across the counter, her movements stiff, mechanical.
The clerk’s bored eyes flickered over them, registering nothing beyond the transaction. Keys jangled cold in Salmona’s palm as they turned toward the elevator. Silence stretched tighter than piano wire.
The next morning dawned brittle and cold. Pale sunlight filtered through the grimy apartment window, illuminating the bunnies of dust dancing above the dented wall. Lacy moved through the stillness like a ghost. She dressed mechanically, jeans, a faded band t-shirt, her apron already folded neatly in her worn backpack.
The silence pressed in, heavier than the lingering scent of plaster and stale tears. She avoided looking at the cracked plaster, the overturned coffee table still lying where Salmona had kicked it aside. Instead, she focused on the ritual: filling her water bottle, checking the small notebook where she tracked her daily prep list, lacing her boots tight.
The drive to Judy’s was a blur of damp pavement and early morning chill. Delivery trucks rumbled past bakeries just opening their doors, releasing clouds of warm, yeasty steam into the grey air.
Her fingers stayed buried deep in her coat pockets, knuckles still aching faintly from yesterday’s grip. Turning the corner onto the familiar street lined with brick storefronts, her steps faltered.
There they were. Salmona and Samantha stood beneath the faded green awning of Judy’s Diner, flanking the weathered wooden door. No tension coiled their shoulders; no anger tightened their jaws. Samantha leaned casually against the brickwork, arms crossed loosely, watching a sparrow hop along the curb.
Salmona’s gaze was fixed on the peeling gold lettering above the door, her expression unreadable but calm. The morning light softened their edges, casting long, quiet shadows on the sidewalk. They looked... waiting. Patient.
"You can stay," Samantha said.
Lacy was completely surprised by this announcement. "What?"
"You can stay, "Salmona said, "but...we’re staying with you. We gotta make preparations but we’ll be coming here for you." The Alpha finished.