Chapter 79 Second Rescue
Three days after Thomas Reed’s visit, young Sera decided to help the second omega who had asked for help.
Her name was Diana. She was twenty-three years old. Her Alpha had promised to mate with her, then changed his mind and wanted to sell her to another pack instead.
Diana’s message had been desperate. She wrote that the sale was happening in one week. After that, she would be gone. Trapped in another territory with no way to escape.
Young Sera called a meeting with her advisors.
“We need to move quickly,” young Sera said. “Diana does not have much time.”
“Where is she located?” Garrett asked.
“The Mountain Ridge Pack. About six hours from here. The Alpha there is named Robert Stone. He is not as cruel as the Riverside Alpha, but he treats omegas like property. He thinks selling Diana is normal business.”
“How do we approach this?” Lyra asked. “We cannot just show up and demand he release her. That worked with Riverside because their Alpha was scared. Robert Stone might not be scared of us.”
“Then we make him scared,” young Sera said.
Kael looked at her carefully. “What are you thinking?”
“I am thinking we use my reputation. Everyone knows I killed Victor Kane. Everyone knows I rescued the Riverside sisters. We use that. We make it clear that fighting me is more trouble than Diana is worth.”
“That could backfire,” Mora warned. “If Robert feels threatened, he might hurt Diana before we can get to her. Scared people do desperate things.”
Young Sera had not thought of that. Her plan could put Diana in more danger instead of less.
“What if we offer to buy her?” young Sera asked. “Like Thomas suggested for the Riverside sisters. I hated that idea then, but maybe it is the fastest way to save Diana.”
“How much money are we talking about?” Garrett asked.
“The buyer was offering thirty thousand dollars. If we offer forty thousand, Robert might take our offer instead.”
Kael nodded slowly. “That could work. We send a message. Make it seem like a business transaction. No threats. No politics. Just money.”
“But that rewards him for selling an omega,” young Sera protested. “That tells him he can keep doing this.”
“Yes,” Kael agreed. “But it also gets Diana to safety quickly. Sometimes we have to choose between justice and speed. This time, speed is more important.”
Young Sera hated it. Hated paying money to an Alpha who treated omegas like things to be bought and sold. But Mora was right about scared people. If Robert felt threatened, Diana could get hurt.
“Fine,” young Sera said. “We offer to buy her. But after Diana is safe, we start building a case against Robert. We gather evidence of his other crimes. We make sure he faces consequences eventually.”
“Agreed,” Kael said. “Garrett, draft the message. Make it professional. Businesslike. Make it seem like we are just another buyer, not the Northern Kingdom coming for justice.”
Over the next two days, they negotiated with Robert Stone. Back and forth messages about price and terms. Robert drove a hard bargain. He wanted forty-five thousand dollars, not forty thousand. He wanted guarantees that Diana would not speak against him after the sale.
Young Sera wanted to refuse. Wanted to tell Robert exactly what she thought of him. But she controlled herself. Focused on saving Diana, not on punishing Robert.
Finally, they reached an agreement. Forty-three thousand dollars. Diana would be released to Northern Kingdom custody. The transaction would happen in neutral territory in three days.
“I am going,” young Sera announced when Kael started planning who would go to the exchange.
“That is not necessary. Garrett can handle the exchange.”
“Diana asked me personally for help. She should see that I came. That the Luna Queen cares enough to be there.”
“It could be dangerous. Robert might try something.”
“Then we bring enough warriors that trying something would be stupid. But I am going.”
Kael looked like he wanted to argue. But he just nodded. “Fine. But you follow Garrett’s security protocols. No taking risks.”
The next three days felt long. Young Sera kept worrying that something would go wrong. That Robert would change his mind. That Diana would be sold to the other buyer before they could save her.
But finally the day came.
They left early in the morning. Kael stayed behind to manage the pack. Garrett led the group. Lyra commanded the warriors. Young Sera rode in the middle vehicle, protected on all sides.
The exchange location was a public park on the border between territories. Neutral ground where both parties could meet safely.
When they arrived, Robert Stone was already waiting.
He was an older Alpha. Maybe fifty years old. Grey hair. Cold eyes. He stood beside a young woman who looked terrified.
Diana was small and thin. She had red hair and green eyes that were red from crying. She kept her head down. Her shoulders hunched. Everything about her body language said she expected to be hurt.
Young Sera’s heart ached seeing her.
“Luna Queen Sera,” Robert said, his voice neutral. “I did not expect you to come personally.”
“Diana asked me for help. I wanted her to know I heard her.”
Robert looked surprised. Like he had not expected young Sera to care about an omega’s feelings.
“Well. Here she is. Do you have the payment?”
Garrett handed over a bank transfer confirmation. Forty-three thousand dollars moved from Northern Kingdom accounts to Robert’s pack funds.
Robert checked the transfer on his phone. Confirmed the money was there. Then he nodded.
“She is yours. Take her.”
Diana looked up for the first time. Her eyes met young Sera’s. Hope and fear mixed.
“You can come with us now,” young Sera said gently. “You are safe. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”
Diana took a hesitant step forward. Then another. Then she was running. Running toward young Sera and safety and freedom.
Young Sera caught her as Diana crashed into her arms. The omega was crying. Shaking. Holding onto young Sera like she was the only solid thing in the world.
“Thank you,” Diana sobbed. “Thank you thank you thank you. I thought no one would come. I thought I was going to be sold and trapped forever.”
“I came. And you are safe now. I promise.”
Robert watched this with a strange expression. Like he could not understand why young Sera would care so much about an omega she had never met.
“Is that all?” Robert asked.
“One more thing,” young Sera said, still holding Diana. “I am building a network. An organisation that protects omegas from abuse. It will have safe houses. Legal support. People who respond when omegas ask for help. I am telling you about it so you know. The next time you try to sell an omega who does not want to be sold, that network will be there. And it will be harder than just paying money to make me go away.”
Robert’s expression darkened. “Are you threatening me?”
“No. I am informing you. There is a difference. You can keep treating omegas like property if you want. But there will be consequences. Maybe not today. Maybe not this year. But eventually.”
“You cannot change centuries of tradition with one network.”
“Maybe not. But I can try. My grandmother tried. Now I am trying. And eventually we will succeed.”
Robert looked at young Sera for a long moment. Then he shook his head. “You are too young to understand how the world works. Too idealistic. That idealism will get you hurt.”
“Maybe. But at least I will be hurt trying to do the right thing. That is better than getting comfortable doing the wrong thing.”
They left before Robert could respond. Diana sat between young Sera and Maya in the vehicle. She was still crying. Still shaking. But also smiling. Free for the first time in years.
“What happens now?” Diana asked.
“Now you come to the Northern Kingdom. You get your own room. You meet with healers who will help you recover. You decide what you want to do with your life. You are free to make your own choices.”
“Can I stay at the Northern Kingdom? I do not have anywhere else to go.”
“You can stay as long as you want. Forever if you choose. We have other omegas who found sanctuary with us. You will not be alone.”
The drive back felt lighter. Diana gradually stopped crying. Started asking questions about the Northern Kingdom. About young Sera. About what her life would be like now.
By the time they arrived home, Diana looked less terrified. Still scared. Still traumatised. But hopeful too.
Maya took Diana to get settled. Showed her the room that would be hers. Introduced her to Sarah and her sisters who had been rescued from Riverside.
Young Sera watched them go, feeling the weight of another life saved. Another omega who would have been sold and trapped if young Sera had not acted.
But there was still one more case waiting. One more omega is asking for help.
And Thomas Reed was still out there. Still planning something. Still waiting for his chance.
Young Sera pushed those worries aside for now. Tonight she would celebrate saving Diana. Tomorrow she would worry about everything else.
Kai found her in the garden after dinner.
“Two down, one to go,” Kai said, sitting beside her.
“The third case is the hardest. An omega named Michelle. She is being forced to mate with an Alpha she does not want. The wedding is in two weeks. I do not know how to stop a forced mating ceremony.”
“You will figure it out. You figured out how to save Sarah’s sisters. You figured out how to save Diana. You will figure this out too.”
“What if I cannot? What if Michelle gets forced into a bond she does not want because I failed to save her?”
“Then you tried your best and it was not enough. But trying and failing is still better than not trying at all.”
Young Sera leaned against Kai. Drew strength from him. He always knew what to say to make things feel manageable.
“Thank you for believing in me,” young Sera said.
“Always. That is what I am here for.”
That night, young Sera dreamed of her grandmother.
They were in the garden again. Roses blooming all around them.
“You are doing well,” her grandmother said.
“I am trying. But it is so hard. There are so many omegas who need help. I cannot save them all.”
“No one can save everyone. But you can save someone. And everyone matters. Diana is free because of you. Sarah and her sisters are safe because of you. That is worth celebrating.”
“But Michelle is still trapped.”
“Then save Michelle too. One omega at a time. One rescue at a time. That is how we change the world. Not all at once. But piece by piece. Person by person.”
Young Sera woke feeling more centred. More focused.
Her grandmother was right. She could not save everyone. But she could save the omegas who asked for help. Could build the network that would eventually help more.
Two weeks until Michelle’s forced wedding.
Two weeks to figure out how to stop it.
Two weeks to prove that Luna Queens could protect omegas even from traditions that had existed for centuries.
Young Sera got out of bed and started planning.
She had work to do.
Omegas to save.
A world to change.
One rescue at a time.