Author's Note

Hello, everyone! I had such good feedback, it took my breath away. I'm so glad you all liked it. In fact, there's even been a request for some fan art of Liv in the raptor puppy pile at the end. Now, I'm not that good of an artist, but if any of you would like to take on the job, be my guest. I will even make the picture the cover photo for this story.

Alright, now for the chapter you all have been waiting for. I won't keep you waiting any longer.

Go onward and enjoy!

Truth

Owen's fingers tap impatiently on the handlebars as he drives his bike down the service road towards the Research Center, wishing to go faster but that would be dangerously stupid on these roads, especially with no helmet. He texted Liv last night, asking if she wanted to go out to the paradise again tomorrow, but she never answered. He even tried calling but it just went to voicemail. A pebble of unease is rolling around in the pit of his stomach but he's probably, hopefully, overreacting. She was probably already asleep by then and she's still sleeping now. She is a teenager, after all. Her sixteenth birthday was only a couple weeks ago. Teenagers like to sleep late.

But she always answers her phone because she knows how he worries. Right now, he's worrying that Vic has done something to her, again, and again Owen wasn't able to protect her.

The sight of Liv's ATV already parked in front of the Research Center should be a relief but for some reason it isn't. Liv has never gotten here before him, not even during the internship when she was required to get here early. He gets here at seven-thirty every day and the earliest he's ever asked her to get here was eight. What would make her get here early?

Liv isn't the only early one he sees as he parks his bike. Barry's ATV is already here and their college intern, Matt, is just climbing up to the catwalk to get eyes on their ladies to see how they're doing this morning. The others should be arriving soon though. He hops off his bike, thinking he'll probably find Liv in the Center with Barry, when a cry of alarm stops him cold.

"Help! Somebody help!" a voice yells and the intern appears at the top of the stairs, eyes rounded in horror so that the whites of his eyes can be seen even from where Owen is standing.

"What's going on?" Barry asks, bursting out through the doors of the Research Center.

"T-There's someone in the paddock," the intern stammers. "They're in the nest and the raptors are in there with them!"

"Who?" Owen asks, already rounding the paddock to get to the cage. "Can you tell if they're alive?"

"I-I can't tell but…I think it's that girl. Liv Hoskins."

The pebble in his stomach turns into a boulder and drops.

Before he can even think it his feet are running, but when he makes it to the cage he comes to a jarring halt and stares, not wanting to believe.

The outer door is, thankfully, locked up tight but the inner gate is wide open. Either the raptors somehow figured out a way to reach the button on their own or….

"Oh, Liv, what did you do?" Owen whispers, mind-numbing fear tearing at his chest. He lunges for the keypad but before he can start punching in the numbers Barry catches his arm.

"Owen, what do you think you are doing?" Barry asks in alarm. "You can't go in there!"

"I have to get her out," Owen says, voice hard, and shrugs Barry off him.

"Owen," Barry places a hand on his shoulder, gentle this time, his face full of sadness and sympathy. "She is surely dead, Owen. There is nothing you can do for her by going in there. You will only get yourself killed as well."

Owen grits his teeth, forcing those words out of his head. "I'm going in there," he insists, typing out the code and opening the outer door. "I'm getting her out…one way or another."

The soft drumming sound is what wakes her. There's a steady thrumming in her ear, almost like a heartbeat, but it can't be Liv's heartbeat. It's much too fast. And that bright light. Her eyes scrunch up against it, face turning into her pillow. What did she do, fall asleep without turning off the lights?

Wait, why is her pillow moving?

With that, the memories finally resurface. She spent the night with the raptors. After Vic beat her and then locked her in the paddock. Obviously, he didn't report it, just like she knew he wouldn't, but she pushes those thoughts away. There's no need to face this day yet. She is quite comfy with her raptors. Who knew a pile of hay and a Blue-shaped pillow could be so comfortable?

Based on their auras, the raptor squad is already awake but none of them have moved from their bed yet either, not wanting to disturb her. She'd feel guilty about that but they feel just as content as she does. Her lips pull up into a small smile. Guess raptors can be lazy, too.

Then someone starts shouting and she groans internally. So much for sleeping in.

One of the raptors move at the sound, Delta maybe? She can't remember who ended up on what side, only that Charlie's head is still pillowed in her lap. Surprisingly, her legs haven't fallen asleep, the weight not being as heavy and uncomfortable as she thought it would be.

There's some more yelling, the clang of the outer door unlocking, and then the fast footfalls and rustling of someone running through the jungle towards them. Whoever it is stops several feet away and then she hears Owen's rough, terrified voice, "Liv?"

That gets her eyes to open. Why does Owen sound terrified?

She peers blearily at him and he certainly does look terrified, his entire body tense and his hands clenched at his sides. "Hey, Owen," she says, voice groggy with sleep. "What's up?"

"Oh, thank God," he breathes, sagging in relief. "I-I thought you were dead."

Her brow furrows in confusion. She's doesn't know what time it is but she's still pretty sure it's too early in the morning for this. "Why in the world would you think that? If I was dead because of these four I would be in pieces. Or at least bloody." She shrugs, still too lazy to be bothered to get up and the four raptors feeling the same isn't helping. "Besides, it's not like they'd ever actually intentionally hurt me. I'm pack. We've already established this."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything, Liv," Owen says, starting to get frustrated as his terror gives way to anger. "They could still turn on you in a heartbeat if they feel like it. Just because you're pack, that doesn't mean they won't. What are you even doing in here? How did you get in here?"

Her mouth clamps shut into a thin line. She doesn't know how to answer that question. She doesn't know the key code. He knows that. He's always been careful not to let her find out what it is. Any answer that doesn't involve outside help, he isn't going to believe.

Echo growls at Owen, getting to her feet but not moving from Liv's side. She must sense Liv's growing anxiety and has established Owen as the cause. Not entirely accurate, but Echo has always been the shoot first, ask questions later type. The others stand as well, forcing Liv to sit up. They're not growling like Echo, simply staring on, but they are willing to back her up if something happens.

"Whoa, easy, Echo!" Owen tells the raptor, holding his hand out, palm out, and not backing away, though he is a lot more cautious. He looks Echo in the eye, still very much aware of the others, and exuding the authority of alpha that Liv can see pulsing directly along the bond. "Come on, ladies. I am not a threat, I'm your alpha. And please don't prove me right by eating me anyway."

After one last growl, though nowhere near as fierce, Echo lowers her head a little in submission. Owen lowers his hand and straightens, still wary but knowing the immediate danger is past. Liv can tell he still doesn't trust that they won't eat him given the chance, but that's more through experience than actual distrust. If this research project was on tigers and not Velociraptors, then that would definitely be the case. Tigers wouldn't care. Owen could have made himself alpha to them and they would tolerate it, but they would just as soon eat him as listen to him in a situation like this, if he was ever this close to them without cage bars in between.

But the raptor squad is different. For one thing, they're far more intelligent. They're the most intelligent animals on the planet. And they share a bond, with not only Owen but her as well. The pack bond has grown stronger than what should be possible for humans and wild animals to share. But it's there, beating in time with their loyalty, and it tells Liv that they will never harm Liv or their alpha.

Sighing, Liv stands and places a soothing hand on Echo's neck. Deep down, Echo knows Owen would never hurt her, but after last night, all of them are a little on edge. They're scared someone will try to hurt her again. "It's okay, ladies," she coos softly. "Owen is just worried is all. He won't hurt me."

Owen looks between them curiously, that worry evident on his face. "What happened, Liv? How did you get in here and what's got them so on edge?"

Liv doesn't look at him, just focuses on her hand stroking along Echo's hide. She can't deny that anything is wrong, but what would happen if she told him the truth? "We had a bit of a scare last night is all," she supplies instead, "but everything's fine now. They took care of me."

"That's not gonna be good enough, Liv. You couldn't have gotten in here without help. Who let you in the cage?"

This is the moment of truth, isn't it? Like with her being a mutant. She's been pushed into a corner and there's no way out of it without coming clean. She closes her eyes, taking a moment to look at this objectively. She already did that a lot last night, but things are different now. She actively defied Vic last night. To go back to him now would be to invite a worse punishment than whatever he was already thinking of, and last night he scared her so much she allowed herself to be trapped inside the paddock with the raptors.

He was already angry and she just made things worse. He'll take her away from Owen now, for sure. The raptors, too, especially since they helped her.

She can't let that happen. She doesn't want to lose the only good things in her life.

She can't do this anymore. Everything will change, far more than it ever has before, but she can't go on like this.

"I-I'll tell you," she says quietly. Swallowing around the lump in her throat, unsure if it is tears or slight panic, she opens her eyes and looks up at him. "I'll tell you everything."

She thought it would be harder to say those words but surprisingly it's not. It's a bit of a relief actually, knowing she's finally going to be able to stop lying, stop hiding, stop watching what she says and how she acts. Sure, she's still scared, but the knowledge that's she's finally going to be able to relieve herself of this burden she's been carrying for so long is…nice.

It's easy to tell the moment he understands what she's trying to say. She can see it in the widening of his eyes and his mouth twitches in an aborted smile. He wants to be happy that she's finally telling him, but he also knows what she has to say isn't going to be pretty and it's going to be hard for her. Still, there's pride shining in his eyes and it makes her feel like she's doing the right thing.

"Can we go somewhere else though?" she asks, eying the men gathered on the catwalk, ready for action but seeming to realize that it won't be needed. "Somewhere private?"

"Yeah. Of course." He holds out his hand, knowing the only way to take her away from the raptors is if she goes herself, and she takes it, gripping a little too hard but he doesn't seem to mind. Good, because her nerves are kind of shot with what's to come and she needs something to steady herself. "Come on, let's get out of here."

He leads the way back to the cage, the raptors walking with them, surrounding them like guards like they did for her the night before. They stop at the tree line, allowing her and Owen to move on towards the cage, but before they can pass through the inner gate Blue barks out in alarm. Liv looks back at them in concern and their auras are filled with nervousness and anxiety. For her. She holds out her free hand and with a bit of a visual command through the bond, urges Blue to come to her. The raptor approaches swiftly, uneasy with the idea of Liv leaving her side.

"It's okay, Blue," she says softly so that Owen is the only other person to hear her. "I'll be fine. Whatever happens, Owen will protect me." She looks over her shoulder at him, eyes questioning, hoping, almost begging. "Right?"

Jaw clenching, he pulls her into his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'll always protect you." He presses a warm kiss to her brow and then mumbles softly, "Always. I'll make sure he never hurts you again."

She closes her eyes against the words and the tears threatening to overwhelm her. She always knew he already knows but this is the closest he's ever come to actually admitting it. They've known each other for over two years and this is the closest they've ever come to actually admitting what is wrong.

And now Liv is going to go the rest of the way.

With one final pat to Blue she follows Owen into the cage. He closes the gate, separating them from the raptors once more, and then he unlocks the outer door to let them both out.

Liv takes in a big, deep breath through her nose. It's good to be free again. Though she did enjoy her time in the paddock, she is smelly and dirty and really just wants a nice long shower. But she can't go back to her suite. Her father might be there and she needs to avoid him as much as possible. All of a sudden Liv feels like a wayward child. Does she even have a place to call home anymore? In the basest sense, the suite on the island and her mom's apartment are both her homes, the places where she lives, sleeps, eats. But by taking this step she's going to be losing that.

Taking her hand again, Owen tugs her towards their vehicles, taking Liv's backpack off of her ATV and then leading her to his bike.

He seems to know exactly where she's going. At least someone does. She feels so out of her depth with this. It's worse than when she fessed up to being a mutant. Nothing really changed with that revelation. With this, though, everything is about to change.

Owen holds out her backpack to her and she takes it, shrugging it on while he hops on his bike. "Come on," he says. "We'll go to my place, you can get cleaned up, and then we'll talk."

She smiles in relief, both for being able to get clean and for putting off the inevitable conversation for a little bit longer. She climbs on the bike behind him but before they have a chance to take off Barry approaches.

"Are you alright, Liv?" he asks, and she realizes that Owen wasn't the only one who was worried about her, that for a few sickening minutes they both feared she was dead. Glancing at the other trainers who are trickling into the Research Center now that the excitement is over and it's obvious she's fine, she sees that they all were worried, too, but especially Barry. She's liked getting to know him as he helps her learn to control her abilities. She considers him something akin to the favorite uncle, if she had any uncles. Both of her parents are only children.

"You're coming, too," she says decidedly.

Barry's brow furrows in confusion. "Pardon?"

"Grab you're ATV. You're coming, too. There's something I need to tell you. Both of you. Something I should have confessed a long time ago."

Liv is thankful she had her backpack with her when everything happened last night. Not only does it mean she doesn't have anything of hers left in the suite, since everything she brings to the island just basically stays in her backpack and she doesn't leave anything here when she goes back to Miami, but it also means she has her toiletries and extra clothes to change into. Her school uniform is basically ruined, covered in dirt and grime and a substance that might be Velociraptor drool from Charlie but she's not willing to find out. Liv throws the outfit in the trash after her shower and then pulls on a comfy pair of sweats and a baggy shirt. She takes the time to brush out her hair and pull it into a high ponytail, then carefully packs all of her belongings back in her backpack.

She pauses, staring down at her hands. They're shaking a little.

There's no more procrastinating. No more hiding in the bathroom.

She glances at the closed door. No more hiding from the truth.

With a deep breath she shoulders her backpack and steps out into the hall. A quick glance in both directions shows neither Owen nor Barry in the bedroom, kitchen, or dining area, so she plops her backpack on the dining table and then turns the corner into the living room. Barry is sitting in the armchair, Owen in his customary spot on the couch, both staring at the blank T.V. screen but they look up when she enters. She shuffles her feet a little bit, hesitating in the doorway, but when Owen holds out his hand to her again she goes to him, sitting next to him on the couch and holding onto his hand for dear life.

She feels like she's about to jump off a plane with a faulty parachute that may or may not work properly. There's a strange sense of…fate to the situation though. Like everything she's been through since meeting Owen has been leading to this moment. He knew something was wrong from the start, had asked her to tell him if her father ever did anything to her that she didn't like, so it's almost as if Owen finally learning the truth, a truth he's always known no matter how hard she tried to avoid it, it's like it's meant to be.

She can't decide if that makes it less scary or more.

They wait her out. They don't ask questions, they don't push, they just patiently wait for when she's ready to start. But how is she supposed to voice a secret she's held deep inside herself for so long? She's always been terrified of the repercussions of someone finding out, she still is.

But Owen, Barry, and the raptors are on her side. They've promised to keep her safe. Surely they'll be enough?

Eyes firmly on the coffee table, because she can't stand to look at either of them at the moment, Liv begins, "Like I said, this is something I should have told you a long time ago but…it's hard to say, even now. I'm scared of what will happen if he…if he finds out, but I don't think I can stand living like this anymore, especially after last night." She takes in a deep breath, steeling herself. "My dad, Vic, he…he's been…."

She takes another deep breath, feeling tears choking at her throat. Why is it so hard to say that word? Why is it so hard to admit the truth? It's not like they don't already know, all she has to do is finally voice it so that they can start helping her. But she doesn't like to acknowledge that it exists, that this is something that has happened to her. When she's with Owen and Barry and the raptors, she likes to pretend that none of it ever happened, that he is just a shadow at the back of her mind but can't get to her when she's with them. She needs to acknowledge it now, though, because it is the only way she can ever hope to move forward towards something better.

"My dad abuses me," she lets out on a whimper. It's out there now. There's no taking it back, so the only thing she can do is keep going. "It started when I was little, before we found out I was a mutant. My mutation actually manifested because of the…because of the beatings. It healed me, and then he…and then Vic used it as an excuse to hurt me even more. I heal in minutes now. It gets rid of any sign that he even touched me."

Owen squeezes her hand, drawing her gaze, and she looks up into his worried face. "Liv, this is going to be a difficult question but I have to ask. Has your dad ever touched you…inappropriately?"

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head furiously. "No! No, he's never done anything like that."

"Are you sure? You can tell us if he did. It's okay."

"No, never anything like that. Just hit me."

A shiver of revulsion slithers up her spine at what Owen's suggesting. No, her father has never touched her sexually and she is very thankful for that.

Owen and Barry are thankful too. They both let out relieved sighs and then Barry asks, "What about your mother? She has no idea this has been going on?"

"No. I've never told her. Vic said he would do…bad things if I ever told anyone. She doesn't even know I'm a mutant."

"And she never noticed anything was wrong or out of the ordinary?"

She snorts humorlessly. "Notice? No, she doesn't notice a lot of things. She doesn't even notice I'm there most of the time, and that's just when she's actually home." She looks down at her lap, chest tightening with her tears but she's so tired of crying. "Neither of them care about much when it comes to me. They keep track of my grades, have rules in place so I can't have any friends in order to better focus on school, and that's about it."

"And what happened last night?" Owen asks. "How did you end up in the raptor paddock?"

"It was kind of my own fault, I guess," she admits. "Vic's been so preoccupied lately, not getting home until really late, so I've been pushing the boundaries of my curfew, staying out later than he wanted. I got caught last night. I was at the paddock, thinking about doing this, actually." She raises her hand to indicate the three of them. "I was thinking about telling you guys everything, but then Vic found me outside the cage and started yelling at me and hitting me. I tried to run away but he caught me and locked us both in the cage. I don't know the key code so I couldn't get out. He started hitting me some more but then the raptors charged at the cage, scaring him. I saw my only chance and went for the gate controls."

Owen's eyes widen incredulously. "So you deliberately opened the inner gate?"

"It was the only thing I could think of," she says a little defensively. It's not like she had a death wish or anything. "I knew the raptors weren't going to hurt me. They were trying to protect me. And it worked. They scared off Vic but he ended up locking me in there so he could get away."

Fury flashes in his eyes. "So Vic basically left you in there? He didn't call it in or anything?"

"No," she says, voice sounding hallow. "No, he didn't, and I'm pretty sure he was convinced they'd eat me."

Owen lets go of her hand to pull her into his side and she burrows into him. "I'm sorry, Liv. I'm so, so sorry. We're going to help you, okay? We're going to do whatever it takes to get you away from him. From both your parents, if that's what you want. You deserve so much better."

The tears spill over then, because that's exactly what she was hoping to hear, but she's also scared that it'll mean she'll be taken away from him as well.

Author's Note

So now they know the truth. It's time to get Liv out of this mess, and Owen is willing to do whatever it takes, no matter what. The ball is in motion and we'll see where it rolls next chapter.

Next update will be Friday.

Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!