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A snort flew out before I could stop it. “Bet you did.” I remembered a few times in school when I caught Xylo and Zahria in the same room, both pretending that nothing was going on between them. Nothing had ever materialized from the ‘will they, won’t they’ but I was pretty sure Zahria still carried a crush for the man. As for Xylo, he didn’t talk much about the past.
“Stahp,” she whined playfully. “I only have until they arrive to write up a report and present it to my superiors, showing that Michael shouldn’t be released. It’s a slim chance but fuck, I have to take it. And yes, I know all about Joel’s sister. I’m assuming this call is because you found her?”
“How the fuck do you know that?”
This time it was Zahria who snorted. “Because Xylo shared all that information over the phone. Said that he asked one of theother officers to keep an eye out before he left. The transfer time moved up and everything happened pretty suddenly so he told me to call you but you happened first.”
“Someone has to be behind all this shit. Michael was calling for fucking weeks. Apparently, so was she—trying to get a hold of her brother. I have no idea what she’s gone through Zahria but she might have a little more insight into whatever the fuck is going on. It doesn’t look good though.” I watched as Terrence continued to move around the kitchen and pull out fixings for a sandwich before laying them out on the table.
“Worse than what you’ve already seen?”
“I’m not sure how much I can say over the phone but I’m pretty damn sure that Michael was on the hunt for unconventional Omegas.”
“What the-” Zahria cleared her throat. “Hold that thought. I have to go. Shit, fuck!” She cut off the connection and my heart dropped into my stomach as the revelation settled in. Someone was after Omegas that didn’t fit the mold. Kieran had mentioned that Michael talked about him fetching a price—and if they had tried to do the same thing with Nala?
I didn’t know her but she was family which meant that I would protect her the same way I did my mates.
I stood up a little straighter when she entered the living room, Joel right behind her. She scrambled over to the couch before putting her arms out and I waited to see what she was asking for before Kieran stumbled in and handed her one of our boys. I looked over to Joel for an explanation and he merely shrugged, as if it was the most normal thing. The fact was, it seemed normal, and the way that Kieran saddled up beside her like Nala had just come over to see her nephews was heartwarming.
Staying behind the counter, I waited for our little Alpha to erupt into a little ball of chaos.1… 2… 3
“Hey, Nala? Are you hungry? I was going to make a sandwich but I didn’t know what you liked. We don’t have-”
I tugged him against my chest and waited for Nala to respond. Her eyes had grown wide as Joel sat on her other side. “Uhm, yes? I…” A terrified chuckle fell from her lips as she softened. “I’m sorry I ran from you.”
None of us expected that, Ren’s shoulders falling as the anxiety left him. Joel jabbed his sister slightly. “Ren can be a lot.”
“It wasn’t that. He was an Alpha and I just… I’m sorry.” She rocked Leo a little before answering Ren’s question again, “I am a little hungry. Yes.”
A little calmer this time, Terrence pointed to the spread on the counter. “Mustard okay?”
“Anything, really.”
Both Kieran and Joel turned their heads toward this adorable little Omega as if her words had ripped their heart out. It couldn’t have been easy dealing with Michael on her own, especially with her size but if one thing besides brown hair and amber eyes ran through the family, it was determination.
I waited for Kieran or Joel to direct the conversation, knowing that I’d be too much for her right now. Slipping into a seat but staying in the kitchen, I watched her jerky movements as she tried to get comfortable. Terrence gently handed her a plate in exchange for Leo, Nala spending a few seconds staring at it before scarfing it down.
“Okay,” she mumbled as she pushed the plate away. “I’m ready to talk now.”
twenty
KIERAN
She curled up on the couch, her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She seemed relieved that our Alphas couldn’t scent her and had said as much once or twice while we were in the nest when we asked if she wanted to explain to them or just us. I couldn’t imagine the kind of trash a scent like that had dragged in and how terrified Nala must have been.
Nala blew out a deep breath and then began to ramble as we soaked up every word. “I was at boarding school—college? I don’t know. I graduated this past winter. A few weeks ago. I had been talking with… him for a while and he wanted to celebrate with dinner. I was ecstatic that someone wanted to celebrate with me because Mom and Dad have basically disowned me. Said I was a failure of an Omega.”
Isaias grunted and then bit his lip, trying to swallow his anger. Joel twisted her toward him. “What do you mean?”
“My scent. It’s everywhere. All the fucking time. If I get too emotional, it’s like a fucking beacon to every Alpha close enough that I’m not mated. Mom wanted me to get mated and I refused. The attention I was getting wasn't always great so I didn't leave home a lot. A doctor took a chance on me and introduced me to these.” She pointed at her neck.
Joel frowned. “This must have happened after I left.”
“I didn’t have my first heat until I was 18. And that’s when things got a little weird. Mom and Dad shipped me off to school. We haven’t talked since then, not really anyway. So, whenhegave me attention, I gorged myself on it. I needed it.”
All Omegas—myself included—needed touch. It fucking sucked at times but it was part of our nature to thrive within a pack or at least with an Alpha who gave us love and attention. Nala wouldn’t have just been vulnerable but needy, not having had that at her fingertips and Michael could be so damn convincing when he wanted to.
“We had dinner. It was nice and he offered me a place to stay but it wasn’t like that. I just… I had a little saved for an apartment and monies from Mom that she left with me and a job starting up. I still wanted to see him until-” She growled, her brows furrowing as her hands clenched around her knees. “I was so fucking stupid. We met up but it felt like he was watching me? It just came off weird and then I… one date… the black car…” Nala stuffed her face into her lap and curled up a little tighter.
