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“True.” My inner alpha was close to feral at the idea of leaving Hazel unprotected. Not that Jude couldn’t protect her, but he was already injured.
Oakley made a clicking sound in his mouth. “Why don’t I ask Bowen to come over here? He can be backup on the off chance Hazel and Jude need it. And since he’s a beta, it shouldn’t upset Hazel having him in her space without her alphas around.”
“You sure? I can ask my dads to come over.” But I already felt better knowing another agent would be here with my pack.
“I’ll call Bowen on our way back to the house. It’s our day off, and he was planning on digging more into the Infinity Solutions stuff, but he can bring his laptop and work here.”
“You’re a lifesaver, man.” I clapped a hand on his shoulder appreciatively. “Just a heads up, if this APA case turns out to be almost closed, my pack will likely hand in our notice today.”
“I doubt we’ll be far behind,” Oak replied.
I grinned, some of the tension draining from my skull. Finally, things were going in the right direction.
52
Hazel
Calla and I had been best friends since we were in diapers, and I’d seen her run through almost every emotion under the sun.
Until now.
The haunted look of fear and shame was one that I recognized in myself when I looked in the mirror, and it was breaking my heart to see it in her. Especially because the Calla I knew had nothing to put such a look on her gorgeous face.
Huddled up in a corner of the sectional and buried under a fuzzy blanket, only her head was visible, and she was struggling to meet my gaze. I thought it might be easier to talk since the guys left, but she seemed trapped in her thoughts.
And I was missing my pack.
After explaining they were needed back at their offices, Jude had made himself scarce so Calla and I could chat, but she’d just silently sat across from me.
“Calla,” I finally said, breaking the heavy silence, “tell me what’s going on. What happened?”
She let out a deep sigh, like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. “I’d tell you, but it’s embarrassing.”
My brows shot up. “You were there when I got my period in the middle of gym and Gary Lewis pointed out the blood on my shorts in front of the whole class.”
A barely-there smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “He was such an ass.”
“And you smeared chocolate frosting on his chair in math the next day,” I reminded her with a chuckle. Gary had been mortified when Calla asked if he’d shit his pants when he’d stood up to go to the board and answer a question.
God, middle school sucked.
Calla went silent. “I wish it was just like that, and I probably don’t have any room to complain, especially after everything you’ve been through.”
“What I went through doesn’t negate what you went through, babe,” I reminded her.
“I don’t want Crew to know. I didn’t tell anyone. Not my parents or my brothers or my friends,” Calla whispered. “Swear you won’t tell them.”
I frowned. “I won’t lie to Crew,” I said slowly, “but I will tell him that you told me what happened in confidence, and I think we both know he’ll respect that. It’ll drive him nuts, but he’ll leave it.”
Calla took a deep breath. “I’m going to keep it short, but about a year after you were taken, my mom convinced me to go to an omega debut ball. I’d always wanted a pack and a family, so I agreed.”
I nodded, following along. Calla had always been family-oriented. Even before she’d officially presented as an omega, all she wanted was a pack and a disturbing amount of children to love.
“I met Pack Capshaw at the dance, and I was immediately smitten. Five alphas that all seemed so perfect.” Tears gathered in her crystal blue eyes. “And for a few months, it was. They’d made it clear they wanted to bond me, and I even had plans to move in with them. They were all older—in their mid-to-late twenties—but that just made me feel all the more special that they picked me when I wasn’t even nineteen.”
I watched and waited patiently for the other shoe to drop.
She twisted the blanket in her fingers. “They had a business meeting, and they invited me to come along. I showed up in this pretty blue dress, but Max—one of the alphas—told me the dress wasn’t right and pulled out a red, low-cut dress with a slit up to the hip. I mean, it was pretty, but it wasn’t me. Anyway, I changed to make him happy.”
