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“As long as we get to speak to her, that’s more than we could have hoped for.” Piper nodded and went to find Bella, who had run off to the side of the ballroom. Her pack gave us dirty glares and low growls of warning before turning to support their omega.
Kian glanced around the room, where most of the other packs were looking at us with a mixture of intrigue and jealousy. Out of everyone, we had managed to get a response from her, even if it wasn’t a great one. “This is good. She’s angry, but that means she still feels something for us.” Cy gave him a skeptical look.
“That feeling is fury.”
“It’s better than apathy. If she had seen us and disregarded us without a word, it would have meant she felt nothing for us. At least we still have a chance.” That was one way of looking at it. Jameson was still smiling like an idiot, which made some of the alphas near us uneasy. A scary looking guy like him grinning was a bit unnerving, I had to admit. He looked around. “Did you see? She’s still wearing the necklace we gave her!” I hadn’t noticed it, being too stunned from seeing her for the first time in months to worry about her jewelry. But if she kept it after all this time, maybe we did stand a chance.
“Well? It’s been a minute. Let’s go find our girl!” Jameson said and started bounding over to where Bella had run off to, with the rest of us close behind. The host of the event seemed at a loss for words, so we looked around until we saw Piper and her pack comforting Bella behind the catering table. Bella spotted us and glared, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked so amazing. Just seeing her again eased the pain I had been carrying in my chest since we had dropped her off. I hoped she would hear us out, but if she was still too angry, then we’d have to deal with whatever her decision was.
“Can I have a moment with her?” Piper asked as she looked back at Bella nervously.
“Take as much time as you need. We will do whatever it takes for just a minute with her.” Cy responded. Piper went back to Bella and took down a hallway before coming back out and talking to her pack. The entire group looked over at us, arms crossed. Then one of the alphas approached us, gesturing for us to follow them. “No funny business.” He barked as we went down the hallway.
We were ushered into a private room with Bella. Piper looked at us with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll be right outside with my pack. If we hear a single thing we don’t like, you’ll all be booted out of here.” Her bonded alphas and beta looked us up and down before following her outside. They left the door open a crack. I didn’t mind. I’d meet Bella under any circumstances, any requirements, just for a chance to be near her again.
Finally, we were alone with her. Well, as alone as we could be in the middle of a ball with a pack outside listening in on us. I was entranced by her. She looked like a princess, and she might as well be one. It was easy to track the news on her once she showed up at the police station in the small town where we left her. Cy set up an alert so we could follow every story and be notified of every post that was made about her. We read about her claiming the prize money and settling in Haven. We’d heard the Darlington Ball had settled with her, making her a wealthy omega. According to the news, she’d had offers of courtship from hundreds of packs and we held our breath with dread every day wondering if we’d read front page news that she'd bonded with one of them. Now finally, we were here. And she was still wearing the necklace we had given her. She stared at us with an expression of anger, wariness, and a small bit of longing. No one knew what to say, so I started.
“Bella, I know you’re probably more than angry at us.”
“Oh, you think?”
“And you deserve to feel that way. We deserve every bit of anger you throw at us. We can’t ever make up for leaving you the way we did, but we wanted you to have the opportunities you have now-” Her angry voice cut me off mid speech.
“Oh, so now that I have all this money and fame, you suddenly decide I’m worthy?” Her face was scrunched up.
“Bella, you know that’s not what we’re after. We only ever wanted you. But we couldn't be with you like that. Not when we would have to force you to live in the shadows, always afraid of being spotted. Not when we were living in a way that we’d risk coming home to you injured or worse.” Her face faltered at my words, and she went from looking angry to distraught. I risked a step toward her.
“Look, we wanted to come here to show you how we have changed, and to try to court you, officially, in the way of the Western Province.” She looked at us, surprised for a moment. Then she exploded.
“How dare you! How dare you come back here and even think you can speak to me!” I had never seen her so mad before. I couldn’t even imagine her being mad with her disposition. So I knew that we had really, really fucked up. Kian cleared his throat, willing to take the brunt of her anger.
“We did what was safest for you, to give you the best opportunity for a life, and for a safe pack.” This just made her angrier. Her little fists were balled up, and I swear I could see Kian flinch a little.
“You didn’t even give me a chance to have a choice! You made it for me!” My heart hurt for her. Omegas often had their choices taken from them, and she was right. We did exactly that. Even if it was with the best intentions. I glanced out of the corner of my eye. Cy was rubbing the back of his neck, his other hand shoved in his pocket while he looked at the floor, ashamed. “After everything I told you, every pack that gave me a horrible rejection that followed a heat, you promised me you were different and then did the exact. Same. Thing!”
The only one of us who didn’t look chagrined was Jameson. The big fool still had a grin on his face, looking at her with a love-struck expression. He dropped to his knees, which was a funny sight as he still towered over her as he knelt to her, his hands clasped in front of him.
“My sweet kitten,” he started, and Bella crossed her arms and snapped at him.
“Not your kitten.” Jameson was undeterred.
“My sweet Bella, I know we did an unforgivable thing. As a pack, we caused you to feel rejected. Please understand that we did this out of fear of losing you to injury or worse, and to offer you the opportunity to really pick. So that you didn’t feel like you had to be with us - a pack far from your home, a pack that lived a life of danger. But in our decision, we hurt you worse than we imagined. We have made many changes to be worthy of you. Please consider us, so that we can show you how worthy we can be.” If anyone could change her mind, it was Jameson. She watched him with a skeptical look, then breathed in deeply and answered.
“If I decide to give you a chance, and that’s a big if, then I’ll be the one judging whether or not you are good enough to be with me. I’ll be the one making the choices. And then maybe you can know what it feels like to be on the other end of rejection.” Her words stung worse than any slap. But we deserved it.
As much as it would absolutely destroy us if she rejected us, I couldn’t help but feel proud and at peace. Our omega, well, not ours anymore, but maybe someday - had finally realized her worth. She knew she was a prize and wouldn't accept anything less. It was everything we’d always hoped she would see in herself.
Cy stepped forward, placing a hand on Jameson’s shoulders. “I promise you, Bella, we want you more than anything. We have so much to tell you. Please, we will do anything to prove it to you.” I could see her wavering. I knew she felt the irreplaceable connection we had with her, the connection that we felt even hundreds of miles away. She sighed and looked at all of us.
“Fine. Now give me my courting gifts.” She held her arms out, looking at us expectantly and cocking an eyebrow. “Well? Chop chop. There’s a line of packs outside waiting to give me theirs.”
Chapter 62
Bella
It was the last thing I had ever expected. Just when I had accepted that I’d never see them again, they showed up right when I needed them, making me even more angry at their appearance. Piper explained as she followed me to the back room. “I saw their names on the list, Bella. I knew they had somehow hacked the system and put themselves on. But one of the guard packs was at the door and wasn’t allowing them in. They were at the end of the announcements, and I made the decision to let them come in.” I smacked my forehead. Piper had a good heart, but sometimes she made reckless decisions. But this one I could forgive her for. After all, I was secretly excited when I saw and smelled them again. They looked delicious in their suits.
But all those good feelings shattered to the ground a moment later when all my hurt feelings rose up in me. How dare they come back to me now, after promising to bite me and stay with me forever? I was able to deliver one good hit before I ran away while Piper ushered me to a room where her pack guarded us. “Bella, listen. I know you like them more than you let on. Even after everything that happened, I know they were different.” I looked up at her, my heart still racing in anger. “Hear them out. And don’t try to be prideful now. I know a true match when I see one.” My eyes flew to hers as she smiled. “I may be new to designations, but there are some things I caught onto quickly. Just give it a chance.” I started to protest, but she shushed me. “It’s what you told me when I tried to run from my pack. If I had left them, I would have been miserable for the rest of my days. Now I’m here to tell you to give them a chance to win you. And if you still can’t forgive them, there are plenty of packs waiting out in the ballroom.” I wrinkled my nose, and she laughed. “I figured. But Bella - make them grovel a bit, okay?” She winked at me and went to get them. She was right - I had always been a hopeless romantic, and had encouraged Piper to give her own pack a chance. Maybe it was time to have some faith in my own love life as well.
