Page 116 of Glitterati Omega

“Oh, child,” Mama Thandiwe said, crouching over him. He shook her off.

“Call the cops,” he spat. “He can’t be here—there’s a restraining order, he shouldn’t …” He dissolved into tears, unable to convey his rage, his pain—that Thomas should invade the sanctity of his life, his home. It was too much.

Ndileka grabbed Thomas’s arms and twisted them behind his back. She dragged him away from Winston. Winston rolled up his sleeves and fished out his phone.

Thomas lunged a couple of times, barking, “Get your filthy hands off me!”

When he refused to settle, Ndileka simply spun him around and backhanded him twice, blows glancing off either cheek. “Shut up!” she barked. “You don’t come in our house and hurt our family!”

Mama Thandiwe moved in front of Rupert, shielding him from the scene. “Come now,” she said, helping him back to his feet, “let’s get you comfortable again. This is too much excitement.”

Excitement was an interesting way of putting it. “Yes,” Rupert agreed dizzily, trailing her back to the bed. He let her help him into it. “Where’s Charli? Where’s Moose?”

Mama Thandiwe shook her head. “No one is here.”

“Oh God,” he cried, and she pushed him back against the pillows.

“Hush now,” she ordered. “You rest. I will go see what I can find out.

Rupert watched her go. Then he curled onto his side.

He must have drifted off; it seemed like a long time before anyone spoke to him again. “He’s gone now,” Mama Thandiwe said, rubbing his shoulder, rousing him from sleep.

He lifted his head a little. “Where’s Winnie?”

“Gone to talk to the police,” she replied, looking toward the door, even as she settled down on the bed with him. “And to give building security an earful.”

“What about Charli and Moose?”

She smiled and patted him on the head. “Moose got the family from the airport. He was downstairs helping Mandisa. Charli was out at the spa today. You don’t worry about anything, hm?”

Rupert sighed, then shuffled over; he was a bit perturbed when she followed.

“Goose,” she said, her voice warm and thick, “you come here.”

“Why?” He froze up as she wrapped her arms around him. “Oh. We’re cuddling. That’s … That’s …”

“Good for you,” she finished. “Good for me. Good for everyone, even your little ones—Mbulelo told me that I was right.” She grinned cheekily. “I am always right.”

Rupert huffed, then settled more deeply into the embrace. It was nice. “Youareright,” he murmured. “This is good.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

They were silent for a while. Then she said, “He hit you a lot, huh?”

“No,” Rupert murmured. “Only sometimes.”

She hummed deep in her throat. “Other things, then.”

“Yes,” he agreed, letting his eyes drift shut. “I don’t want to think about it.”

“No,” she said. “He is gone. Let’s forget him. You have other things to think about—more important than some no-good alpha. Like my grandbabies.” She laughed a little. “How are you feeling, my goose?”

“All right, I suppose.”

“No,” she said sternly, catching his gaze and holding it. “How are youfeeling?”

He hesitated, sucking in a sharp breath. Then he shook his head. “Not yet,” he said. “I’m … I’m tired and uncomfortable, but they’re not …”