Page 25 of Omega Scorned

Investigated

Emilia

Done. I'd finished one entire wall of my room.

Sitting on my bed, I smiled in satisfaction as I surveyed my art. The wall was made up of dozens of rectangles, a little larger than a sheet of paper. I'd started off painting wooden strips between them, but that had evolved into trees, with the branches bracketing the sections. As a result, they weren't entirely perfect, but looked more organic.

Inside each rectangle was an entire little life happening. Some were gardens where children played. Others were warm kitchens where an omega baked bread for her alphas. The happiest scenes were in the center, but along the edges, I'd painted slightly darker scenes. One held an omega alone in her room, painting by moonlight. Another showed a child sleeping under a tree, completely alone. I'd let the sad parts of me seep into those ones. The edge pieces where I lived these days.

"Now for the rest of it," I said aloud. My voice sounded strange to my ears. I rarely spoke these days. They locked me in the roomwhen they went out, which was pretty frequently and when I was allowed out, I cooked, cleaned, and did whatever else they had on their list for the day. Candace had fired Laura, saying I could do all the housework, so that's what I did. The only thing I wasn't permitted was taking the garbage out. Daryl usually did that for me.

The front door opened and closed. A moment later the door to my room was unlocked.

"Go get lunch ready. And I need you to iron my black dress. The guys are taking me out tonight," Candace snapped on the other side of the door.

I headed straight to the kitchen to start lunch. Over the weeks, I'd perfected the food that Candace liked and it only took a few minutes to whip up her favorite meal, a rice bowl with sauteed vegetables and chicken. Once it was done, I set it on the table for her and dumped the leftovers into a bowl for myself, which I scarfed down in the kitchen before I went upstairs to get her dress.

My mind was on the next wall in my room as I carefully ironed the smooth fabric, but I was jerked out of my thoughts when Candace came into the laundry room, swearing a blue streak.

Pausing in what I was doing, I looked up, waiting for her to turn that ire on me.

"Just stop. Jake called and said he has to work late. So, we're not going out." She crossed her arms angrily. "Why the hell is he working late? Is he fucking his secretary?"

I didn't say anything. There was no point. I'd learned that she would spew hateful things until she wound down and walked away. But it was definitely interesting that she thought Jake might be cheating on her. She was his scentmatch, so why wouldn't he come home to her?

At her insistence, I put the dress back before I moved around the house, cleaning everything. I had a good routine down now,so each room only needed the basics done and once a week, I would deep clean.

When I was finished, I retreated to my room, but not before I stopped to look longingly at the backyard. I needed to ask for permission to go out and plant some flowers. I missed the sun on my face.

"Why are you still out here?" Candace snapped.

With a sigh, I headed back to my room, pushing the window open so I could have fresh air, at least. Sometimes, when they were all out, I would slip out the window and stand there with my bare feet on the grass. The fear of being discovered kept me from wandering into the backyard, but it was enough to keep me sane.

That night, as I checked Jude's Instagram page, admiring his shirtless poses, I noticed the date. The party had been almost three months ago already. Time had warped for me, making it feel like forever, but also a very short period of time. Was this the way the rest of my life was going to be?

I ran a finger over Jude's face on the tablet. His pale eyes stared out at me with an intensity that rivaled anything I'd ever seen from an alpha and he was only a beta.

A notification popped up. New photo.

I quickly swiped and found Jude had just uploaded a new picture. This one was with Oren, probably from some photo shoot they did together, since they were standing in front of a white paper background. Both were dressed in loose button-up shirts. Oren wore white, with sand-colored shorts and Jude had on black shorts and a black shirt. They were looking at each other and cracking up.

The caption read, "Bloopers from set today." He'd tagged Oren, so I clicked over to his account. It was less about posed shots than Jude's. He posted a few selfies here and there, but most of his photos were of his pack. Jude, asleep on thesofa, Santi hanging the fabric in the nest, Grayson chopping vegetables and laughing while Jude perched beside him on the counter. They were photos that perfectly captured what life in a pack was supposed to be like.

No wonder I hadn't been able to find Oren's account before. He was listed as @omegasparadise. And within his captions, I found the others easily. Since I didn't know their last names, I hadn't been able to search for them. Jude had been the only one easily found.

Now, it felt like I had an inside look at their lives. I smiled and flipped through their photos, feeling a little less alone somehow.

Two days later, I was doing the same thing on Saturday when the doorbell rang. Everyone was home, so it was no surprise when Candace went to the door. I could hear her voice, but not the words. Then she called for Jake.

A moment later, my bedroom door lock clicked and Daryl opened it, looking angry. "Your little boyfriends called the OPA on us. Come out and tell them you're fine."

"We need to speak with the omega," A man was saying from the doorway.

"Come on in," Jake said. "We'll call her, oh, there you are, sweetheart."

Daryl stepped away from me and Jake beckoned me toward the living room.

"Would you like some coffee or tea?" Candace asked the two betas who stepped through the doorway. A man and a woman in OPA uniforms followed Candace to the living room and I hurried to catch up.