Page 56 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

I went to my bathroom, ready to wash off the rain, but unable to think about anything but Hunter. I couldn't stop thinking about the look on his face when he'd admitted he was afraid.

I stood under the hot shower, letting it rinse away the storm's chill, but my thoughts refused to calm down. Hunter Vale had always seemed so larger than life to me. Even before we'd officially met, I'd heard of him. He was the brilliant CEO who had revolutionized compatibility testing, the calm, confident Alpha who seemed so distant. He’d been so intimidating from the moment we met, and I remember feeling so excited and nervous when he’d asked me to sit beside him at dinner.

For months, that was the only version of Hunter I knew - the Alpha who had believed Arabella, the man who walked away while my world fell apart. Today, I saw a whole new man.

Standing in the rain, he'd looked almost unbearably human. He told me what he really felt - something that I knew was incredibly difficult. He'd admitted that he spent his life terrified of ending up in the wrong bond, only to discover that fear itself had blinded him to what he'd been searching for all along.

I understood fear. Maybe that was why his confession had brought all the walls I built up crumbling down. Or maybe it was because for the first time, I could finally relate to him. I finally saw him as someone I could actually talk to, and potentially trust. I knew without a doubt that I was attracted to his looks - but now, I saw the real person underneath the face he showed the public. And he wanted to know me, too.

I finally dried off and threw on a large sweater. Puff greeted me outside the bathroom with an impatient little bark. To him, my breakthrough with Hunter did not excuse me from his dinner schedule.

"I know," I laughed softly. "You're starving. Come on.” His tail wagged furiously.

The routine finally made me feel settled. I fed Puff, made myself tea, and wandered downstairs into the quiet boutique. Despite what I had to go through to get here, this little boutique had given me something I'd never experienced before. It taught me that I really could make it on my own - I didn’t need a pack.

Which was exactly why the realization I just had made me a little nervous. I didn’t need a pack - but maybe, I wanted one.

And despite how much I swore I’d never give them another chance, I was beginning to miss Pack Vale. The thought would have been unthinkable months ago. But now, I carried my tea into the office and curled into the couch, recalling the past few months.

Ronan had been the first crack in my resolve. His actions showed that he was never going to let anything hurt me. He’d set up camp to protect my store from unwanted visitors and brought me dinners more times than I could count, not to mention he scrubbed the graffiti from my building and refused to let me look at the spray paint anymore than I had to. He had become someone I could depend on. It didn’t hurt that he seemed to love Puff as much as I did. I started to miss that scent of cocoa that filled the air when he was around.

And Elias, sweet, even-tempered Elias. I knew he was struggling. He still wasn’t back to work, but he’d been doing some learning. I knew he was volunteering at an omega shelter, and he never rushed me or pushed for anything from me. He'd even brought me a whole mini lab. No one else understood me well enough to know that scientific equipment would mean more to me than diamonds. Watching him fall in love with my ideas and listening to him praise my mind instead of my appearance had healed me slowly.

And finally, Hunter. For months, he'd remained the one wall I couldn't climb over. I'd forgiven Ronan and Elias before I'd even realized it. Hunter, though - he had always been the one who hurt the most. Maybe because he’d been the first one to stand up for me at the gala, securing a seat for me despite my family’s attempts to brush me off. I’d subconsciously attached to him that night, my omega side keening at the way he protected me. But he was also the one who ruined my trust. Every apology he’d given had been sincere, but I hadn’t been able to see the real man behind the alpha, at least not until today.

He’d been diligent in helping me through my legal issues, encouraging me to fight for what was mine. And he'd stopped trying to convince me he was worthy of forgiveness. But tonight, I saw the real him. And I broke down and reached for him, wanting him to hold me, protect me. Tonight I got what I wanted from him so long ago - someone to be there for me.

Pack Vale and I had been getting closer for months. Now I had to decide if I really, truly wanted to give them a chance.

Chapter 28

Elias

My eyes ached from all the reading I’d done. I had spent most of the afternoon surrounded by old notes I’d pulled from when we worked together in her lab. It was the only thing I personally had left from our time together, and I was searching for any evidence that might help prove that she came up with the formulas used at Nestwell. The problem was that without the internal emails or documents, I didn’t have much of anything that would work. I remembered that they didn’t even let her stay in meetings beyond using her expertise to answer questions.

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed a hand over my face, fighting the familiar wave of anger. I thought I knew enough about how institutions exploited vulnerable omegas, yet the Carringtons had managed to do it right under my nose.

My phone rang, cutting through my thoughts. I glanced at the screen, and my heartbeat picked up.

It was Ivy. I loved seeing her name on my phone. She had started calling me without needing a crisis first. Sometimes she wanted my opinion on a formulation, or asked about suppliers who sell a particular ingredient. Each call felt like I was getting closer to her.

“Hi Ivy,” I said, my day already better just knowing she called me.

“What are you doing?” she asked. I could hear the smile in her voice, and that already made me feel lighter.

“Reviewing evidence for the patent case.”

She sounded surprised when she spoke. “Oh, did you find anything?”

“A few notes from when we worked together. So at least we have some evidence that you worked on the calming spray. I’m not sure if it is enough to prove it was your idea, though.” I admitted.

“You really kept our notes?”

“Yes. I kept all of them,” I said. She exhaled slowly, and I imagined her standing behind the counter at The Nest, one hand pressed against her chest as the news settled in.

“That’s good,” she whispered.

“It is. Every piece helps.” I said. And I would do anything to help her with this case. I looked at the messages Hunter and Ronan had sent earlier about their evening plans. We had been trying to find a way to do something kind for Ivy without overwhelming her, and now that she was on the phone, I might as well ask. “There was actually something I wanted to ask you,” I said.