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“Ugh. Your guilt trip is working.”
Lyric grinned and jumped to his feet. “Victory! Let me see if I can find you something in your closet to wear. Go brush your teeth and, um, maybe shower?”
I sniffed myself at the poorly veiled hint. Ugh, I did stink. Goddess. Maybe this was a good thing. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life pining for Emerson. It would not end well. There wasn’t a lot of research on fated mates, and most of it was restricted for omegas to see. I tried to beg Orion to look it up for me, but whatever he saw, he told me a very watered-down version and wouldn’t let me read it myself. I knew it had to be bad then. Orion never kept information back like that. I understood it wasn’t because he thought, as an omega, I couldn’t handle it. He was just protecting me as a big brother, but it still annoyed me. I wanted to know what I was facing now that my mate rejected me. Twice.
“Shouldn’t the connection be severed? Like, why does it feel like we’re still fated. It’s like I’m missing a limb, which sounds ridiculous since I barely know the man, but I can’t deny that.”
Lyric peeked out of my closet, his arms loaded down with clothing. I didn’t even realize I had that much. “I’m not sure. I overheard Orion, and he was saying something about having to formally sever the connection, but I have no idea how that works.”
Hmm. That was interesting. I considered doing that and every fiber in my body rebelled against it. Nope. That was going to have to be up to Emerson. I said I was never going to be the one to walk away and that still stood. He needed to step up one way or the other and fix this.
I forced a smile and stood up on wobbly legs, feeling lightheaded. When was the last time I ate? They kept bringing me food, but I barely had an appetite and could only force down the bare minimum. But right now, I was starving. That was a good sign, right?
“Well, no point worrying about that now. You’re right. I do stink. I’m going to take a quick shower and then we can go.”
Lyric’s smile was bright and genuine. “Sounds great!” He sobered up then. “We’ll help you get through this. I promise.”
I wasn’t sure if that was possible, but I was still touched and wrapped him in a hug before running off to the bathroom.
* * *
Lunch ended up being a good idea. It still felt like there was a hole straight through my heart, but the reminder that I wasn’t alone was what I needed to push through. It wouldn’t be easy, and I was pretty sure I’d never feel whole, but Lyric was right. Lying in my bed all day wasn’t any way to live. I couldn’t control Emerson’s actions, but I could control my own, and I was going to make the most out of my life, whatever that may be. There was still the little matter of my heat that was rapidly approaching, but it wasn’t here today so I wasn’t going to think about that yet. One step at a time.
The café was friendly, too, and the food was good. While, of course an alpha owned it, it was staffed by betas only and was advertised as a safe place for betas and omegas. Alphas were welcome—it was against the law to restrict them anywhere, plus omegas needed a chaperone—but they catered to the two lesser designations. Alphas that weren’t with us weren’t allowed to approach us without permission from our guardian, which was technically a law but not always enforced. We were allowed to order on our own and the servers actually spoke to us and not just the alphas.
It was odd because since I’d never known any differently, I hadn’t realized how strange that was until I was in a place that treated me like a guest and not an object.
Of course, not everyone was happy with the café, and even now protests were set up outside. I wasn’t sure how long it would last before it was shut down, but I was glad I got to experience it at least once.
Lyric cleared his throat, shaking me out of my thoughts. My cheeks heated as I smiled sheepishly at him. “Sorry. Did you say something?”
Lyric waved. “It’s fine. I was just trying to tell you to look at who’s at the counter.”
My heart soared from thinking it was Emerson, and I couldn’t hide my disappointment when it wasn’t. Gideon Frost, the alpha who was so kind to me at the ball, was at the counter, getting a pick-up order. He hadn’t seen me, so I watched him out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to hide till he left or hope he saw me and approached us.
I had just chosen to hide when Gideon turned around and spotted me at the table.Gods, what do I do now?His eyes widened and he hesitated, clearly unsure if he should approach. Finally taking pity, I smiled at him, letting him know that I had also seen him and giving him the opening to come over if he wanted to.
As protocol dictated for things like this, Gideon first walked over to Arden, and just like he did the other week at the ball, he watched carefully before he nodded, giving Gideon permission to talk to us.
Lyric slid closer to Harmony, and I could hear him whispering, probably trying to explain what was happening and who this alpha was. I wasn't sure how much she knew, but I had to think that she at least had the gist of the story. She didn’t say anything when we came in, but I could see just a bit of pity in her eyes before she moved on. I was still glad she hadn't brought it up, and at least until now it was a relatively Emerson-free lunch.
“Good afternoon, alpha,” I responded formally as Gideon approached the table.
He looked a little uncomfortable and unsure of what he should do as he stood there, holding a paper bag full of takeout food from the café. But finally, he smiled and responded to my awkward greeting. “Good afternoon. I won't bother you during your lunch. I just saw you and wanted to check up on you and see how you’re doing.”
That knot formed in my stomach. What else did he know? Had he heard about what happened afterwards? No, there was no way. Orion hadn’t heard anything as far as rumors went. If anyone suspected anything, there would have most certainly been talk, especially after the ball. No, he was just referring to what he had already witnessed, not my further embarrassment later that night.
Right now, this extremely kind and sweet alpha was still waiting for me to respond, but I had no idea what to say. I didn't want to lie to him, he deserved more than that, but I also was not about to unravel all my troubles in the middle of this restaurant.
Finally, I came up with, “I think I'll be okay. Thank you.”
Gideon just nodded and then hefted his bags that had to have been getting heavy. “That's good. I’ve been worried about you and thinking about you all week.” He glanced at the door. “Well, I have to get going. Alpha Strongfire invited me over for poker later this week. Will you be home?”
I glanced at Lyric, who shrugged. The poker night that Orion was planning was a cover for the first meeting of the trusted few who would be working on omega rights. They planned on sorting out their goals and deciding on what was priority and what was more long-term. It was news to me that Gideon was invited as well, but I thought he would be a good fit, though I wasn’t sure of his role.
Emerson should be coming too, as he was an integral part of their team, but I was told he refused, claiming to be busy. Everyone knew it was an excuse, but there was nothing that could be done. I was honestly relieved. I wasn’t sure if I could handle being so close to him already.
“I will be home.” There had been some . . . heated discussion regarding whether the two of us should be present for the event, but in the end it was decided that it was too soon. Even among those we trusted, those who felt the laws should be relaxed, some still considered omegas lesser and would not be comfortable having us present. It was decided not to push things too far until the movement had some momentum.
