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I peel my eyes open and angle my head toward my closet door. Under my left arm, something crinkles. The wrapper from the chocolate bar I was saving for later and demolished last night before I went to sleep.
Cutlery rattles, and Rune’s voice comes again. “Breakfast.”
Thisis becoming a problem.
Bythis, I mean sweetness and caring. Protectiveness. And heat. Too much heat.
There are far too many instances ofthis.
And it’s convincing me to stay with three big alphas when I’d sworn off all alphas forever. “Thanks!”
I haven’t decided what to do. Stay and trust these alphas to help me find answers about my real mom and Della, or try to do it all on my own.
Staying makes me feel weak, like I can’t do anything on my own when I want to.
They seem so determined to help me. Is it really so wrong to let them?
But what if they demand more from me? Like me staying forever. What if they refuse to let me go?
Rune’s footsteps move away. When I can no longer hear him, I climb out of my closet, shaking off my despair about what might have happened to the omega who gave birth to me, and head for the door.
A plate filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns sits alongside a tall glass of juice and a napkin. No alpha in sight.
All this good food is making my stomach growl with increasing frequency, just like now. I gather up the tray and carry it back inside omega territory, then pull the door closed.
Which is when I realize I forgot to push the bedside table in front of my door.
I eye the door, chewing my lip as I consider how I feel about my forgetfulness. Was it intentional or did it simply slip my mind?
When the thought of Rune, Cian, and Kylian walking in doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would, I take my breakfast to the boucle window seat. I eat the food, observing the way the bright, early morning sun dances over the crystal clear blue pool below my window.
After I’ve eaten, I spend a good long time debating climbing out the window, the garden wall, and escaping to the quiet life free of alphas I’m so determined to live.
One thing stops me, though.
No. That isn’t right. Two things. The need for answers and the whistle drifting up the staircase and into my room. It’s not a song I’ve heard before. Could be from a commercial, movie, or just plain made-up. But it’s catchy. It has me wanting to hum along.
Nope, that isn’t right either. It makes me want to investigate. I get up. After I’ve had a shower, I braid my wet hair and brush my teeth then hunt out an outfit from the dresser. Finally deciding on a white belted dress, I head downstairs with my tray of a thoroughly decimated breakfast.
If I left it outside my room, I’m sure Nancy or Hali would take it. They are the alphas’ servants after all, and I’m just messy enough that the thought of someone cleaning up after me will always be attractive.
Case in point, my ripped dress. It took far too long for me to pick it up off the bathroom floor and toss it in the bin. But my curiosity pulls at me, and this empty tray gives me the perfect excuse to investigate the source of that whistle.
It’s coming from the kitchen.
I grind to a halt in the doorway, not sure if I should retreat and pretend I didn’t see Rune frowning at a scrap of paper.
Last night, I admitted I’m little more than currency Anna Jackson used to buy herself a better life. Will Rune think less of me? Will it give him more of a reason to objectify me than being an omega already does, or will I find pity swimming in his amber eyes instead?
Before I can make up my mind on what to do, he glances over at me, his frown melting away as he flashes me a distracted smile. “Hi, cher, you should have left the tray. Nancy would have gotten it.”
His smile is a dimmer version than the infectiously bright ones he’s given me before. When his attention immediately returns to the piece of paper on the counter in front of him, I assume something must be wrong.
“I didn’t mind bringing it down,” I say, carrying the tray over to the stainless-steel dishwasher.
“The sink,” Rune says, still distracted. “Nancy has a special way of loading that none of us has ever mastered.”
Nodding, even though he’s not looking, I place the tray beside the sink.
