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I was instantly suspicious. She’d shown no interest in Angel until now. Before I could say anything, Nicole marched over to Angel and picked her up off the bench. She grimaced as crumbs fell over her pale pink satin shift dress. “Do you want to come to the library with me and read some books?”
Angel shrugged. She was bored, and she loved to read, but she didn’t like Nicole.
“Here, take this with you, Angel, for the road,” Emma said as she winked at the little girl and put half a jam sandwich in each of her hands.
Nicole turned on her heel with a huff, but seemed to bite her tongue as she headed back out into the hallway.
“Are we really okay with Nicole watching Angel?” I asked Emma. She wasn’t my daughter, but we didn’t know who or where Angel’s parents were. So we were all she had. A few of us had been taking turns watching her, but Nicole had never volunteered before. “I don’t see that ending well. She’ll probably dump her somewhere in five minutes.”
Emma just smiled enigmatically. “It will be worth having to hunt Angel down again, just to see Nicole’s dress covered in strawberry jam.”
Lexie and I both burst out laughing. “I take it we hate her?” she asked.
Emma and I both nodded vigorously. I loved that Lexie used ‘we’ and was immediately in on our shenanigans. She was a loyal friend. Maia looked up from across the room at our laughter. I couldn’t help but notice how tired she looked. Leif was hovering beside her anxiously.
“I think we’ve got this covered now,” I said quietly to Lexie. “Do you think you could convince Maia to take a nap in one of the guest rooms? She looks beat.”
Lexie sobered up quickly and squeezed my arm. “Yeah, I can do that. Leif and I are on it. Then I might grab Pala and see if he can give me a tour.” She winked at me as she headed off, and I figured I knew what she would really get up to if she could get Pala into a dark, secluded space. It gave me an idea.
“Okay, make good choices.” I called out to her. She waved at me over her shoulder.
“You’re different. In a good way,” Emma said, as she looked between Lexie’s retreating back and me.
“Oh,” I said, surprised.
Emma blushed, as if she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Yeah, I just mean, you were this perfectly poised princess. Yet you always stayed in the background, never standing out. Until the Crash. Then you turned into a warrior princess, hiding out, escaping, then coming back here to save us all. It was like a mask slipped away. You’re inspiring. You give me hope we can all be something different now.”
I felt equally flattered and stunned at the way she saw me. I wasn’t sure I’d earned it, or wanted it. Being seen at the forefront of anything didn’t interest me. Even as a kid, I’d preferred to let other people stand out while I quietly worked in the background. That part of my Palace princess routine hadn’t been an act. There just weren’t many people stepping forward to help right now, outside of our friends, and they could only do so much.
Yet Emma was echoing my thoughts from earlier, at seeing her come out of her shell. Hope wasn’t something I would begrudge anyone. I leaned over and hugged her impulsively. “I’m no warrior princess, that’s Lexie and Maia. We all just did what we had to, to survive this place. Now we need to figure out who we are and how we’re going to survive in this new world. Together.”
“You may not think you’re like Lexie and Maia, but you are. Or at least, you are to us. I’m not the only one who thinks it, or the only one you’ve inspired.” Emma’s eyes looked slightly glassy, but she gave me a determined smile before she focused back on the task at hand. “Let’s get these sandwiches onto platters and into the dining room. It will keep the kitchen clear for everyone still prepping dinner.”
“Great idea,” I said, happy she’d changed the subject. I didn’t know what to do with her praise, so I focused on what was in front of us, too. We’d deal with one thing at a time. That was all we could do right now.
I looked at the growing pile of delicious smelling sandwiches we piled onto the platters Emma grabbed. Feeling strangely content to be preparing food for people I cared about. It was such a simple thing, but something I’d longed to do.Is it weird that I’m insanely proud of a pile of sandwiches?
I watched as everyone made their way through the dining room. River was back and he and Cary grabbed a plate each, and an extra for Ryder and Wolf when they got back, then sat down to eat together. Watching them eat my sandwiches with gusto put a smile on my face. I waited until everyone had eaten enough, before I shoved a sandwich in my mouth and piled a few more on two plates. It wasn’t polite, decorous, omega behavior, but I no longer cared. Not that I ever really had. I was a farm girl at heart and I couldn’t wait to get to know that girl again. I was tired of waiting patiently for my life to start. So, I was going to own what I wanted. I’d just do it quietly. Maybe there was a little warrior princess in me, after all.
In the meantime, we were missing two betas holed up downstairs, and I had plans for one of them.
twenty-four
Ididn’tknowhowlong I’d been down in the labs when the scent of cherries broke my concentration, and I startled. I spun around in my chair to see Ava leaning in the doorway, watching me.
“How long have you been there?”
“Not that long,” she said with a small smile. She looked as if she wanted to come in but had suddenly lost her nerve.
“Where are the others?”
“Oh, Maia was tired, so she’s having a nap. Lexie wanted to explore. She’s never been here before, so Pala went with her. They’re probably having a quickie somewhere.”
I almost groaned. Ava was so innocent. She had no idea what her talking about a quickie did to me. I was uncomfortably hard instantly. Even if she was talking about someone else.
“I meant your shadows,” I said, as I tried to shift and discreetly adjust myself.
“Oh. I might have given them the slip.” Her blush was adorable. Everything about her was perfect. Her long dark hair was back up in a bun today, and I had the craziest urge to pull it apart and get her all messed up. This was the first time I’d ever been alone with her, without Cary or another omega with her. I suddenly felt flustered as we stared at each other. Neither one of us said anything more.
