Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Tatum
Today is the day. Four fucking weeks. I made it. I made decent money, way fucking more than I had been able to make in all my years at Mom’s diner. Paid off some overdue bills. Got groceries to stock the kitchen with. Even purchased a few new blankets for Mom.
But now, I need more. I need way fucking more.
It’s time for me to get Mom the help she needs. One fucking way or another.
So that means, I need to go in and see Declan.
Plus, I need more suppressants. Two birds, one stone, since I never got the extras the day I met Easton.
I feel like the last pack Declan gave me are weaker than what I’m used to. All these emotions and instincts are flooding in, but I need them nonetheless. I want to buy them more now, after that night with Hayden. I do not want to go even an hour without the next dose, so I need to be prepared.
I tug on my sundress as I make my way into my small bathroom. I am late. Hopefully, Declan isn’t already at the club, or I’ll never hear the end of it.
It’s not like I’m being careless, but I can’t exactly tell him I’m late because my mother hasn’t eaten all day, and I had to force-feed her this afternoon. Again. At least there wasn’t any vomiting.
I stuff my heels and some clothes to change into after work into my duffle bag and head into the living room. Meg is already here, taking care of Mom, and I sigh. Thank goodness, she is always on time.
Despite being the one to pay the bills for this place, it’s all in her name, since we moved in when I was still a teen. Which means my credit is shit, and I can’t prove how responsible I am. I couldn’t get my own place, even if I was willing to leave Mom behind. But that would be the same as leaving her to die.
“I have to work tonight, Mom. Meg will take care of you and get you to bed. Then I’ll be back around three.” I always tell her, even though she never responds anymore.
I lean down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, before pushing some of her hair away from her face. She’s staring blankly at the TV.
“I love you.”
I do love her. Even if she’s no longer the woman that once cared for me. My father dying, her Alpha, her mate… It destroyed her. I think she only managed to hang on for all those years for him. He would have wanted her to take care of me. And she did.
She tried her best, even if it wasn’t…good, sometimes. She paid the bills, made sure I was fed. Bought me clothes when she remembered, or the school started to complain. I don’t have any other family, and I had to learn how to care for myself a long time ago.
A spike of pain and resentment rises to the surface, but I shove it down.
My mother couldn’t help the way she reacted to her mate’s death. Omegas are dependent on their Alphas, especially once they become bonded.
“We’ll get you into ABO Care, I promise mom. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
My vow doesn’t even cause her to blink as I pull the blanket up over her shoulders, before taking one last look at her.
It’s an odd feeling, missing someone that's sitting right in front of you. Missing the person she used to be. Before everything.
Helping me get ready before school. Doing my hair, picking out my clothes. Making me pancakes on the weekends. Dancing in the rain with me. Arts and crafts, and movie nights. Baking cookies, and reading books before bedtime. She’s practically a ghost now. The shell of a woman that once existed.
There’s a facility for men and women like my mother. There are several, actually. I’ve done a lot of research on these in the last year, but over the last three months things have gotten really bad. She needs full-time care, and I just can’t be that person for her. She needs more help than I can give her.
Which is how I ended up working at Haze Instincts. How I ended up in that sex shop where I met Declan. What a mess I’ve made for myself.
“Thanks, Meg,” I say, waving to her as I slip out the door, and she murmurs a soft goodbye.
I head outside, and when I make it downstairs, that's when I remember my fucking bike…
Then I see him. He’s waiting for me, smiling like the fucking bastard that he is.
Motherfucker. Hayden never gave it back after he forced me to accept a ride from him. He put it in his truck bed...
I growl, stomping past his truck. No. Fuck him. I’ll walk, even though I could use a ride right now.
“Get in the truck, Starlight. You’re late,”
I growl again, at his use of the nickname he once gave me.
“You’re as beautiful as the night sky. My very own Starlight.”
“Gah!” I snap, before jerking the door of his truck open and climbing in. I want to pound my fists against his chest, but instead, I buckle up and refuse to look at him.
His scent is so strong in this small space, and I can’t resist taking a deep breath. Fuck, he’s intoxicating.
I nearly release a purr of satisfaction. That would have been mortifying. Thoughts of climbing into his lap and demanding he pull his cock out flood my mind, and before I know it, his truck smells like a blueberry bomb went off.
“Fuuuuck me, Tatum.” Hayden snaps his head, assessing me with a furrowed brow that I can see from his reflection in the window. “Aren’t you on suppressants?” he asks, and now I spin on him.
“How the fuck would you know that?” I demand, and his eyebrows jump to his hairline.
“I’m the go-between with Declan’s new supplier,” he says, but something about the way his statement sounds like a question makes alarm bells go off in my mind.
I ignore every instinct I have when his scent spikes with anxiety. Being an Omega is frustrating when your Alpha ex is trying to get you back, and all you want is for him to fuck off.
Despite my refusal to soothe him with my words or my touch, my scent shifts. The calming blueberry and vanilla ice cream fills the small space of his truck, and Hayden grunts.
“Damn, I missed your scent. Do you remember the first time you perfumed? Nearly cleared out history class it was so strong,” he chuckles, and I groan, remembering that horrifying moment. “I thought it was the most delicious thing I’d ever smelled. Most of the class agreed.” His voice drops to a growl with his last words. When my eyes unwillingly meet his blue ones, the desire that spikes through me contradicts the piercing pain in my heart.
“Thank you for that walk down memory lane, I just love remembering how horrifying it was to have my history teacher choke on my scent before fleeing the room, abandoning me to face horny teenagers alone,” I snarl, shooting him a very pointed glare.
“You weren’t alone. I was there to protect you. Only Billy Black lost his fucking mind. I easily kicked his ass.” Hayden shrugs, and I sigh heavily.
“Hayden?”
“Yes, Starlight?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Yes, Omega.”
Thankfully, my stalker shut his fucking mouth before I had to stuff it with a sock or something, and stayed silent for the rest of the drive to the club.
I got more than a few curious looks from my coworkers as I escaped his truck and ran inside like a bat freed from hell.
I don’t have time for this, though. In a flash, I’m pulling my dress off and quickly changing into my uniform. Which is a pink silk lingerie set with this cute ass garter belt that holds up white fishnet stockings. The white bow ribbons that trail down the back of my thighs from the lace covered elastic send shivers up my spine.
More and more I find myself distracted by the things I have been wearing. I keep cycling back to how it feels like my body is beginning to respond more like a typical Omega. The nagging thought of the pills I have been taking makes my mind wander to the blue-eyed distraction.
I haven’t spoken to Declan in a while. Not since I returned his bracelet.
I see him walking the floor sometimes, or when he makes an announcement before opening, but we haven’t been alone.
I debate seeking him out before I start taking orders to ask about the contract. I had spent this morning working on paying the few bills I could and budgeting my month.
The facility I want to send Mom to is six thousand a month. Right now, I barely make that six thousand a month between the club and the diner. Which means I need to make no less than eight and a half to keep a roof over my own head.
I save all my tips, I only buy what we need, but the deposit is twenty thousand. I have nothing saved, nothing substantial enough to make a dent on that twenty grand. Not when I had so many bills to catch up on.
I’ll need to do three, maybe four higher paying jobs to cover the full amount. Once I sign that contract, I’m jumping in head first. If I don’t make at least four grand tonight, I’ll lose my shit.
I’ve given myself the goal of one week. I want my mom in that facility in eight days. Seven to earn the deposit, one to move her in. No time like the present to earn it, either.
I’ve gone through training with Dream, I’ve observed my coworkers, and I’ve read every handbook.
I’m ready. I’m more confident than I have ever been.
Minus the suppressants, feeling…weak. I’ll get my refill and worry about the rest once Mom is okay.
Hayden
I frown as my Omega struts into the club, her hips swaying in that sundress in a way that heats my blood and robs me of my last brain cell.
We’ve been on high alert. Kodiak stormed into the club one night, losing his shit about brownies, and needing to review security tapes.
We caught someone talking to Tatum on camera, that fit the physical description Kodiak was looking for, but he must have known camera angles because every shot is of his head from behind. Felix said the guy was an Alpha, so he couldn’t possibly be the Omega we were looking for.
Now Kodi is here every night, driving Declan nuts, hunting for our little stalker.
Kodiak is better with other aspects of the family business. Not that knowing that information sways him, once he’s gotten an idea into his head.
We hired three more Alphas for the security team. Something I handled personally. But then I’d seen my Omega trying to ride her bike home alone.
Fuck no. She doesn’t know this, but I tossed that thing in the dumpster at the apartment. I’ve already purchased her a replacement, but she’s not getting it until I’m sure it’s safe for her to ride it again.
She’s too fucking stubborn. She’ll leave for work hours earlier just to spite me. The thought brings a smile to my face.
I love her so much.
Her fire. Her sass. Her passion.
I follow her into the building, giving her her space, but keeping my eyes locked onto the sway of her hips.
Will her hips widen if I put my baby inside of her? Images of her stomach swollen with my kid makes blood rush to places it shouldn’t when I’m about to work the floor. The knot trying to swell at the base, just thinking of my Omega carrying my baby, has me fighting the instinct to take her to a private room and make those fantasies real.
My scent also goes a little overboard, but I just borrow a scent blocking spray from the security booth by the entrance to the club. I want Tatum smelling like me when she works, but I’m not an idiot. I can’t walk around a club filled with horny patrons smelling like I’m ready to bury my knot in the next available hole.
There’s only one place my knot belongs, and that's inside my Omega. Tatum. My Starlight.
“Fuck,” I grunt, as my dick strains in my pants once more. I need to get my mind out of the gutter. I’m doing a quick security sweep when I catch her determined scent, as she jogs up the stairs to VIP.
A slow smile pulls my lips up, because finally. Fucking finally.
I’d warn her Declan isn’t here, if I wasn’t desperate for Kodiak to get caught in her orbit too.