Chapter 30 Faye #2
“I know you’re mad at the Silverwoods, and you have every right to be,” she babbles. “All they want is for you to hear them out. If you listen to them and want to walk away, they’ll respect it. But I really think you should listen. I’ll be waiting right here.”
“But you know what Damon did.”
The guys betrayed me, and now Sabs? I thought being an omega herself that she’d understand.
“It’s not what you think, Faye.” She must see the panic in my eyes. “Do you really think I’d have brought you here if I thought you were in danger? You need to hear the full story, the parts Damon didn’t tell you.”
When I dare to glance at Laz again, he waves sheepishly, his lopsided grin making my heart flip.
“I guess I’m here now,” I mumble. “I may as well hear them out. But if I want to go—”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Sabs promises, squeezing my arm in encouragement. “I’ll be right here the whole time.”
I gulp and nod, shakily getting out of the cart. The walk seems to take forever, my legs turning to jelly with each step.
“Thank you for agreeing to talk,” Laz says when I finally reach him. “We’ve missed you.”
“I didn’t know exactly what I was signing up for.” I don’t meet his gaze. “I can’t stay long.”
When he doesn’t reply, I look up, taken aback by how sad he looks. My gut reaction is to apologize until I remember that they’re in the wrong. They lied to me.
Laz steps aside, motioning to the entrance. “This way.”
The entire Silverwood Pack is here. Everyone, except Damon, is seated at a picnic table in the middle of the tent, covered with flickering candles and snacks. It’d be the perfect date if the circumstances were different.
Ren jumps up, clutching a bouquet of purple hyacinths. “Faye.” He holds them out. The way he looks at me with such hope is almost too much to bear. “These are for you.”
I keep my arms pressed to my sides.
“Maybe later, Ren.” Cole rises from his seat, sparing me the awkwardness of outwardly rejecting him. He gestures to the table. “Sit down. We really appreciate you coming here to talk.”
Damon stands in the corner with his arms crossed, donning his usual moody scowl. Clearly not everyone appreciates my presence. I refuse to look in his direction, purposefully sitting facing away from him to make a point.
“I’m only here because Sabs tricked me into coming,” I grumble.
“All the same, we’re happy to see you again.”
The atmosphere is unbelievably tense, in direct contrast to the last time I saw them, all cozy and content in the nest. With everyone—apart from Damon—now seated again, it’s strangely formal, like we’re about to start a business meeting.
“It’s come to our attention that Damon didn’t tell you the truth about what happened all those years ago,” Cole begins.
“We want you to know the full story,” Ren adds earnestly.
“I told her what matters,” Damon huffs. “It was my fault.”
“Did you listen to anything I said earlier?” Cole hisses at him through gritted teeth. “You’ve already said enough.”
“Give us a chance to explain properly, Faye,” Laz intervenes. “Then you can choose what happens next.”
“Damon shouldn’t have said what he did, especially while you were in a heat.” Ren adjusts his glasses. “We never wanted you to find out about it like that.”
“She had a right to know,” Damon grumbles.
“She has a name.” I pin him with a glare, surprising myself with my own outspoken courage.
Damon opens his mouth to speak.
“Damon,” Cole barks. “This is your final warning.”
“You’re the one who told me I had to be here,” Damon mutters sarcastically. “But you didn’t say I had to be nice.”
“Ignore him,” Ren implores. “He just doesn’t want to give you all the facts.”
“Because they change nothing,” Damon says flatly.
“We know that Kady’s PI got hold of some police files, but they don’t include everything,” Cole continues. “It’s true that my dad helped cover up a crime, but it’s not the crime you think.”
“The omega who got hurt was an alpha chaser,” Ren adds.
“An alpha chaser?” My shoulders tense. “I didn’t think they even existed.”
“Oh, they’re real,” Laz confirms grimly. “Trust me.”
Alpha chasers are omegas who are so desperate to be claimed that they purposefully trick an alpha into bonding. Their targets are usually wealthy packs—much like gold diggers who marry for money.
I’ve only ever seen movies about alpha chasers before as real-life cases are so rare. Most omegas would never put themselves in such dangerous situations.
“Damon was only eighteen when it happened.” With his elbows on the table, Cole steeples his fingers. “He’d just joined our pack, and the omega who targeted him—Roxanna— used a rutting mist called Ruttcol.”
Everyone’s heard of Ruttcol. It’s illegal and the most potent rutting mist you can buy.
When sprayed on an alpha, the drug forces them into a rut.
It’s so powerful that it can make an alpha lose sense of himself entirely.
It also heightens aggression. A few years ago, Ruttcol had a lot of press coverage after it was used to cause a fight between two rival packs that left everyone dead.
If what Cole’s saying is true, that changes everything.
“Why would she do that?” I ask.
“Roxanna’s parents wanted her to be matched with a wealthy pack. She knew about my family’s wealth and thought that Damon would be the weakest link in the pack,” Cole explains.
“And she was right,” Damon mutters.
“You had no chance, dude!” Laz shouts at Damon. “She waited until he was walking home alone, snuck up on him in the dark, and sprayed him!”
“Somehow, Damon managed to contact me straight after it happened,” Cole says. “Thankfully, we were already close by.”
“Roxanna was forcing herself on Damon when we arrived.” Ren shudders at the memory. “She was baring her neck and begging him to bite her.”
“You have to understand that most alphas would never have been strong enough to fight that urge,” Cole says. “Especially such a young alpha.”
“Alphas have less control of their urges in the first few years after their designation presents,” Ren elucidates.
My mind is reeling. Despite the laws changing in recent years and more legislation being introduced to prevent unconsented bonding, it doesn’t change the impact of the physical act.
While unconsented bonding can be legally severed, it’s pretty pointless when the physical tie can never be broken.
Some medication is rumored to help combat the effects, but they’re still experimental.
A bond's permanence has left many omegas—and alphas—living in terrible situations.
“Somehow,“ Cole’s shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath, “Damon managed to resist biting her and pushed her away, but he didn’t know his own strength—”
“I’m an alpha,” Damon interrupts. “It’s my job to protect omegas. She got hurt on my watch.”
“It was self-defense!” Laz slams his fist on the table, causing the candles to flicker. “You had no choice!”
“After we got Damon under control, I told Roxanna to leave,” Cole returns to the story. “But she laughed in my face and refused. Instead, she took another bottle of Ruttcol out of her purse.”
I gasp in horror. Using Ruttcol around one alpha is bad enough, but with an entire pack? That’s asking for serious trouble. Out of control alpha packs are my biggest fear, so I can’t believe an omega tried to create that situation.
“Lucky for us, she was holding the mist the wrong way.” Laz smirks. “She sprayed herself in the face.”
“Unfortunately for Roxanna, it also has terrible effects when sprayed on someone who isn’t an alpha.” Ren winces. “We tried to get her medical attention as soon as we could, but it was too late.”
“So she blinded herself?” I murmur, realization dawning.
Cole nods. “If the case went to court, a judge would have ruled in Damon’s favor because there was plenty of evidence to show that he was under the influence of Ruttcol and couldn’t be held responsible for what happened.
My dad and Roxanna’s family agreed to cover up the incident to avoid negative press. ”
“We brought all the case files for you to look at.” Ren puts his satchel on the table then pulls out a large manilla file, pushing it toward me. “I included numbers of all the witnesses, doctors, and officers involved. You can contact all of them if you want to check our story.”
With shaking hands, I quickly leaf through a few of the pages. I recognize some of the names and documents from Kady’s PI’s files, but there’s so much more too. I skim the toxicology reports and blood test results. Everything is here and lines up with what they’ve told me.
“We understand if you want to leave, Faye,” Cole’s voice is barely audible. “But I hope you see now why we needed to make sure you knew everything before deciding. What happens next is up to you.”
Although it’s a lot to process, a massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The Silverwood alphas are not monsters at all. In fact, they were the real victims.
I turn to face Damon. “You should have told me the truth.”
“Why? It changes nothing.” Disdain practically seeps from his pores. “I’m still dangerous.”
Despite what he thinks, he’s shown more self-control than most alphas would be capable of under the influence of Ruttcol.
“You’re as dangerous as Mr. Snuggles,” Laz refutes.
Damon doesn’t seem to find this comment amusing. “Stuffed animals can’t go into ruts.”
“Can’t he?” Laz counters. “I’ll have to ask him.”
“This isn’t funny, Laz!” Damon snarls. “It’s not a joke.”
Despite Laz’s attempts to lighten the mood, I’m wracked with guilt.
“I’m sorry I ran out of the cabin like that.” I tug at my bottom lip. “I should have asked more questions.”
“You were in heat.” Ren tenderly places his hand over mine. “After everything you’ve been through, we don’t blame you for leaving like that. Even though we hate that you had to deal with the rest of your heat alone.”
A tear slides down my cheek.
“Was it bad, honeybee?” Laz bends over the table to wipe my tear away. “We’re so sorry we couldn’t be there.”
“N-no, it’s not that,” I snivel. “Well, the heat wasn’t great, but that’s not why I’m crying.” I use the back of my sleeve to dry my eyes. “Damon.” His shoulders tense when I say his name, and his stormy green stare meets mine. “I’m so sorry, for believing that you could be capable of that.”
His bushy eyebrows momentarily rise in incredulity, but he stays silent.
Staring into his dark orbs, I let my own fears cloud my judgment.
How will he ever forgive me for thinking so badly of him?
He may act like an ass a lot of the time, but everything he’s done so far has been a misguided attempt to protect me.
To my surprise, Cole bursts out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“Oh, little omega.” He chuckles fondly. “After everything, the fact that you’re worried about Damon only shows your true nature and how right you are for the Silverwood Pack. That is, if you’ll let us court you?”
The air buzzes with anticipation as the guys wait for my answer. Ren fiddles with the hyacinth petals, trying to act casual but failing, Laz’s knees bounce up and down, bubbling with nervous energy, and Cole remains still, yet his yearning stare hints that he’ll do anything for me.
“What do you want, Damon?” I try to ignore the others. “Courting an omega should be a pack decision.”
“Cole’s our leader,” Damon replies gruffly. “I do what he says.”
I’m scared to ask because I don’t know if I’ll be able to take the answer, but I do it anyway. “But what do you want?”
“What I want is for you to be safe, Faye.” His intense gaze makes my skin prickle. “But if you want to court our pack, I won’t stand in your way.”
Maybe there is hope for us after all.
Damon clears his throat abruptly, breaking our gaze and severing the connection fizzing between us. “My shift starts soon. I’ll see you later.”
He stalks out of the tent without saying anything else or looking back.
“Damon wants you just as much as we do, he’s just afraid to admit it,” Cole voices as he watches Damon leave.
“Is that a yes?” Ren asks. “You’ll let us court you?”
Courting a pack is serious. It’s a step up from dating without the permanence of bonding. It’s a commitment to be exclusive, and most of the time, it leads straight to bonding—much like how an engagement ends in marriage, except courting doesn’t come with a diamond ring or a dramatic proposal.
“Um…” I smile shyly. “Yes, I’d like that.”
The past few days have been a whirlwind, but they have shown me how hard life would be without them in it.
“Alright!” Laz fist bumps the air. “We have an omega!”
“She’s not an object,” Ren scolds him, quickly checking to see if I’m offended.
“Shit.” Laz’s fist freezes mid-air. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay,” I tell him. “I know you didn’t.”
Laz is just being Laz. My goofy alpha. In fact, his excitement is adorable.
“Since we’re officially courting, I owe you a proper date seeing as Laz and Ren have already had one,” Cole winks at me. “I can send over the details?”
“Sure.” I nod, biting on the inside of my cheek.
I guess I can unblock their numbers now.
“Hey!” Laz pouts. “Our date was a spur of the moment thing. I want to take out Faye again.”
“I loved the arcade,” I reassure him. “Even if I did whip your ass on Whack-a-Mole.”
Ren chuckles. “Now that I’ve got to see.”
Everything seems to feel lighter already. The black cloud that’s been hanging over me has lifted, and things are falling into place. Well, almost. I’ve still got to convince a stubborn alpha that I’m not afraid of him, which won’t be easy.