Chapter 32
HAILEY
It’s weird how much my life has changed in a year. I feel like I’m finding myself. Maybe it’s a little late, but so was my designating as an Omega.
There’s no walking around on eggshells in this house. There’s no reason not to be myself. There’s no fear of retribution or silent treatment if I say something the guys don’t like.
I thought my mom had a pack that worshiped her, that her Alphas were at her beck and call, but I realize now that it was all very superficial. Her pack is more of a business arrangement. She gets what she wants and so do the Alphas. They’re good to her, even if they aren’t good people.
But they’re nothing like my pack, not even close. Nate, Sterling, and Hayes are with me because they love me, not as some sort of transaction.
Now that we’re bonded, there’s no second guessing anything.
I feel how much they care about me every single day, and it’s that reassurance that’s led to my newfound confidence, and not the kind I got from Lavender Moon.
That place was a stepping stone I needed in my life to get me to where I am now.
Lavender Moon made me love my body again, come to terms with the power of my scent, and what it feels like to be a desired Omega.
But my pack?
My pack goes beyond designations. I’m finally allowed to be me.
I’m giddy, a huge smile on my face as I do one last swipe of mascara. Tonight is going to be amazing. Not only is this a great opportunity for Hayes, but I’m actually excited to go out and meet friends. It’s been too long since I’ve seen them in person and I miss it.
I can’t believe I used to be the person who made fake excuses to get out of going places. I was too afraid of being perceived, of finding something real. But Lavender Moon gave me friendships, hell, it gave me my pack. I owe that place everything.
I might not see Riley all the time, but we text every day talking about what’s going on at the club and how much I’m enjoying pack life.
The Alphas are nervous about tonight. I can sense it down the bond. I’m giving all the good happy vibes I can back, but I also can’t deny I love how it feels, having people who care about me.
“Hailey, baby, you ready to go?” Hayes shouts up the stairs and I take one last look in the mirror.
“Coming!” I shout back, grabbing the handrail with one hand and watching each step as I go down.
“Fuck. I was already stressed,” Sterling says as he spots me, a hand running over his head.
I just grin at him. They’re going to just have to deal with the strapless sweetheart dress, because I look unbelievable in it. Hayes smiles back, considering he was with me when I bought it.
He’s less on edge than the Alphas, but that’s always the case. He’s pretty much my conspiratorial partner in crime.
“You stay with one of us all night long,” Sterling says in his bossy tone.
“Yes, Alpha,” I say, blinking my eyes at him. “Don’t worry, I deodorized some, even.”
I usually loathe deodorizers, but the longer I’m an Omega the more I realize that unfortunately they’re a part of functioning in society.
It’s still bullshit that I have to change something about myself to manage others around me, but it makes it easier going out in public with my pack, so it’s a compromise I’m willing to make.
Sterling takes a deep breath and nods. Nate is quiet and I can feel his unease down the bond. Sometimes I wonder if going out to functions with my mom and her pack scarred him for life.
I try not to think about the fact he was ever with her, because when I do, I get really pissed off. That she could treat such an amazing man the way she did, or that he could ever touch her at all. Absolutely fucking disgusting.
“Hey. You look beautiful. Tonight is going to be amazing,” Nate says, clearly feeling my spiraling.
I give him a warm smile and grab his hand.
“You’re right, it is,” I say as our hired car for the night comes and picks us up.
The Beacon is a new hotel and casino on the strip.
It’s high-end and features massive blown-glass displays all throughout the lobby.
There’s a lot of excitement about the grand opening with how many people are milling about.
I hold Hayes’ hand and Nate’s is on my lower back.
Sterling is next to Hayes, giving anyone who gets too close a glare.
It’s then I see Riley, Luna, and her pack, sans her Omega pack mate.
I wave, my heels clicking loudly against the white-marble flooring as I reach them.
“Look at you, Cherry. Pack life suits you,” Riley says with a smirk, giving me a hug.
My stage name isn’t lost on me, but now I’m not one or the other. I’m Hailey, but I’m also all the good things I loved about Cherry too.
“It’s so good to see you,” Luna says, giving me a hug right after him.
“It’s been too long, sorry we haven’t seen each other in awhile…”
“Please. I’m sure those firefighters and the Beta with the backwards cap have been keeping you plenty busy,” Riley says and my cheeks heat.
“Speaking of which, I don’t think you’ve properly met. This is Nate, Sterling, and Hayes,” I say.
“Yes. They’re barred from Lavender Moon,” Mr. Martinez says behind Luna, and she elbows him in the stomach. He barely even flinches.
“Lovely to meet you all,” her other Alpha, Ezra, says.
“I’m glad you could all come. Let’s go to the VIP area,” Hayes says, his grip on my hand tightening.
When we finally get to the roped off area, he seems to chill out a bit. Me and the other Omegas grab cocktails as we catch up on what’s going on at the club.
“A certain Alpha has been by a lot lately,” Luna says, taking a sip of her drink.
Riley glares at her. “How do you even know, you’re never at the club?”
“I have my ways. So…who is she?” Luna pries and I lean in. I know the woman she’s talking about. It’s the only time I’ve seen Riley get worked up over an Alpha.
“It doesn’t matter,” Riley says and I poke his side.
“Come on, who is she?”
Riley’s cheeks turn red. I was almost positive he didn’t have it in him to get embarrassed, but discussion over this Alpha has him losing his composure.
“My stepmom, okay, she’s my stepmom,” he says in a rush.
“Oh, like as in currently?” I ask.
“It’s complicated,” he says, waving me off.
“I mean, Ian was my stepbrother. Anything is possible.”
I blink at Luna, because I did not know that information. “So, it seems we all enjoy a little taste of the forbidden fruit,” I jest, and they smile as we take another sip of our cocktails.
It feels so good to be around friends again, to be out with my pack showing them off, and them doing the same with me. I went on dates with so many Alphas who thought they were the prize, who didn’t want to put in the effort that it takes to make a pack or be with an Omega.
But my pack? My pack is everything.
Nate kisses my head, and I rub a hand down his chest. He looks good tonight; he has actual trousers on, the belt accentuating his waist. I tug on it, bringing him closer to me.
“It’s not so bad, huh?” I ask, and he laughs, taking a sip of his drink.
“No, it’s not so bad. It’s nice to see you with your friends, and it’s not as crowded over here.”
“Too bad there isn’t any dancing.” I sigh.
He just blinks at me, like I said something ridiculous.
“There’s going to be a high rollers game. They’re paying my buy in. You guys can stay here or come watch,” Hayes says, putting his empty rocks glass down.
“Of course we’re coming to watch,” I say, glancing back at Luna and Riley.
“We’ll hang out here for a bit,” Luna says happily. Her Alpha has an arm slung over her shoulder as she chats with Riley.
“Don’t leave without saying goodbye, okay?”
“Unless I find some rich sugar daddy to take me home for the night, we’ll still be here,” Riley says and I roll my eyes as I hold Hayes’ hand and follow him to the space the game is going to be held.
My breath hitches as I see who’s sitting across the table, and the woman standing behind him.
It’s Lenny, one of my mom’s Alphas, and there she stands right behind him. I know this isn’t a professional game. Anyone who wanted to buy in could, but I wouldn’t have suspected them to be here.
“We can go,” Hayes leans in, whispering in my ear.
I look over at Nate, his arms are crossed over his chest. He’s glaring at Lenny, not even paying attention to my mother. We could leave, walk away, be the bigger person. But…what if I don’t want to take the high road? What if I want these people to feel as insignificant as they’ve made me feel?
With all the confidence I can muster, I grab the back of Nate’s neck, bringing his lips to mine, kissing him in front of all these people. He kisses me back with just as much passion as I’m giving, before our lips part and I give him a smile.
It’s mischievous down the bond, my cue that maybe sweet Nate doesn’t feel like being so sweet either.
I place a hand on Hayes’ shoulder, indicating for him to sit, before I plop down on his lap.
My moms eyes lock onto mine, her eyebrow raising.
“Does he still taste like me after all these months?” she asks.
Thankfully, I don’t have access to any weapons right now, because I very likely would be going to jail over the comment. In my peripheral and down the bond, I can tell Sterling is barely holding it together. Nate seems unphased, used to my mom’s lethal tongue.
“Does he taste like washed up Omega snatch? No. Last I tasted, his cock was drenched in the sweetest of cherries,” Hayes says so effortlessly beneath me.
His years of playing poker making him a hard to beat opponent for my mom.
“You could have had everything. Instead, look at you, working at that station still, fucking around with this low life Beta and my disgrace of a daughter,” Erin seethes.
I’m not sure when the term for who she was switched in my head, but she isn’t a mom, she never was. Maybe she gave birth to me, did the minimum of keeping me alive, but she wasn’t a mom. Even now her focus is on Nate, how his betrayal hurts, not anything to do with me.
“That’s enough, Erin,” Lenny says, and it’s obvious that Erin’s persona is cracking in the most embarrassing way in public.
She’s there to look pretty, to tie all these prestigious men together in one pack, not throw insults across a poker table.
“I’m very content where I am,” Nate says, a hand squeezing my shoulder, his thumb dragging along my bond mark.
Erin’s eyes gaze over the spot where he’s marked me. I watch in delight as her face turns red when she realizes that we’re bonded. That this is more than some petty scheme to get back at her. This is real, and she fucking hates it.
“You…you bonded with her?” she asks incredulously.
Hayes adds his thumb to the mix. Sterling stands behind us, like our protector. If anything escalates, he’s ready to pick me up and run the hell out of here. I just know it.
“That’s right. We’re official. Pack Thomas is all here,” I say, happy as hell I don’t share her last name anymore.
“Keep the buy in, we’re leaving,” Lenny says, tossing a glare at all of us. I guess it’s fine to make a scene at a strip club, but somewhere that elite packs might be watching is too far.
She doesn’t like that answer, not as she rounds the table and stands before me. I don’t get up from my seat, and when she lifts her hand to strike me, Sterling is there to grab her wrist. Painfully, if the grimace on her face is anything to go by.
She was going to hit me, in public, in front of everyone, because she thought I took something that was hers.
I stand, Lenny grabbing Erin by the waist, ripping her out of Sterling’s grasp.
“He was never yours. He’s my Alpha, we’re bonded. I don’t care if you ever accept it, I don’t care what you do with your life, because we’re no longer family,” I say, finally getting the words out.
I wasn’t sure how a confrontation with her would go, but I feel like I need to say my piece, make it real.
“You were a terrible, selfish, absent mother and your Alphas weren’t father figures at all, not a single one of them.
Nate was the only good man you ever tried to lure into your web, but he sees you for what you really are.
A narcissistic, selfish bitch. He chose me as an Omega, and I’m choosing to never see you again. ”
Her eyes turn into slits. Lenny is trying to pull her away. He’s pissed at the scene she’s caused.
“You think this is over? Your pack is nothing, mine is powerful, it would take nothing to ruin you,” she says, and I gulp.
Hayes’ has a good deal of money, but her pack has way more influence as well. Would she really do something crazy to hurt my pack? If tonight is any indicator, there’s no doubt in my mind that she would do whatever it takes to ruin us just because we embarrassed her.
Shit. I should have taken the high road, and put my pride to the side. The sickening feeling of something happening to my pack because I’m related to this woman is nearly overwhelming.
“Say it,” Sterling mumbles, and my brows furrow as I glance to him and then Nate.
Nate’s tone is low, but clear enough for us all to hear.
“You do anything to my pack, fucking anything, and I’ll release all the copies of Clinton’s transgressions.
He’ll go to jail, you’ll be ruined, bogged down with so much legal bullshit you won’t be able to breathe,” Nate seethes and I glance at him, I’ve never seen him this serious, and damn if it doesn’t have me turned on.
Erin glances at me and back at Nate.
“You’re lying,” Erin seethes.
“I guess we could call Clinton’s firm and find out,” Nate says, his voice deadly and steadfast. I do my best not to perfume; now is certainly not the time.
“We’ll stay out of your way, and you’ll stay out of ours,” Lenny demands.
Nate looks at the both of them. “You’ll never reach out to me or Hailey again.”
She purses her lips, clearly pissed off she didn’t get her way, but whatever Nate has on Clinton, it’s big enough to make them both back down.
“Fine,” my mom snaps, pulling away from Lenny and storming off in the opposite direction.
There’s no last word to be said. There’s so much I could say, so much more I’d like to get off my chest, but this is where things have to end. Our relationship is gone.
It’s a relief just as much as it is sad. The person who brought me into this world could care so little about me.
I vow then, when I have my own children, they’ll never know what this feels like, that they’ll always know that they’re loved.
Sterling is nearly shaking with fury, his mouth in a hard line, as I grab his hand and squeeze, giving him some reassurance.
Hayes claps his hands together once.
“Well, that table fell apart pretty quickly. What do ya say we head home?”
“Please, let’s get the fuck out of here,” Sterling says, not letting go of my hand.
“What does Nate have on their pack?” I whisper.
“We’ll talk about it as soon as we get home,” Sterling says, his protectiveness over all of us on an all-time high, and I eat up every second of it.