9. Grace
Chapter 9
Grace
The officer with the braid leads me through the ORD offices and gets me registered. It’s a nice place, but small. Makes sense. There aren’t a ton of people and so even though this building has to serve the entire country, it doesn’t need to be big.
“You guys must be pretty quiet,” I note.
“Oh, yes, except about once a year in the spring we get a surge. All those teenagers.” The woman shakes her head fondly. “There’ve been studies wondering if it’s a seasonal thing with a lot of Omegas presenting at the end of the traditional school year or if it’s a mental thing where the presentation tends to happen when the schedule has lessened up, like the body can sense the freer schedule.”
I shrug. It’s not really my thing.
She gestures for me to sit down. “Now, we’ve called your employer and you’ve been granted a leave of absence.”
“You what? I’m—what?”
The woman blinks at me. “It’s common if an Omega reveals their status late. You can’t fight biology. It would be in your employee contract or perhaps your employee insurance.”
I hadn’t paid attention. Why would I have? I was a Beta, totally convinced I never had to think about anything regarding Omegas.
Man, am I regretting that now.
“Now, let’s talk about what is in store for you here, at your presentation, and being an Omega.” The officer smiles at me brightly. “I know the transition can be hard when you’re older. You have a job, a life, possibly a partner…”
I do snort at that. Yeah, turns out that William’s cheating couldn’t have come at a better time. The last thing I want is him posturing and trying to make this worse.
“But being an Omega is a beautiful, wonderful thing,” the officer continues.
Yeah, I’m not buying it. But it won’t do me any good to show rebellion now. If the men really do come through for me, and I have to hope that they will, then nobody can suspect that this is a fake courtship. I need to act like I’m totally swallowing all of this, and not give the officers here any reason to think I might be trouble.
The officer goes on about Omega biology, how the presentation will go, and takes me on a tour of the facility. She makes it all seem like this fairytale where I’ll be waited on hand and foot by one or more handsome Alphas, but that’s not what I want with my life.
I want to be able to continue my work in the publishing industry. I want to maintain my independence. All this sounds like to me is losing my freedom and my ability to shape my future. Everything has to revolve around my body and hormones now, these stupid heats that I’m going to go through.
I’m an intelligent woman. I’m not going to be a slave to my body. I have to figure this out.
“Being an Omega who finds your pack is a beautiful thing,” the officer continues. “I’ve seen so many Omegas find a pack, and be indescribably happy. That moment where they all lock eyes and you see that connection…” She sighs happily.
I feel sick and have to restrain myself from making an ‘ick’ face. I’m sure this kind of thing works on you when you’re eighteen, but it sure doesn’t work on me.
“I’m happy for them,” I say out loud, forcing a smile onto my face.
I have to hope that my brother’s friends will come and bid on me. But who knows if they’ll do that. Jesse doesn’t like me and Easton straight-up said we couldn’t do that. I know they care about Aiden, they’re his best friends, and they’re decent men who looked after me. But I don’t know how far that friendship and consideration will extend.
Without them, though, I have nothing. No plan. It’s reckless but at least I know these men. I’d rather bet on them helping me, as slim as that chance might be, than take the chance in New York that I’ll meet the perfect Alpha pack for me. Yeah, right.
I just keep picturing the shocked looks on their faces. It really doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.
Over the next couple of weeks, I prep and get ready—undergoing some basic tests to make sure I’m healthy, learning more about how hormone responses work for Omegas, and meeting with a mentor who tells me about her experience of finding a pack to bond with.
I’m the oldest Omega in the group. The others are all just out of high school or perhaps twenty at the oldest. It makes me feel weirdly old in a way that I don’t normally.
It also makes me roll my eyes. If I have to listen to one more young Omega gush about how excited she is to be meeting her dream pack, I’m going to hurl.
Both too fast and too slowly, the day of the presentation comes. We all get appointments to pick out a nice outfit, most of us choosing dresses. I pick a dress as well. I wish I could pick something unflattering, like orange. I look terrible in orange. But if I sabotage my chances of being chosen, then all that’ll happen is I’ll stay here at the ORD facility until the next presentation.
I have to look like I’m trying. I have to stay out of trouble.
Instead, I pick out a nice light pink strapless dress with a flared skirt that’ll show off my legs. I’m petite, so I have to be careful picking out dresses that won’t be too much fabric and overwhelm me.
Unfortunately, I do think I look pretty. I wish that I could look pretty for some other event, like a work party or a presentation for an author that I’ve helped get a good publishing deal. Something that celebrates my ambition and career. Not going to a place where I feel like a cow for sale.
The other Omegas all look lovely too, and I feel a weird twinge of jealousy. I’m sure now that the four Alphas won’t be here. There’s no reason for them to stick their necks out so far for me, even if I am their best friend’s sister. And if they were here, they’d probably choose one of these other taller, curvier Omegas.
Still, I hold my head up high as we’re all lined up and put in our places. I’m not going to let anyone see that I’m feeling insecure. It’s ridiculous for me to feel like I won’t be chosen. That’s what I want, after all, for nobody to choose me. Or, well, for someone to choose me who will understand this is just a charade until I figure a way to get back to my old life. I can’t do that so easily if I’m stuck living in this ORD facility for another month.
We each take a turn walking down the stage like models at a fashion show, the bright lights practically blinding. This is so demeaning. Everyone else is excited to take a turn and twirl and I just want to roll my eyes.
When it’s my turn, I walk slowly in measured steps down the raised platform, as I was instructed. Not taking too long, but also giving the Alphas in the room a good chance to look at me and assess me.
Yeah, right. You can’t assess anything about someone from just looking at them, other than how pretty you think the person is. This is beyond ridiculous.
I never thought much about Omegas and their roles in society, how their lives went, until now that I am one. Now I wonder who the heck thought this was a good system or a good idea. I want to speak to whoever’s in charge of this ridiculous nonsense.
My thoughts come to a screeching halt like a train with the brakes pulled as I reach the end of the walkway, to the circular podium where I’m supposed to slowly turn. The lights make it hard to see, but I recognize one of the faces in the crowd.
My heart stops.
It’s William.
It takes everything in me to keep my expression neutral. I don’t want him to realize I’ve seen him. But my heart picks up again and starts to race.
I can’t believe he’s here. If he’s here, instead of back in New York, and at this Omega presentation, it can only mean one thing: he’s here for me.
I can’t believe it. The asshole cheated on me and now he wants to put a bid on me? My blood feels like it’s boiling as I seethe inside. I want to hop down from the podium in front of him, demand that he explain just who he thinks he is, then slap him.
He probably thinks that he can have me because I’m an Omega. Because I won’t have any other choice. William’s never stood in the way of my career so long as I’ve also made time to be his date at events and dinners. He knows how much that career and my work means to me. He knows me well enough to have guessed that I can’t be happy about all this.
You don’t make a deal with the devil, but unfortunately, William is the devil I know, and the devil who knows what I want and might be willing to offer it to me.
Still, the fact that he’s here and probably going to bid on me after all this just makes me want to curl up and die that much more. As if I didn’t hate being an Omega enough already, now my cheating ex is back to try to legally claim me by putting in a bid just because he can.
If he’s the only one who bids on me, then I know I’ll be pressured to at least try a courtship with him. It’s the Omega’s choice! The Omega has the final say! Yeah, right. As if the staff won’t get annoyed at me for turning my nose up at every Alpha who tries to bid on me.
I finish my turn as the announcer explains my personality, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and basically presents as pleasing a picture as possible of what I’m like as a person so that the Alphas in the room will have an idea if I’ll be a good fit, personality-wise.
The announcer should add in things like wouldn’t date a cheating scumbag if her life depended on it, and will put her career before any Alpha no matter how handsome you are.
I don’t think that would go over well, though.
My heart sinks as I see William writing something down in the little packets they give all the Alphas. Each page has an Omega on them and you can write down what you’re bidding for when you turn it in to the officials. Obviously it’s only fair if you know what others are bidding as well so you can out-bid someone if you need to and aren’t flying blind, but I don’t know how that part works, I won’t be there for it.
All I know is William is trying to bid on me, and I want to throw up.
I can see a few other Alphas scribbling as well. I wonder how much they’re asking for me and if they realize what they’re getting into. I’ve heard of some Alphas bidding on multiple Omegas, just to increase the chances of getting one. They don’t like any particular Omega that much above the others, so it’s a numbers game.
Makes me feel even more like a piece of meat.
I’ve just turned to head back down the aisle, my heart between my feet, when the doors open at the back of the room. The sound and movement makes me glance back instinctively.
I have to hold in a gasp.
Jesse strides in, with Hendrix, Easton, and Cade following him. They all have determined looks on their faces.
Relief floods me so fast and hard that my legs nearly give out. They can only be here for one reason. I asked them to, and they decided to help me.
I could cry, honestly.
I don’t let myself look at them. I hurry back down the walkway, trying not to rush or let anyone see I’m emotional. When I get back there, the other Omegas after me go while I head down to the antechamber with the rest.
My heart hammers loudly in my ears. They came. They came for me. I can’t believe it. Maybe it was just some crazy momentary hallucination.
The Omegas wrap up and the rest join us, then it’s time to mix and mingle. The Alphas who bid on each of us will get to meet us, under the watchful eye of the various officials. It’s to give the Omegas time to actually meet the potential Alphas and decide on who the Omega wants to accept. If there’s anyone to accept.
I try to keep calm as we’re herded out to meet everyone. Unfortunately, the moment I get away from the other Omegas, an official brings me none other than my scumbag ex.
“Here’s one of the lovely Alphas who put in a bid for you,” the official says. She sounds so excited, and I wince internally, remembering how charming and suave William can be. I completely fell for it myself, I can’t blame someone else for falling for it too. “He’s all the way from New York City, just like you are.”
She leaves us to it with a beaming smile, hurrying off to facilitate another meeting.
“William. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Grace, please don’t be like that.” William sounds like I started having hysterics or something. “I was excited when I heard that you were an Omega. This will work out great for us.”
“For us? In what way, exactly? You can keep me at home in the kitchen where you’ve always secretly wanted me?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” William replies in a warning tone. “You know that I’m the only Alpha in this room who can possibly give you what you want.”
“You clearly have no idea what I want, because what I want is a loyal partner. In case you don’t understand what that means, it means I want someone who doesn’t cheat.”
“You want someone who will let you keep your job and that precious career of yours,” William points out. “We already have a life together. Who else is going to give you that? You think any of the Alphas here will uproot everything to move to New York for you? That they’ll let you go off to all your little book launch parties and stay up late working on edits and forgetting to eat? We made a good team, Grace. Don’t throw that all away over something as silly as having a woman on the side. She doesn’t mean anything. You’re my partner.”
“Partner. Way to make a relationship sound like a business deal.”
“Isn’t that what this is? You get what you want, I get what I want, we get to go home and return to our lives. Openness and communication are important in all relationships, Grace.”
He sounds so patronizing I could knock his teeth out. “Absolutely not. There’s no way I could ever trust you.”
Deep in the pit of my stomach, where I don’t want to admit it, I know that he’s offering me a good deal. I know it wouldn’t be the lifelong relationship I had hoped for, but if he’s allowed to have women on the side he sure couldn’t complain if I met someone and wanted to date them on the side. It could, maybe, work.
But I have a better option now, if they’ll just follow through on it. I can’t trust that William won’t find a way to screw me over.
“You won’t get better than me,” William adds, his tone soft and probably what he thinks is confiding, but it just sets my teeth on edge with condescension.
“Actually, she already has.”
I turn to see Jesse standing behind me, glaring at William like he’s about to rip the man to pieces. The other three Alphas are right behind him, and they quickly fan around me like a protective squad of bodyguards.
“Funny, I didn’t think you were quite this dumb,” Hendrix notes. “Or are you just a glutton for punishment?”
William sniffs and draws himself up. “You think that you can give her what she needs? You don’t even know her. I do.”
“You don’t know basic decency,” Jesse points out. “Pretty sure that goes a long way with women, last I checked.”
“We thought you learned your lesson,” Easton says, his voice a darker growl than I thought was possible from him. “But if you want me to do the same thing to you that I did to your car, I’m happy to make a demonstration out of you.”
William goes a little pale. “Good to know that country Alphas are the caveman brutes everyone says they are.” He smirks at me. “Didn’t know you were into that.”
My face gets hot with anger, but before I can say anything, Jesse cuts in. “You’re not talking to her. Ever again. You’re talking to us.”
“Unless you’re too scared,” Hendrix muses. “Can’t face us so you’ll try to shame Grace. Fantastic look, by the way, real honorable and brave of you.”
His voice is absolutely dripping with sarcasm. William goes from a little pale to flushed with embarrassment. I have to admit, I’m enjoying it. It’s about time someone cut him down to size.
“I guess city Alphas are just all talk and no walk,” Jesse adds. “Can’t even keep one decent woman by your side. You’re the pathetic one, here.”
“Although you shouldn’t be here that much longer,” Hendrix adds. “In case it wasn’t clear, the entire state of Colorado is no place for you.”
“Unless you really are enough of a masochist to let us make good on our threats, you’ll be on the first plane, train, or car out of here,” Easton finishes.
Cade doesn’t say anything the entire time, but his looming presence and dark storm cloud of an expression says everything for him. He wants to squash William like a bug. And hey, I wouldn’t stop him.
William looks from one man to the other, sizing them up. For a second I think that he might actually challenge them. “I can call security, you know.”
“Oh, please,” Jesse drawls. “I’d love that. Then we can tell them all about how you cheated on this lovely Omega here, then abandoned her on the side of the road so that we had to come and get her. You know that she presented while with us. You could’ve had her. You lost your chance. And I don’t think any Alpha here is going to agree that you’re in the right.”
“Go ahead,” Hendrix challenges. “Call them. We’ll see who gets kicked out.”
I don’t like the stereotype that Omegas are delicate little things that need protecting, but I admit it’s nice to have four men standing up for me like this. It’s also nice to know that security would be on my side and not William’s. The idea of abandoning an Omega in her hour of need wouldn’t sit right with anybody, and William has to know that.
Sure enough, he backs down. He doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t look like he’s going to start a fight, either, thank goodness.
“Like we said,” Easton adds with a tone of finality, “the state of Colorado isn’t open to you anymore. But hey, you can go back to your fancy city with the knowledge that we’ll take better care of Grace than you ever did.”
William glares at him, then throws a glare at me for good measure, like he’s disappointed in me for letting these Alphas have their say and not defending him or automatically picking him.
I suppose I can understand why you’d be upset that your girlfriend of however many months isn’t sticking up for you at all, but in my opinion, any good time we spent together was wiped away the moment I realized he cheated on me.
William walks away—more like stalks away. I watch him disappear into the crowd, taking in the hunch, cowed curve of his shoulders.
At least he’s gone. That’s one problem down.
I turn and look at the four Alphas. “You put in a bid for me?”
Jesse looks away and Cade rubs at the back of his neck. Easton shifts his weight. “Of course,” he says, a little gruff.
They’re embarrassed. Of course they are. They have to pick me even though they don’t even want me, as a favor. “Thank you. I’ll make this up to you, I promise.”
“Ah, I see you’re talking to one of your bidders!” the ORD officer from earlier sweeps back in, making me jump. “We do have a few others that we can have you meet, make sure that you meet everyone and are sure about your decision…”
“I think I’ve made my decision, actually,” I cut in, trying to sound excited and not desperate. I don’t want to give the Alphas time to change their minds, and I don’t want to waste anyone else’s time when I’m not picking them.
“Oh?” The officer smiles at the four Alphas. “I’m glad they made such a good impression!”
I plaster a smile on my face and nod, hoping I look excited and not deranged. “Yes, thank you. I’m not sure what we do next, there’s paperwork?”
“Oh, yes, of course.” The officer bustles me away so that I can do my exit interview and assure the officers that I’m not being threatened, bribed, or coerced into choosing these Alphas, and the Alphas can sign paperwork stating their intentions and ability to take care of me.
I can take care of myself, thank you very much.
I’m well aware that none of these men would choose me if they were simply making a decision based on attraction. I’m sure they’re eager to get rid of me as soon as they can. It does make a tiny bit of shame curl up in the pit of my stomach. Both that I’m keeping them from finding the right Omega for them, and because, well… I think we all want to know that we’re desirable, deep down.
We get all the paperwork wrapped up and then, at last, I’m free. Or, somewhat free, anyway.
I change into my regular clothes, gather my belongings—there aren’t many—and exit the facility. I’m free for the first time in weeks. Thank god.
The Alphas are all waiting for me at the front. Now that I’m not distracted by William and this whole ordeal, I can take in what they’re wearing. All the other Alphas dressed up in suits, even William, but not these four. They’re still all in their well-worn jeans. Cade’s jeans have a hole in the knee, and Jesse’s have several patches all over them.
They’re each wearing something simple on top too. Jesse’s got a dark green shirt that stretches obscenely over his muscled shoulders and chest. Cade and Easton are wearing long-sleeved flannel plaid shirts over t-shirts. Hendrix is the only one who looks like he put any effort into looking classy, but that’s just because he’s the smoothest operator out of all the men. He’s got a leather jacket on and his hair is styled.
It's really unfair, how handsome they all look.
I smile timidly as I walk up, bag in hand. Cade immediately silently takes the bag from me and puts it in the back of the car. “Thank you guys for doing this.”
Jesse arches an eyebrow. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Could you be serious for two seconds?”
“One Mississippi…”
I huff a laugh, shaking my head. “I mean it. I know you guys are really going out of your way for me and I promise, I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I can. I don’t want to be around you all any longer than you want me underfoot. I’ll get out, and you can get a real Omega to complete your pack.”
Hendrix frowns at me. “You are a real Omega, Grace.”
“That’s not what I mean. You know it. I mean an Omega who wants to be an Omega. Who will give you want you need and be good for you. An Omega that deserves you.”
The four Alphas all look at each other and shift their weight a little, but none of them says anything. If they’ve got a problem with how I don’t like my Omega status, then that’s their issue.
Easton opens the door to the pickup for me and I get in. This is going to be an interesting time, that’s for sure.
I just hope we can all survive it without incident, then, we can all be free.