Chapter 7
Seven
August
I t was quieter than usual at group therapy today, but it was bound to seem smaller without the large presences of Lance, Rio, and Max. I didn’t know where they were, but my Omega senses were tingling when those three went AWOL together.
I might have even worried, if I hadn’t gotten a message from Max during my clinic lunch break, asking if I could do an after-hours consultation. I didn’t even ask what for; I assumed it was for their Pack Leader, Llewellyn. Llewellyn Barrie had been the lead Alpha in the Barrie Pack at the time of Rio’s enlistment, and had been listed as the next of kin in his paperwork.
Somewhere during Rio’s tour of the Middle East, Llewellyn had lost his hold on his sanity and his Alpha. I had my professional opinion on why it had happened, and I knew the guys did too, but none of them were ready to face the hard facts so that they could truly begin to heal. They weren’t ready to poke at the wounds, if it meant that they could lose Llew forever. Instead, they were living this kind of half-life, particularly Llew.
I’d talked about it in one-on-one sessions with Rio, but he shut down at any mention of the Alpha. I never pushed—a sacrifice to maintain the connection we had established.
Sighing, I tried to turn my attention to the Beta who was currently speaking, but my mind kept wandering back to the Barrie Pack. I never pushed, because I didn’t want to lose my chance to see them once a week. I needed to hand off their case to one of the other psychologists, because I was more than a little in lust with two of the three Barrie Pack boys.
The Beta finished speaking, and I pulled my head back into group therapy. These vets deserved my full attention. I could daydream about the Pack that couldn’t be mine later.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I squeezed the arm of Trish, an Alpha female who’d lost her leg in an IED explosion a year ago, giving her a smile of support. “You’ve come so far already, but sometimes it’s hard to see that, when you’re slogging through every day. Lean on your support network—you would be there for them in times of need, so allow them to be there for you.” I said the words gently, because with these military types, any suggestion of weakness at the wrong moment could set them back months of recovery.
I smiled at Trish’s Omega and the other Alpha in her Pack as they came to collect her from the session. Giving them a quick wave, I hurried back into the poky little room that doubled as our meeting place. I packed up quickly, wanting time to run home and shower before heading over to the Barrie Packhouse. Max had offered to come and collect me, but while I trusted them implicitly, part of being a solo Omega meant that I needed to have my own means of transport whenever I went anywhere new.
I stacked the chairs and washed out the coffee pot, then it was finally time to head home. I was the only unmated Omega in our apartment block, but there were three Beta couples, a few single Unshown, and two completed Packs in the complex. I was as safe as I could be, and when my heats were due, I tended to either take myself to a Heat Clinic or tough it out at the cabin I had out near Lake Norman.
Looking at the dark shadows of the VA parking lot, I wondered if I shouldn’t have taken Max up on his offer of a ride, but I pushed the feeling down. I wasn’t helpless. I wasn’t unsafe here. But still, I hurried to the car as fast as I could, my keys already in my hand. When I made it there, I locked the doors immediately.
Life as an unmated male Omega wasn’t dangerous, but I was coveted, I guess would be the right word. Omegas were respected, but not everyone gave a shit about the law, or ethics, or polite society. If we were attacked, it always came back to our biology, like we were some kind of honey trap for Alphas who just couldn’t help themselves.
Bullshit. I could manage to be surrounded by Alphas every day and not whine and try to climb onto their knots. Alphas could do the same, if it wasn’t so damn socially accepted that they were little more than animals.
I let out a frustrated noise at the injustice of it all and wove my way home. I had forty-five minutes to shower and get across town, so I had to hurry. It had me waving hello but not stopping when my neighbors shouted hello. I was in my apartment, already undressing in the hallway.
After having the world’s quickest shower, I wasted precious time deciding what to wear. I went with well-loved jeans that I knew hugged my ass and an equally well-loved, long-sleeved navy sweater. It was so soft that it appealed to my Omega nature.
Being an Omega pigeon-holed me into almost a feminine role, and I’d hated that when I was a teen. Now, at the grand old age of twenty-five, I knew that being in touch with my emotions was a blessing and not a curse, especially when I’d decided to move into therapy.
And I was willing to top any Alpha who needed me to show them that just because I was an Omega, it didn’t mean I was submissive. Still, I liked all those Omega trappings: soft fabrics, a nest, pleasant scents, all those sensory pleasures.
Touch. I was touch-starved. I was an Omega without a Pack, with neither a family Pack close by, nor a romantic one. Sometimes, I’d find myself reaching out, not to appease traumatized soldiers, but to just get a little physical input.
I needed to find a lover. Maybe a nice Beta who’d let me tell them how good they’d been.
Why did my mind go straight to Max?
Climbing into my car, I made sure I had my tablet in my briefcase. I wanted to have all the resources right there for them, for their Pack Alpha. Plugging their address into my GPS, I followed it across town. My 1999 Honda had a check-engine light permanently on, and the upholstery in the back seat was so threadbare that you basically sat on the springs. Being a therapist was emotionally rewarding, but it wasn’t particularly financially beneficial.
When Max had given me his address, I’d kind of expected the place to be a single-story bachelor pad. I knew there was a good side and a bad side to this suburb, and I’d just assumed they lived on the bad side. Being a returned vet didn’t pay particularly well either, and I wasn’t sure what either Rio or Max did now they’d been discharged.
But when my GPS led me to the nice side of the neighborhood, I began to wonder if I knew these guys at all. The houses weren’t mansions, by any stretch, but they were mostly two-story places with green front lawns and manicured gardens. The type of places that said there was money to waste on landscaping.
The house I stopped in front of was average-looking, but little details spoke softly of wealth. Stacked stone sidings. Fancy wrought-iron trim. A freshly painted picket fence. Obviously, they weren’t hurting for cash, and somehow, that made me feel inadequate.
Growling at myself, I parked in the driveway. I was here in a professional capacity. They weren’t courting me, and in fact, if they were to court me, it would be extremely unprofessional on my behalf.
Pushing that thought to the forefront of my mind, I stepped out of the car and walked up to the door. Knocking lightly, I looked around the garden for the night-blooming jasmine that I could scent. It had always been my favorite, despite the strength of it sometimes. It reminded me of my grandmother’s house.
The door swung open, and Rio was there, his stern face softening a little as he saw me. I pushed my Omega down as he rose up to meet the strong Alpha in front of us.
“August. You came.”
Not yet, but I’d like to. I kept the words firmly inside.
“Of course. Max sounded like it was urgent.” Rio didn’t disagree, and my stress level ratched up a notch. “Is everything okay?”
That was when I realized that the soft scent of jasmine wasn’t coming from outside, but from in here. They have an Omega?
I didn’t realize I’d said the words out loud until Rio stepped to the side, ushering me into the house. “No, not really. I mean… kind of, right now. It’s hard to explain. Come in, and we’ll fill you in. I’ll grab you a drink.”
Stepping into the room in a daze, I tried to push down the whine my Omega was urging me to release. Not my Alphas. Not my Pack. I had to get that into my thick skull damn fast.
I followed Rio through to the living room, the Omega scent getting stronger and stronger until right there, sitting beside Max, was a girl. She had no hair and was dressed in an oversized sweatshirt, with wide green doe eyes and a frown on her face.
My heart thumped in my chest with something like finality. Ba… bump. She was beautiful. So beautiful. In her eyes was a pain that I didn’t even know how to verbalise.
And at the base of her throat was a giant, infected burn.
My eyes shifted to the men that moments ago I’d lusted after, respected, and something soured in my stomach. “You better start explaining why you have such an obviously traumatized Omega on your couch before I call the damn cops,” I hissed at them, moving toward the Omega to… what? Protect her from the military-trained soldiers?
I knew in my heart I’d try.
The girl just looked up at me with eyes that were fearful. Fuck, she was so young. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen or twenty. I sent out every wave of reassuring Omega pheromones I could conjure, watching her relax gently into Max’s side.
As I eyed him, he raised his hands. “It’s okay, August. None of this was us. Sit, please, and we can explain.”
Rio sighed. “I can see how this would look… bad. This is Paloma. She was rescued from a human trafficking situation two days ago. She was sold to them by the cult she grew up in.”
I was often praised by my coworkers for my poise and my professionalism. For being able to hear the most fucked-up things and keep a neutral, caring face. But right now, I felt my jaw unhinge, and I was worried it would hit the floor.
I looked at Rio. “I think I’ll take that drink now.”