Chapter 19
NINETEEN
I’m grumpier than usual as I pull into the parking lot.
It’s funny how much a person can affect another in such a short amount of time.
Before Opal moved in, I was content to spend my mornings alone.
Just myself and a steaming cup of coffee before a long day of dealing with groups of people and doing work around them.
But now, I look forward to seeing her when I walk into the kitchen.
She always has a plate already made for me, and as an alpha who is always taking care of someone, it makes me feel good to be the one whose needs are anticipated.
Sometimes we sit in silence, and sometimes she asks about my plans for the day.
I always ask her about Miss Blue’s first-grade class and how she’s handling the assignment.
And then she doesn’t let me do the dishes and tells me to get to class before I flunk out.
It’s now something I look forward to, something that keeps me grounded, and I think it’s become the same for her.
Which is why when I found the kitchen empty this morning—and void of that cheerfulness that I’ve come to enjoy—I was surprised.
I assume she just wanted a late morning, to have some extra time to sleep, but the moment hit me all the same. I’ve gotten used to seeing her, and her absence upset me more than I care to admit.
Now I feel grumpier than Thatcher on his worst days. Which is proving even worse when I park my car and my phone starts to ring, the caller ID showing the last possible person I want to speak with.
“Sam!” His buoyant greeting rings through my ears as I pick up. “Where are you, kid? I thought you were supposed to be at the office today.”
I grit my teeth. “No, it’s my day off. I’m at the local foodbank today.”
He makes a weird sound. “Really? I thought only criminals volunteer there. And high school kids who need something on their college applications.”
Despite what I let Kit believe, I am not Gregory McMillan’s biggest fan, nor am I naive when it comes to his faults.
Every time he calls me kid or bud, I sink a little bit further into hatred rather than surface annoyance.
But, unfortunately, his firm was the only one willing to take me on without a diploma.
Considering I’d like to start an actual job with a salary upon graduation, it was this or the possibility of interning without pay for at least six months after I complete my schooling next year.
Expediting the process by working for this asshole seems like a worthy sacrifice for my pack.
I take a deep breath. “I need to go inside in a few minutes. Is there anything else you need?”
“Yes, make sure you have the Kempsey case on my desk by Monday.” I agree and finally get off the call, tension coursing through my body. I don’t have long to dwell on it, thankfully, because a familiar dark sedan pulls up just in time to distract me.
“Hey, Sam!” Stacia says brightly with a wave as I step out of my car. Her enthusiasm for being here is way more than mine at the moment, but it does put a smile back on my face.
“Hey, Stacia,” I say back before patting Atlas on the back as I get closer. “Thank you for coming with me today.”
“It’s such an honor,” Stacia responds. “You’ve worked here a lot, haven’t you? Atlas says it’s one of your favorite places.”
I nod. The food bank is definitely one of my go-tos, especially now that I’m familiar with the coordinators and have a rapport with them.
Most of my morning was spent going to different stores and getting items that the manager said they lack this time of year, which is quite a bit considering it’s almost March.
I take note that the parking lot is pretty empty today. The busiest times, both for volunteers and donors, are normally around the holidays when people are feeling sentimental, but these odd times of the year are tragically vacant.
The idea of finding a way to recruit plays in my mind while we’re on our way in.
Stacia steps up to one of the sign-in screens, but I stop her.
“You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.
It’s for people who want their time here on paper, like people using this as community service or probation work. ”
Her mouth drops slightly. “Oh, I didn’t know that was a thing.” She looks back at the screen and then tilts her head.
“Sometimes, the only way to force people to help others is to give them an incentive,” I state, having heard it a million times from my grandma growing up.
She loves charity as much as I do, but it took her until her adult life to fully understand and appreciate it.
She wanted me to have different values, stating that she had failed with my father in that way.
Biggest understatement of the year.
“That’s true. My parents only helped out with charity when they were able to throw a gala or event.
They had to get something out of it, too, I guess.
” She frowns, retreating into her head. I can almost see the unsavory memories being replayed in her eyes.
When Atlas gently squeezes her shoulder, she comes back and gives me a soft expression.
“Thank you again for inviting us. I’d like to help out more, now that I know how hard things can be.
I was too spoiled—sheltered,” she corrects, using a positive alternative.
“I was too sheltered to realize what was going on in the world. I want to make up for that.”
“You went through other horrible things, angel,” Atlas reminds her. “It wasn’t all rainbows for you either.”
“It doesn’t mean it was right,” she argues, but then she shakes off her defensiveness. “My pain doesn’t diminish my ignorance. I’m ready to not be ignorant anymore.”
Witnessing this interaction between them is refreshing.
I meet her eyes. “I grew up the same way, Stacia. You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself for the way you were raised, but I can say that acknowledging it and setting out to improve others’ lives…
” I look around the center, watching as more volunteers arrive.
“I promise you, doing things like this helps.”
The omega gives me a sincere smile. “I’m glad you understand.”
I only nod, because that’s an understatement. I grasp the multitude of her situation way too much. Her parents were just like mine, and I sympathize with her on the horridness of it.
“Samson.” A familiar, gentle voice greets me, and when I turn, I see Honey putting on her apron for the upcoming shift. Her hair is pure white, and she shuffles over, pretending like always that her hip isn’t bothering her. “I didn’t think I’d see you today.”
“You mean you didn’t think you’d have someone to tease today,” I joke.
“Oh, I can always find someone to tease. It’s like you don’t even know me, blondie.
” She pulls me into a hug, her familiar cinnamon bun smell reminding me of Christmas.
Her tender demeanor would have anyone guessing that she’s an omega or beta, but it’s her stubborn alpha nature that keeps her pushing around here and at the other charity center she manages.
She pulls away and eyes my friends. “And who do we have here? You have the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen,” she says as she admires Stacia’s brunette hair.
“This is Atlas, he’s one of the frat brothers I was telling you about. And this is his mate, Stacia.”
“It’s so nice to have you here. Come on, we can get started a few minutes early if you’d like.” She takes Stacia’s hand and leads her to the boxing station. “Is this your first time here?”
She grimaces. “Is it that obvious?”
Honey snorts out a laugh. “No. I’m just here way too much.
I’ll show you how things work. And if you have any questions, please ask me.
There aren’t any stupid questions here. There are so many regulations and rules to follow, it’s like they don’t want us to donate.
It’s better if you’re a hundred percent sure rather than putting the wrong item in the wrong box and risk getting the whole donation thrown away. ”
Stacia gasps and looks back at Atlas. “Stay close to me.”
The day goes by quickly when you’re working with people who make you laugh.
Stacia works fast, always with a smile on her face and chuckling at every joke Honey throws out there.
Atlas uses his strength to move boxes quickly, which makes filling them up even faster.
Normally, our line-up has to stop the conveyor belt multiple times per shift in order to catch up, but this time it’s smooth and ahead of schedule.
“Wow, imagine if we had all the guys working!” Stacia exclaims as we walk out to the main floor. “We could probably get twice as much done in the same amount of time.”
“If Ciro decided to be serious that day,” Atlas jokes.
“Of course he would, because I’d tell him how happy it’d make me,” the omega responds, full teeth on display. “And Uriah could help you move boxes, and Kendall is a little speed demon. It would go so well.”
She looks over at me and beams, curious about what I think of the idea. “I’d like to get the whole fraternity down here sometime, but I already give them so many extracurriculars to do. It’d have to be on their own terms.”
“Understood,” she says, then looks over at Honey. “I’ll be right back.”
She leaves Atlas and me to speak to the owner with a new brightness in her step. When I look over, her prime is watching her with pride in his eyes.
“Thank you again, Sam,” Atlas says in a low tone. “Stacia’s been struggling lately, remembering where she came from. Therapy helps, of course, but I knew this would help, too. Lighten her spirits.”
I understand that more than anyone, but I can see the worried expression on his face, the heaviness that’s trying to stay below the surface. “She’s not the only one struggling, is she?” I ask.
He doesn’t fold, though, only gives me a gentle shrug. “I just keep thinking her parents might try to find her again. She’s doing so well with moving on, I can’t watch her go through the emotional rollercoaster with them again.”
I nod, remembering back to that awful day. We don’t talk about it much because it’s not a good memory to reminisce on, but it’s in the past. And I say as much.
“I just wanted to say thank you, again. Seriously, if you hadn’t done what you did—” He swallows. “I don’t know where we would be. Or where our omega would be.”
That day will forever be etched into my brain.
It may have been a monumental point in their story, but it affected me just as deeply.
Hearing her parents threaten to kidnap their own daughter and force her to marry who they want, it was like I was thirteen again, visceral hate directed at me with entitled rage.
The weight of their hands tugging me into the car against my will and dropping me off somewhere completely new and foreign to me.
All because I finally had the courage to tell them who I really was.
If it wasn’t for my grandma, there’s no telling where I would be right now.
I shake my head of the memory and turn back to my friend. “You would have done the same thing for me,” I remind him.
“But I didn’t—”
“You were too close to the situation, At. It was hard to see the answer. I wasn’t, so I did. So if it were me, you would have done it. It’s as simple as that.”
His lips curved with amusement. “As simple as that, huh?”
“Precisely,” I confirm. “You need to stop beating yourself up over something that’s no longer in your control. It’s done, At. Your life with her has begun.”
He sighs. “Still, Sam. You’re the best of us. You showed me what it really means to be a prime that day. So, thank you.”
I take in the words, and they sink heavily in my stomach.
Every day, I try to be the best prime I can be, but I still feel like I’m coming up short.
My busy schedule (mainly my internship) keeps me from being home with my omega.
Kit sits there by himself more times than not, and it makes me feel sick.
Not to mention, the tension between Thatcher and Kit is something that I cannot maneuver in any way.
They haven’t told me, but I’m pretty sure that they’ve exhausted their attempts at getting to know each other.
Despite that, I can’t shake the feeling that they’re meant to be together.
I’m not sure if it’s wishful thinking or some kind of instinct that keeps pushing me to ignore it until they figure it out, but I hate it being so unspoken.
It’s necessary, I think, but it makes me feel like we’re a broken pack. And I’m the prime of that broken pack.
I think I’m failing them.
Stacia and Honey walk over, and the omega has a tiny sheen in her eyes. “It’s time to get lunch. Would you like to join us?” she asks me.
I give a sincere smile. “I appreciate that, but I’d like to get back to my omega.”
My two friends say farewell, and when they get out to the parking lot, Honey turns to me.
“You have some quality friends there, Samson. I’m glad, too, to know there are good people out there supporting you,” she says, giving me a soft smile.
“Do they know how much they mean to you? Have you thought about letting them in?”
I swallow roughly. “Ah, Honey. They don’t want to know how messed up my life almost was.”
She tsks at me. “Just because something saved you doesn’t mean what happened doesn’t exist. It’s the reason why you do everything you do today. Maybe they’d like to know that.”
The unexpected emotion catches in my throat, and I swallow it down. “Thank you, Honey.” She reaches up to hug me, and I let her, only lingering for a second. I pull back, grab the check I signed this morning, and place it in her hand as she holds mine.
When she sees the amount on it, her eyes widen. “You need to stop doing this, Sam,” she reprimands me, but there’s no true fierceness in her voice. I see what it means, how much it can help. “You need to start saving some money for your life with your pack.”
“There’s more money than I know what to do with,” I remind her. “And because of where it came from, it deserves to be given to people who need it.”
She puts the folded-up check to her chest, right against her heart. “Well, thank you. You’re too good for this world, my little apple.”