Chapter Eighteen
Karissa
I’d agreed to stay, and I had to keep my word.
At least while Holt continued to investigate.
Then maybe I could walk away and actually have a chance to say goodbye.
Running had never felt good, but it had become my trademark, one I hoped to change.
Since I didn’t have to spend money at the motel or for anything at all, I’d saved every penny and was closing in on the truck repair bill.
Maybe Darryl would release the truck to me if there was a little bit left and I could send payments.
If I left, once I’d established myself elsewhere, I’d also send money back to pay for my room and board while I’d stayed with the alphas in the beautiful room and the most comfortable bed in the whole world.
It was the least I could do for the first males who’d ever tried to do anything nice for me.
My heart refused to let go of hope, though.
Holt’s knowledge of law and his other skills made him the perfect person to find a solution if there was one, and I had fingers, toes, and everything else crossed that he would succeed.
All my life, I’d been assured the Omega Bureau’s regulations held sway among the shifter community, so things didn’t look good, but tonight when Holt returned would be soon enough to cry and make plans to leave.
After a restless night that even the most comfortable mattress in the world could not ease, I woke up early, wrapped myself in my robe, and padded downstairs in bare feet, arriving just in time to catch Holt on his way out the door.
“Wait.” I ran the last few steps and grabbed his hand. “Please, just a minute.”
“Of course, omega.” He smiled down at me, his eyes so full of warmth, I wanted to cry. “What can I do for you?”
“I don’t want you to get hurt. Maybe you should just follow the rules and hand me back to my pack. If I run—”
“You were going to run again?”
I waved that away. “Doesn’t matter now. I’m afraid that even if I got away, they’d find out you offered me help and hurt all of you.
Either by filing charges with the Omega Bureau or just by coming here and…
” I couldn’t stand to think of it. “So, turn me over and maybe they will leave you in peace.”
His gaze went flinty, the gold flecks in his eyes more a cold silver. “Are you saying we are not capable of protecting our omega? Because that’s insulting, omega.”
“No, not at all. I’m saying you don’t have to. If you were harmed, I could never live with myself. It’s not your problem. I’m not—” I studied the boots he always wore.
He cupped my chin and turned my face up to his. “You’re not anyone’s problem. You are our beloved omega, and we will do anything for you. Understood?”
I nodded, unable to draw breath this close to him, his scent wrapped around me, embracing me, although he only touched my chin.
“Good.” His lips descended to brush mine, soft then harder, tongue stroking the seam of my lips until I opened to allow him entrance.
He kissed me, deeper until I went limp and two arms came around me from behind.
Poe and Vaughn supporting me while the pack alpha took the first kiss.
But it didn’t matter who was first, because he released me into their arms and by the time each of them had kissed me further senseless and I opened my eyes, Holt was gone, off to try to make everything good.
If anyone could, he could, and I had to cling to that.
We headed into the kitchen for coffee and to pretend to eat the oatmeal Vaughn had prepared.
It smelled good, but the one bite I managed turned to tasteless sand in my mouth.
The others weren’t eating much either, and finally Vaughn got up and went to the refrigerator.
He got out a blender jar and put it on the base.
An array of fruits and vegetables and a creamy base swirled.
He set three glasses on the table and then retrieved the jar and poured each full of the smoothie. “I thought we might not feel much like eating, but I’m not having anyone dying of malnutrition on my watch.”
“Did Holt eat?” I asked, lifting my glass.
“Holt always eats. He’s practical.” Vaughn sat at the table again. “Try it.”
I took a tentative sip, and realized how right Vaughn had been to make this.
It was much easier to get down with no chewing, and somehow the flavor of strawberries, bananas, yogurt, and honey came through.
There were other fruits and vegetables, but they took a back seat to the stronger flavors.
“It’s good. Thank you for taking such good care of all of us, Vaughn. ”
He bobbed his head. “I know it’s not very alpha to cook and clean, but—”
“It’s completely alpha to care for the members of your pack,” I bit out. “If only every alpha recognized that. The three of you are extraordinary, at least in my limited experience, and I never want to hear any of you put yourselves down.”
“Even the cozy horror author?” Poe licked away a pink smoothie mustache in the sexiest way.
“You are all my dream alphas.” There was no better way to put it and this time, they blushed.
After breakfast, Poe and Vaughn joined me on the living room sofa, flanking me in a show of solidarity.
Each took one of my hands, and although we turned on the TV to a series we’d all said we wanted to watch, I couldn’t have said anything about what happened in the show.
The characters spoke to one another in that way that the sound effects always managed to overwhelm, but none of us complained.
Who cared what they were saying? Not us, for sure.
We were waiting to find out what would happen next in our life, and the clock on the mantel ticked away the minutes so slowly I thought the day would never end.
None of us wanted lunch, but Vaughn made us sandwiches anyway and then wrapped them up and put them in the refrigerator when nobody took a bite. “We’ll have them later,” he said and sat next to me again.
Outside, the sun shone down, the breeze blew, and the birds sang, but it might have been a thousand miles away for all it affected us.
Finally, the rumble of Holt’s truck pulling into the driveway had all three of us on our feet.
But we didn’t run for the door, just stood in a row in front of the sofa, hands linked, breathing harsh, that series still running in the background. Episode six or seven, I thought.
The door opened, and Holt stepped inside, his tan uniform shirt rumpled, face so serious my stomach dropped. I let go of the others’ hands and stumbled back to sit on the arm of the sofa and hear the bad news.