Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
The brightness of the computer is making my eyes dry out. I feel like I am half in the grave with everything going on. Trying to balance the absolute shit show that is my life with my new pack, Prism, and work at the Design Clinic has me feeling like I’m running on fumes.
But despite the sandpaper feeling, I can’t look away from the email on my screen.
Ms. Manson,
Let this email serve as a record that the Omega Affairs department has processed your request for a change in Omega Guardianship. Kieran Cobb has replaced Eve Newton as requested.
If you believe this has been done in error, please contact the Omega Affairs department at your earliest convenience.
I read it over and over, trying to make sense of it.
Clearly, Kieran did this. But how?
Isn’t my signature, my approval needed to change my guardian? Or at least Eve’s? She wouldn’t sign me over to him. She just wouldn’t.
There is a movement, quickly picking up steam, aiming to remove the need for an Omega guardian altogether. Still, most people treat it as nothing more than a formality, so it’s not seen as a pressing issue. While I know there is abuse of the system, Eve has always been my guardian in name only.
How did it get transferred to Kieran?
My hands shake as I pull out my phone and call my sister.
“Crystal! Why didn’t you tell me you had an Alpha?’
My stomach bottoms out. “What?” I whisper.
A rustling on the other line makes me imagine her wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder while she cleans something up. “He stopped by yesterday. I was waiting for you to call and tell me, but I didn’t think it would take this long! He’s so handsome. I didn’t expect you to end up with someone so much older, but…”
Well, there goes any hope I had that it was one of my actual Alphas who went to visit her.
“What did he want, Eve?”
“Well, he said he was going to surprise you with a bonding trip, but he needed my permission. I just signed the travel and bonding documents.”
I swear loudly and slam my hand down on the tabletop. “Goddamnit, Eve! It wasn’t travel documents. He filed a change in guardianship. I just got the notification.”
Her sharp inhale of breath is followed by loud steps and a slamming door. When she speaks, it’s barely above a whisper. “Are you telling me he took guardianship of you? Why would he do that when he can bond you?”
“Because he’s not my Alpha, Eve.” Despair and devastation drip through me, and every bit of fight I have left in me decides to flee. “He’s my boss and not a good guy.”
“No, that can’t be right.” Her denial is sharp and filled with guilt. Silent tears run down my face. “He was so kind. He clearly had a lot of money, and you deserve a good life. You’re meant for more than this, and he seemed like he could give you that. He knew all this stuff about you, about us. He had pictures of you on his phone…”
“I’ve got to go to the Omega Affairs department and see if I can get this reversed. He… I can’t be under his thumb any more than I already am.”
I can’t wait to hear what she says. Her apologies won’t do anything to help me now.
It takes only a few seconds for me to gather my things and shove them in my purse. I’m not working today. I’m done. What’s going to happen if Walter reports me to Kieran?
He already owns me.
I can’t keep living like this. This isn’t sustainable.
I want to hurt Kieran Cobb. At this point, it’s not going to be enough to get out from under his thumb.
I want to fucking destroy him.
I want him in pain.
I want him afraid.
I’m lost in my thoughts when I turn the corner and run into Dr. Icarus Knight. He startles when he sees me and gives me a half-wave.
“Athena, I know you’re mad, but don’t push me away. It’s been a week. I miss you,” he says into his phone as he walks away.
I have half a mind to follow him and beg him for help. I don’t know what he or his pack could do to help, but I trust him in a way I don’t trust many others in this place.
But the only person who can help me right now is myself.
* * *
The Beta woman’s nails make a clacking noise as she types rapidly. I sit back in the uncomfortable chair and watch as she “escalates the issue of my guardianship to management.”
After waiting two hours for my number to be called, I realize now that the control of Omegas is full of bureaucratic nonsense.
It’s way worse than the DMV.
“Okay, here we go,” she says brightly. “Your paperwork was filed and approved with all the necessary documentation. Unless you can prove the signatures were forged-”
‘They weren’t forged, but she wasn’t aware of what she was signing!” I insist for the fourth time. “He misled her.”
“Then feel free to take this situation to court. But on our end, everything is in order.”
I bury my face in my hands. I never gave much thought to Omega rights. My guardian was my sister, and I knew I had nothing to worry about. It’s privileged, of course, not to have to worry about being under the thumb of a less-than-ideal person. I got complacent, and now I’m facing the reality of a guardian who does not have my best interests at heart.
I don’t even know what a guardian can control. What effect will this have on my life other than signing off on my bonding?
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” The Beta asks again. I shake my head without looking over the top of my hands. “Okay, if not, you’ll have to get up. Other people are waiting in line, so…”
I flee from the beige government building, my chest heaving. It’s hard to breathe, to think straight.
I can feel my freedom draining away, threatening to leave me a husk of an Omega.
Kieran choked me, threatened me, kicked me, and then went to my sister’s home, where my niece lives, and charmed her, pretending to be my Alpha. He convinced her he was looking out for me and wanted to surprise me with a trip to gain control over me.
This has to be because he knows I’ve met my Alphas. He’s trying to ensure I can’t form a legitimate pack. And for what? His image in business? That can’t be all it is, can it?
Sharp pain jolts me out of my thoughts as I’m yanked backward by my hair. I kick and flail, but a hand covers my mouth as I’m dragged into a shadowed alley. It smells like piss and despair, and my stomach churns.
I thought today couldn’t get any worse, but I should know better by now.
It can always get worse when you’re Crystal Manson.
“Quit fighting, Omega bitch,” he snarls in my ear.
I won’t stop fighting.
I will never stop fighting.
This fucking asshole chose the wrong day to try to snatch me off the street.
What do I have to lose?
Kieran visited my sister, ensuring I knew they were not outside his reach. He’s now my guardian, meaning I’m his possession for all intents and purposes.
And all because he found out I was forming a pack.
I thought I could have something. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could snag some semblance of normal for myself, even though I have spent the past four years swearing off packs and being adamant I wouldn’t form one.
All it took was meeting the right people, I guess.
My elbow connects with the stomach of the man who is dragging me through the alley, and he swears loudly. I stomp his foot with the heel of my modest pump and do my best to wiggle out of his grip.
He swings me around, pinning me against the brick wall with a forearm to my throat. I finally get a good look at him and am shocked to see he’s handsome. He looks like the type of guy who would make eyes with you on the other side of the bar, and you wouldn’t feel weird when he sends you a drink.
The man bares his teeth at me in a snarl, and his face transforms into something grotesque and fearsome. “You’re going to pay for that. I can’t wait to hear them make you scream.”
As he leans down, as if to scent me, he’s yanked backward, leaving me slumping, no longer supported by the pressure he was putting on my throat. A massive Alpha has him pinned to the ground with one foot on the chest and is kicking him with the other. The Alpha turns to look at me and gives me a broad, charming smile. “Hey darling,” he says in a deep southern drawl. “You wanna close your eyes for me real quick?”
I decide it’s best to listen to him and squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t want to think about what the noises I hear could mean. Squelches, thuds, grunts, and groans. None of them can be good.
Eventually, a warm, gentle hand rests on my upper arm. “You’re good now, darling. Let me look at you and make sure you’re okay, will ya?”
I open my eyes and am surprised he’s so close. He’s got that weathered, tan skin I’ve seen on men who spend a lot of time outdoors and a military-style short haircut. His eyes are hazel and take up more of his face than I expected.
“There you are,” he says gently. “What’s your name, Omega?”
“Crystal,” I choke out.
“Crystal. That’s pretty. I’m Wyatt. Can you tell me what happened? How’d you end up here?”
My brain fizzles out momentarily as I gaze at the strange Alpha. “That’s a loaded fucking question,” I eventually say. “But I’m assuming you mean in the alley. He dragged me by my hair off the street.”
“Where were you when he grabbed you?” Wyatt steps back from me and crosses his arms over his broad chest.
“I had just left the Omega Affairs office.”
“Alright, that’s what I feared. You got someone you trust to get you? I don’t want to let you run off alone.”
I could call anyone from my pack, but I only want to call Puck for some reason. Deep down, I know he’s the best choice to deal with this situation. His phone rings several times before he answers.
“Puck?” My voice is shakier than I thought it would be. “I need you to come get me. Something happened.”
“Puck?” the strange Alpha asks, yanking my phone from me. He holds it up to his ear. “Well, I’ll be damned.”