9. Blaine
9
Blaine
What the fuck is going on?
I wanted an Omega. I've always wanted an Omega. And despite the jokes about how the biggest draw is my knot needing to be useful for once, I've always thought the idea of a little Omega who takes care of us and ties the pack together was beautiful. We need an Omega to officially complete our pack bond, and I've wanted that for years.
But this Omega is not at all what I was expecting to get.
I've seen her in interviews and her face on posters and advertisements. Everyone in the city knows who she is. She's the Perfect Omega – what all Omegas should aspire to be. You'd think that it would be the best luck to match with the Omega that is literally touted as the picture of perfection.
But whose idea of perfection is this?
Someone has destroyed any sense of individuality this Omega has, has traumatized her to ignore her own instincts, and has made her so subservient to Alphas that it's actually dangerous to her wellbeing.
Chase follows me out of the store, and I slump against the wall, breathing deeply to try to settle myself. "Who the fuck did that to her?" I ask him as he sits down beside me. We've been friends since we were children. Hell, his mother practically raised me I was at his house so often. I don't think there is anyone in this world who knows me better than Chase.
"You can't be buying this submissive Omega shit, Blaine," Chase says, resting his wrists on his bent knees. "It's a fucking act."
"It would take a killer actress to fake that, Chase. You didn't see her face when I said she upset me." I nearly choke on my words. "She looked at me like she was worried I would hit her. Like it broke her heart that I was unhappy with her." I'll never get that image out of my mind, her blue eyes giant and glassy with tears. How quickly her head dropped, her eyes on the floor.
Someone has spent her entire life forcing her to behave this way. There's no other explanation.
"Man, you're just so desperate for an Omega you'll believe anything," Chase continues. His pessimism is starting to really piss me off. Of course, I want an Omega! He should, too. Our pack needs one. "You're just excited to fuck an Omega."
I rear back from him as if he slapped me. "What the fuck, Chase? Have you not listened to anything that has happened since we picked her up?"
"Yeah, I listened to her spewing a bunch of bullshit."
"She literally thinks she's not allowed to whine , Chase. That's the third time she's whined with me, and the third time she's apologized for it." I stand and follow Levi and Nora's journey to the car with my eyes. "There is some serious sexual trauma there, brother. We gotta be careful."
Nora silently climbs into the car and Levi slides in beside her. I don't want to upset her any more than I already have, so I take the passenger seat. She's still sniffling. Levi gives me a pained expression, and shame overwhelms me.
What would my mother think of me hurting my Omega on the first day I have her?
We make it home and unload all of Nora's things. She's got the Omega suite in the center of the second story of our home. Most pack houses now have them, a bedroom with a nest off the side. We've had it ready to go, minus the nest, since we moved in. While we were out, the round mattress got delivered to the nest.
Nora asks us if it's okay for her to take a little bit of time alone to unpack and work on the nest, and of course, we tell her to have at it.
Chase starts cooking dinner, and the rest of us sit on the stools in front of the island. We don't speak until the door slams open, and Joey comes stumbling in.
The man is giant, easily half a foot over six, with a massive body. You'd think he was an Alpha with his overwhelming presence, but nope. The motorcycle club bear of a man is a Beta. He has a massive grin on his face. "Where's the little bird?" he asks, turning the corner. He stops in his tracks when he sees our faces. "What happened?"
"Well, the Omega puts on a very good act about being this perfect little Omega," Chase sneers while he seasons some chopped vegetables.
"Quit that shit right now," Nolan snaps, his bark lacing the words. "She's not acting. She's fucking traumatized."
I rest my head on the counter, ashamed to show my face. "I made her cry."
"Fake tears designed to manipulate you," Chase snaps. "I cannot believe all of you are falling for this."
"She's not faking, Chase. If you had actually paid attention while we were shopping, you would've realized it. She has no idea who she is. She's been told who she is supposed to be, and that's all she knows." Levi is more worked up than I can ever remember hearing him before. I wonder what his dad would think of Nora.
"Chase, man, I met her when to her I was just a Beta bartender to her. Not a part of this pack, of her pack," Joey says, grabbing a handful of beers from the fridge and passing them out. "She ordered champagne. At Roberto's. Because that's the only thing they've let her drink. Took her damn near an hour to drink the beer I gave her, and we talked almost the whole time." He's flushed behind his bushy beard, clearly smitten with our Omega already. "She's naive and odd, but she's not fake. She's just…"
"Scripted," Nolan says. "Everything she says is what she's been told to say her whole life. We've got to find out who she really is. Fuck, she's got to find out who she really is."
We all drain our beers quicker than we normally do, and when I go to toss them in the recycling, I see Nora coming down the stairs. She's changed into a flowy pastel pink dress and is still wearing her heels. She enters the kitchen, and Joey's whole face brightens.
"Little bird!" he exclaims, moving towards her. She extends her hands to his, and he grasps them. "Welcome home."
"Oh, Joey, sir, thank you! I'm glad to be here."
He blushes deeply again, "I told you to stop with the sir, Nora."
Nolan and I exchange a look, knowing just how hard it must've been for Joey to ask not to be called sir.
"Apologies, Joey. What honorific would you like?"
"Master," Chase mutters under his breath, and I throw a dish rag at him. Luckily, she doesn't hear him, or she may have done it.
"Just Joey, birdie."
She nods and smiles wider than I've seen today. I wonder if she's so comfortable around Joey because he's not an Alpha, so there is less pressure for her on how to behave.
"Oh dear!" she says, looking at Chase in the kitchen. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to delay in my duties of making dinner. I apologize, I lost track of time in the nest."
He waves her away as she moves into the kitchen. "I cook for the pack, Omega. You can go."
Nolan growls softly at Chase's tone, but Nora doesn't seem to notice. "But… Alpha Chase, it's my responsibility as your Omega to provide you with meals."
"And I said I don't want you to. Get the fuck out of my kitchen."
She steps back, his words more painful than a hit. Immediately, tears run down her face, thick, wide tracks down her rosy cheeks. She tries to hide them by ducking her head and wiping her face off discretely, but we all see them.
"Chase!" I snarl, jumping to my feet. "You're being a fucking dick."
Nora flinches at my words as well, and she backs up more, moving towards the stairs. "Can I…" She looks between all of us, trying to decide who she needs to be addressing. Rather than choosing one of us to speak directly to, she drops her head, eyes downcast, hands clasped in front of her. When she speaks, her voice is thick with tears, but I can tell she's fighting to keep it level. "May I be excused? Since I am not needed to make dinner I would like to spend more time in my nest."
"Sweetie," Nolan starts.
"I would really appreciate more time to acquaint myself with the suite you have kindly set me up in," she says, quieter still. Every word is a cut, lighting my Alpha instincts on fire.
"Of course, Nora," Levi says, his face in his hands.
"Thank you, Alphas and Joey. Please come get me after dinner so I may clean up and do the dishes. If there are any other tasks you require of me, please do not hesitate to ask." She turns and scampers up the stairs.
The four of us watch her go and then turn our ire on Chase, who is suddenly very focused on the chicken he's cooking.
"What the fuck, Chase?" Joey growls.
"She was in the way," he replies.
I scrub my face with my hand. "We've made her cry twice on her first day. What the fuck is wrong with us?"