Chapter 40
I had read enough romance novels to know that blind dates were never a good idea. So, how did I manage to let myself get talked into meeting a few alphas without even saying hello to them online first and think it was a good idea? Oh, wait—I knew exactly how... Fawn and Dr. Sarah.
It had only been a week since I had talked to Dr. Sarah about seeing what was out there, and already, I had a meeting lined up.
The two of them had conspired and ganged up against me, suggesting that maybe I should just meet with some guys of their choosing. They’d pick some nice, normal alphas, and I could sit in a meeting room, get to know them with a glass wall between us. That way, they couldn’t do anything to me or or even reach out to me. All they could do was talk, and I could leave at any point.
But Fawn and Dr. Sarah had also made it very clear that if I bailed too early, they were going to judge me. Heavily. Because if I really was getting better—like I said I was—then I should be able to do this.
They were right, and I hated that they were right. After six months in the Haven, I’d put off talking to other alphas for long enough. For the first few months, Dr. Sarah had agreed that focusing purely on myself was the best approach. But now she was all for me branching out. She’d even played her trump card: “You told your guys you’d see what the world has to offer.”
So, here I was, sitting in a meeting room, waiting for some random alphas to appear.
Fawn and Dr. Sarah had summoned them. From what I understood, usually, the alphas were already in the room when the omega arrived. But, this time, the room was empty when I turned up. Probably because Fawn and Dr. Sarah were putting everything in place. I didn’t even know the name of the pack I was meeting. That meant I was on my own—and panicking.
What if they don’t like me? I shook my head. Of course, they would like me. I was a ray of sunshine, but then again, I was all kinds of broken. Socially, I didn’t know what was up and what was down. Several years locked in a basement does tend to take that kind of spark out of a girl. Also, I had learned that quite a few alphas held very judgmental beliefs. For instance, the number of packs that were only interested in “virgin omegas” was frankly quite disgusting. Like the fact that I had decided to share my heat with a pack once before made me “used up” or “not good enough” for some people.
Well, in my opinion, those people and their stupid opinions could go and get fucked.
I hadn’t been as unfortunate to come across one of those packs, but Fawn had. We were sitting in the common area, eating cookies, when she got a message on her tablet. She grimaced, and when I pushed her to tell me what was going on, she explained that a pack she’d been talking to for two weeks had learnt that she wasn’t “pristine,” so they were no longer interested.
Fawn had simply sighed, unfazed by it, saying she wished they’d ruled themselves out earlier, as she’d wasted two weeks of her life on those idiots.
She got the last laugh, though. When a pack offended an omega, she could leave a black mark on the pack’s profile. Fawn simply had to press a few buttons, then any omega who looked at that pack’s profile could see that they rejected an omega because she wasn’t “pure.” From what I understood, that pack was receiving very little interest after that interaction.
The room I was waiting in was comfortable enough. My side had a large lounging armchair with a footrest and several blankets, so I could nestle down for the duration of the meeting. The guys’ side was a bit less comfortable: there were armchairs, but no blankets or pillows, since they didn’t need them. Omegas needed those items for comfort.
I paced the room for five minutes, and just as I turned toward the door to leave, the door on the opposite side of the glass opened.
In walked five alphas.
“Oh gosh, are we late?” one of them asked, looking at me by the door.
I pulled my hand back and shook my head. “No. I didn’t know what time you’d be here, so I can’t really say if you’re late or not.”
I moved to the armchair and sat down, taking them in. They were all handsome, most of them blond with brown eyes. They had a surprisingly homogeneous look to them.
The one in front, who I assumed was the pack leader, spoke first. “Hi, I’m Josh. This is Ben, Eric, Carl, and Lyle,” he said, gesturing to each of them in turn.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Juniper.” They all smiled.
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked as they settled into their armchairs. They were all beaming at me, appearing happy to be in my presence.
Josh spoke up again, smiling warmly. “What do you like to do? Tell us a bit about yourself.”
“I’m pretty normal, I think,” I said. “If I’m bluntly honest, I spend all my time in therapy or watching TV shows. Because I have so many years of TV to catch up on.”
One of the guys tilted his head curiously. “The keepers mentioned you’ve been through something but not what. So, can I ask, what do you mean you have ‘a lot of TV to catch up on’?” He hesitated, then quickly added, “But you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
I shook my head with a smile at his anxiousness—it was almost endearing. “No, it’s fine. It’s probably best if I talk about it.” I took a deep breath. “I lived on the outside with my family, but I was kidnapped. I was kept in a basement by a beta for several years. I escaped and came back here, where I’ve been in a lot of therapy since. Now I’m just starting to dip my toes into the world again.”
The room went quiet for a moment. Then one of them spoke.
“Damn, that’s horrifying. Impressive you escaped, though,” he said, clearly awed. “So… is that why you’ve got so much TV to catch up on?”
I nodded. “Yeah, there are so many shows that came out in the last five years!” I exclaimed in an exasperated tone. They broke out into laughter, the tension in the room easing a bit.
“What shows have you watched so far? Because we can give you a list of so many,” Ben said, pointing to Lyle. “This one is obsessed with TV. We have watched so many shows at this point, I’m basically an encyclopedia.”
Lyle rolled his eyes but smiled. “Hey, I’m just a connoisseur.” To me, he said, “I’ve been watching that new fantasy series—and loving it,” his enthusiasm evident.
I nodded. “Oh, I think that’s the sequel to the one I’m watching now. I’m watching that really long fantasy series where everyone dies.” I laughed. “I’m currently on season five.”
Lyle’s face lit up. “That is one of the best shows of all time! You’ve got great taste.”
I laughed again. “I wish I could take credit for it, but my friend Fawn suggested it. She said she wasn’t a fan, personally, but thought I’d really enjoy it.”
“And are you enjoying it?” Ben asked, leaning forward slightly.
“I really am! I thought I wouldn’t, but there’s something about the violence that’s just so satisfying to watch,” I admitted with a small smile.
“So, how are you guys finding courting?” I asked, changing the subject. “Are you talking to many omegas? How is the process from your end?”
They exchanged glances, as if unsure how much to share.
“Usually, omegas don’t want to talk about alphas courting other omegas,” Josh said, giving me a questioning look.
I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know if I'm courting. At the moment, I am just open to learning, I guess. So, how many omegas have you spoken to?”
“We have been talking to three or four omegas, but there is one we do really like.”
“Who is it? I may know her.” I beamed.
“Her name is Lily. I don’t know if she feels the same about us, but she is something special,” he said, ruffling his hand over his hair. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about this. I’ve probably offended you.”
“Not at all, Lily is a sweetheart! When I first came here, she was one of the first people I met. She came to my room and brought me cookies.” I bit my lip. Should I tell them that Lily had been on cloud nine for the last four weeks, talking about this handsome blond pack she had been talking to? I had a very good feeling in my gut about them, so there was no pressure. It was like the minute I knew they were probably going to end up with another omega, all the tension leached out of my body. “I think she’s mentioned you,” I said with a grin, and the guys’ faces all lit up.
“Wait, she’s talked about us?” Ben said, his entire body perking up at that prospect.
“Oh yeah! And I’m not saying any more than that,” I said, even though my face was giving away the good news. “Let me guess—you were in the later stages of courting, and Dr. Sarah and Fawn bullied you into coming and meeting me?”
Eric spoke up next, glancing at his pack mates. “I wouldn’t say they bullied us. They simply said there was an omega they wanted us to get to know. They didn’t really explain why, but after meeting you, I can kinda understand now.”
Carl chimed in. “Yeah, I can imagine it would be nicer for you, to start easing you in with a pack who is actually already known by some omegas. And one who isn’t, you know… champing at the bit or asking inappropriate questions.”
I nodded. “Oh, God, I’ve heard horror stories from some of the other girls. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here in the Haven— this is my home, and I’m so happy here—but my word, some of the packs that come through here can be mouthy.”
Ben laughed. “Oh, we can be mouthy. But it’s mainly because we’re a bunch of idiots who can’t keep our mouths shut—and it’s not usually rude.” He shot Lyle a look. “Usually, it’s something stupid, like Lyle giving away spoilers for a TV show.”
“That was one time! ” Lyle called out indignantly.
Grinning, I picked up my tumbler of soda and took a sip. Sure, I probably should have been drinking more water, but how was I to deny the call of the sugary sweet soda—especially when it was on tap here in the Haven?
“Okay,” I said, setting the tumbler down. “How about this? You guys tell me about yourselves, we’ll have a nice conversation, and then I can go back to Dr. Sarah and tell her I was a good omega who had conversations and interacted with people outside the Haven. Then I can tell Lily that you guys are sweet and gentlemen.”
Ben beamed back with a big grin. “That sounds like an amazing idea.”
As much as I hated to admit it, I missed talking to people. After being kept away for so long, I was becoming a downright chatterbox.
What I appreciated most was that these guys didn’t seem to want anything from me. It was clear from the dopey looks on their faces when they spoke about Lily, they were head over heels for her. They weren’t interested in talking to me about usual courting stuff; they just wanted to be friendly. The fact that they’d gone along with meeting a strange omega, just to make other omegas happy, meant they were pretty decent blokes.
After a week of meeting packs, I was getting used to it. I had learned that there were even TV screens that we could play Mario Kart on .
So, every day, I spent one or two hours talking to packs while playing. At first, they kicked my ass, but by the end of the week, I had gained sufficient Mario Kart skills and was decimating my opponents. Most of the alphas took it in stride when I won, even when, at times, I could be a very sore winner—I would throw the controller down, dancing and singing and cheering.
Luckily, most of the alphas found my antics adorable.
It was kind of heady, having so many guys interested in me. Every interaction was fun, and I found myself having a good time. But none of them called to me the way my guys did.
I waited and discussed it with Dr. Sarah the first moment I could.
“It’s been a week,” I said, settling into the chair in her office. “And I like it, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just…not right.”
Dr. Sarah tilted her head to the side, studying me. “And why do you think that is?”
I thought for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. It could be because I haven’t had as much time with them as I did with my guys. But there’s something deep in my gut that says that’s not right, either. When it came to my guys, I had this feeling in my gut from the moment I met them. You know, as soon as the freaking out by the ‘being chased by a psychopathic killer’ thing had gone away.” Dr. Sarah nodded thoughtfully. “With the guys who visit me here, they’re warm and friendly, but they just don’t give me butterflies the way my old pack did.”
“It sounds like you’re doing the work I’ve asked of you,” she said. “And it sounds like you’re doing really well. You should be proud of yourself.”
Part of me wanted to ask if this meant she’d recommend to the keepers that I go back to my old pack, but I also didn’t want to ask. I didn’t want to push the boundaries just yet. I understood that I still had work to do, and I was determined to put in the work and do it right until it was time to contact Carter and ask him to officially court me.
I found it weird that I had to contact Carter and not the entire pack, all because Carter was technically the head of the pack. But it is what it is, and I knew where he went, the rest of the pack would follow.
Beaming, I stood and asked, “So, what’s next on my homework list?”
Dr. Sarah smirked, and I almost regretted asking.