Chapter Five – Mercedes
I don’t know why I feel like I need to run and hide, but I do. Somehow, someway, I manage to hold my breath the entire retreat, until I’m safe behind a set of doors that separate me from the herd of alphas and omegas in the ballroom, getting to know each other, talking and laughing. Flirting and making eyes at each other.
I damn near collapse when I make it to the shared table Raeka had made me over at. Leaning forward, I press my forehead against my arms and close my eyes as I hunch over the table.
It wasn’t all of those alphas that made me want to retreat; it was just one. Well, two if you count the silent, glary one next to him.
Nic. He caught me off-guard with the way he responded to my question, and then he kept prodding, kept wanting to know more about me. He was the only one, out of all of the alphas I met tonight, that actually felt genuine to me. Maybe it’s just because I know he helps people he doesn’t have to; I learned that at the front door to the building.
Or maybe it’s the inner omega in me, laying down, belly-up.
I told myself tonight was just about finding a pack that I could use while I figured out the next steps, and I was doing just fine until Nic showed up again. Then it was like, I don’t know, everything got thrown out of whack and I couldn’t think straight. Sitting there, across from him, all I could do was breathe in through my nose and smell him—him and Warren, the silent, glaring alpha who smelled like musk made flesh.
I was never one to swoon over an alpha’s scent. Jay soured everything good alphas can be to me, and I never thought that would change.
It hasn’t changed. Just because I got a little worked up doesn’t mean anything.
Time crawls by, and though I know I should go back out there and rejoin the fray, I just can’t. I’m glued to the seat, hunched over, as I wish everything was different. That I wasn’t a Solus. That I didn’t have Jay’s shadow looming over every aspect of my life and my memories. That I could be an omega who was happy to come to a ceremony like this, excited to be matched to a pack and move on to the next phase of my life.
Someone else eventually barges in, and I lift my head and glance over to see if it’s another omega. I wouldn’t mind talking to Raeka about how conflicted I’m feeling.
It’s not Raeka, though. It’s the coordinator, and she spots me immediately—not hard to do, since there isn’t anyone else back here.
“You,” she says, hurrying over to me, a black envelope in her hand. “I’ve been looking for you. You have the first offer of the night. Here.” She hands me the envelope, waiting, expectant.
I already know who it’s from, and yet my stomach is a bundle of nerves as I reach for the envelope and pull out the card inside. I read over the offer. Honestly, I don’t know what a good offer is, if I’m being low-balled or high-balled or whatever, but the terms of the offer are surprisingly acceptable.
One hundred thousand dollars will go into a bank account that’s in my name, and I can withdraw the money any time I want, without any pack member present—surely a better offer than most omegas get, since their families typically get the money. Plus, there’s a clause that I can back out of the arrangement, out of the pack, anytime I want, for any reason, and they’re contractually bound to let me go.
Money and the offer to walk away. That’s as good as freedom as I’ll get tonight, truly a better offer than most could hope to receive… then again, I don’t think most omegas want to run away and put this city behind them.
Most don’t have someone like Jay looming over them.
As if to further hit the nail on the head, the organizer says, “Not too shabby for an omega who wasn’t supposed to be here tonight. They’ve even paid your registration fee for tonight. It’s one of the best offers I’ve seen since I started running things at the Omega Garden, actually.”
I could waffle about this offer all night, or I could march out there and rejoin the fray, meet more alphas, and possibly get more matches.
And yet my mouth speaks before my brain can catch up: “I accept.” My eyes widen as I hear myself speak, and I meet her stare. “Tell them I accept, on one condition: I leave with them tonight.”
The woman nearly chokes on air. “That’s not typically how it works, dear. Typically omegas go home with their sponsors, to their families, to pack things up and say their goodbyes—”
“I don’t need to do any of that.”
She forces out a smile. “If you’re sure, I can let pack Alabaster know your condition of acceptance. Are you certain there aren’t any other alphas out there you might want to get to know, first? It’s not unusual for an omega to get multiple offers and wait until the night is over to decide.”
“I’m sure,” I say. “Where do they pick me up?”
“I will escort you to the front door of the Omega Garden, assuming they accept your counter—which, I’m sure they will, given how eager the alpha was as he was penning the offer.”
“Okay, and until then, I just wait here?”
“Yes, dear.” The woman gives me a smile. “Be happy, not nervous. It’s the first day of the rest of your life. Pack Alabaster is a good one.” She nods once and adds, “I’ll be back.” And then she turns away from me after plucking the offer card and envelope out of my hands.
I watch her walk away, wondering if she says every pack is a good pack. She probably does. Then again, it isn’t like terrible packs show up to these things; they have other ways of securing omegas for themselves. Only packs on the up-and-up come to the Omega Garden for the matching ceremony.
It’s all pompous and frills, to make both the alphas and omegas happy with their lot in life, but when you get down to it, it’s basically the same as the auctions. Someone else profits while omegas are sold off; here, we just have the guise of a choice.
I grab my bag and zip it up. A part of me wishes I could speak to Raeka and see how her night is going, and tell her where I ended up for now so she could contact me, if she wants to. I don’t have a phone number of my own to give her; for a twenty-year-old, I’m not the best, technology-wise. Solus Academy wasn’t drowning in new upgrades every year.
It’s a silly wish. Just because Raeka helped me out tonight doesn’t mean we’re suddenly friends. She probably doesn’t care, so I shouldn’t bother thinking about her or whatever pack she’ll end up with.
All I know is, Raeka’s spunky. Strong-willed. Maybe a bit entitled and used to getting what she wants. Any pack would be lucky to have her, but at the same time, they’ll have their hands full.
It feels like I wait there forever, and as the minutes tick by, I’m swallowed by an air of uncertainty. What if my terms aren’t accepted? What if they don’t want to take me home tonight? If I go back to Solus, I go back to Jay and his spies—he’ll somehow know I snuck out. This is quite literally my one and only chance to be out from under him.
Just when the weight of all the negative emotions inside me starts to win the mental tug-of-war, I hear the door open and I glance over to find the coordinator returning to me, wearing a smile.
“They should be in the front by now. Ready?” She offers me her arm, and I hesitantly go toward her and link my arm inside hers. She leads me out of the omega dressing room, and we leave the scents of other nervous omegas behind. Into the hall we go, back the same way I came in earlier.
My mind is awash with possibilities, with worry, and she must sense it, because she whispers, “I meant it when I said pack Alabaster is a good one.”
“Are they really that good, if one of their members didn’t even come tonight?”
“I said they were a good pack, not that one or two of the members don’t have things to work on. I met them once, a few years ago. They were young, fresh out of childhood and already working in the family business.” When I look at her with raised eyebrows, all she does is shrug and say, “Security. We at the Omega Garden have to hire extra security every now and then, especially when we get high-profile omegas like your friend, Ms. Whittenhall.”
“Did you have extra security here tonight?”
“Of course.”
“Where? I don’t remember seeing anyone—”
The smile she gives me makes me realize it.
“They’re in plain clothes, pretending to be alphas interested in putting an offer in for an omega.”
She says, “They’re not pretending to be alphas, dear. They are alphas. I learned years ago that it’s best to train security in-house. Saves some money rather than constantly hiring pack Alabaster and their firm. Trust me, dear, they’re not hurting for money. They have clients all over the state. You’ll be well taken care of.”
I keep my mouth shut at that. The thought of being taken care of is nice—the animal inside me wants nothing more than to be taken care of and cherished—but the realist in me pushes me toward the opposite side of things.
How can I trust anyone to take care of me? When given power over others, alphas can abuse and harm and there’s no recourse for it.
We make a turn and walk down the large, wide-open entry way. The glass doors sparkle in front of us, and I gulp, knowing the next step is out there, waiting for me. Two alphas, ready to take me home to meet their third.
Before we reach the doors, the coordinator pulls us to a halt. She unlinks her arm from mine and pulls something out of her bosom: a small business card, which she then hands to me. “I don’t think you’ll need me again, but should you decide Alabaster isn’t a good fit for you, give me a call. There are resources out there for omegas on the run. Never try to do anything by yourself, do you understand? It will end badly. Whether you want to admit it or not, you are a part of the most vulnerable group in our society.”
All I do is stare at the small card.
“Take it, dear,” she whispers. When I continue to be frozen, she sighs and tucks the card into my backpack. “There. Just keep what I said in mind, okay? And give Darius some grace for not being here. He might be a little rough around the edges, but he’s a good man, just like his father.” She smiles softly at that, and it makes me wonder if she and his father have some sort of history.
I don’t ask. I simply turn away from her, gather up my courage, and walk out the front door of the Omega Garden.