Chapter Twenty-Seven – Mercedes
Daniel Alabaster is everything I thought he would be. Sixty years old, but still just as alpha as ever. His brown hair has a smattering of gray in its short length. He keeps it styled similar to Darius: shorter on the sides while a bit longer on top, combed backward and held in place by some kind of hair mousse. His square jaw is lined with a salt and pepper beard, also meticulously well-kept. His eyes are a light brown, the wrinkles around them wordlessly telling me he squints a lot. At six-foot-five, he stands as tall as Darius.
Oh, and even though he’s much older, he still looks damn fine in a suit. If that’s what Darius is going to look like in thirty years, well… it ain’t bad. It ain’t bad at all.
We sit at the dinner table together. I’m on the opposite end from Laurie. Darius sits to her right while Daniel is to her left. Nic and Warren took the two chairs closest to me. After introductions, everyone dug in.
“So,” Daniel says, eyeing up Darius, “your mother tells me you didn’t go to the matching ceremony with your brothers. Why not?”
The way Darius sighs makes me squirm in my chair. “I didn’t want an omega.”
“And why not? You knew if Nic wrote an offer that omega would become yours by default.”
“Yes, I know.” With a flick of his green eyes toward me, Darius adds, “I made a mistake, and I’ll make up for it. I don’t need you and Mom constantly on my case about it.”
I can tell their dad doesn’t want to let it go, and perhaps it’s for my benefit, but he turns his dark gaze to me and asks, “Mercedes, what was it about Nic and Warren that made you say yes to them? I can’t imagine Warren did much talking at first, so it had to be something Nic said.”
“Hey,” Warren chimes in, frowning a bit, “I’m hurt. You’re totally right, but I’m still hurt.” When Daniel gives him a look, he grins and shrugs before resuming eating.
“I—” I can’t tell their dad that I needed a pack ASAP, so instead I’m going to have to lean in to the whole Nic-said-something-right thing. “I can’t really explain it. I just didn’t feel anything when I talked with the other packs.”
“Oh, come on,” Laurie says, “give us more than that. Details! I want details.”
I glance at Nic for backup, and Nic is the one who says, “Actually, I think it’s because I didn’t answer like the other packs did when she asked us her question.”
I’m ready to back up whatever he says, but that… I’m not expecting that. I wasn’t aware Nic knew I asked every single pack before him that. He must’ve been paying attention to me the whole time, before we even met.
It must show on my face, because Laurie leans into the table and asks, “And what question is that?”
“She was asking every pack what they want, and I bet they all told her what they were looking for,” Nic explains, glancing at me as dimples form on his cheeks. “But instead of answering her, I asked her what she wanted.”
Laurie beams at her youngest son, while Daniel asks, “And what was the answer?”
The four alphas and the beta at the table all turn their eyes toward me. For a moment, I feel as though I’m back at that choosing ceremony, with everyone’s expectations weighing heavily on me. I don’t like having so much attention on me, so it makes me squirm a bit, until I eventually say, “Freedom.”
The first to respond is their mom, who gives me a sympathetic look and says, “Oh, honey.”
Next is Nic, who grins. “I passed her test.”
I hold back a chuckle and say, “It wasn’t a test.”
“Wasn’t it?” His eyebrows lift. “If it wasn’t a test, then what was it, and why did you ask that same question to every single pack, hmm?”
Okay, he has me there.
Daniel inquires, “What makes you choose freedom? Most omegas would say they want to find their pack above everything else.” The way he says it is innocent enough, but I just know he’s analyzing me, trying to see if I’m the right fit.
And, frankly, I’m probably not. I don’t think I’m the right fit for any pack.
When I’m quiet, Nic whispers, “You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.” On my other side, Warren nods along with him. Darius, on the other hand, stares at me, an unreadable expression on his face. Maybe he’s wondering why I chose freedom, too.
Or he’s thinking about that bite mark on my hip, so in a way, he already knows. I’m sure the guys suspect, too.
A minute passes before I can explain in a way that I hope makes sense: “I guess I never really had any before. I didn’t have a family growing up. I was in an orphanage with other kids, but when I presented as an omega I got shipped off to Solus Academy, where all omegas are taught how to be an omega alphas want. We’re kept on short leashes, and we’re nobodies, so no one really cares. I had to sneak out to make it to the Omega Garden that night.”
I fear Daniel’s going to be unhappy with my answer, but instead all he says is, “That’s not right. You shouldn’t be so controlled that you have to sneak out in order to find yourself a good match with a pack. For what it’s worth, you’re more than welcome to stay here as long as you need while things get taken care of at the house.”
“And even after that, I’ll never mind you stopping by,” Laurie adds.
“I don’t know how to drive.” I don’t know what makes me say it, but once the words are out, it’s like I just declared I’ve never tasted pizza before. Seriously, every single person at that table looks at me like I just said the most ridiculous thing ever.
As if I need to defend myself, I say, “Not something they taught us at Solus. We’re not allowed to get jobs outside of the academy, so no cars for any of us. It’s a skill faculty think we don’t need.” Plus a way to control us.
“Plus a way to control you,” Warren says, like the alpha read my thoughts.
“We can get you a car,” Darius tells me. “We can each give you lessons, if that’s something you want.” His mom smiles at him, but he ignores the praise, dutifully staring directly at me and making me squirm a bit.
Eventually, I say, “I think I’d like that.”
Laurie shakes her head and mutters, “I can’t believe they treat you so terribly. I mean, as omegas, you should be the most cherished members of our society. You should be taken care of regardless of what family you come from. I’m so sorry, dear. It must have been horrible for you.”
All I can do is smile to show my gratitude.
Nic must sense I don’t want to talk about that any longer, because he changes the subject after that to some big football game that’s going to be on this weekend. Nothing I care about; football is just a whole bunch of alphas getting together to wrestle for a ball onscreen and get paid big bucks for it.
But I do appreciate the conversational sidestep. He knew I wanted to change subjects all without me having to tell him. It’s like we’re on the same page.
After dinner, I offer to help Laurie clean up, but she tells me to go get settled with the guys upstairs. Daniel sticks around to help pick everything, leaving us no choice in the matter. We go up the stairs, and soon enough all four of us are in the room that will be mine for the foreseeable future.
It’s… a strange type of cozy, being in this room with all three of the guys. This house isn’t as big as theirs, nor as new, so the rooms in general are smaller. Less open, unused space. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, though.
“So,” Nic says as he plops himself down at the foot of the bed, leveling an easy grin my way, “things seem to be going well, right?” He glances at Darius, who’s too busy staring at me, and then Warren—the latter of which nods to back him up.
I know why Darius is staring at me so much; he wants me to confess, while Nic is simply trying to get my mind off things. I feel like squirming under that intense scrutiny, so I almost open my mouth and spit it out, just to be done with it.
Call it pride, call it shame, call it whatever you want. Regardless, in the end, all I do is smile back at Nic and say, “Right.”
I just have to get through this week. Should be easy.