Chapter Ten – Raeka
By the time I come inside, my mom is headed straight for me. If I have to guess, I’d say she escorted Gideon out, and he told her I didn’t outright accept his proposal. Such an odd one it was, too. I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered.
“What is your problem, Raeka?” my mom demands, folding her arms over her chest. “Why didn’t you accept his offer? You’re an omega after her first heat. Even before your heat, an offer from him would’ve beenfantastic.”
“I didn’t say no. I told him I have to think about it.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Do you have any idea who that man is?”
“Gideon. We met at the Omega Garden.” It occurs to me now that he still never gave me his last name, but based on the look my mom is giving me, she’s seconds away from telling me herself.
“That man is Gideon Chase . After his sister died in that tragic accident all those years ago, he became the sole heir to the Chase family businesses—Chase Jewels being the biggest. He’s designed nearly every line for the last twenty years.
Although, if you ask me, it’s been more misses than hits lately. ”
Oh, fuck. That’s why he was so caught up in that dumb omega pin in my hair. The man probably designed it himself.
“Still, an offer from Gideon Chase himself is not an offer to deny or waffle about. You should accept it, honey. Oh, I need to call your father and tell him the news—”
It’s the droning on and on about calling my dad and telling him the news that finally makes me snap. Honestly? I’d love to get out of this house and away from her. I love my mom, but at the same time, sometimes I hate her and the rigidity of the life she wants me to live.
If I can get away from her, if I can make it so that I’ll never have to listen to my mom talk about matching me with an alpha or a pack, why shouldn’t I?
Gideon and his offer might be a little unconventional, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
As an atypical omega myself, it doesn’t put me off at all.
A little weird that he wants me for his beta nephew, but I can handle hanging out with a beta if it means I don’t have to listen to these talks from my mom ever again.
I’ll be free.
Pretty much free. Gideon said I can go whenever I please, wherever I want, and that he’ll even hire a bodyguard for me if it’ll make me more comfortable. What more could I possible hope for?
I walk away from my mom, my phone in my hand.
She’s too busy calling my dad to say a word to me, and once I’m out of her sight, I hurry to the front of the house, hoping I didn’t miss him.
As I rush, I find his contact information and dial.
It rings and rings and rings, and I’m about to give up when I hear him finally answer the call.
“Hello?”
“It’s Raeka.”
“I assumed as much.”
I cannot nail this guy down. You’d think he’d be more excited to hear from me, but that’s not the vibe he’s giving off at all.
I make it to the front door and push outside, and the moment I step back out into the sunshine, I spot his car halfway down the driveway, idling. The man must’ve lingered. “I thought a lot about your offer.”
“Did you?” His voice comes out dry, but I can imagine him sitting there with a soft smile on his face.
“Oh, yeah. Must’ve run through the pros and cons list about a thousand times.”
“Mmm. And how’d that list tally up?”
“Okay.”
It’s a moment before Gideon repeats, “Okay? I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more specific. If there is something about it you don’t like, tell me, and I can fix it.”
“No. I mean, okay to your offer. I’m saying yes.”
I watch as Gideon slowly gets out of his car and turns around. He leans on the open driver-side door as he holds his phone to his ear. Though there’s a bit of distance between us, it’s like he’s right here with me.
“And here I thought you’d have to think it over, maybe talk to your parents about it—” Though he’s a good ways away, he’s smiling as he says that—I bet the man knows I don’t really appreciate the constant scolding I surely get from my mom.
“About that…” I pick at the hem of my shirt. “How soon can I move in?”
“Depends on how quickly you want to move in.”
“Let’s speed things up as much as you can, before I change my mind. I do want your offer—and all it entails—in writing, including the part about me being free to come and go.”
“Of course. I will write the offer up and send it over as soon as I get home—and I will be sure to include your freedom clause.” Gideon smiles at me, and even though it’s not close, that smile does something to me it shouldn’t.
I never knew an alpha could smile so softly like that, but I suppose the man has been through a lot.
I guess him being his age with no omega to himself makes a bit more sense now.
“Is there anything else? Or should I hurry home and write that offer?” he asks, though I’m not sure what he’s expecting me to say.
“Hurry home,” I instruct him. Before I end the call, I add, “Oh, and I like the color pink.”
He shakes his head a little, then slides his phone into his pocket. We meet eyes across the driveway, and he gives me an adorable little wave before getting into his car and driving away. I watch him go, the realization of what I just did sinking in.
I just agreed to move in to an alpha’s house, the one thing I never wanted to do. Granted, I wasn’t moving in for Gideon himself, but for his nephew, but still. I literally hired Alabaster Security to give me backup the night of the choosing ceremony so I wouldn’t get any stray offers.
Something’s got to be in the air. Or there’s just something about that man. Can’t say what.
Once the alpha and his car are out of my sight, I sigh and head inside. I shut the front door and lean against it, wanting to smack myself for agreeing to a deal like this.
Honestly, though? It’ll get my mom out of my hair, and I’ll be off-limits to the rest of the world. All I have to do is play nice with some mute beta. Should be easy. I can do that. I can play nice. I think.
I eventually return to my mom, who’s still on the phone with my dad, telling him all about Gideon Chase’s miraculous offer and how I didn’t leap at the chance.
I try to get her attention, but she smoothly ignores me, chatting away like I’m not standing directly in front of her: “I don’t know if she thinks she’ll be overflowing with options or what, but—”
“Mom,” I say loudly, loud enough for my dad to hear on the other line, “I accepted. ‘Kay bye!” I spin on my heels and hurry away, making it all the way to the stairs before she realizes what I said and starts to call after me—but I’m already gone, dreaming of the day when I won’t be under her thumb.
The things kids do to get away from their parents, am I right?
When Nicole comes home from school, she rushes into my room, without so much as knocking.
The brat. She throws her bag down on my carpet and runs headfirst into my arms, throwing me into an endearingly—and sickeningly—sweet hug that would’ve threatened to break ribs if she had an ounce of strength in her small body.
“Mom told me you accepted an offer! I’m so happy for you!” she squeals into my shoulder, squeezing me like her life depends on it.
“Yeah, yeah.” I pull her off me.
“I—wait. You said you didn’t want offers, I thought?”
“Well, this particular offer was too good to pass up, so I didn’t. Pass it up, I mean. I accepted. I’ll probably move out by the end of the week.” I can only hope it moves fast; now my mom has started talking about babies.
Yeah, already. Babies. Grandchildren, as if my brothers’ kids aren’t enough.
Needless to say, if my mom knew I have an IUD, she’ll probably have an aneurysm and then take me to the doctor to have it removed.
The only thing she’s aware of is the scent-blocking cream; she doesn’t know about the IUD, and she sure as hell doesn’t know about the injections I take or the humongous vibrator that got me through my heat.
Nicole pouts as she studies me, perhaps trying to peer into my head and see what I’m really thinking. “Who is he?”
“Gideon Chase.”
“Chase?” she echoes. “Chase, as in—” She reaches for the sparkling necklace hanging just below her collarbone—a pretty omega symbol encrusted with mini-diamonds. My mom got us each one when we presented, a Chase specialty.
“Yep. That Chase.”
She gasps. Yes, my little sister actually gasps at that, like she really can’t believe it. Then again, I sort of can’t believe it either. “Oh, my God. That’s amazing!”
I make a face. I don’t know anything about it being amazing. To my sister and my mom, to the rest of the world, the match is real. They don’t know that Gideon simply enlisted me for his nephew. In the end, all I do is shrug.
She stares at me for another few moments, and then she hugs me again as she whispers, “I’m going to miss you when you move out.”
With a roll of my eyes, I pat her back. “It isn’t like we won’t ever see each other. I’m sure Mom will still drag me to family dinner every now and then—and if you want to come over, it’d probably be okay with Gideon. He seems pretty laid back.”
“Laid back?” That description causes her to sharply end the hug.
“Yeah, so?”
“Don’t walk all over him. He’s the alpha, not you,” she parrots something my mom has told me a million and a half times growing up. There’s a place and time for being bratty, but I tend to push it too far.
I give my sister a pat on the head. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. As soon as I’m out of this house, I’ll be the perfect omega.” Even as I say it, I don’t believe it, and judging from her face, she doesn’t believe it, either.
“Somehow, I don’t really believe that,” she huffs as she grabs her bag and leaves.
I spend the next few hours alone, packing up some things I can’t bear to leave behind. My favorite blanket hides my injections, and heaps of my clothes in bright pink suitcases hide the vibrator that helped me through my heat.
My next heat, I’ll be in a house with an alpha or two, if Gideon really does hire a bodyguard. I need to be prepared. Just because alphas will be near doesn’t mean I’ll have to go begging for their dicks. No, a lady can handle things herself, even if it’s ridiculously challenging to.
Later that night, when we’re eating dinner as a family, it’s my dad’s turn to address things. Sitting at the head of the table, my dad gives me a smile. “I hear there’s some congratulations in order, Raeka.”
Beside me, Nicole shoots a quick glance at me, while our mom holds my stare, a tight smile on her face—her way of reminding me not to screw things up.
As if. I’m basically doing this to get away from her and her relentless nagging.
“Yeah,” I say, using my fork to poke around the food on my plate. “I guess.”
“I thought you’d be more excited,” Dad says.
“Really? You thought I’d be excited?”
Me pressing the subject forces my dad to relent and sigh, “No, you’re right.
This is very in-character for you. What’s not in-character is the fact that you accepted an offer to begin with.
I read over the terms Gideon sent over—they’re very good.
Probably one of the best offers there can be.
You must’ve really done a number on him. ”
I chuckle softly. “I don’t know about that.”
“Talk around the city was Gideon Chase was never going to settle down,” he says. “Ever since that accident years ago, he’s basically become a recluse. Does his nephew still live with him?”
“I think so,” I say.
Mom takes a sip from her wine glass. “I hope this means his designs will become more inspired. With you in the house as inspiration, I don’t see why they wouldn’t.
” Leave it to my mom to want more frilly, silly omega jewelry and brooches when she should realize that her eldest daughter is only doing this to get away from her. Her priorities are messed up.
“Regardless,” Dad tells me, “this is a good thing. I know you were resistant to matching with any pack, but Gideon Chase sounds like a good one. He’ll take care of you, I’m sure.”
There are a million things I could say to that, but in the end, all I do is give my dad a smile and a nod.
I find that, even when you’ve clocked out of a conversation, if you smile and nod, most people will think you’re listening.
They’ll think you care. My parents are no exception to that.
I can’t even list how many conversations I tune out of but still pretend to listen to.
As the night wears on, I spend more time than I care to admit thinking about Gideon Chase and his nephew.
How it’s going to be living in their house, with them.
Gideon obviously will welcome me, but will his nephew?
It could be his nephew might be resistant to the whole idea of me spending time with him.
And, somehow, amongst all those thoughts, I catch myself thinking about Pax Alabaster, too.
The über alpha with the drop-dead gorgeous muscles and the kind of face that looks good whether he’s scowling or frowning.
Odds are I’ll never see him again—I shouldn’t be sad about that, but as I go to sleep that night, I am.