Chapter Thirty-Six – Kayla #2
She plows on, “Not that it’s a bad thing.
I just… I don’t know. I heard an omega got close to Bradford Bentley, and I guess I made some assumptions.
That’s my fault, of course. We all know what happens when you assume.
” She blinks, and when I don’t say a word, she adds, “You make an ass out of you and me. Haven’t you ever heard that before? ”
With a shake of my head, I say, “No.”
“Oh, well, people do say that. Anyways… I thought you’d be different. Way different. Someone who could tolerate that guy, even like him—” She dramatically shivers, as if it’s the worst thing she can think of. “—I assumed you’d be some fancy heiress digging for his fortune or something.”
“I’m nobody.”
She waves that reply away. “No one is a nobody. After he had me and Colter kidnapped, well, I wanted to kill that asshole myself. Pax said he’d put someone on him after, to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t try anything stupid again—and that someone was Hayden, if you haven’t already guessed. ”
Shit. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me earlier, but since Raeka is Pax’s omega, she’s the one Bradford had kidnapped. Duh. It was right there in front of my face, and I was too oblivious to see it.
“From what Pax says, it sounds like you wound up in that house by pure chance,” she says. “His father hired you or something?”
I nod. “He wanted me to keep an eye on Bradford for him. I think my presence was supposed to insult him or something.” I quiet for a moment as I think back. “And then he… he suggested I try to get close to Bradford.”
“Ew. What a creep. Sounds like this city is better off without that guy around.”
I can’t argue with that.
“My whole point is,” she continues, “you’re not what I expected. You’re kind of quiet. You look like you’re more of a wallflower than someone who likes to stand out in the crowd, no offense.”
None taken. I don’t know why anyone would want to stand out in a crowd, although I’m beginning to suspect someone like Raeka would much rather be the center of attention than someone who’s ever overlooked.
The way she speaks, how she carries herself; she oozes confidence, something I still don’t have enough of.
“But I’m so blinded by my hatred for the guy that I can’t see the possibility that maybe there’s more to him than being a conniving son of a bitch.” Raeka stares at me, hard. “You like him. Bradford, I mean, in addition to Hayden.”
“He saved me from his father.”
“Yeah, even assholes can do some good every once in a while.”
I pick at what’s left of the cupcake. “I get why you hate him, and I don’t blame you.
I won’t try to change your mind or anything.
I just… I think he was just trying to do what he thought his father wanted.
He spent his whole life under his father’s thumb.
That room he kept you in, he didn’t have it made that way for you. It was like that already.”
I have Raeka’s full attention. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that’s the house he grew up in. That room is where his father would lock him away when he was trying to teach him a lesson.
Nothing Bradford did was right, and he can be a jerk sometimes, but…
but I think deep down he’s just hurt, even all these years later.
” I reach up and lightly touch my neck. “Wounds heal, but scars stick around.”
Raeka doesn’t say anything for a while, and I can’t tell what she’s thinking.
It wasn’t my secret to tell, but at the same time, I couldn’t sit back and listen to her judge him without knowing, at least partially, that Bradford didn’t mean to do them any harm.
He was desperate. Desperate people do desperate things, things they might not otherwise do.
I’d know that more than anybody, but I don’t want to tell her why I can sympathize with Bradford more than the average person.
“Pax said it was up to me,” she says after a while. “How hard he tries to help Bradford out. I said I wanted to meet you and see what kind of person you are—plus I was curious what kind of omega would ever fall for someone like him.”
My stomach tightens into a knot. It’s not fair to ask or beg her to help him, not after what he did to her and her beta. “I understand, and I… I don’t blame you for not wanting Pax to help.”
She shoves another bite of salad into her mouth. “Listen, I’ll be the first to admit, my first instinct is a big, fat hell no, but you seem… you seem nice. Quiet. Not the kind of person who’d go after Bradford for his money or to try to get ahead. You’re really not who I thought you’d be.”
Maybe it’s because I’ve never dealt with her before, but I can’t tell if me not being who she thought I would be is a good thing or not. I’m not someone who could ever beg, but I would be forever grateful to this girl if she instructs Pax to help.
It’s almost too much to hope for, and I know that—but this new me is a girl full of hope.
“Let me ask you this,” she starts, “say Pax and Alabaster Security can get Bradford off for breaking his house arrest, what’ll you guys do? Once it’s all said and done, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know. We never talked about it.
Everything happened so fast.” I think about it, and I mean I really, truly think about it, about where I’d like to go with both Bradford and Hayden by my side in the future—far enough in the future that we won’t have to worry about any monitor clinging to Bradford’s ankle.
“I guess I’d like to get out of the city, maybe.
Do some traveling. I’ve never been anywhere else.
It might be nice to see some new sights.
I don’t know what Bradford or Hayden would have in mind. ”
Raeka smirks. “I’m sure they’d do whatever you want.
Us omegas typically have the final say when it comes to things like that.
Alphas just want to make us happy.” That smirk fades somewhat when she adds, “Most of them, anyway. Not all alphas are good ones. I really thought Bradford was one of the bad ones, but if you and Hayden say so, maybe there is more to him. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to give him another chance, provided he stays far away from me and Colter. ”
Colter? Must be her beta.
“I’ve never had the final say in anything,” I tell her. It’s a weird thought to me, that both men would want to do anything they could to make me happy, but I suppose that’s what good alphas do. It’d be something I’d have to get used to.
“What about after you see the sights? Is there anything you’d want to do, job-wise? I know you said you’d like to get out of the city, but I could think of a few jobs someone like you might be good at. Ever heard of N.O.A.?”
“Used to be Solus Academy, right?”
“Right. A place for orphaned and unwanted omegas. Ironic, given how needed we are in society.” Raeka rolls her eyes at the double-standard, but honestly, it’s not just omegas.
Money and a name matters, whether you’re an omega, a beta, or an alpha.
“My friend came from there. I’ve been helping out here and there when I can.
Those omegas need some good role models, some good teachers. ”
What is she trying to say? That I’d make a good teacher or something? No way.
It must be written on my face, for she chuckles and says, “Relax. I’m not saying I think you’d be amazing teaching the omega curriculum, but having someone there to talk to, even if it’s only once or twice a week, might help some of those kids.
I heard a little from Pax about what happened with your brother.
My friend also went through a lot with another alpha before she found her pack.
It’s good for those kids to see that even when things are bad, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. ”
She groans and rolls her eyes. “Ugh, listen to me, sounding so inspirational and all that shit. I swear I’m not normally like this.
I just think it’s good for us omegas to get out there and show the next generation we don’t have to sit at home all the time.
We can be productive members of society too, except for those couple weeks a year when our hormones get the best of us. ”
In all my life, I was never able to sit back and do nothing, even when starving myself.
Jeremy wouldn’t let it happen. I wouldn’t say I’ve been a super productive member of society my whole life, but I’ve probably seen and done more than most omegas who come from nothing.
My situation was never that great, but I know there are a lot of poor omegas who have it worse.
Auctions. Kidnappings. There are lots of omegas out there who disappear and are never heard from again.
“I’ve never thought about it,” I say.
“Well, start. It’s never too late to change your life.”
It’s never too late to change your life. I didn’t think I’d get any nuggets of wisdom from an omega I just met, but Raeka is right. And, what’s more, I like her. I want some of her confidence to rub off on me.
Truly, I can’t say what the future has in store for us, but she’s right. Life isn’t static. It changes all the time, even when you least expect it. Just take a look at me: what should have been just another scheme ended up changing everything.
Maybe there is more for me in this city. Maybe I can help other omegas, show them that it’s never too late to start being strong.
Yeah, maybe I don’t want to leave this city behind after all.