Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
VERONA
I watch as Rosa makes her way to a seat that’ll give her a good vantage point as well as clean smelling air that won’t fuck her up. It reminds me Pablo will be feeling much the same way at home, and it’s also why his stepbrothers can’t seem to stop fucking him.
New designations often find themselves ridden by their hormones.
Alphas have to learn to control their ruts and dominating personalities, while omegas are hit with all of these overwhelming instincts.
Right now, Rosa is finding she never really was able to curb those tendencies because her father stunted her with the blockers.
It’s probably one of the reasons she has never felt like an omega. There was no reason to want a nest, when most days she felt like a beta without those urges. Renzo Accetta made sure he could control his daughter by stripping her of some of the more troublesome omega traits.
God, he’s such an asshole.
Rosa crosses her legs gingerly, her body so stiff, I can tell she’s in pain for some reason. I bite my lip as I sit as far away as possible from her, waiting for her to shut everything down.
Except…it never comes.
“Imagine,” she says carefully, her fingers curled around the seat of her chair to keep herself from fleeing.
“That you’ve been on every blocker possible since a little while after you found your designation without your knowledge, and today is the day your body decided to finish purging them from your system when you’re surrounded by alphas.
To say that I’m not feeling my best is an understatement.
“Most days, I don’t know who I am anymore.
You may have heard that I’m Renzo Accetta’s good little daughter, and also his hitwoman.
He has used Verona to keep me in check since she joined my family when we were fourteen, and before that he kept my loyalty as a way to get me to do whatever he wanted.
“Piece by piece, I’ve lost myself, and I’d really like to get the time to figure it out before he finally kills me. Or, he gives me to his men. I’d prefer something quicker if there’s an option for that.”
“Rosa,” I hiss, shaking my head. I ignore the pulling of my stitches as I shift in my seat, watching her closely. The doctor said it may take another two weeks for the skin to fully heal, and even then I’ll want to take things easy.
I don’t think my current lifestyle knows what “easy” is.
She simply shrugs in apology, showing me she’s showing her cards.
“What do you mean by giving you to his men? Surely you’re not saying what I think you are,” Easton says, wincing when Silas pinches him.
“There’s video if you feel you need to see his guards, my uncles, and cousins raping me,” Rosa says in a dead voice. “It’s not as if you'd be the only one who has watched it.”
Rosa’s eyes move over to where Nico’s sitting and I watch as he stiffens. I know he meant well, but it doesn’t keep me from resenting him for it. My omega despises being seen as weak, so this is really difficult for her to handle.
“A video. No, fuck,” Easton hisses, his skin appearing a little green. “That’s not necessary.”
“If you ever decide to become a lawyer, I’d hire you in a second,” Lyle muses. “Easton has been a police dispatcher for years, and no one else has ever been able to make him that shade of green. Are you all done with your questions? Or do you need more details, Carter?”
“I’m not innocent,” Rosa says quickly. “I’m pretty sure my soul is as black as it possibly can be. In case that’ll sway you either way.”
“None of our souls are clean,” Carter grumbles. “We all have body counts of the variety that are dead.”
“Mine were all at the behest of my father,” she adds.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to fucking judge you for shit your family made you do.
Things have been quiet in Savannah recently, and I wanted to be sure we all wanted to help you.
This isn’t a petty thing, Rosalia. If your father is willing to do to you things you’d do to your worst enemy, then he needs to be put down. ”
“The entire family is like that,” I chime in. “The ones who are related by marriage are sadistic as well. I might be the only one who isn’t like them.”
“You were always too good for our family,” Rosa says wistfully. “He kept you to manipulate me after I killed your mother.”
Everyone in the circle flinches, and Rosa meets their eyes, one by one.
“As I said, I am not a good person.”
“And as I said, we don’t judge others by the things they’ve been forced to do to survive,” Carter growls, getting her attention. “I vote that we help Rosalia Domino. Anyone against this?”
The backyard is so silent. The only noises are the birds chirping and the wind ruffling the branches of the trees.
“Please continue, Verona, with your plan.”
My lips twitch at how well Carter wrestled the conversation back on track, and I begin to explain. The faster I can get Rosa out of here, the better.
“Every year, Renzo chooses a charity ball to attend to remind the city he exists. What if we throw one, while inviting every adult Accetta member. He doesn’t pay attention to what the family does unless there’s a reason. One event, one mass gravesite.”
“Efficient,” Cassidy muses. “I can begin telling people about the event in the different circles I’m in. We can turn it into the event of the year. However, if they’re the only ones who show up, they may get suspicious.”
“We need an event space where we can herd them into an enclosed area,” Cooper rumbles.
“I can be the bait,” Rosa says resignedly.
“Wait. We only use bait when they’re capable of defending themselves. You’re not wearing a single weapon today, are you?” Easton asks, shifting uncomfortably. “You’re clearly lethal. Is there a reason for that?”
My girl glances at Nico and blinks blankly at him, putting him in the hot spot.
“That’s my oversight,” he winces. “Fuck, Rosa. Way to throw me under the bus.”
“I don’t feel well, and that lowers the level of bullshit I’m capable of dealing with, mio dolce marito. I’m much less likely to kill myself when my life is tied to Vero’s, and I’m going through all of this trouble to live. Use your brain, stronzo.”
“Fix your oversight,” Cassidy says, pulling a gun from a holster at her back and standing. She places it in front of Rosa without touching her and then returns to her seat.
“Thank you,” Rosa whispers, her lips trembling with emotion from the gesture of goodwill. Standing, she picks up the weapon and returns to her seat, blinking rapidly.
This is more than just about giving her a weapon. It’s safety, as well as the acknowledgment that Cassidy doesn’t believe she’s a threat to them. Nico basically crippled Rosa by not allowing her to defend herself, and he doesn’t even fully understand it.
Though, the way he’s staring at her shows he’s starting to.
The next hour flies by as we plan, but Rosa continues to decline. Searching through the bond, I can tell she’s forcing herself to stay present, and unfortunately that means self harm. Her inner palms are going to be full of half moon indentions from her nails by the end of this meeting.
“I smell blood,” someone says under their breath and Rosa guiltily opens her hands.
“I very much appreciate that you’re all very busy, and getting six packs of people together in one space must be a nightmare,” she says, her voice cracking.
“It’s not that hard,” Silas says. “We have enough to run with, and the rest can be done through texts. We’ll exchange numbers.”
“I don’t have a phone,” Rosa explains. “I’m sure Nico can handle this.”
Too many pairs of eyes fall on Nico and his brothers and Dario sighs.
“I’m aware of how this looks,” Dario says, trying to defuse the situation.
“We’ve had a hell of a week changing locations, making sure no one dies, and settling into a city that we don’t live in.
Verona and Rosalia both almost died after the wedding, and we haven’t had a chance to replace either of their phones. I will fix that immediately.”
“You can’t rescue someone from one situation simply to shove them into another cage,” Nina says, standing as she crosses her arms over her chest. “The three of you are sitting across the yard from her, while she insults you. If you were truly her pack, you’d be on her side. This isn’t a marriage of love, is it?”
No one glances at me, which means I’m not on their shit lists. While I’m sitting away from Rosa to give her space due to her unbridled ability to deal with her new sense of smell, we all know the Domino family simply doesn’t understand how to act around her.
They don’t know how to read her cues, and they definitely don’t have the benefit of a bond with her. I’d much prefer not to share her, however, I don’t think that’ll be possible down the line.
“Don Accetta sold his daughter to me,” Nico admits. “However, I’ve done everything in my power to get her away from him.”
“Do you want a cookie now or later?” Nina asks, making Silas chuckle under his breath. “Try a little harder, or I suggest Rosa get a divorce.”
“I can do that?” she asks, as if it hasn’t occurred to her. Even now, she’s used to men telling her what to do.
It doesn’t matter that Pack Domino may be her scent matches, she doesn’t know that yet.
“I’ll give you the name of a good attorney,” Lyle grunts. “Don’t worry about paying for it. She lives to destroy men like this.”
“Wait,” Nico says, standing with his arms up in front of him. “I need time to figure this out with my wife. Please.”
“You can do it the old fashioned way. If Rosalia wants it, we have a guest house she and Verona are welcome to. You can visit her and schedule visitation. If they become dates, so be it. However you will court her as she deserves to be, or I’ll help her get a divorce,” Lyle says.
His tone states there is no other option, and Rosalia appears very relieved. I don’t think she could handle being in a closed space with them all.
Selfishly, I want them to work for it. They’ve been dipshits of late.
“The only way to communicate with her is to get on that phone situation,” Carter says. “Chop chop.”
“You know the address to deliver it to,” Silas says, standing and beginning to herd the Dominos through the back door to leave. It’s done so nicely, it almost appears to be an escort instead of him kicking them out.
“Rosa,” Nico says, twisting to look at her. “Please come home with us.”
“No.”
“She knows her mind, and if she changes her mind, guess what? She’s allowed! Out!”
Well, I guess Silas is no longer pretending. Rosa deflates as they finally leave and Cassidy shakes her head.
“We haven’t ever spent much time together because of your father,” she says. “How do you feel about becoming friends?”
“I’ve never had one except for Verona,” Rosa murmurs. “I think I’d like that.”
“We have a running club,” Cooper chuckles.
It sounds as if he’s been eating wood chips, and I feel really sad as I realize what it means.
However he lost Nina, I’m glad she’s here beside him going toe to toe with the Domino brothers.
Cassidy is friends with Nina, but I don’t know Nina’s story. “Would you like to join us?”
“I don’t want to put you out if seeing me with you will cause trouble,” Rosa says sadly.
“I once had that problem, and they managed to hide me when we ran since I’m short. Also, a hat and sunglasses help,” Nina explains.
“Maybe I should join you all. I feel as if I have ants crawling on my skin,” Rosa mutters.
“I’ll pick up some alpha pheromone blocker cream for under your nose. It’s not going to work like whatever pills your father had you on, but it will give you a break from being barraged by them,” Easton offers, surprising me.
He sees my brow ease and he winces. “I’m not the asshole I made myself out to be today. Verona, Rosalia, I am deeply sorry for making you both uncomfortable. Please feel free to stay as our guests for as long as you need. Lyle will also make your marriage go away.”
“Easton,” Lyle groans. “I was trying to be professional.”
“Pretty sure we’ve passed that,” Rosa says with a weak smile. “What did Cooper say? That’s right: you don’t stand on ceremony.”
“Correct. Let me grab the key for you two. First, I want to explain our ground rules, which are fully for your protection,” Lyle begins.
His words make me a bit unsettled, and I shift uneasily.
“No one will enter the guest house without your express permission. Rosa isn’t having a great time right now, and I want the scents there to be exactly what she needs them to be.
We usually have a house cleaner come in, but we can have her skip the guest house if you’d prefer.
You can have whatever you need delivered here, and one of us will bring it to the door. That’s really everything.”
Rosa relaxes slightly and thanks him. Five minutes later, we say goodbye to everyone and walk down the paved path to the guest house hidden by the garden.
Once inside, I begin snooping around. The home is a one-bedroom cottage, and the bed is huge. Rosa kicks off her heels with a relieved sigh and drops her purse on the ground before placing the gun on a side table.
“There’s women’s clothes in here in different sizes,” I report, going through the drawers before continuing to the bathroom and small kitchen.
It’s all fully stocked, which makes me more and more curious as to why they have this place, and if they thought Rosa would need it.
“Would you like me to draw you a bath?” I ask her. “Rosa?”
Her eyes are glassy, and I feel internal screaming happening in her mind. She’s silently panicking, unable to speak as she goes very pale.
“Baby?”
Her eyes roll back before she collapses to the floor, and I dive with her to protect her head from hitting the carpet.
My side screams as loud as I am inside of my mind, but none of that matters.
I’m the only one here, and I need to take care of her.
Her skin is clammy, her pulse strong, but she’s out for the count.
I’ve heard about omega drop before. It’s when an omega gets so overwhelmed by their senses without any relief, that their body shuts down for them. Sighing, I lift her into my arms and lay her on the bed.
I fill the tub as planned, fill it with all the good smelling things I know she likes, and strip out of my clothes. Moving over to Rosa, I unzip her dress and pull it off her before carrying her to the tub once it’s full and getting in with her.
If anything, the warm bath will help her now chattering lips and shivering. Tucking her head under my chin, I hold her tightly to me as I sing under my breath.
No matter what the reason Pack Mayor has this little guest house fully set up for, I’m deeply grateful for it.