Chapter Twenty-Three
Three days later
Thursday
Lucky
Lucky said goodbye to his papa and headed for the front door. “I’ll see you after class, Papa.” They planned to have a nice, lazy evening in, as his father had begun an intense case that would keep him late, which had become a common occurrence of the last few days.
“Good luck today.” His papa kissed his cheek.
Lounging outside the front door, Ford accepted the keys from his papa, following their new routine. He disappeared inside, checking the locks and securing the house. Lucky waved when his papa reached the end of the road, walking to the library two streets away, where he worked part-time.
“Ready?” Ford led the way to his truck and waited for Lucky to be comfortable before he turned the key to start the engine. Grabbing a small bag from the console, he tossed it at Lucky.
Lucky lifted the see-through bag with a red tape marked Evidence, with what looked like a bullet inside. “What’s this?”
Ford pulled the car away from the pavement. “I got shot in training, yesterday.”
“What?” Lucky almost dropped the bag, not sure he wanted to be holding it.
Ford lifted the badge from his chest over his head and handed it over without taking his attention off the road. Lucky poked at the hole in the dream pouch the Seer had given him at the festival. “You saved my life, flower.”
“I knew Omha would protect you.”
Ford snorted and shook his head. “Some rookie’s gun jammed and he didn’t secure it or ask for help. Ended up firing a wild shot while dismantling it,” he explained, gruff and unimpressed. “I nearly tore his fucking head off.”
“I don’t blame you.” Lucky would have been furious.
It was reckless, in an environment where they were trained to handle weapons.
Curious about a sliver of colour within the hole of the pouch, he moved the frayed threads to discover there was something solid inside.
Dream pouches didn’t hold items, as they were meant to be empty, to collect bad dreams. “There’s a medallion to grant wisdom from Azrah inside. That Seer really covered all bases.”
Ford adjusted his grip on the wheel. “She didn’t want nuthin’.”
Lucky replaced the medallion. “Omha and Azrah ask nothing in return for their gifts, only understanding and acceptance. By wearing the pouch, you repaid her. Omha will see to it,” he explained, trusting there was purpose to the dual gift.
“She will, huh?”
Lucky lifted the lanyard over his head to keep it safe for the remainder of the drive.
“Yes, because that was an omega Seer, and they commune directly with Omha. She was wearing a scent called Masquerade. It’s rare and ancient, but it basically tells an alpha she’s beta and they ignore her, but the markings on her wrist are the same as mine. ”
Ford grasped his hand and linked their fingers. “You’re an observant flower, aren’t you?”
It would have been obvious to any omega, but he decided not to disillusion Ford, running his fingers over the pouch. “I can stitch this, if you want? Make it look as good as new.”
“You do that.”
* * * *
Chase
While he waited for Lucky’s first class of the day to finish, Chase sat at his usual table in the quad and made sure he had all his coursework organised.
When his phone rang, he scowled at Orson’s number, realising he couldn’t put him off.
“Hey.” He answered the call and rubbed his forehead, wincing at the chaotic screaming in the background.
“Hi. Give me a sec.” Orson could be heard shouting at the kids to keep it down, thankfully at a distance from the phone. “I swear, you pick up a fucking phone and they start the loudest game on the planet.”
Chase smiled, though he imagined it probably wasn’t far from the truth. “I guess you heard about Hana, huh?”
“Yeah.” Orson sighed wearily. “What the fuck are they thinking?”
“No idea, but it’s a whole fucking mess,” Chase replied, giving him a quick rundown of everything he knew from his mother.
He drew the line at mentioning Lucky’s decision about adopting Pip, only because he didn’t want to give anyone in the family ideas about fighting against it.
Orson might try to be the grown-up, responsible one by agreeing to take Pip, but the more he thought about Lucky’s promise, the more he realised that Pip belonged with them.
“Cris says that if she gets this merger, Dad’s promised her a post in the main office, which means moving at least three hours away.
Then it’s no more dumping Pip on Mum while she’s working.
He thinks she’s been coasting for a while, leaving Pip with Mum so that she can pretend she’s still independent.
Now she’s got a chance to make that a reality, she’s going to take the promotion and leave her old life behind. ”
“Which includes abandoning her child!” Chase had never really understood Hana, but this was the most selfish thing she’d ever done, which was saying something.
“Yeah.” Orson sighed, then yelled at one of the kids. “Fucking dog just brought a dead frog in the house. I’m gonna have to go.” He seemed about to say something else, then there was more yelling. “Put that down! Fucking thing is still alive!”
Chase laughed as Orson hung up, not envying the chaos Orson was about to become embroiled in. A live frog in the house, the dog bringing them gifts, and no doubt the kids would want to keep the frog or run screaming from it. He was betting on the former.
Needing a moment to think, Chase dug his hand into his pocket for a smoke, only for his fingers to latch onto the pouch Lucky had entrusted to him an hour ago. He pulled it from his pocket, examining the small item that could have changed his life irrevocably.
He couldn’t believe Ford had almost been shot.
He’d never given the old Gods much credence, because he hadn’t seen how or why they would interfere with the free will they had given their people.
According to history, Azrah and Omha were real people who had foresight, increased strength and wisdom, and power beyond measure.
They were elevated to legends for their great deeds that changed the face of the world long before written records were common.
Omha had broken the mould for omegas, and Azrah had been the first alpha who had treated his omega like an equal.
Together, they had created the beginnings of the world Chase and Lucky lived in, and implemented the cornerstone of the freedoms they enjoyed.
He’d always thought the story was for kids, to explain how the world had evolved from slavery and ownership to love and equality between alpha and omega.
Seeing the prominent hole in the pouch, he wondered about the Gods. If that Seer hadn’t been at the festival, if Ford hadn’t found her and known Lucky would want a reading, if Lucky hadn’t spared the time to talk to her, if she hadn’t given Ford the pouch, so much could have been different.
Rubbing his forehead, unable to work, Chase considered the possibility that Ford was right and he shouldn’t discount Lucky’s belief in the Gods.
* * * *
Lucky
Chase was waiting outside Lucky’s first class, dutifully fulfilling his role as on-site campus chaperone despite his own schedule of classes, looking so relaxed that Lucky hoped he hadn’t been waiting long. Professor Vert often ran late, but today had been a new record.
“Were you waiting long?”
“No, and it wouldn’t matter if I had been. You’re worth waiting for.” He winked, as cheeky as ever, and handed him Ford’s pouch back, to be repaired. Lucky hadn’t wanted to risk taking it with him into Home Economics in case it got damaged.
“Grant went ahead to pick up your friends.”
He kissed Chase’s cheek, overwhelmed with affection for that thoughtful, caring admission, and followed him to the quad. The others had beaten them back, which was no surprise. Lucky spent a few minutes catching up before he cracked his books open for a study period.
Professor Milliner had asked the class to choose one topic from their last debate and write an essay to support the argument.
Even if they all wrote the same thing, he wanted their personal view of the topic, which sounded easy.
The assignment had been given two days before and Lucky hated that he still hadn’t started. His goal for today was to write notes.
Grant flipped between two pages with obvious confusion. “Either I’m missing a page or this says that an alpha can ignore the bond, but if they do…the omega can go into a contact heat, even before their official age of maturity.”
Caroline smiled knowingly, because they’d been taught that harsh truth their entire lives. The law insisting that an alpha had every right to keep the bond secret, if they believed waiting was in their best interests, was illogical, like most other alpha-written laws regarding omegas.
“If the alpha doesn’t tell the omega within a year, the omega can go into heat just from contact.” Grant read from the book only to look up with obvious concern. “Is that true?”
Lucky tried not to laugh, while Caroline returned to her reading. “Yes.”
Grant cleared his throat and leaned over the book. “Can any alpha spark the contact heat?”
Lucky contemplated lying to mess with Grant, but this information clearly wasn’t being taught to alphas. “Only the true mate alpha. You’re safe. I already have mine, but you should be careful the next time you pass Caroline a pencil.”
Grant froze and levelled a narrowed gaze at Lucky. “You’re a cheeky shit,” he complained, though Caroline gave a cute snort that had even Chase struggling not to laugh.
“You gotta admit, you walked into that one.”
Grant went back to reading. “Can’t deny that. Doesn’t mean you had to let me.”
* * * *
Ford