Chapter 18 Third Party
Third Party
Mads
Ican’t remember the last time I felt like this, like I was floating peacefully. Existing normally with the pain in the background and only a pretty girl in the foreground. Before the final scene in the movie, Cadi sits up and stretches.
“I need to use the restroom,” she says.
“I’ll pack up and go with you.”
She helps me gather the things into my backpack. I take forever to stand, and then I need a second to stretch out my legs from sitting for so long. I try really hard to ignore my stiff leg. And the people who are trying to see around me standing right in their way.
She helps me fold the blanket, and I take it from her. Then we head down the hill, going through the maze of people. My head is down, and I’m trying not to trip or fall on anyone. When we emerge near the bathrooms, Cadi gives me a little wave and goes on into the ladies’ room.
I find a wall to lean up against. I set the blanket down on the ground at my feet.
I’m rubbing my leg and finding my breath, so I don’t notice a man approaching me. He stands directly in front of me, and I continue to ignore him, thinking he just doesn’t realize how close he is to me.
“Mads,” the man says, and I nearly jump out of my skin. His voice is deep and commanding, I know he’s an alpha before I even look at his face.
“Oscar?” I ask even though I know this is the alpha that came to lunch with Kol. His mustache is unmistakable.
“I’m so happy you remember me,” his rich Latin accent shakes me to my core. He’s standing so close to me. Adrenaline pumps through my blood, prepping me to defend myself. “Are you here with an omega?”
Fuck I see it all. The pain. The fear. The feeling of death closing in.
“Don’t be so scared, beta. I’m here to talk to you about the offer.”
I can’t answer. My hands are cold. My eyes are wide. What is he going to do?
“Was it the price? Because that’s just your wage. We can negotiate more if you need it. We take care of our own. Is there a lifestyle you are hoping to maintain?”
My eyes blink dry.
“What?”
“Tell me what we need to do to make this happen. We are highly motivated.” He reaches out for my arm and I flinch away from him. He drops his hand.
“Make what happen?”
“You’re ours, Mads. What do we need to do to convince you of this fact?”
We all do.
Kol’s words echo around me. They are highly motivated? Oh my god. They aren’t going to stop.
“I don’t play these games. I’m a beta. I don’t understand this. This doesn’t happen.”
“It happens. We recognize our own. And I recognized you, just as I did Kol and then Locke. Are you resisting this because we don’t have an omega? Are you into omegas? We are working on that now.”
I snap my mouth shut and look around for Cadi. Has she come out yet?
“You’ll have to end things with this omega. Locke has a scent match, so that’s set in stone. Don’t worry, these things tend to work out.”
End things with Cadi? Is he threatening me? He’s at least a whole foot taller than me. A hundred pounds of pure muscle more than me. His hand could cover my face, and I’d suffocate in under a minute.
“So tell me,” Oscar says, his words darker and more serious, “what do we need to do to make this happen? What are your demands? Your preferences? What is holding you back?”
I consider hitting him upside the head with my cane and running for it. But I can’t run, and this cane would crumple against his giant head.
Nothing and no one can help me.
“Have I no choice here?”
He shakes his head slowly while maintaining eye contact.
“This is happening, Mads. So prepare your heart. And your demands.”
“What will you do to me if I resist?”
Confusion falls over him.
“You won’t.”
He places his giant paw on my cheek and pats me roughly.
“I will meet you for coffee tomorrow morning, and you can tell me what you want. I’ll have Kol send you the details.”
He takes a few steps away before adding, “And end things with this omega. Tonight.”
He walks away, and I can feel some of the blood return to my body. Apparently, my heart was holding it in.
Cadi walks up to me with a smile. But then she sees my face.
“Are you…” I pull her into me and kiss her. She’s shocked and still, but then warms up to me. She kisses me back and then wraps her arms around my neck. I lick at the seam of her lips, and she opens up to me. I deepen the kiss. No goddamned alpha is going to tell me who I can and cannot date.
No goddamned alpha is going to claim me.
This has to be illegal. Stalking? Harassment? Something!
Cadi moans. My hand touches her midriff and I pull her even closer, her bare skin igniting a fire in me.
She pulls back to catch her breath.
“Damn, Mads, you can kiss.”
The sound of my cane hitting the ground snaps me out of the haze. I bend down to grab where it fell, and I pick up the blanket as well.
“I just really wanted to do that.”
“I don’t mind.”
We walk hand in hand to the drop off and loading zone to wait for her car she ordered. She said she didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before and apologizes that she’d like to go home. She kisses me on the lips and leaves.
Once she’s gone I look up the nearest police station and start walking.
“What do you mean you can’t do anything?” I plead with the officer who stands before me in full regalia and a side piece. We are in the front lobby of the police station.
“Well, did he threaten you?” The obvious sarcastic tone is unbearable.
“He threatened to make me part of his pack whether I wanted to or not.”
“He threatened to dark bond you? What did he say?”
I grit my teeth. I hate how I have to convince this man I’m in distress and need help. It’s like he assumes I’m here to waste his time. Like I want to be at a police station at night, instead of at home.
“He just asked what he needed to ‘make this happen.’”
The officer’s eyebrows go up. He’s hoping I see that there was no threat there.
I gasp, realizing there was something threatening Oscar said. “He told me to break things off with the girl I was on a date with.”
“Did he say ‘or else’ or anything like that?”
I don’t answer, and he sighs. Fuck.
“What about harassment? This could be considered harassment?”
“Ok, did you tell him to stop, and he kept contacting you? Did you tell him to leave you alone, and he didn’t?”
I’m trying to remember, but I don’t think I did. Fuck! I didn’t even tell him no. It’s almost like I want this guy to persist.
“I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous. I’m just a beta. I didn’t ask for a pack of alphas to declare that I’m theirs. They don’t seem to understand I’m not interested. I can’t be the first sorry sap this has happened to?”
“Well, the police don’t really get involved, but you can always hire private security.” He gestures to a wall with a board. The board has flyers advertising private security and bail bondsmen. Meier Protection Group advertises ABO protections.
“I don’t have the money for something like that.”
“Some of them take on pro bono cases. Meier Group is known for omega protections…”
“I’m not an omega.”
“But they are kind of treating you that way…”
I bite my tongue so I don’t tell him to fuck off.
“Look, make sure you document everything. Be clear with your rejections. If they threaten your life or physically assault you, call us right away…”
I’m no longer listening.
They are not going to help. Hire private security! Can you imagine? I’m not a senator’s son!
I don’t know what made me think the police would help.
I let him finish up and then thank him for his time and leave.
I’m still holding the quilt on my arm, so when I get out to the street, I push the fabric into my face and scream.
When I get home, I run a bath. I sink into the water and try my best to purge myself of the Soto Pack.
I quickly text Cadi and tell her I had a good time. She texts back and tells me she did too.
A text pings from someone else, Kol, that reads:
Meet at the Lexicon Café at 10:00 am tomorrow. Oscar said to be prepared for a proper conversation.
I drop the phone onto the bath mat and sink into the water. What if I drown myself before tomorrow? Would that make them leave me alone? Or would they insist I haunt them even in the afterlife?