Chapter 37 Impala
Impala
Oscar
Just as I am planning out how I am going to get Padrick to some dark corner of the world and end him, five beta girls enter the rotating doors of the hotel.
I recognize most of them.
I recognized Carmen and Sauvignon right away. Carmen is a Latina beta woman who worked for Legs. She is the manager over the girls. Sauvignon is a black woman and was famously Legs’s favorite.
Slowly, I start to recognize all of them. Tara, the one always in everyone’s business. Honey, who is usually practically naked or crying. And then Lucy, the quiet one who looks like she could kill you without feeling bad about it.
What the fuck are they doing here?
Padrick and I both stand up. The women look at Padrick with hard faces, and then all five of them look at me, confused.
They knew Padrick would be here, but not me.
Carmen tosses her head back, indicating to me to come to them. I leave Padrick and cross the pink-and-cheetah-print carpeted floor to the white marble floor by the main lobby.
“Carmen,” I greet. “Honey. Sauvignon. Tara. Lucy.”
Carmen gives me a genuine smile.
“We’re Pack Star.”
A pack. A pack of female betas. There are stranger things.
“You remember all of our names,” Tara remarks.
“Ro called us, Soto. She says she has a pest problem.”
“I’d say the problem is bigger than that, Carmen. It’s my recommendation that he be eliminated. Not just removed.”
She nods.
Talking to her is like meeting a peer. I look down and see Tara and Honey holding hands. Sauvignon has her body pressed into Lucy. They are close. Like a pack should be.
“You don’t seem worried about me being here?”
“She didn’t know you were here, but she did ask for you. Well, she asked for the Soto Pack.”
My mouth parts in surprise, and I turn my head to hide the expression on my face.
She asked for us.
My fingers dance against my pant leg. She asked for us.
“Go get her, Soto. We will take care of Padrick.”
“How?”
“It’s best if you don’t know.” I look at Lucy, who definitely has taken care of someone once or twice in her life.
“If you run into problems, here’s my number.” I pass her my card. “Pack Soto is in your debt, Carmen. Pack Star can ask on us in the future.”
She loves that.
A favor.
Worth more than most things in this world.
I leave them to get a key at the front desk. I’d already reserved a room on my phone so I could use the elevator. I get the key from the very nonobservant woman at the front desk.
I give the confused Padrick a nod as I pass him to go down the corridor to the elevators. The look of shock on his face delights me.
I go up to the floor, and even with the descenters in the air, I catch some of her scent. It’s strongest at her door. It’s abnormal…she’s going into pre-heat just as I suspected. I knock lightly on the door and hear shuffling. She’s right on the other side. Possibly pressed against the door.
“Aurora. It’s Oscar. Let me in.”
A small, muffled voice on the other side says, “Oscar?”
“Yes, it’s Oscar. Let me in.”
I hear sniffling.
“Padrick is out there. He wants to take me…”
“I know I saw him in the lobby. You don’t have anything to worry about. Pack Star is dealing with it.”
“Why are you here?”
She’s so confused.
I sigh. Then I draw in my alpha voice and say, “Let me in, Aurora.”
She scrambles to her feet and opens the door. The moment it’s open, I step in and direct her away from the door. I shut and lock it behind me, then I take her by the shoulders and move her to the couch inside, setting her down. I kneel in front of her.
“Are you hurt?”
I wait until she answers, but I visually assess her eyes and skin.
“I feel really…weird. My stomach hurts. My heart is racing. I think I’m having a panic attack.”
“Can I touch you? I need to make sure you’re alright.”
“Yes, ok.”
I feel her neck and forehead, then look at her palms. I take both her hands in mine and look her in the eyes.
“You’re going into heat. It’s your first one, so there’s going to be some strange new feelings. If you reject them, it’ll make you feel sick. That’s why you’re nauseous.”
Her face scrunches up in annoyance.
I finally take her all in. She looks older than the last time we saw each other.
She’s not wearing makeup, and her hair is longer.
She still has that strong nose and gap between her two front teeth.
Her scent speaks to my inner alpha. It’s this fresh, soda water and lime scent.
It sparkles around me, cooling my skin. I want to run my nose up and down her arm to feel the sensation.
I’ve never experienced a scent so tactile before.
“Why are you here? Did you know Padrick found me?”
“No, I discovered that upon arrival.” I push her hair back from her face and behind her shoulders.
“You want to know why I’m here? You haunt my pack.
Your name is mentioned in almost every conversation.
Cadi considers you in all things. Locke suffers.
Mads schemes. What would you have me do?
Let you have your first heat on your own?
It would rip their hearts to shreds. You may have been cornered when Locke bonded you, but we need to consider other options besides bond dissolution. ”
She’s stopped breathing.
“Would you consider letting us take care of you for your first heat?”
Her eyes scan my face like they are looking for a flaw. My hands hold on to hers again. I like that she’s taking her time to answer me. Well, her eyes just glazed over, so maybe the poor girl is having trouble thinking straight.
“Aurora, you need to tell me what you want. I can take you to a Heat Clinic. They can give you suppressants or alphas. Whatever you need. Is that what you’d prefer?”
“No.”
“Locke and Mads both want to help you.”
“You’d give them to me?”
Oh, she hasn’t completely changed, I see. I try not to laugh about that fun fact.
“No, I wouldn’t give them to you. They’re mine.”
Her mouth pouts.
“You’d have to submit to me, little omega. You’d be mine, too.”
I smell fear. Just a bit of it. That’s good—it means she’s being smart about this. I’m Oscar Soto. She knows my reputation.
“I’d make sure you had everything you needed.”
“My own money?”
“Yes.”
She looks like she doesn’t believe me.
“What if I only want Mads? No one else.”
“You don’t have to touch anyone you don’t want to touch.”
“I’d have to go to Cash City and stay there? Live with you?”
“You’ll have to be where we are. We are very close. We can’t live apart. We eat meals together. Budget and plan together. Spend our free time together. I want to know everything about your days. I would like you to open yourself to me. I’ll pour into you as much as I can.”
“I want to go to hair school.”
“We’ll pay for it. We will get you there and back. Kol would probably love to help you have your own salon one day.”
“He would?”
“He loves new ventures.”
Her stomach cramps, and her face is all pain. She opens the bond between us of her own volition, and I feel her desire. She’s being so brave. Pre-heat is such a vulnerable time for an omega. Stressors can make it worse.
“You can’t fly home like this. Let’s go to the pharmacy and get you a suppressant, then drive you to Cash City. We’ll be there by the time the sun sets tonight.”
“Ok. Yes. I’ll go with you. I’ll sub…I’ll submit. But know this, I am scared.”
“I know, probecita.“ I kiss her forehead and pet her hair. “I know. Now, go pack.”
I help her stand, and she walks off to her suitcase by the window.
My phone pings with a text from Carmen. She says she left Padrick’s car keys on the tire, and he’s parked just down the street. A baby blue 1970s Chevy Impala. She says it’s mine if I want it.
That’ll be fun to drive for 10 hours.
Carmen: Take good care of her, Soto. She deserves a good alpha, so I’d better not get a phone call from her in the future about you.
Oscar: She’ll be well taken care of.
Carmen: Thank you.
I help Aurora with her luggage, and we head downstairs together. I can feel her warmth and her presence so clearly. She isn’t holding anything back. I can feel her annoyed that the elevator takes forever. I can feel her relief when she makes it to the lobby and sees Padrick gone.
After I get her into Padrick’s car, she is absolutely excited. She’s also as horny as can be.
I load the trunk and the back seat with her bags, realizing we may not make it. I just have to get her to Cash City before her heat starts. That’s the goal now.
She may need me to help her, and while I always thought I’d only have one omega, I can’t abandon the one I’d been given.
She’s mine to protect.
I’d never deny her care.