12. Finley
Finley
It was so odd for me to see so many people worked up about my safety.
Everything I'd been taught was about surviving and, most especially, avoiding getting caught.
I should have known the diner had cameras and that they might be used against us.
I'd been in a fog all day, making it hard to think clearly, my guess is that since it's so close to the full moon I could have my first shift any day now messing with my whole body.
Being around all these alphas and betas wasn’t helping matters.
All I wanted to do was snuggle up with them and sleep.
The sense of peace I’d gained from being surrounded by their scents on the plane was addicting, and even now I craved to nuzzle up to Noah and that sweet chocolate scent he gave off.
It seemed to match his personality versus the spicy coffee and cinnamon scent of Mason.
For being twins I could easily tell they were as opposite in personality as identical as they looked in person.
Even the energy they gave off was vastly different.
Noah was more calm and controlled. There was something else that was hiding just under the surface, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Mason was like a firecracker; he was fast to ignite—whether it was good or bad—making his personality shine brightly.
My intuition told he was the one people gravitated to for his confidence, but it was also probably what got him in trouble.
Noah opened the door to the pack house and ushered me in after Elias had set me down on the porch before returning to the other others still talking.
I paused, taking in the open concept of the house, needing to understand the layout before I went any further, unable to settle until I knew where all the exits were.
The living room was large and inviting, connected to a dining area that had a massive wooden table that could easily fit twelve to fifteen people.
Everything was very masculine, with deep rich tones and a lot of wood and leather, but it still felt welcoming and comfortable.
"Our pack house is a little different from a normal home. Typically the betas don’t live in the pack house so guess that makes us lucky we get to be close by.
If you need us our rooms are down the hall past the dining room," Noah explained as he led me deeper into the house toward a staircase off to the left of the living room.
"Upstairs is where Colt and Lane's rooms are and where yours will be. "
“Zander doesn’t have a room here?” I asked.
At the top of the stairs, I was surrounded by my alphas’ scents, causing me to pause and take a deep breath. I had to force myself not to run off and roll around in their beds. When I opened my eyes, Noah was standing in front of me, his own eyes wide and pupils blown.
Oh god, can he tell how deeply affected I am by their smell? This is going to take some getting used to.
Noah cleared his throat and shook his head as if to clear it. "Right, ah Zander has his own house elsewhere on the pack lands—this is room here."
A little put out I shook it off to take a look at my new space.
Of course it would be the room in-between both alphas because being this close to them wouldn't be torture enough.
Stepping into my new room, I found it was set up very simply, containing a twin bed with a nightstand next to it, and an attached bathroom.
I opened the only other door and discovered a closet with a set of drawers built into it for all the things that I didn't have any longer.
Walking back out into the room, I sat on the end of my bed and looked around, feeling the true impact of what had happened to me.
It wasn't about not having my things from my apartment at the Organization; that could all be replaced.
What I couldn't change was never being allowed to return to that part of my life ever again.
As far as they were concerned, I was dead, so all my things would be destroyed and forgotten.
Finley, assassin for the Organization, was no longer, and I didn't know how to process that.
A hand brushed my cheek, startling me. I had all but forgotten that Noah was in here with me.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just couldn't take seeing you so sad," Noah murmured.
I brushed a hand over a cheek, checking to make sure I hadn't cried or anything equally as pathetic.
I was alive and had a place to live that would provide for me in this new life.
There were lots of other people out in the world who weren't as fortunate.
"It's nothing, just these new emotions to get used to.
They never talk about how much your wolf nature affects your personality. "
"Yeah, I'm not the best person to help you with that. Mason and I are born wolves, not changed, so we've always had our wolves with us," Noah explained. "Lane was changed by Colt; he would be able to give you some pointers on learning to deal with a second person in your brain."
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, and centered myself to calm my emotions. Thankfully, it still worked as it always had. I needed some things not to change.
"Are you hungry, or do you want some time to yourself? I'm sure the alphas have been a little overwhelming… It's kind of their nature," Noah said with a grin.
My stomach growled at the offer of food, making the choice obvious. "I’m fine to make something myself if you show me what I can use."
Noah's brows shot up in surprise. "Why would there be rules on what you can eat?"
"I'm an omega, the last in line… Isn't that how it works?" I hedged, reading from his look of horror that I was mistaken.
"Finley, we might be created from wolves, but we are human as well.
Yes, there is hierarchy in the packs, but one thing that will never happen in a healthy pack is allowing any member to go hungry.
Our bodies burn so many more calories than a normal human that we have to eat frequently and in larger amounts. To withhold food would be cruel."
Now that he'd explained it, I could see how my question showed just how ignorant I was to their world.
The main things the Organization had taught us about supers was how to kill them, not how they lived.
It would seem that I needed to go back to basics and learn all I could about my new environment.
Knowing the rules would keep me alive, especially now that I would be under the critical eye of the Senate.
"Just so we’re clear on things, you are welcome to anything you can find in this house to eat.
No one will stop you or get upset. If they do, ignore them because it will most likely be my brother, and he's an idiot.
Now, it's been a long day, so why don't you let me fix you something?
I'll show you where things are in the kitchen for next time," Noah offered, rising from the bed and offering me a hand.
I blinked at it a moment before looking up at him. "Is that a wolf thing too? I mean it makes sense from what I know about werewolves, but I've never been one for physical contact, but it's like I crave it now."
"Oh yeah, that's totally your wolf. As pack animals, we need to feel each other for comfort as well as scent marking. If a rogue wolf were to enter the pack, we would all know right away by their strange scent. It also works if you get lost, letting another pack know where you came from."
Grasping his hand, I let him pull me up and lead me back out into the hall. Other than our three doors, I saw more rooms down the hall and what looked like a library or study. "Are there books on being a werewolf here?"
Noah contemplated that for a moment as we headed down the stairs. "I don't know that we have any, but Zander might. I know he loves to collect old and rare books, so you'll have to ask him."
"Ask me what?" Zander asked from where he was cooking something on the stove.
It smelled heavenly—lots of garlic, butter, and other rich flavors assaulted my nose in the best way. I let go of Noah's hand and drifted over, letting my nose take over my brain until I was leaning against Zander, eyes half closed. "What are you making?"
"It's a parmesan garlic sauce to put over some noodles and chicken. I figured you were going to be hungry after all the traveling," Zander answered, nuzzling my head with his cheek.
Hearing what he said snapped me out of my daze. "You're making that for me?" I can’t even remember the last time someone cared enough if I was hungry and made me something.
"I sure as hell wouldn't be cooking it for any of these assholes, little dove," he chuckled.
"This isn't my home. I live on the edge of the pack lands, in my own house.
You'll have to come see it and pick out a room.
Since it's only me that lives there, you've got plenty to choose from, or I'll take down some walls and have one custom built. "
My mind added this information with what Noah told me, trying to put it in order with everything else I knew about him so far.
If he didn't live in this house, then he wasn't a pack alpha— he was a lone alpha.
Back at the diner, he had claimed that I was his mate, but so had Lane…
Could a werewolf have that many mates? Was it an omega thing?
God, I hated not knowing what the hell was going on in my own life.
"Little dove, what's wrong?" Zander snapped, making me flinch away from him at the tone of his voice.
I made to move away, but his hand shot out and gently grasped my throat, making it known I wasn't going anywhere.
"No— I asked you a question, Finley. We covered this already. If an alpha asks, you answer," Zander scolded, making it impossible to resist him any longer.
"Nothing is wrong," I stated. It was the true answer to the question he’d asked, and I didn't plan on giving him more than I had to.
I had always followed orders from my superiors, but they always made sense and were for a reason. What Zander wanted from me was purely personal, and I was not playing that game.
"Are you lying to me right now?" Zander growled, all but causing my legs to give out in a mixture between terror and pleasure.
I wanted to please him and make him stop growling at me, but I also wanted to kick him right in the dick for being an ass. "No, you asked what was wrong, and there's nothing wrong."
"Looks like she's got you there," Mason interjected. "Leave her alone. You're being a dick for no reason."
I heard the stove turn off, the pot shift, then Zander picked me up, carrying me out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. He kicked my door open and sat on the bed with me over his lap and my ass up in the air.
"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped, squirming to get out of his hold.
That was when the first slap echoed in the room, followed by the sting of where he’d hit my right ass cheek. "You should know better, Finley. You're a trained soldier, and I’m your commanding officer. When I ask you a question." Smack. "You." Smack. "Will." Smack, smack. "Answer."
With each impact of his hand, I shattered further from who I was.
My omega nature wept at upsetting our alpha, whereas my assassin side boiled with rage at how I was being treated.
No matter the war inside me, I was unable to do anything to fight his strong hold.
I gritted my teeth, refusing to let the whimper that was stuck in my throat come out. I would not let him best me in this.
"The longer you fight me, the longer this will go on. Submit and this will be over," Zander ordered, continuing his assault on my ass.
As my skin began to burn more intensely, he picked up the speed and force, letting me know he'd been taking it easy on me.
It was at that point my omega nature won out, the whine slipping past my lips as I started to shiver.
Something inside of me suddenly started fighting for control, clawing its way to the front, and instead of a whimper, I screamed and started to convulse.
"Fuck!" Zander swore as he shifted us down to the floor. "Colt, Lane, get up here now! She's starting to shift, and it looks like it's gonna be one hell of a battle!"
I lost all track of time, senses, and self; stuck in an endless loop of pain, I fought back against what was trying to take over my body.
I won't lose to you, damn it. I'm not an omega.
I'm a motherfucking assassin who can take care of herself!
Unfortunately, my wolf didn't give a shit about what I thought.
It was here and moving in whether I liked it or not.