25. Zander
Zander
Thankfully, the rest of the night was uneventful, and we managed to mingle with the pack, introducing Finley to a few people without overwhelming her.
Everything in me wanted to toss her over my shoulder and take her back to my house where she wouldn't be so stressed.
I'd always been possessive over my things, but the level of caveman that I had to fight when it came to Finley was extreme.
When it reached the point that I could tell she had reached her limit, I decided I didn't care what the others thought. I was taking her home.
Bending down, I pulled her onto my hip like a child and nodded to the couple we had been chit chatting with. "I'm sorry to cut the night short, but Finley has had a full day and is still adjusting after her first shift."
"Of course, alpha," the female whose name I couldn't remember said with a smile. "We hope to see you around more, Finley."
I nodded to her mate and headed off into the woods. It was the first time I regretted not living closer, but I was enjoying the fact that I would get to hold my beautiful mate in my arms.
"Thank you," Finley whispered as she wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder. "I had no idea being around people like that would take so much energy. There has to be a way to tone down my empathic abilities."
Frowning, I glanced down at her from the corner of my eye.
“Wait, you could feel everyone's emotions the whole time.
I thought it was only in extreme cases when emotions run high.
We knew that was something omegas might be able to do if they were sensitive enough, but not all are.
I've heard some are more gifted toward healing or at least relieving pain. "
"It wasn't this bad before the shift, and up until today I've only been with you six.
That made me think it was because you guys are my mates and whatever elf voodoo I have going on, but after that gathering, it's clear that I can pick up on anyone if I try.
It's worse when there’s contact, almost like a direct link right to whatever they're feeling," she explained.
The thought of other people freely touching my mate made me see red. Who gave them the right to touch what wasn't theirs?
"Do people touch you often?" I asked, trying to keep my cool, but the growl in my voice told me I wasn't hiding anything.
I could feel her smiling against my neck where she'd nuzzled into. "Am I sensing you're jealous?"
"It's not jealousy when you’re mine, little dove," I stated.
She chuckled and kissed me on the neck before pulling back to look at me. "Hmm, possessive is a good look on you."
Unable to deny myself, I caught her lips with my own, releasing the growl I'd been holding back. "Glad you like it because it's not going to change any time soon. Now, answer the question— are people touching you when they shouldn't be?"
"No, it's more innocent than that," she assured me. "The brush of an arm passing by, reaching for the same thing and touching hands, or even a simple handshake in greeting."
I thought back to how many people she’d met and how shifters were naturally more touchy feely than normal humans were.
This was another thing we were going to need to pay attention to.
Fuck, there has to be some tutorial or guide on how to deal with this.
Omegas were becoming more rare, but there were still plenty around to ask about such a thing.
I had already started pulling books from the library that might be helpful, but it seemed I was going to be even more in debt to my Senate contact.
"Do we overwhelm you?" I inquired, hoping that holding her like this wasn't draining her. Right now with my anxiety high trying to figure all this out my emotions were all over the place and I didn’t want her to have that kind of turmoil bombarding her.
She shook her head and sighed. "No, if I look for it, I can feel it, but our bond seems to give me more control over what I glean from you.
Almost as if there is a built in filter unless your emotions are super strong or I look for them.
Plus, all of you seem to have a handle on your emotions more so than the rest of the pack. "
"Good thing you have two nests that you can hide away in when things get too overwhelming."
"Can we all sleep together tonight?" Finley requested, looking at me with her stunning cobalt gaze. "It was so comforting when we were in my nest, and it seemed to help you guys as well."
On that she wasn't wrong. Never had I woken up from a nap feeling more rested and ready to deal with the world than that moment.
I had just come off of a six-month international tour for my latest album and still hadn't recovered from the jet lag until that nap.
Part of me didn't want to go to sleep yet, but knowing I could snuggle up with her made the decision for me.
"If that's what you want, I'm sure no one will argue," I answered.
Once we entered my home, I set her down, taking a deep breath now that I was finally back in my space for the night.
It had been an extremely long time since I'd been part of a pack. Once I’d left the one I grew up in, I'd been on my own.
My wolf and I didn't feel the same need to be surrounded by others—unless they were fans.
My true passion was wanting to educate the world to the fact that just because someone was or became a super it didn't mean they stopped being human.
Yes, in the literal sense, they did, but we still wanted to enjoy the world the way everyone else did.
Sure, we were all out in the 'open,' if you will, but it was like back when the slaves were freed, they got to live their own lives but were forced to have separate jobs, bathrooms, and rights. Now if a doctor or teacher was caught as a super they would lose their jobs since people believe they could be changed by a touchr or that they were mindless monsters. You either lived in a super community or you kept it a secret there was no inbetween. What people don’t seem to realize is we’ve been coexisting alongside them for centuries.
The only difference now is we announced ourselves.
We'd been around as long as humanity had, just in the shadows or keeping our true nature hidden.
"Hey, you okay?" Finley asked, slipping her hand into mine.
I looked down at her and smiled. "Fine, just lost in thought is all. Do you need anything to drink or eat, or are you just ready for bed?"
She stilled, and I could tell she was mulling over my question. I noticed she did this a lot, but I wasn't sure if it was because of her dueling nature or something she'd always done. I had to admit it was cute when she got the little wrinkle in between her brows.
"No, I'm fine, but I would like to know how things went today with your Senate contact. I know you wanted to wait until tomorrow, but who knows what tomorrow will bring," she pointed out.
I hummed my agreement, wandered over to the couch, and pulled her down on my lap. "The others should be here in a moment. Let's wait for them so I don't have to explain it all again."
"It's taking effort to remember to use all of my heightened senses. I keep trying to focus on one of them, but then I lose the others."
"That's because you keep pushing your wolf to the side. If you let her co-exist with you, then you won't need to call on her because she'll already be there," I explained.
Finley tilted her head, giving me a look that told me she didn't understand what I was saying at all. "Okay, so you can feel your wolf in your mind, right? Where is she, and what is she doing?"
"She's curled up, taking a nap off to the side. The emotions and being on alert all night wore her out," Finley shared.
"Now, if you needed her, you would have to wake her up to get her attention because she’s completely removed from your human consciousness.
If you let her linger in your mind without shutting the door on her, then she would share your state of mind without taking over.
She’d be there as support, picking up on things your human side can’t," I said, educating her the best I could.
Being a born wolf, I'd always had to share space with my wolf, and being over a hundred years old, I couldn't comprehend how to live any other way.
"Will sharing space with her increase her omega-ness over me?"
Ah, that was the real problem. "Little dove, no matter what you do or how you interact with your wolf, you will forever be an omega. Even when your elf nature manifests, that won’t remove your status as an omega.
It might help level things off or make it worse, but we don't know.
Being a born wolf, I don't understand the struggle of fighting against nature, but I do understand not loving being a werewolf.
As hard as it seems, learning to accept where you're at now is the only way to survive this life.
You'll live half blind and deaf if you keep your wolf locked away like this.
" I reached up and tucked a flyaway hair behind her ear before stroking her cheek, willing her to hear what I was trying to say.
"Don't let your frustration and anger at being made an omega ruin you like it did Craig.
Sadly, I've seen too many lost because they couldn't accept who they became after getting bitten. "
"I hear you, but it's hard," she answered honestly, leaning into my hand for comfort.
Even without an empathic gift, I could see how tough it was on my mate; she was such a strong confident woman who was so capable.
The glimpse I’d gotten of who she was before her first shift was astounding, but there was a different power in her now.
She just couldn't see it yet. All I knew was that I was going to make sure she understood how amazing she was now, and once she matured into her elf nature, she would be spectacular.