Chapter Fifteen
Anathea
I was caught between wanting some alone time to regroup and filter through my feelings and wanting Carter, Jayden, and Elias with me.
It scared me how attentive they were. Since I was little, I’d learned to focus on myself. Attend to my own needs. Rely on myself. I considered it a virtue.
But with them around, doting on me, providing for needs that emerged only in their presence, all my thinking about self-reliance was turned upside down.
They relied on each other. It came so easily to them. They flourished with one another’s support and were each other’s home.
I wanted them to be my home.
The place where I sheltered when the world tilted.
More than anything, I was exhausted. Only having myself to rely on was a relentless, never-ending job.
It would be nice to lean on someone else and to be their leaning post as well.
The root of my fear? I wanted to be their omega. To be the pivot of their pack. To belong to each of them individually and collectively.
All these feelings and needs drummed up everything about my past and, with Teri’s texts, my present and future.
Only one thing that would help me figure it out.
“Damn, I need some ice cream.” I checked the freezer and groaned at the lack of frozen treats.
The convenience store was only two blocks away, and the city was well lit at night.
I checked outside, looking up and down the street about a hundred times before deciding ice cream was more important than my safety.
With Carter chasing away the danger, no way would one of the Vex come back so soon.
Sure, I could’ve called one of the guys and asked them to either pick some up for me or come with me, but they had fussed over me all day. I didn’t want to be a burden or a time suck.
Or too much for them.
Only one block away, the hairs on the back of my neck rose. Goose bumps spread down my arms as a shiver vibrated my body.
My wolf snarled inside me.
Fuck. I’d made a mistake.
I forced my legs to walk faster, practically sprinting across the street. Ahead, I could see the bright, lit sign of the store, but to my right was a dark alley.
Running would imply fear, but it was all my wolf wanted me to do.
“There you are, little rabbit.” The voice belonging to the alpha of the Vex pack slithered up my spine and settled somewhere between my ribs and my heart.
I could do one of two things. Maybe both. One, run for my life. Two, confront this fucker and let him know I was no longer the meek omega who let people write up documents that dictated my life. My life was my own and goddess damn it, so was my body.
“I’m not lost, Scott. Leave me alone. Go back and find another omega. One who actually wants to be mated to you.”
He laughed, and the sound meant nothing good. Scott never laughed at funny things, only in times when he thought another person had played right into his hands. “You’ve grown a backbone. That will come in handy as our omega.”
“I’m not yours. I belong to myself.” I shook with fear, but thank goodness my voice did not. It would give him too much satisfaction.
“Is that right? I’ve heard conflicting stories. You belong to us. You belong to yourself. You belong to that new pack of mutts.”
Huh? Why did he think I belonged to Carter, Jayden, and Elias. I wanted to, but where in the world did he hear that? In the end, it didn’t matter what he heard or from whom. None of it was his business.
“Here’s one story you can believe. Straight from my mouth. This is my life. And I choose who I spend it with. My parents made that contract, not me. I’m not property to be negotiated. I want nothing to do with you or the Vex pack.”
Scott sucked his teeth and moved his head side to side, cracking his neck.
Ugh, this man was full of false bravado moves intended to show power and control.
At one time, I thought it made them sexy.
Now, it made them look desperate and like the biggest assholes on the planet.
“That’s too bad. The contract is signed and sealed and we intend to collect what is ours. ”
He reached for me, and my wolf took over. In a blur of movement, my knee went into Scott’s groin and as I ran for the convenience store, I heard him groan and use some words that would make any person blush.
I closed the door behind me in the store and turned to see the cashier, a plump, older woman with long, lovely hair, folded into a thick braid over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” she asked, bracing her palms on the counter.
“There’s a man after me,” I confessed, out of breath.
“Not on my watch.” She reached above her head and pressed a button. The door locked and outside a metal gate came down, blocking the door from anyone getting in or out.
I turned my attention back outside but couldn’t see Scott any longer. Either he was waiting for me in the dark alley, or he had given up, temporarily or for good. I hoped the latter.
“Honey, do I need to call the police?” the clerk asked, coming around the counter to check on me.
“No. I don’t think so? I don’t know.”
She nodded. “Maybe someone else I can call for you? If not, maybe my pack could walk you somewhere safe?”
The word pack grounded my thoughts. And while before Carter, Jayden, and Elias, that word brought on a slew of anxious thoughts, this time, it anchored me. I had a pack to call on.
“Can you please call someone for me? Here’s my phone.” I nearly dropped the device with my shaking.
“Carter? Is that the one?” she asked, thumbing through my contacts.
“Yes, please.”
While I waited for Carter or one of the pack to come for me, Layla, the clerk, made me a hot chocolate and gave me a bear claw. It was stale but sweet, and she’d microwaved it for a few seconds to make it more palatable.
Less than five minutes later, the gate lifted and Carter barreled inside, followed by Elias and Jayden.
Bracing myself for judgment or annoyance, I stood and threw away my trash. When I turned back around, Carter wrapped me up in his arms. “Did he touch you? Are you okay?”
Elias came over and, without permission, inspected me head to toe while I gathered up the courage to speak.
“No. I kneed him in the dick, and then I ran.”
Carter leaned in and spoke into my ear. “Good girl. I wish I could’ve seen that. Thank you for calling us.”
Once Carter pulled back, and Elias had finished his inspection, I stepped back and thanked Layla, as did the others. She told me to come here anytime I needed help or another bear claw.
Carter offered to pay her, but she refused. Something about women supporting women.
I had a lot of that in my life.
I tried to walk on shaky legs, but my knees threatened to give way.
“Here, I’ve got you.” Jayden picked me up and carried me out to their car. He sat with me in the back seat, and Elias started the engine but paused to look at me. “Anathea, we’ll drive you wherever you decide is best, but we’d like to take you home. To our home.”
“Your home?” I repeated in awe. A jolt of terror went through me at the thought but was quickly replaced by a wash of calm.
Me. Calm.
“Okay,” I answered after a pause.
“Okay to coming to our house?” Carter turned to ask me.
“Yes. Yes, please.”