24. Elliott
Elliott
Icouldn’t breathe. Where was Jet going? He was my alpha. Why was he leaving me?
Gail urged me to sit in the chair ,and it was several moments before I realized she’d sat beside me and was talking to me in a tone one would use to talk to a frightened animal.
Ignoring her, I turned accusing eyes on Laura. “I trusted you.”
Looking sad, Laura said, “You can still trust me. I’m doing this for you.”
“No, you’re not. You took my alpha away from me!” Tears slid down my cheeks, and I wiped at them angrily.
“Elliott, please listen to me,” Laura said.
Bereft, I began to sob. Things had been so good just a half an hour ago. What had happened?
Jumping up from the chair, I started for the door, only to run into a hard chest. Looking up, relief flooded through me when I saw who it was.
“Make them let me go!” I implored, when Keane grabbed hold of me to steady me.
“Elliott, calm down,” he said. “You’re going to make yourself sick sobbing like that.”
“Why are you all doing this to me?” I asked, looking at the faces of the three people I thought were on my side but now appeared to be holding me hostage.
I tried to bolt around Keane, but he grabbed hold of me and half-carried, half-dragged me to a separate seating arrangement at the back of the room where he plopped me down on a loveseat and sat beside me.
Rubbing my back soothingly, he said, “Calm down and let’s talk.”
How could I calm down when I felt like half of me had been ripped away?
“Elliott, look at me,” Keane said. “I’m your best friend. You trust me, don’t you?”
“I d-did until just n-now,” I managed to say before covering my face with my hands and sobbing.
Close by, Gail said, “Elliott, honey, I’ve brought you some water. It’ll help you calm down.”
I ignored her, continuing to cry great, wracking sobs until my head hurt so badly, I felt sick. Giving in, I drank some of the water Gail handed me. Keane offered me a box of tissues, and I blew my nose.
“You know I want the best for you, right?” Keane asked.
Angry, I didn’t answer him. It felt like he was betraying me.
Arm around my shoulder, he said, “Relax a few minutes, and then we’ll talk.”
Gail and Laura retreated to stand beside Laura’s desk. I concentrated on Jet and instinctively felt that he wasn’t far away. Knowing that relaxed me a little. When I was no longer shuddering from my sobs, Keane smiled at me.
“Okay. Reading to talk?”
I glared at him.
Sighing, he said, “I heard that you mated Jet. Was it your idea?”
Biting my lip, I nodded.
“You said, ‘Jet, let’s mate’?” Keane prodded.
“No, but Jet and I agreed that we wanted to be together. We hadn’t gotten further than that yet, but our bodies made the final decision for us.”
“You’ve always told me and anyone else who would listen that you didn’t want to mate an alpha. Ever. It’s why you went on that crazy suicide mission to Capital City.”
“It wasn’t a suicide mission!” I snapped. “I wanted justice for omegas!”
Keane pushed his wire-framed glasses up his nose. “Okay. But you never wanted to mate an alpha.”
“Things change, Keane. What’s so hard to understand about that? Jet and I became close. We like each other.” Suddenly overcome with anger at the situation, I turned away from him.
Desperate for help, I began to think about Ben.
Ben. Ben, come to the ranch. Please come to the ranch now.
I repeated that over and over in my head, ignoring Keane, Gail, and Laura’s attempts to draw me into conversation until Ben knocked on the open door.
“Ben, what are you doing here?” Laura asked.
Ben looked over his shoulder, as though someone might have followed him.
“I, uh. I came to see Elliott. Jet’s on the front porch. He’s really mad. He asked me what was going on and why I was here.” Ben met my gaze. “I told him you called to me telepathically.” Noting my tears and disheveled appearance, he said, “El, what’s wrong?”
“We’re in the middle of a discussion with him right now,” Laura said.
I got up and rushed to Ben before Keane could stop me.
“They’re holding me hostage!” I said, hugging Ben tightly.
“What?” he said next to my ear.
“We’re not holding him hostage,” Laura said. While she explained the situation, Ben patted my back reassuringly.
“Do you want to be mated to Jet?” Ben asked me.
I nodded against his shoulder.
“Then what’s the problem?” The question was directed at Laura.
“The problem is, I’m not sure he knows what he wants. He’s just come off a long heat spent with an alpha in rut.”
At the thought of Jet, I began crying again.
“You’re traumatizing him,” Ben said accusingly.
“How can I convince them that I know what I want, Ben? Why are they doing this to me?” I wailed.
I knew I was hysterical, but I couldn’t seem to control my emotions. Closing my eyes, I tried to seek out Jet, but, unlike before, I couldn’t detect his presence anywhere near me.
“If you’re really not holding me hostage, you’ll let me leave here!”
I really began to cry, then. Everyone started talking at once. I thought I heard Angus and Colt in the mix, but I was distraught and didn’t know anything except that I wanted my alpha. My legs gave out, and I fell to the floor. I held my breath until everything went black.
***
My head pounded. Gingerly, I opened my eyes. I lay on a bed in a familiar room, but I couldn’t place where I was. Then I heard a baby babbling in another room and realized I was at Ben’s, lying on the bed in the room he shared with his alpha spouse-mates.
“Ben?” I called out fretfully. I now remembered how I’d held my breath until I’d passed out. I hadn’t remained unconscious long, but I purposely hadn’t opened my eyes. After that, I fell asleep with everyone freaking out around me.
Colt looked around the door. “Oh, you’re awake. I’ll get Ben.” He disappeared, and moments later, Ben walked into the room.
Smiling sympathetically, he asked, “How do you feel?”
“Like my head’s about to explode,” I said.
“I anticipated that.” Ben reached for something on the nightstand. “Here’s some water and pain reliever. Take them, and then we’ll talk.”
Too worn out to argue, I did what he said, sitting up to lean against the headboard.
“I don’t remember coming here,” I said after I put the glass back on the table.
“You collapsed. Laura asked Angus to carry you to a bedroom upstairs at the ranch, but Angus said he didn’t feel comfortable touching a newly mated omega.
Laura called Dallas, but I put my foot down and said he had to carry you here instead.
When we stepped outside with you, Jet went into a rage.
I think it scared him seeing you unconscious.
I’m also pretty sure he didn’t appreciate Dallas touching you. ”
I listened, agitatedly twisting the hem of my t-shirt around my finger.
“Where is Jet?” I asked.
“He’s at the ranch talking to Laura and Elise. Don’t worry, Angus and Maddox are there, too, advocating for him.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“El, I want you to really think about the fact that you are now mated to Jet—an alpha. Is this what you want? Because I think the mating can be broken, but it will take a painful separation, and I don’t know what else.
Laura is just trying to help you. We don’t know if Jet took advantage of you or if you got carried away in the throes of your heat. ”
“He didn’t take advantage of me!” I said loudly before taking a deep breath and letting it out.
Clasping my hands on my lap, I said, “I know I did a one-eighty. But this is what I want. Somehow, I fell for Jet. I’m pretty sure I’d fallen for him before I even left the ranch.
What happened at the facility deepened the feelings, and when we went to the market together, I really knew it for sure.
Jet and I talked a little about our feelings that day.
I think that’s why I went into heat when we got back.
” My eyes didn’t waver from Ben’s, and with relief, I saw that he believed me.
He nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s get your alpha over here.”
I perked up. “Really?”
“Really.”
A little over an hour later, when I heard Jet’s voice coming from the main house, I ran out of Ben’s bedroom, through the kitchen, where something delicious-smelling was simmering in a big pot on the stove, to the entranceway, and threw myself into his arms.
Jet held me tightly, not saying anything at all for several moments, letting me know that he’d been suffering as much as I had during our separation.
“What took you so long?” I asked.
“I was being interrogated by two very determined women. I finally convinced them that I didn’t mate you against your will.” He shook his head. “I was pissed. But they care a lot about you, Elliott.”
“Of course you didn’t mate me against my will,” I said, hugging him fiercely while taking in his comforting scent. Jet had always smelled good to me, but since our mating, I couldn’t get enough of his scent.
Jet squeezed me hard, lifting me off my feet before placing me back on the floor.
“Elliott!”
I turned to see David holding Ollie and looking worried. Behind him stood Jackson and Trey.
“Hi, you guys,” I said, smiling.
“He looks happy,” Jackson said, and David and Trey nodded.
“I am happy,” I said, taking Jet’s hand.
“Don’t go anywhere; I’ve made lunch,” David said on his way to the kitchen.
“We heard you mated. Congratulations,” Trey said.
“Thanks.” I looked at Jet. “Have you been back to your house?”
“Briefly,” he said. “I knew you were here, so I stopped to shower.”
“Now that we’re mates, where are we going to stay? I don’t want to separate.” I pouted.
“Oh, we won’t be separating, I promise you. We could go to a hotel, I guess,” Jet said.
“We just started staying in the new house because they finished our bedrooms. You guys can sleep in our camper if you want,” Jackson offered.
“Are you sure that’s okay?” I asked hopefully. I really didn’t want to leave the ranch. I’d just gotten back.
Jackson grinned. “Of course. As long as you need to.”
I looked at Jet, who smiled at me. “Sounds good until we figure out what we’re going to do long term.”