Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
REID
I snuck from the bedroom on feet made silent by a spell I’d learned during my tenure with Trent, when he’d hired that warlock to train me in a few spells that were useful to the pack.
Closing my eyes, I murmured the spell and concentrated on masking my scent as I made my way to the living room.
I tiptoed to the coffee table and peered through the darkness, trying to identify each of the items that Zander had laid there earlier.
A warlock’s night vision wasn’t anywhere near as good as a shifter’s, but I didn’t dare switch on the light in case someone noticed.
There, resting on the small velvet bag, was the obsidian necklace I’d been so tempted by. I hadn’t been able to convince myself to grab it at the time. I wasn’t brave enough. In my experience, showing someone that you wanted something just gave them a roadmap to your weak spots.
I didn’t think Zander was looking for any vulnerabilities to exploit but old habits died hard.
I slipped the waxed cord around my neck and a weight instantly lifted from my soul. I wrapped my hand around the crystal and basked in the wonderful sense of protection it offered.
Obsidian crystals shielded the person who bore them from psychic attack and repelled negative energy.
Considering my situation, I couldn’t think of many crystals I’d rather have.
Perhaps this obsidian would help me stay hidden.
At the very least, it would boost my personal wards and offer additional protection to my baby.
I smoothed my hands over my abdomen, noting the barest hint of a bump, and rearranged the items on the table to make it less obvious that something had been taken. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Zander would notice. He was observant like that. But hopefully he wouldn’t make a big deal of it.
I stroked the fluffy blanket. It was soft and when I raised it to my face, it smelled clean and new. After months of living in filth, it was so tempting to claim it. This would be something warm and cozy, just for me.
But no. I was already taking one thing. If I removed the blanket—by far the largest thing here—someone would definitely notice.
I froze, my hand still on the blanket.
Hold on. Perhaps I should take it for that very reason. If Zander noticed that the blanket was missing, he might not look further. The obsidian crystal might fly under the radar.
Snatching it up, I took the blanket back to bed with me. When I returned to sleep, I kept the necklace on and the blanket around my shoulders.
In the morning, I dressed in a high-necked T-shirt and hid the obsidian necklace beneath it. After checking my reflection to make sure it wasn’t visible, I wandered out to the kitchen where Melinda was serving herself breakfast.
“Good morning, Reid,” she said, glancing over with a smile.
“Hi, Melinda,” I replied, helping myself to coffee and then filling a plate. I took it to the dining table, where Melinda had joined Aaron and Zander. I paused, caught off guard to find Zander here. I’d expected him to be at work already.
“Morning, Reid,” he said, smiling warmly. “Did you sleep well?”
The corners of his eyes creased and my heart fluttered in response.
What was wrong with me? I shouldn’t find the crinkles around his eyes or the flecks of gray at his temples sexy. He was an alpha. I couldn’t afford to find anything attractive about him at all.
“I did,” I replied, belatedly realizing that I’d hesitated for too long and made it awkward. “And you?”
“Like a log.” He grinned and my traitorous heart gave another pitter-patter.
“How are you feeling today?” Melinda asked, leaning slightly toward me. “No lingering aftereffects from the reaction you had to the cuffs?”
I shook my head. “I seem to be fine.”
The burns stung but whatever it was the doctor had put on took the edge off and sped up my healing. I’d peeked under the wraps earlier and saw that the new skin was already showing through where I’d usually expect the weeping sores to last for at least a couple of days.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Have you given any thought to what comes next?” Aaron asked, echoing the question he’d raised a few days ago.
I sipped the coffee, relieved to have a delay tactic on hand. The roast was rich and bittersweet. Usually, I preferred creamer in my coffee, but I’d been too scattered to add it.
“Um, actually, sir,” I said when I’d drawn out the coffee-drinking for as long as possible, “I thought perhaps I ought to move to the Omega House.”
Everyone at the table stiffened. I looked down, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. I wasn’t afraid of them, exactly, but I wasn’t not afraid either.
“It’s just that that’s where it makes the most sense for me to be. I’m a pregnant omega without a place to live and I’ve been through something that makes it hard to, uh, re-assimilate. Isn’t that the whole point of an Omega House?”
It made no sense for me to stay with Aaron and Melinda. At least, not on the face of it. They were the clan leaders. It wasn’t their job to take in any stray who crossed their path. I was only here because they didn’t trust me, but surely the oath would take care of that concern?
“I think it’s best if you stay here for the moment,” Aaron said, choosing his words carefully.
“Why?” I asked tentatively. “I’m not a threat, I promise.”
Melinda started to reach for me but stopped.
“It’s not that,” Aaron said, laying his knife and fork down. “You’ve been through a lot and you’ll have more support here.”
I frowned. “Aren’t those places set up to have support systems in place? And wouldn’t the other omegas be able to help me with the pregnancy?”
I watched Aaron and Melinda exchange a look and realized that their reluctance definitely stemmed from their worry that I might hurt someone rather than out of any concern for me.
Reluctantly, I added, “If you need me to swear a specific oath not to harm anyone in the Omega House, I’ll do it.
” I didn’t want to bind myself more than necessary, but it wasn’t as if I was planning to hurt any displaced omegas.
After all, I was one of them. “I can even help with the protective warding. It’s one of the few things I’m any good at. ”
Honestly, if Trent had ordered me to shield him the day the Grizzly Ridge clan attacked the pack house, we might not be in this situation right now, but thankfully, he hadn’t.
“You’d be safer staying close to the Clan Alpha,” Zander said, his attention laser-focused on me despite the cup of tea halfway to his mouth.
“Why?” It wasn’t as if anyone would be coming for me—other than my parents, perhaps, and I had my doubts that a shifter would be able to run them off, no matter how strong they were.
“Because no one would risk a confrontation in my home,” Aaron said, studying me as if I were a particularly fascinating insect. “Out there, we don’t have the same guarantee.”
I cocked my head. “Why would anyone confront me?”
Melinda’s tongue darted out to moisten her lips. “Perhaps because of things you did while under Trent’s control?”
My gut sank and I suddenly felt very small.
No matter how much I might like to tell myself that the things Trent had forced me to do weren’t my fault, I couldn’t completely avoid taking responsibility for them. Perhaps if I’d been smarter or stronger I could have escaped before he’d been able to turn me into one of his most valuable tools.
“That wasn’t your fault,” Zander growled, glaring at his mother.
She frowned. “Of course not. But some people might not see it that way.” She sighed. “Why don’t you talk to Hamish, the manager over at the Omega House, and see what he has to say on the matter?”
“Thank you,” I whispered, ducking my head so I couldn’t see whether Aaron or Zander were displeased by her suggestion.
After breakfast, Melinda drove me to the Omega House and knocked on the front door. It was a turn-of-the-century style white villa with a gabled roof and a small front porch.
After a moment, the door opened inward to reveal the tallest, broadest omega I’d ever seen. He had close-cropped brown hair, a stubbled jaw, and muscular biceps that flexed as he crossed his arms.
“Alpha mate.” He dipped his head respectfully to Melinda before turning to me. “And who is this?”
I liked that he asked. Considering this was a small town, I was sure I was the subject of a lot of speculation, but he didn’t assume anything.
Melinda smiled at him. “Hello, Hamish. This is Reid. He’s an omega warlock and he’d like to talk to you about the possibility of staying here.”
“I’ll help with the wards,” I blurted out, eager to get on his good side. “I’m not good at much magic because I haven’t been trained but I can do wards, as long as they aren’t too specific.”
Hamish arched an eyebrow but his expression gave nothing away. “You don’t have to do anything to earn a place here, Reid. However, I do have to ask whether you pose a danger to any of the omegas in my care.” His jaw tightened. “I don’t tolerate danger to my omegas.”
My heart flipped—not in a romantic way, but in a “I want to be this guy when I grow up” kind of way. I’d never met an omega who was so assertive. So sure of himself. Even the way he held himself showed that he wouldn’t back down if threatened.
He was like a German shepherd, confident in his own abilities. Meanwhile, I was no better than a yappy Chihuahua, trying to convince everyone I could defend myself when they could all see how small and useless I was.
“I won’t hurt them,” I promised. “Not unless someone tries to hurt me.”
There. That covered self-defense. Not that I expected to need it.
He nodded. “That seems reasonable. And you say you can help with the wards?”
“Yes.” I knew where their weak spots were because I was the one who’d taken advantage of them to allow Trent’s packmates to kidnap a pair of female omegas from here only a short time ago.
He tapped his chin and leaned against the door frame. “Wouldn’t you rather stay with the Clan Alpha and Alpha Mate?”
“We’d prefer that,” Melinda said, drawing his attention back to her.
I gritted my teeth. “I want to feel like I have some control of my life,” I murmured, hating that they were making me come out and say it. “I can’t do that while I’m hanging in some weird limbo.”
Hamish studied me for a long moment and I wondered what he was looking for.
“Come in,” he said eventually. “Let me give you a tour.”