Chapter 16 River
River
A Little Over Two Years Later
“River, you up there?” Torin shouts, before he opens the door, stepping into my apartment.
I swivel in my chair and face him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Now what if I were naked? Or having sex?”
He doubles over laughing, and I purse my lips as I roll my eyes.
Fucking omega. He’s lucky I love his ass.
His chocolate scent drifts to me, wrapping me in warmth.
Normally, having another omega’s scent in your living space is a no go, but Torin’s I don’t mind.
Plus, he doesn’t ever go into my nest. He does keep that area sacred and pure for me.
“What’s so funny about that?” I scowl, fighting to hold back my laugh.
“Well, for one, not having sex, so that’s highly unlikely. And if you were to have anyone up here, we would’ve known already and busted down the door. Second. Well, hate to tell you baby doll, I've seen you naked.”
I wave my hand in the air, brushing him off. “Not that I don’t mind your company, but what are you doing up here? Didn’t you and the guys have some work to do today?”
“We did, and it’s done. Well, my part is. I’m here because you have a therapy appointment, and I’m your ride. Remember?”
“Why do I need to keep going to these sessions, Torin? I haven’t even thought about cutting in a little over a year.”
He just glares at me, his eyebrow raised.
“I know,” Torin says. “You’ve come so far in your recovery.
When you first started seeing Doctor Halley, you were seeing her three times a week, sometimes more, and still cut at times.
You’ve slowly been decreasing how often you go, and it’s not frequent now.
You’re seeing her more now as more of a support so you don’t go back to that dark place.
Therapy has taught you how to cope and recognize your triggers, so if you do have those thoughts, you can handle it. ”
“I know, I know. It’s something I will always carry with me, and therapy is one of my tools to cope and ensure I don’t backpedal and revert back to doing it. But sometimes I wish I could talk about the other stuff. Maybe it would help me.” My voice lowers on the last part.
Torin crosses the room, going down into a half kneeling position in front of me and takes my hands in his. With his other one, he brushes the hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear, before swiping away the lone tear sliding down my cheek.
“I promise you we will find someone to talk about that with. Someone we trust. Until then you have me, your brother and those hot ass men of mine. Now give me a smile.”
The corners of my lips turn up, giving him what he wants. “I talked to Storm; he says things are going well.”
“That was crazy shit, an omega the whole time. Held captive by that fucking freak Joey.”
“I know, it just fuels my fire.” It’s my goal in life now, to rid the world of corruption from the Omega Foundation and people like my father and the Hartman Pack. Knowing that other omegas are out there going through what I did or worse makes me sick.
The application on my computer that I use to text information chooses that moment to go off. It’s a secured network, jumping from IP address to IP address across the world, making sure no one can track anything back to me.
“Look at you. I knew you had a gift for this. Hell, I bet your hacking skills have far surpassed mine. We might need to bring you on to the payroll permanently instead of here and there when I’m needed in the field as well.”
I swivel back around in my chair, facing the multiple computer screens I have running.
“Well I did learn from the best.” I glance over at him, giving him a wink as he moves around me, placing a hand on the back of my chair gazing at the screen, his reflection staring back at me.
“Who is this Stone?”
“Ex-cop, helped him find his sister. Just a little too late, she was already dead.”
“Oh, River.” Torin’s voice is full of sympathy. He understands how bad it is to lose a sister.
“I was helping him find his Kismet omega and a pack. So, good did come from it.” I focus my gaze back on the screen to see what it is that Stone wants.
“Surprised you’re helping a cop.” His hot breath dances along my skin.
“I vetted him. He’s a good guy. I knew I could trust him.” My eyes drift back to the screen. After two years Torin knows if I help someone, it’s because I feel I can trust them. To some degree anyway. Never with knowing who I am or where I live.
Stone: I need a favor.
A favor. What could he want?
Me: SMH, for an alpha you’re very needy. What can I do for you? I should start charging for all my help. I’d be rich and wouldn’t have to worry about anything.
Torin bursts out laughing. “God I love you, River. Put that alpha in his place.”
Stone: Funny. I’d gladly pay you for your help. You’ve been a blessing in disguise. Maybe one day you’ll tell me who you are. Let me return the favor and help you, if needed.
Unlikely. No way will anyone ever know who I am and what I’m doing. But just to humor him and to see what Torin’s response will be I decide to play along.
Me: I’ll think about it. So this favor…
“What the fuck, River? I know you didn’t just tell this man, I’m assuming he’s a man, that you’ll reveal who you are.” He stands up and begins to pace the room, his normally sweet chocolate scent now more burnt.
“No, I was just fucking with you. I know I can never tell anyone who I really am. But it’s been two years. Don’t you think it’s time I start going by my real name?” I spin around in my chair so I can see him.
“You do. River is your name.”
“Torin, don’t play dumb. You know what I mean. When can I go by my last name? As much as I hate that it’s tied to my father, it’s still mine. Besides, Ashbourne is your pack name.”
“You know you can’t—”
“Until you know I’m safe. I got it.” Spinning back around in my chair I gaze back at my screen, eager to see what this favor is.
Stone: The bastard is done. I need you to send a message to a friend, letting him know this address.
Me: And you can’t message your friend? Are your fingers broken?
Yeah it comes off a little bitchy, but I’m pissed. I’m ready to be River McCormick again.
Stone: He’s a cop. A detective. I don’t want it traced back to me. Also tell him to bring Officer North, we have some precious cargo that needs to be checked and taken to safety.
Another fucking cop. Not one, but two. One of which I do know about. North for all regards seems to be a good man.
Me: Fine. But you owe me. You’re the only cop I’ve trusted and I think it’s because you’re a former cop.
Emphasis on the former part. Not many of the current ones are honest. That I’ve seen, anyway.
Stone: Thank you! Just let me know how I can help you and I’m there. Here’s his information, Detective Rourke.
Me: Sending the address.
I quickly pull up a new message thread.
Me: Detective Rourke. We have a mutual friend. One whose name I don’t want in a message for safety's sake.
I continue to type out the message as well as the need to bring Officer North with him. Making sure he knows this isn’t a joke.
“Okay then time for therapy,” Torin sing-songs and I turn off my computer and stand up, trudging across the room, grabbing my wallet and keys from the table. It’s not like I need to lock the door. No one in their right mind is going to be able to make it onto this compound and live.
We head down the stairs, straight to his jet black Hummer. Even the rims are black. Torin opens the passenger door and helps me inside before rushing around to the driver side.
“How about some food after? We can pick it up and bring it home. Even get some for the guys to have just in case they finish early,” Torin suggests, as he starts the truck.
“I think that would earn you lots of knots if you do.” I can’t help but giggle.
The way his alphas love him is refreshing.
It’s what I’d want if I was looking for it.
But that’s not in the cards for me. Especially if they saw the Arcane bond mark that still mars my skin.
Even my attempts to cut it out were unsuccessful.
So now it sits as a permanent reminder of what I endured.
What I survived. Besides, being alone isn’t so bad. Maybe I’ll get a cat or two.
“How’s school? The new semester started last week, right?” he asks, quickly changing the subject.
“Yeah. It’s okay. My English teacher hit me with a shock though. He teaches both online and in person classes. So he’s decided to match us up with partners. One online paired with one in person.”
Torin cocks his head to the side and looks at me, waiting for the pun in the joke, but there isn’t one.
“Like online or do you have to meet?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Not sure. He hasn’t given us all the information.
” My pulse quickens at the thought. Other than my therapist, I haven’t talked to anyone other than my brother, Torin and their packs.
I take my heat blockers and suppressant religiously and always wear the omega scent damping underwear when I go out.
Even at school, I’m registered as a beta.
If I have to meet my partner in person, I don’t know what I’m going to do.
“River, you’ve been on your suppressants for two years,” Torin starts and I know where he’s going. I’ve been dreading this day since I’ve started taking them.
“I know,” I mumble, shifting my head to look out the window.
“We need to know when you are looking to go off the meds so we can decide how your heat is going to be handled.” Torin pauses, and I don’t say anything. The doctor explained that every couple years I would need to have a heat for health reasons. Especially if I decided I wanted to have a pack.
“I don’t know. I have school. Maybe we can do it next month,” I answer, more to placate him than to commit to it.
“I can look into that new place called Heatwave. They even have in-home services. You can have your heat here or at a safehouse where we can protect you, then we can kick them out afterward.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“We can check it out and make sure the pack selected is vetted properly. I like the idea of a safehouse,” I just nod at Torin, knowing next month I’ll have a reason why it’s not the right time.
Torin reaches over and gives my leg a squeeze before he turns on the radio and sings off key to the song playing.
A heat. With alphas. Do I really want that? I could get toys and go it on my own. Lots of omegas do that. I could as well.
Maybe. Being an omega sucks.