Chapter Twenty-Five
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I THOUGHT FEELING Lex’s pain through our connection was horrifying, but nothing compares to what I witnessed yesterday. Watching your omega best friend confront her anti-designation father live on TV is nightmare inducing. The sounds of him hitting her, of the hatred spilled from his lips, it haunts me.
What is most hurtful of all is knowing Omen chose this. She volunteered to take her father down, knowing her life was at risk.
And Lex let her.
I’ve never been this furious with someone while worrying about their physical wellbeing. My instincts need to take a chill pill. I know he’s alive. We need to focus on kicking his ass for not stopping Omen from almost fucking dying on his watch.
Repeating this to myself, I stalk through the hospital entrance, bee lining for the elevators. My parents were here yesterday to check on her. They sent me her room number, and made sure I was on her approved visitor list.
Despite Grant Montgomery’s arrest, the DAU is still taking her safety seriously. Followers of her birth father’s cult could try to sneak into the hospital to get revenge for their leader’s downfall. Or nosy journalists trying to sniff around to get an insider scoop on her story instead of trying to hurt her. She doesn’t need any extra bullshit when she’s trying to recover.
Ridley chuckles beside me as we ride up to the fifth floor. “You look like you’re on a warpath, sunshine.”
“I am,” I grumble, scooting closer to him when other people get on with us. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, letting me lean on him and appeasing his protective instincts at the same time. I feel calmer with his body pressed against mine.
At least until we step through the doors to the Omega wing and I see Lex speaking with Donovan ahead of us. The older alpha spies us first, chuckling and walking away. Smart move, old man. I won’t bite my tongue just because you’re standing close by.
Lex spins to face us, his usual scowl in place. My hand moves before my mouth can form a single word, palm connecting with his cheek. His head snaps to the side, the sound of the slap loud among the beeps and whirs of the quiet hospital.
He doesn’t say anything, accepting my anger as he turns back to face me. “You-“
My eyes fly over him as I try to work through my anger enough to speak clearly. When I spot the bandage on his arm, the rage fizzles out. Replaced by crashing waves of overwhelming worry and relief. I throw myself at him, ignoring his comically wide eyes and pressing my lips to his.
His hands bind under my thighs, lifting me against him, and I squeeze him tighter. Expressing through every swipe of lip and tongue how glad I am to know he’s alive. He’s here, and he’s safe. I can be mad at him for everything else later.
My kisses move across his jaw, loving the rough prickle of his stubble against my lips. I bury my nose beneath his ear, inhaling deeply when I finally process the lack of scent blocker. His sandalwood and leather scent soaks into my brain. It reminds me of the first moments after sunset, when soft rays of light peek up into the sky and the world still smells like it’s been baked by the sun. Warm and woodsy. It’s captivating.
I can feel the moment he starts to pull away, drawing into himself the same way he did in my kitchen several weeks ago. Hurt blooms in my chest. “You’re mine,” I whisper, staring into his steel-gray eyes and begging him to feel this too. “My Fate matched mate. I felt it when you got hurt-“
His head falls back until he’s staring at the ceiling as he slowly drops me to my feet. “I know.”
Two small words that land like the waves of a tsunami against my heart.
“You know?”
Resignation and denial fill the air around us. Brushing past him, I storm into Omen’s room. I can’t handle whatever explanation he has for what is very clearly a rejection. He calls my name, the sound choked with guilt, but I don’t turn back. I refuse to chase an alpha who is at war with himself over his feelings toward me.
Lex needs to decide for himself if he will pursue a relationship with me. Until then, there will be no more of the push and pull between us. I’m worth more than stolen kisses that end in moments of regret.
Omen is asleep in her hospital bed. I collapse into the chair already pulled up to her bedside. The gaunt lines of her face and collarbones break my already fractured heart to pieces. Bruises line her jaw and throat from where her birth father attacked her. Looking at her, it is apparent I came closer to losing my best friend than I ever thought possible.
Tears leak down my cheeks as I sit in my sorrow. Eventually, I brush them away. Whatever happens next, she won’t face it alone.
Mom lets me know they are keeping Omen for several days to monitor her progress. There is a drug the doctor there wants to use to combat the side effects of her chemical rejection and slow her decline. Since I can’t do anything to help her while she’s under her doctor’s care, I’m going back to work.
I’m still on edge from Lex’s rejection. Moody and one bad day away from a breakdown. Pushing through is my only option. My career won’t wait for me to get over a bad breakup. Not that we were a thing, which is a thought that makes me feel pathetic.
“Do you have a moment, Miss Powell?”
I look up to find Shiloh standing a few feet before my desk. He’s in a soft cream sweater and dark jeans today instead of his usual tailored suit. It’s just as attractive, bringing a softness to his distant demeanor.
“What can I help you with, Mr. Acherley?”
His jaw ticks with my refusal to address him as Shiloh and I celebrate the small win. If he continues to call me Sabine, despite my requests to use Bea, I will call him Mr. Acherley. Fair is fair.
“I wanted to check in. See how you are faring with everything.” When my brows furrow, he continues. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise most everyone in the company has seen the broadcast of Omen’s confrontation with Pastor Montgomery.”
“Ah.” Do I really want to talk about this? No. I’m still raw from the events of the past week.
“Have you seen her?”
“I have,” I admit, swallowing thickly. “She’s recovering.”
“Please pass along our best wishes regarding her health.”
I nod, hoping he will leave, but he continues to stare at me. You know, I’m honestly tired of men who flip-flop their feelings toward me. Interested in every aspect of my life one day and wanting nothing to do with me the next. It’s cruel to torment an omega this way.
“Let me assure you, Mr. Acherley, my concern for Omen will not affect my ability to perform my duties as usual. If I need additional time off to help her recover, I will reach out to HR to procure them.”
It’s a dismissal, one Shiloh recognizes. The stubborn set of his jaw readies me for a fight, but he stands and pivots on his heel, walking away. My breath whooshes out of me as I collapse against the back of my chair. Tears line my eyes, burning as I fight to stop them from falling.
Why couldn’t Fate have given me an entire pack of mates like Ridley? Instead of four golden retrievers who are obsessed with me, I’m stuck with my alpha boss who seems to hate me, my best friend’s alpha bodyguard who rejects me every time we get close, and an alpha who admitted he felt the same connection but has essentially avoided me ever since.
Commitment phobic was not on my list of acceptable personality when I put out a plea for Fate matched mates.
Brady interrupts my brooding when he walks into the office. A stone mask slams down over my face, concealing all of my emotions. It fades when I realize Primordial Covenant is not with him. I’ve been expecting those assholes to show up demanding information about Omen since she was on TV. Apparently, it is going to take even longer for them to come to their senses.
“Look,” Brady says as he slides into his desk chair, spinning to face me. “I won’t say anything to those idiots, but I need to know how Omen’s doing.”
A faint smile stretches across my lips. Brady reminds me of Donovan. They’re both older, a little on the gruff side, and they care deeply about those around them. Brady has also given Pack Graves a lot of shit over the past month. I might have to send him a fruit basket as thanks for pitching in on their torture.
“She’s recovering. It… Well, it isn’t good. We almost lost her.”
He grunts his disapproval, his eyes filled with genuine concern. “If she needs anything, or you need me to cover events with Orbital Somatic, you let me know.”
Our conversation dwindles after that, and soon we’re both busy with meetings and paperwork. The rest of our day flies by in companionable silence.
As I’m getting ready to leave, I spot my missing cardigan on the floor beside my desk. It is wedged between the wood and the wall. How I missed it, I’m not sure. Digging the material out, I stuff it into my bag to take home. It definitely needs to be washed after sitting in the dust for almost three months.
Ridley is waiting for me at Jane’s desk. A big grin plastered to his handsome face. “Ready, sunshine?”
Thank Fates it is Friday! I cannot wait to spend the weekend wrapped in his arms and drowning in his scent! “So ready!”
We’re climbing in the car when his phone rings. I can tell he’s being pulled away for work by the tense purse of his lips. There goes my Friday night cuddle plans.
“Soon, sunshine, I won’t be your bodyguard. I will be your alpha. Bite on your throat and knot locked in your pussy, you’ll finally be mine.”
I shudder at the promise in his voice. I can’t wait!
“Do you want me to take you to the apartment? Or would you prefer to go to your parents?”
Glancing out at the traffic on the road ahead of us, I consider his words. My apartment is empty. Lonely without Omen or my alpha. If I go home, I will spend the evening crying in my nest and binging a tub of ice cream.
“My parents,” I finally answer. At least if I am at their house, I won’t have to sit in my emotions alone. Dad will watch sappy romances and eat junk food with me inside of a giant pillow fort.
No one should nurse a broken heart alone.
“I’ll call you later, or tomorrow, depending on what the meeting is about,” Ridley promises as he drops me at my parent’s front door. His lips smash to mine, firm and demanding as he steals my breath with the intensity of the love he pours into it. When I’m lightheaded from lack of oxygen, he pulls back and winks. He brushes a soft kiss to my temple and walks away. “Have sweet dreams of me, sunshine! I’ll be dreaming of you too!”
My sweet alpha certainly knows how to make his omega swoon.