Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
~Harlow~
Raidon watches Leon and clears his throat awkwardly. At first, I don't understand, but then I hear Rhen arguing with Thane by the elevator. The worry I had about Jake is short-lived, knowing I now have to deal with a very angry Alpha.
"It's not her fault," Rhen growls, and Leon jumps away from me. Raidon peers down the hall toward the small lobby before his eyes dart to me nervously.
"She tried to leave, and she has no trouble controlling herself around us. She is bloody lucky she didn't send him into a rut!" Thane roars. I blink, and my stomach sinks. Is this because of Jake challenging him?
His fury is written all over his face when he suddenly appears in the doorway to the kitchenette. "If you pull that shit again, I will hand you over to the authorities," Thane snarls at me, and I take a step back. I swallow down the sickening feeling that is clogging my throat.
"Fucking Omegas! You and your stupid fucking hormones making you act like a—"
"Enough, Thane. Don't confuse the old shit with Harlow and Jake with what’s happening now.
Zara is fucking scared of him, not throwing herself at him," Raidon snaps, and his hand moves quickly to grip Thane’s arm as he goes to step into the kitchenette.
Instinctively, I step back from the fuming Alpha.
Leon's chest brushes up against my back, and Thane glares daggers at him when his arm slips around my waist.
"Get back to work!" he growls at us before storming off. Yet, I’m stuck on what Raidon meant by that. This is the first time I met Jake, and I hate the man. He’s responsible for killing my sister, so how could Thane possibly think I was throwing myself at him?
"He'll calm down. The Obsidian Pack Alpha always sets him off.
Don't take it personally," Leon murmurs behind me before squeezing my arms and following after Raidon. Rhen sighs, wandering off also. They leave me alone in the kitchenette, more shaken than ever. Especially now, since at the end of the day, I’ll have to go home with Thane like this.
I chew my lip as I turn back to the coffee machine to stop it from quivering.
He just faulted me for something I have no control over. And yet, my stupid Omega instincts are telling me to follow after him and beg at his feet for his forgiveness.
One thing I am becoming aware of is that my instincts are becoming harder to ignore. Soon, my suppressants may not work at all, even if I had them.
I now know that Thane’s serum is very much alive and active in my system.
I’m acclimating to Thane and his pack, even if I don't want to.
Their constant presence only proves how impossible it will be to continue hiding who I am from them.
I need to consider the possibility of telling them the truth.
But what if it angers them? I need to leave anyway, and I won’t have that chance if Thane kills me.
But what if he forgives me for running two years ago and listens to my side of the story?
What if I could stay? And I want to stay here.
I could have a pack, something I never wanted but find myself suddenly hoping for.
I want them, and it is becoming harder to ignore.
I’m not sure if I can bring myself to leave, even though staying is becoming dangerous.
I finish making more coffee for everyone.
Walking to each of their offices, I stop at Thane's and knock. My mug and his shake on the tiny tray. I can't stop the fear surrounding me. I’m not sure if I’m more scared about needing to leave or of wanting to stay.
Maybe both. Maybe neither at all. All lines are officially blurred, and no path seems correct.
"Come in," I hear Thane call out, and I suck in a deep breath.
My hands are sweating as I fight my instinct to beg at his feet and to run as far as I can from him.
I slip inside. Thane is typing away at his laptop but sits back when I place his coffee cup beside him.
He sighs, watching me. I turn to leave when his hand grips my wrist, making every muscle in my body tense.
He leans across, grabbing the tray from my hand and setting it down as he swivels in his chair, pulling me to stand between his legs. "I'm sorry, Zara. I didn't mean to take my anger out on you," he murmurs.
"It's fine," I tell him. What else can I say? He’s made it perfectly clear the only reason I am here is because his mates seem to want me around. Thane sighs, letting my wrist go. I swiftly grab the tray and my coffee, heading for the door and away from him.
"I know you're not the same as Harlow," he says as I reach the door. I stop, if only because I’m scared he’s realized that I am Harlow. I turn around to see if he has anything else to say.
"You're not her, I know that. It’s just…
Jake… We have a history revolving around Harlow and seeing him try to take you reminded me of when he did the same with her," he tells me, reaching for his mug.
He sips his coffee, and I watch him, wondering what other information I can get from him. Maybe I can change his mind.
"You hate her because you think she killed your mother?" I ask.
He swallows, nods his head, and looks out the window.
"But you never found her. So, what if she didn't do it?"
"She did. I know she did," Thane says with unwavering certainty. I’m about to drop the subject, seeing I’m not going to get anywhere with this conversation, when the door opens. Raidon steps inside, holding a plastic zipper bag with some tubes in it and a needle.
"Leila dropped this off," Raidon says before smiling at me.
"Ah, finally. You might as well stay, Zara. I need you here for this anyway," Thane says, and I watch Raidon go over to the desk. He motions me to the chaise, and I sit down, dread pooling in my stomach. Thane unplugs his laptop and brings it over before sitting beside me.
"Raidon is going to take your blood so we can send it off to be analyzed, and you can help me fill out this paperwork to request a birth certificate, so we can register you with our pack," Thane says, logging into the council’s online portal.
My heart beats erratically when Raidon comes toward me with the needle.
"Should he be doing that? What about a proper doctor?" I worry.
"My mother used to be a pathologist. She taught me a few things, one of which is how to take blood," he chuckles, pulling on some gloves.
"What’s your last name?" Thane asks. I blink, having been put on the spot. "And your real one this time, please," Thane clarifies.
"Perry," I lie; it’s my grandmother's maiden name. I know he won't get a hit on Zara Perry."
"Date of birth and hospital?" he asks. I rattle off my actual date of birth and the hospital I was born at, thinking he won’t be able to connect them with the wrong last name.
"I thought we had to wait until after we get the birth certificate before we could do the blood test," I tell them.
"My mom's handling it. My dad has a practice down on the main street, so we can do this here, and Mom and Dad will handle the rest," Raidon says.
I hiss when he jabs the needle in, and watch the vial fill with my blood. The scent of my fear perfumes the room at this revelation. I thought I could push this out a couple of weeks until we got the birth certificate, a week at the very least.
Raidon sniffs the air, subtly, but I notice. "What's wrong? You got some disease you didn't tell us about?" he chuckles.
"No, just worried what my levels will come back as," I lie. I’m worried about his father putting my blood up against the database and figuring out who I am.
"By the smell of you, your levels are very high. Not that it matters," Raidon says, and Thane growls beside me. Raidon shrugs at him, unperturbed.
"Because of Harlow?" I state.
"Yes, she got the last of my serum. I couldn't mate you even if I wanted to. I won't risk that," Thane states.
"Do you want kids?" Raidon asks abruptly. I swallow, glancing at Thane, but he doesn't react to Raidon’s question. He doesn’t look up at him or seem bothered in any way.
"I haven't really thought about children," I answer honestly.
"Well, just because Thane can't knot you doesn't mean we can't. Just something to think about," Raidon winks.
“Isn’t that the point of the serum?” I ask.
“Yes, but I can’t give you my serum. I don’t have any left," Thane repeats.
"But the Alpha-of-Alphas is supposed to produce the first heir," I tell him.
"As I said, I can't. That doesn't mean they can't give you children, though," Thane says.
"And you would allow that?" I ask, a little shocked.
In most Alpha Packs, only the primary Alpha produces children.
In a regular pack, though, it isn't unheard of for the Omega to produce kids for the other pack members.
Whoever the Omega mates with will determine what the child will be.
Two Omegas mating will only produce Omegas, for example.
Though finding a male Omega is rarer than finding a female one.
"Yes, of course. Our pack isn't like most Alpha Packs. I may be the primary Alpha, but I don't share those views, not anymore anyway," Thane says, staring up at Raidon. "I'd love any child my mates produce. They would still be my child."
I swallow nervously. They still want kids, even if I can’t give Thane one?
Well, I can. They just don't know that, and I’m not willing to test if there’s enough of his serum in my system to try.
In Alpha Packs, serum is used because the main Alpha grows in power and size when the other Alphas submit.
Omegas are fragile, but sturdy enough to handle a regular Alpha.
An Alpha-of-Alphas, on the other hand, has a knot that can kill an Omega without his serum.
Many regular Alphas also give their serum to Omegas, to force a bond where there isn’t one, or to hold more control over their Omega.
It’s barbaric, but it’s how things have always been done.
But if Thane gave me his serum after already marking and bonding his mates, I would be stronger than all of them, except Thane, and a liability to the pack. Or so most Alpha-of-Alphas believe.
Omegas can mate with any pack member really, yet we are primarily desired by Alphas because only Omegas can produce an Alpha child and take an Alpha knot.
Alpha females, on the other hand, can't produce any children with another Alpha. Only an Omega can handle an Alpha's knot. Betas can mate with each other, and Alpha females can mate with Beta males. Those mating mostly produce more Betas, and sometimes, oddly, an Omega, but that is extremely rare.
Omegas can produce female Omegas with any partner. The entire thing is crazy and confusing. It’s another reason I never gave much thought to children. I didn't want to risk having a girl and the chance she would inherit my DNA and not her father’s.
Raidon places a cotton swab on my arm as he slips the needle out. "How long will that take?" I ask him.
"A couple of days," he shrugs.
"The request for your birth certificate has been submitted. It says it can take up to two weeks," Thane says, screenshoting the receipt and saving it to his desktop.
"So, about the children—" Raidon says, but Thane cuts him off.
"You're making her nervous. Let her get used to the idea of having a pack before we start harassing her for babies," Thane says, and Raidon nods.
"Sorry, I am getting ahead of myself."
"No, you're worried that I will change my mind, and you'll lose your chance to have kids," Thane says, closing his laptop and looking up at Raidon. "I'm not going to change my mind. I know how much you three want this," Thane tells him.
It sounds like he’s still not fully on board with having an Omega. More like he’s just doing it for them. Which makes my stomach sink, knowing it will cause a rift in their pack.
"We can talk about it more later," Thane says, dismissing us.
Great chat, I think, but I'm glad to have a chance to escape. Heading to my desk, I rummage through the drawer, spraying more de-scenter on before pulling the diary out when Raidon wanders over.
"What are you doing right now?” he asks, and I point to my computer.
“Do you want to come with me to drop this off? You can meet my parents," he says, holding up the baggie containing my vial of blood.