Chapter Twelve
Rowan
We never made breakfast around here. Nobody wanted to cook on a busy morning. We loved it, yes, but breakfast was something to pick up on the way or meal prep on the weekend and reheat in the microwave. All that changed last night.
Breakfast would be an event if I had anything to do with it.
Our omega lived here now.
“Busy, busy bee in the kitchen this morning.” Lev arrived in the kitchen, giving me shit before he reached into the cabinet for a coffee mug.
“Shut up. It’s a special morning.”
He nudged me with his shoulder and snuck a piece of bacon. “Every one from here on out.”
“I hope you’re right.”
I went on cooking a little bit of everything. Waffles. Pancakes. French toast. By the time I was done, I had prepared a buffet and just in time. My wolf hearing picked up Harper getting up in her room. Her breathing changed and then the shower turned on.
Tingles broke out along my skin. She was safe now. Warm. Secure. She ate last night as though she’d endured years of hunger.
It made my wolf happy and my pack brothers as well.
“I warmed up those croissants you bought last night,” I said.
Lev polished off his bacon and coffee. “Thanks. I’m gonna go shower and wait for her to eat.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Except the bacon.”
“The bacon was a snack.”
Thirty minutes later, everyone had come in, and I took the breads from the oven where they’d been keeping warm.
“What in the world?” Rowan wore a long-sleeve black T-shirt with thick black sweatpants that sat low on her hips. Her hair was braided over her shoulder. Goddess, our omega looked good in everything.
“I might have gone overboard.”
She looked over my offerings. “You could say that. Is this breakfast every day? I can pitch in for food since you won’t let me pay rent.”
“Nope.” Miles came in and headed straight for the coffee. “No payment of any kind, Harper. For anything. Not food. Not rent. Not electricity. Not water. Should I go on?”
She shook her head. “No, I get the point, Professor.”
Miles stopped what he was doing. His body stiffened. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Calling me professor is playing with fire, omega.”
Her perfume filled the room, so powerful it almost made me dizzy.
“Oh. Um, can we eat?”
“Of course. Eat your fill. Oh, and I got your prescriptions last night.”
She took the bottles from me. “Perks of living here?”
“Something like that.”
We sat around the island and began to eat. Lev walked in last after his shower and lightly rested his hand on Harper’s back before sitting down.
“Harper, I wanted to tell you that stopping the new medicine and starting a new one might have some temporary side effects.” I hated to interrupt our meal together, but this couldn’t wait. “Can you…can you tell us when you last had a heat?”
Her gaze darted around the room.
Miles put his hand over hers. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Would you like Lev and I to step out while you two speak about this?”
“No. No, it’s okay. I suppose I have to talk about this soon enough.” She made eye contact with me. “What are the side effects?”
“You may experience some heat-like symptoms. Cramping. Fever. Mood swings. Hunger waves. There is also a chance you may go into a full heat.”
“It’s been almost a year. They didn’t—my old pack didn’t know I was taking heat suppressants. I got them from one of the maids in our house. She snuck them to me.”
“Why?” Miles posed the question we all wanted to ask.
Harper put down her fork and took a long deep breath with her eyes closed. “I haven’t told anyone about this. No one.”
“You don’t have to do this right now.” Lev flexed his hand and I knew he was feeling the same as the rest of us, itching to comfort her, soothe her.
“I do, actually. If I’m going to be here, you have to understand some things about me.
It was about a year and a half ago when I was at work and one of my friends pulled me aside and told me there was a video of me online.
She’d caught her boyfriend looking at it and during that confrontation, she found out what the video was. ”
My stomach turned and I pushed my plate back. I just knew what she was about to say was going to sicken me.
“Take your time, omega.” Miles pushed some of his alpha power into his words. It settled us all.
She pressed a hand to her chest. She must feel his power too.
“My friend showed me the video. It was of me, and it wasn’t just one video.
I was with my pack for four years. I knew they made good money, but it seemed like some things were over the top for the money we made.
It was because every heat, every sexual encounter, every bath I took, every shower, even sometimes when I used the bathroom, it was all on video.
There were hidden cameras all around the house, and they uploaded the videos to some app that paid for views. ”
The food was forgotten. The world. Even breathing. No one said a word.
“They did that to you?” Miles vibrated with rage. “They used your most sacred and intimate times together and shared them with the world for money?”
Harper was crying now. So was Lev. He didn’t ask for permission from our omega. He just picked her up and settled her in his lap, wrapping her up in his embrace. She braced herself at first but then melted into him, resting her head on his chest.
“This goes without saying, but I’m going to do it anyway.
” My voice cracked as the anger drove through.
“Those weren’t alphas. They weren’t a pack.
They were greedy, exploitive males who deserve to go to prison for the rest of their lives for what they did to you.
If my wolf had his way, they wouldn’t be breathing anymore. ”
“I know that now but when I first found out, I thought it was my fault. I felt used and dirty. The day I found out, I took a three-hour shower. It was like everyone who saw that video had their hands on me. After that, I found a way to get the suppressants, and I made a plan to get out.”
Lev kissed the top of her head. “You’re safe here. We can show you all of our laptops and phones if you want to go through them. We can even have a third party clear it all so you feel secure that we’re not doing anything like that. Whatever makes you feel better.”
“I don’t think you three would do that. Call it a feeling.
I knew something was wrong all along but couldn’t put my finger on it.
I always had to wear lingerie. They made me wear sexy nightgowns all the time, and the maids paid special attention to my room and bathroom.
That was because it was a movie set of a sort, and I was the omega who didn’t realize she was the star of the show. ”
I chimed in, needing her to know some things.
“Thank you for trusting us enough to share that, Harper. We can discuss the possibility of your heats and what will happen during that, but please know that it’s all your choice.
What you do with your body is all in your hands.
We are here to support you but the decisions are yours. ”
“I know that now. Thank you, guys. Not what you expected from a roommate chat, huh?”
She wasn’t a roommate. She was ours. It would take time, but we had all the time in the world for her.