Chapter Twenty-Three – Hayden #3
Things happen fast when alphas and omegas get together. Hell, even before the get together is official, things happen faster than you can blink. It’s nature. As quickly as the bonds form, so do the actions to back it all up.
Kayla doesn’t say anything to that, but I can read her expression well enough.
She’s been hurt by her brother so much, she’s hesitant to believe me.
She wants to—she wants more than anything to believe every word I say—but based on past experiences, she doesn’t want to get hurt again, only not by her brother, but by me.
I will never hurt her. Everything I do, I’ll do it for her. She might not want to believe it now, but someday she will. Someday I’ll prove myself to her, and she’ll never know what it’s like to doubt my intentions again.
I give her an easy out, for now, and change the subject by turning my eyes to the TV and asking, “Did you find something you’d like to watch? I’m up for anything. Romcom, horror, action-slash-adventure, even animated. I’m a man of many tastes.”
She giggles softly. “You’d be happy watching a cartoon?”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with animation. Some of the best stories come from animation, whether it’s manga translated to the screen or a song-filled kids’ movie. No kind of film is automatically better than another.”
“You are so weird,” she whispers, but based on how she says it, I can tell she agrees with me. Good. There are way too many movie snobs out there that look down on certain genres for stupid reasons.
She chooses a romcom for our first movie, and I can’t say I’m all too shocked. I think she’s in the mood to see some people falling in love—especially an omega who swears up and down she’s done with all alpha-kind.
We settle in together. She ends up curled against me, using my arm as a pillow even though there are plenty of them around us already. Bradford doesn’t join us, and for a while, we are content with just the two of us and the movie playing on the television.
Eventually we get hungry, though, and that’s when we head downstairs for snacks.
I get out some bowls and put one of the popcorn bags into the microwave, and after giving her strict instructions on when to open the microwave door—hint: don’t use the popcorn button.
Never use the popcorn button—I go searching for Bradford.
I don’t find him in his office, not that I thought I would. No, it’s strange; I find him in the room with the locks on the door. He’s sitting over, hunched on the bed, lost in what I can only assume is an episode of deep dissociation.
“Hey,” I say, leaning into the room as I hang on the door trim like a monkey.
“Stop skulking. Come upstairs with us. We just came down for snacks. I left Kayla in charge of the popcorn—we’ll see if she can listen for the right amount of space between the last pops.
I don’t know if you know this, but the popcorn button on microwaves never seems to work as advertised. ”
By the time I’m finished with my rambling, Bradford has jerked back to reality and has turned his head to look at me. “What are you going on about?”
“The popcorn button. You’ve… you’ve made popcorn before, haven’t you?” I’m given a blank look, which honestly explains a lot. What am I going to do with these two? “Come upstairs. Stop being all sad and alone.”
“I’m not sad and alone.”
I make a dramatic show of glancing all around the room as I raise my eyebrows at him.
Bradford scowls at me. I admit, that scowl was much more impressive before I got to know him. Now? It doesn’t have nearly the same oomph to it. “Okay, I am alone, but I’m not sad.”
“Then what are you? Because from here, it definitely looks more sad than anything else. I mean, why else would you come in here?” I glance at the door, at the locks that are clearly on the wrong side. “Remembering all the times you failed?”
He stands and shakes his head. “You would not understand.”
“No, maybe I wouldn’t, but there’s an omega in this house who would. She seems to like you in spite of everything. Don’t waste that chance. She’s—” God, how can I finish this sentence without sounding like a lovesick puppy?
A trick question. There’s no way for me to finish that sentence without sounding like a lovesick puppy.
Turns out, I don’t have to finish it. Bradford gets it, because he sighs and mutters, “I know.”
“If you know then why are you here by yourself when you could be up there with her?”
“I can’t give her what she wants. I’m not…” He grinds his jaw, a muscle in his forehead tensing. “I’m not like you. I told her that when you were gone. I’m not the kind of man she deserves. I’m barely a man at all, let alone a fucking alpha.”
Damn. This guy has some issues, huh? I can hear it in his tone, can see it in the way he stands. Pax hates him for hiring a crew to kidnap his omega and his beta, but there’s so much more to Bradford than that. Looking at him here and now, listening to him, how could anyone hate him?
“She doesn’t want you to be perfect,” I tell him. “I think she just… she just wants you.”
“No, she doesn’t. She wants you, and she should have you.
I’d only get in the way and ruin things.
It’s fine. I don’t need you to try to make me feel better.
I’ve been alone damn near my whole life, so I’m used to it.
” He shakes his head. “It’s a little harder with her around, but I’ll manage like I always have. ”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think you’ve been managing as well as you think you have,” I say, treading carefully. “You were literally hunched over when I found you, sitting in this room remembering your failed kidnapping attempt. That’s not managing anything.”
“That’s not what I was thinking about.”
“No? Then what was on your mind? You looked awfully lost.” When he doesn’t say anything, I pick up the fact he doesn’t want to tell me—and that’s fine. He doesn’t have to. Still, I’m not going to let him keep skulking about forever.
This guy’s going to come with me even if I have to knock him unconscious and drag his body the whole way.
“Never mind,” I say, giving him an easy out. “Just shut up and come with me before I find something heavy and knock you over the head with it. I’m sure I could drag your ass upstairs, put you in place like a doll, slip some sunglasses on you, and Kayla would never notice you’re unconscious.”
Right when I think I’ve gone too far, Bradford says, “Fine. I’d hate to make you go through all that trouble. Unless you have sunglasses in your truck, your plan would never work, anyway.” He walks toward the door, toward me.
As he steps around me, in the hall, I blink at him.
“I’m sorry, are you saying you don’t own sunglasses?
My robot theory is looking more and more correct the more I learn about you.
” I shrug as we walk down the hall. “Doesn’t matter.
I could always use a sharpie and draw eyes on your eyelids, if need be.
Sunglasses would just make things easier. ”
He harrumphs next to me. “Keep talking like this. We’ll see if you still have a job come Monday.”
“Careful. That sounded dangerously close to a joke. If you start joking, I’m going to have to revise my robot theory.”
Bradford chuckles. “We wouldn’t want that.”
Together, we find Kayla in the kitchen. The popcorn is done and now in a big bowl, and she’s adding extra butter and salt to her heart’s content, so much so that anyone who partakes in that popcorn better pray for no clogged arteries.
Damn, she’s going in heavy on the butter, ain’t she?
I hurry over to her and stop her from adding even more. “I think that’s plenty,” I say, gently taking the liquid butter from her hands. “A little of this stuff goes a long way.” I put a cap on the butter. “Fun fact I just learned about Bradford: he doesn’t own a single pair of sunglasses.”
Kayla glances between us. “I don’t own any sunglasses.”
“Oh, my God, I’m surrounded by weirdos,” I deadpan, and she chuckles.
I snatch up the popcorn bowl and mutter, “Grab the candy. You—” AKA Bradford. “—bring up some drinks. I’ve had it up to here with the both of you.” I really haven’t, but making light of the situation seems to be the only way to make things feel less stiff and awkward between them.
Nobody likes a sourpuss, or a sad omega.
Both Kayla and Bradford do as they’re told, and soon enough the three of us are upstairs, watching another movie.
Bradford stays on the couch, while Kayla and I sit on the blankets on the floor, although the two of us sit closer to the couch than we did earlier.
You know, in case the sullen, broody one wants any popcorn.
It’s how we spend our afternoon, and our night.
We heat up the leftover pizza from last night when we get hungry for more than popcorn and candy, and neither me nor Bradford has to pressure Kayla to eat like an actual human being and not a mouse.
As the night wears on, it’s clear she’s feeling better all around.
Good. I didn’t like it when she was upset.
Plus, it’s good to see her eat on her own, too.
Her appetite is coming back, and with it, everything else that signals she’s an unmatched omega.
A normal alpha might lose his mind being near her, but I’m no normal alpha.
Alabaster Security doesn’t accept walk-ins from the street.
You have to demonstrate an ungodly amount of willpower, because you never know what situation you’ll be walking into.
And Bradford? He’s clearly no ordinary alpha, either.
I don’t know how fast things will spiral from here, how soon her body will push a heat upon her, but when it does, I’ll be ready.
This omega is mine. No matter how long it takes, I’m going to prove it to her.