23. Love Letters #2
My parents know of you. However, they did find out through Dain and Browen. I’ve been talking to them and I know when they meet you they will love you. I don’t want you to worry about that. I promise nothing bad will happen.
The most spontaneous thing I’ve done must have been buying Apollo. I was taking care of a feral Alpha, and he was raising fighting dogs. Apollo was a tiny, violent thing, but when we re-homed the rest, I couldn’t let him go.
Now I hope your curiosity is satisfied, because mine sure as fuck is about to be.
What raccoon?
How did Alpha August come to be your guardian?
Do you have any hobbies?
Where did you meet Lila?
When did you first see me?
What is it about school that makes you want to run?
What does your nest look like?
Night owl or early bird?
Where do you want me to bite you?
I’m working as hard as I can. See you soon.
Yours forever, Alpha Cassius.
* * *
Dear Alpha Cassius,
I was half tempted not to reply. How dare you imply that I’m reckless. Or that I need a spanking.
I don’t need a keeper.
And now I’m mad at you for implying that and dating my entire class.
I look forward to how you will make it up to me.
I can’t believe this whole time I thought you were a typical Alphahole when really you are just a workaholic. I will gladly introduce you to the wonders of reality TV. I have to warn you, it’s addictive.
I will also be happy to join you shopping, and I’m glad I made you realise the true danger in your life—your desk.
I suppose fair is fair, and if I’m already writing to you, I might as well answer your questions.
The raccoon (which has yet to pick a name) lived in my shed for a while. I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks, but he kind of domesticated himself, so I’m sure he will be back.
Auggie was my social worker. I was in and out of foster homes for a while. He was the one constant in my life, and I kind of latched onto him. He caved and took me in after a while. I’ve been with him ever since.
I love cooking. Baking, not so much. It’s unnecessarily complicated, but I’m getting better. I also like painting. I wouldn’t say I’m good at it, but I painted flowers on my shed and they turned out okay. I don’t like when things don’t have colour.
Lila is a taxi driver. The day you tricked me with your nephews, she drove me there. We clicked.
I actually scented you before I ever saw you.
I was sneaking around the Council building after spending all night hiding from Auggie.
I usually like to mess with Alpha Henri and hide in his office, but he wasn’t around.
But your brothers were. They were having an argument about you.
You must have been around one of them recently because I could smell your smoke. And I knew.
School isn’t the problem. Sure, I don’t like how the other Omegas look at me sometimes, like I’m different, and somehow they know it.
The classes are great. But I hate being stuck.
I feel confined, and when I get anxious, this instinct inside me wants to run.
I don’t feel safe, and I run or I fight until I do.
My nest is small, cosy, covered in blankets and completely encased. I prefer being on the ground. That way there’s no ‘end’ to the nest. I like burying myself under the covers until I make a little cocoon, a nest within a nest.
I hate mornings (another reason not to like school). The night feels safer somehow. I can hide in the darkness.
Everywhere.
Your mate, Omega Evangeline.
* * *
It’s been a full week. An entire week without my mate. The bastards at the Council even scheduled a meeting with Auggie and me on date night. I know they did it on purpose.
I miss him.
My skin itches.
I need to run.
I need to fight.
But I can’t because then I’ll lose him forever.
Why are they doing this to me?
My home doesn’t feel like home anymore, and my room is just a room. I throw myself down on the bed. The mattress seems harder. The sheets are rough. The room is too cold. Sleep is more difficult to come by.
A crinkling under me forces me to roll over.
A letter.
I tear it open, my heart stuttering as his scent hits me.
Dear Angel,
I’m coming for you.
The door to my room opens and I can’t believe it. He’s here. Standing in my room. Tall and strong, with a scent that makes me want to bend over. His stupidly hot smirk is firmly in place on his equally stupidly handsome face.
He prowls into the room.
“How—how are you here?” I stutter.
Crawling on the bed, he slides over me, knocking me onto my back.
“The Council agreed an hour ago that keeping us apart was unjust and causing us both harm. Alpha Knight overturned Browen’s amendments minutes into the meeting.” His voice is deep and full of emotion. A sweet energy sits heavily in my stomach.
Excitement.
His nose presses into the hollow dip of my neck, and I arch against him. His forearms strain beside my head, the muscles rippling as his fingers clench against my sheets.
“I could bite you right now.”
“Please,” I whimper.
He tears himself away, practically throwing his body to the floor.
“No! Don’t stop.”
I plead, my eyes wide with emotion. After everything, being forced to be away from him, reading how desperately he wants me, I need him.
“We can’t.”
His voice is strained, and I can’t tell if he is trying to convince me or himself. I push myself up, leaning on one arm, and slowly I unbutton my shirt.
His eyes trace my hands, following as each button pops open, revealing more of my chest. A low growl echos in the room, but I refuse to stop.
“You said in your letter that you regretted waiting to mate me. You said you would bite me—”
“I know what I said.” He grunts.
I shrug off the shirt, leaving me in a bra and a skirt which has slowly risen up.
“The Council has only just let us see each other again. I don’t want to think of how they might punish us if we piss them off now.”
He might be telling the truth. And he might be right. But he doesn’t seem to care. He moves closer, eyes moving over my exposed skin, and I can feel everywhere he looks. Heat burns, tingling where his hands should be.
He pulls himself over me, his head buried back in my neck, right where we started.
His hot, wet tongue traces over my scent gland, and slick pours out of me. He takes a deep breath in and groans. My scent is everywhere.
“I can’t bite you. Not if I know it will put you in danger.” He speaks against my skin.
“But I can fuck you.”
He pulls back, locking his deep blue eyes on me, waiting for an answer to a question he never asked.