32. Home
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This house has too many Alphas.
It makes my skin itch. Still, it’s better than the last place. At least I get my own room here. It’s big—spacious. I feel lost inside it.
I hate it here.
Omega Amy brought me things to nest with. All of it is wrong, and I know I should be grateful. They’re kind and seem like they want to get to know me, but my body is screaming at me to run.
I can tell she has wanted an Omega. Stuck with four Alpha children, I would too. They’re nice enough. Rough and loud, but that’s just Alphas, I guess.
But I long for the quiet of the forest, the whistle of wind through the cracks in my shed, the crunch of leaves under my bare feet and the sound of wild animals trying to survive that make me feel more understood than the therapist Omega Amy is forcing me to see once a week.
I’m trying to make the best of it.
Ish.
I’m trying to try.
The best part of my week is my check-ins with Alpha August. He’s gruff and direct, but I like that. He doesn’t treat me like a wounded animal. He tells me off, says no to me, and argues with me. It makes me feel normal. Like every other kid I see.
The window calls to me.
Open. Easy to climb out of. On the ground floor. They’re testing fate.
A heavy thud echoes through the ceiling. My whole body clenches. Sounds and bellows of laughter follow, but my muscles won’t relax.
I slip out of the window before I can register what I’ve done. The wind cools my skin and sends my hair flying.
They’re going to be so mad.
I walk. The house is stuck in a gated community from hell.
The grass is either fake or unnaturally green and ‘perfect’, so it can’t be walked on or touched.
Everyone is in everyone’s business. It makes hiding under the radar harder than it needs to be.
On day one, the neighbours came to welcome me to the family.
They called me Omega Evangeline Harding.
Like I was going to take my temporary family’s name.
Their Beta daughter asked why I didn’t bow my head or kneel when they entered, because that’s what Omegas are supposed to do. I’ve never felt more alone and more watched in my life.
Omega Amy tried to reassure me. She told me I would learn everything I needed to know at school, but I couldn’t help but feel othered. Was I wired wrong? I felt like an Omega, but was how I felt it wrong?
Cars slow as they drive past, and I know I’ve been caught. It won’t be long before they come after me. My feet pick up the pace.
When I’m older, I’m going to live in my shed. In peace, where no neighbour can tattle on me.
There’s no way I’ll get out of the gate now.
I dash behind a house in the hopes of finding a broken fence or a tree I can hide behind and breathe for the first time today. But I don’t know who I’m kidding. All of these houses are the same. Cookie cutter versions of each other.
The fence is too tall to climb. Smooth wood stacked vertically, there’s nothing for me to grip on and I’ll never reach the top. I need to learn to climb better. I keep staring, scanning the perimeter, the barrier between me and freedom, for any abnormality.
“Need a boost?”
A young Alpha stands eagerly beside me.
“What?” I ask.
He grins, bouncing up and down on his ankles. He crosses his fingers over one another, weaving them together and placing them on his outstretched knee.
“Stand on it and I’ll push you up.”
“Why would you help me?”
He cocks his head to the side, eyeing me with confusion.
“You’re an Omega. Right?”
“Yes.”
He nods, pleased with himself.
“I’m an Alpha. I’m supposed to help Omegas.”
Well. I refuse to argue with that logic. Especially when it works in my favour.
I place my foot on his hands, and he launches me into the air. I grab onto the top of the fence, the wood biting into my palms, and heave myself over. I land with a (un)graceful thud.
The world is different on this side. The green is deeper, speckled with browns and oranges, imperfectly perfect.
Air rushes into my lungs. Fresh, untainted by artificial scents and the overwhelming smell of Alphas.
I whip my head back around.
“Thank you!” I shout.
“You’re welcome!”
I’m already running. His voice scatters like sand in the wind.
Roots bursting through the ground threaten to trip me, but I refuse to slow down. This is what life should feel like.
The rush of water crackles nearby, and I head in that direction. The ground slopes down, grass turns to dirt, and dirt turns to mud. Trees bend, leaning to one side, following the trajectory of the floor. The water rushes downstream. Rapid and wild.
White foams where the water slaps against the rocks, and droplets spray over me.
I slump to the ground. Mud cakes my dress and hands, but I can’t find it in me to care.
“Omega Evangeline.”
The sweet and spiciness of whiskey envelope me.
“Alpha August.”
He settles beside me, mud squelches and splashes his clothes, but his focus is solely on me.
“Why did you run?”
“Too many Alphas.”
He nods slowly, a look of understanding settling on his face.
“Are you worried you will hurt them like last time?”
Last time. I mock internally.
That fucker had it coming. An Alpha friend of the Beta son I was living with.
He thought he could tell me what to do. Command me.
He had a wild look in his eyes, giddy and unleashed.
It made my stomach curl. I didn’t even notice I had picked up the rock until he slammed on the floor, blood oozing from his head, and the rock fell to the ground.
I didn’t feel bad. I felt relieved.
Then there was the time I broke into the neighbour’s house.
He was mean to his mate. I could hear them through the wall.
Even if I didn’t, he set me on edge. I let myself in and held his gun to his head.
I would have fired too, but the foster family I was staying with saw me leave and stopped me.
They didn’t want me in the house after that.
Something about being worried that I would kill their Alpha son.
He was fine. But I totally would have if I thought he was anything like his neighbour.
I still want to go back and finish him off.
“No.”
I don’t feel that way with these Alphas. They’re nice. They brought me snacks, and I’ll never say no to food.
“Are you going to run again if I take you back there?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. We’ll figure something else out then.”
* * *
Today was amazing!
My body feels energised and relaxed at the same time.
After school, the Alpha Council brought me to an Alpha Finishing School to help assess the graduates for a special mission.
I was bait.
The goal was for the Alphas to infiltrate the building and rescue me.
I may have improvised.
They were taking too long.
I slipped out of my bindings and tackled the ‘kidnapper’. He didn’t see me coming. I tied him to a chair and stole his gun.
I ran, hid, and fought specially trained Alphas, and it was the best day of my life. The only reason I didn’t win was because of a female Alpha I didn’t see coming. She stalked me, silently following me until I was unaware and off my guard. Unlike the other Alphas, she took her time.
I’m glad she won.
The Council was not happy with me, though.
The ride back to my current foster family was painfully silent. They did not appreciate my singing either.
“Your school called again today.”
I look up at him. My current Omega foster father, and I cannot for the life of me remember his name. It starts with a B… maybe? Bob? Billy?
“Omega Evangeline? Are you listening to me? They said you kicked an Alpha and ran away. They couldn’t find you for an hour.”
Benjamin?
“—dangerous. We didn’t know where you were. You could have been hurt.”
Brooks?
“Alpha August won’t be happy to hear about this.”
“Beau!” I yell excitedly.
He glares at me. I’m not sure why, I knew I would get it, eventually.
“Who is Beau? Is that the Alpha you kicked?”
Or not.
“Your name?”
“My name is Omega Parker.”
Well, I was close. B and a P are kind of similar.
“I hate to do this. But you’re grounded.”
Grounded? Why?
“Because I couldn’t remember your name?” I ask.
Seems a bit harsh.
“Because you assaulted an Alpha today and ran away from school. I will tell Alpha August about this. Go to your room, please.”
I shuffle to my room. All the excitement of my Council outing has left my body. I really shouldn’t be punished for kicking that Alpha. He was rude. Not quite skin prickling and sick inducing but enough that I wanted to hurt him.
Alpha August is going to be so mad. By now the Council will have definitely told him about my assignment improvisation. Add on top of that another failed foster home, and I can’t begin to imagine the lecture I’m going to get.
They can claim they want me as much as they want. But I can see it on their faces every time I do something they don’t expect. They wanted a normal Omega daughter. I won’t be here much longer. I can spot the signs.
I press my ear against the door, but the sounds are muffled.
I inch open the door, enough to make their voices clearer.
“I can’t handle her. I’m on edge constantly.”
“She’s just a little girl. They warned us she would be difficult, but she’s so full of love and the Council outings have been helping.”
“You’re not at home with her. I’m the one that has to deal with her running, the school incidences and her outbursts. I can’t keep doing this. She needs more than I can give her.”
Called it.
I’m not waiting around for another goodbye. More excuses and tears. I won’t. As silently as I can, I drop to my stomach and slide under the bed. At the back, behind the storage boxes, is my go bag.
Filled with everything I need. Everything that’s mine.
Clothes. Some long-lasting food, a book, and my penknife.
It’s not much, but it’s everything I need to survive in my shed.
The first thing every foster family does is give me things. Toys, teddies, clothes, but I leave them all behind. I won’t take pieces of them with me. They’ll only act as reminders for everyone that doesn’t want me.
The only things I keep are from Alpha August.
He’s been a constant in my life. The one person who never lets me down.
I climb down from the window.
When I first arrived, Alpha August warned them to put me in a second-floor room. They even bolted the window shut, but I unscrewed it immediately.
I never stay somewhere I can’t escape.
The garden is full of swings, slides, a picnic bench, and anything else a kid might find fun. I haven’t touched a single one of them.
I sling my backpack over my shoulder and start my trek. It’s a little further than I would like to my shed. One of the first things I do is figure out how to get there from every new house they put me in.
I begin with a skip in my step.
I refuse to let them get me down.
I move, letting my mind wander and my feet carry me. I know the way. My heart pulls me there.
The crunch of gravel pulls me from my thoughts.
I am not where I’m supposed to be.
There’s a road bustling with cars, and not a tree in sight. I spin on my heel.
Did I get turned around? Lost?
No.
My instincts drive me to continue.
I follow the road, my eyes peeled for anything I might be drawn to.
The further I go, the quieter things get. Not quite shed level, but better than most places. I know I’m close to the shed. I recognise some buildings I’ve passed before when my path to the shed took me this way. I could deviate. Change direction and be curled in my blankets in less than an hour.
But my stomach clenches at the idea.
I need to keep going.
I stop in front of a house. This is where I need to be.
Unassuming, real grass with wildflowers growing in patches and a gate with a creak to it. It feels normal, safe, familiar in a way I can’t put my finger on.
I step closer, trying to peer through the window. It’s dark. Only a flicker of light coming from inside.
I make my way to the back. The door is locked, but the window has a latch.
I slide my knife between the frame until it hits metal.
I would love to say I flicked my wrist, and it popped open, but I stand there for what feels like an hour fiddling with the thing.
Eventually, it unlatches, and I ease it open enough to climb through.
I’m not stupid, though. I know I’m walking into a stranger’s house. First point of call is the door. I open it and slide a box from the counter to wedge it from closing. Escape route secured, I move further in.
The scent of whiskey hits me like a train.
Alpha August. This is his home.
I look around with renewed interest. On the wall is a picture of me. My drawings hang on the fridge. A shopping bag from my favourite clothing shop.
I take a deep breath and continue.
Take out containers stack by the recycling bin. A half-empty cup of coffee on the dining room table. It’s not messy per se, but he could definitely use a cleaner.
I drop my bag. It thumps to the floor, basically forgotten as I walk up the stairs. It’s quiet.
Is he even home?
His scent intensifies, and I turn without hesitation, following the hallway. I pass two other doors, but they hold no interest to me. It’s the last one, at the end of the corridor that’s screaming out to me.
The door opens quietly, gliding softly against the carpet. It’s pitch black and silent. No TV, no lamp, even the curtains block the light from the street lamps from coming in. I can’t see in front of me, but that doesn’t stop me from moving.
My hand grazes the bed frame, wooden, solid, and I slip onto it. The duvet is soft, thick and swallows me as I move into it. I curl into myself at the foot of the bed and let my eyes drift closed.
* * *
“Omega Evangeline?”
A voice pulls me from my sleep.
“Auggie?”
My mouth feels strange. Dry and yet coated in a weird film. I feel like I’ve been asleep for a year. My bones ache, protesting as I stretch out. My head feels heavy and my eyes refuse to open. I nuzzle against the soft fabric like a cat.
“Eva.”
The voice is insistent.
I force my eyes open, and the light is blinding. I groan, flopping over onto my front and burying my face deep in the blankets.
“What are you doing at my house? In my bed?”
I roll back and glare at the Alpha.
“I live here now.”
Sleep wears at his face, his hair sticks on end, and one of his pyjama bottoms is halfway up his leg. He does not look pretty first thing in the morning.
He stares at me, and I stare back.
“Okay. Come on then. I’ll show you your room.”