Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Kara
Icould now add vandalism to my growing list of criminal offenses. If anything, the Thomas pack should have been thanking me for showing them just how weak their fence was. After five smashes, the gate beeped and opened. I’d have to worry about how to shut it when I got back.
With the muddled state of my brain, I felt safe enough walking down the street despite the time of night and the lack of light.
Large shadows from the streetlights being partially blocked by trees ran the length of the street.
It wasn’t completely dark, but just enough that no one would see me unless they were close.
A few dogs barked as I passed by the houses on the way to Ella’s car, and it made me wish I was with a pack so I could have a dog.
I’d been nervous it would be towed, but the car was right where I’d left it.
Opening the passenger door, I cursed as the pack of suppressant pills fell right out into the gutter.
They were in a plastic sleeve and the gutter was the cleanest I’d ever seen.
But then again, this was the crème de le crème of rich neighborhoods.
Residents probably employed someone to make sure their gutters were clean.
“Don’t forget us, Kara, dear! We’ve been waiting for you to cuddle us for hours,” I said in my Squishmallow voice.
“Oh, Jane Doe. I would never forget you and Princess Leia. I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner but we were having too much fun.
” I shut the front door and opened the back, grabbing them by their ears.
Jane was a blue deer and Princess was a pink chicken, and they were my favorite ones because they reminded me of me and Kayla.
“Ow! First, you forget about us so you can get drunk, and now you assault us!” Princess squeaked. Everyone had their quirks, and mine was having conversations with stuffed animals. It was no different than talking to a pet.
“I don’t have pockets for my pills or the keys, so deal with it or you can go in the trunk for the night.” I shut and locked the car. “You should be grateful for my hospitality.”
A motorcycle revved its engine and the faint squeak of N’Pact’s gate opening made me jump, and I dashed behind the car.
My Squishmallows were beside themselves with excitement. “Oh, my! Are we going to see another N’Pact member? Riding a motorcycle? So sexy. Va va voom!”
“Shhh.” I warned myself, ducking as a sleek motorcycle darted out and headed down the road way too fast. “Geez, where is he going so late? Maybe for a booty call?”
The words felt gross in my mouth, and I twisted my lips in disgust. Most omegas would agree that the thought of alphas sleeping with betas made us all slightly unhinged.
Biologically, we were born to be with each other.
Sure, betas could be with us too, but the deep-seated need alphas and omegas had for each other couldn’t be replaced by even one hundred betas.
Brake lights lit up red at the end of the street and then the motorcycle was gone. Had he even shut the gate? I couldn’t see the top part of it poking up past the shrubs and wall.
I’d just take a quick look to make sure. The motorcycle had left in a rush. They might have gone out the gate before it had even opened all the way.
I quickly walked the short distance to the end of their driveway and looked in. I was surprised there were tall hedges running along the driveway, so the house wasn’t visible. I bet they always had knottyboppers and paparazzi bothering them.
One of my Squishmallows spoke up. “Well, aren’t you just like them now?”
Headlights turning down the street caught my attention and my eyes widened. A police car with its lights on but no sirens was headed right for me. If they saw a woman in their pajamas with stuffed animals, they’d surely stop or call in for another officer.
The gate started to close, and before I could even think about what I was doing, I ran through it and onto N’Pact’s property. And by ran, I mean I almost fell and dropped my Squishmallows, catching myself on the tall bushes. Luckily, I had my index finger through the keyring, so I didn’t drop them.
What was I doing? Did I really just commit another crime? Did the three strikes law apply to omegas?
A giggle burst from my lips, and I barely managed to pick up my Squishmallows and shove them against my face to stifle it. I’d just take a quick peek at their house and then leave. It was no different than me going on the internet and looking up pictures.
One thing was for sure, I was never drinking Twisted Knot wine again; it was deceptively delicious.
Walking as quietly as I could since I was wearing flip-flops, I passed the tall hedges and took in the gorgeous three-level house.
The driveway gradually sloped downwards toward a parking area and two double garage doors.
Thanks to my Zillow obsession, I knew this house had an underground parking area, big enough for eight cars.
One of my favorite things to do was to look at houses on Zillow and this one had caught my eye when I was perusing the neighborhood when Kayla first moved. At the time, I hadn’t known this was N’Pact’s house.
The black SUV from earlier was parked off to the side, blocking my view of the front door.
The house was all contemporary modern lines and angles with stone siding and large windows.
My memory was a bit fuzzy, but I think it had six bedrooms and six baths, a gym, a recreation room, and a pool.
All of the houses blended together a bit.
“We should leave,” I muttered as my feet kept moving forward. There was something about this house that was drawing me to it; it was perfect in every way. I stopped at the end of the walkway leading up to the massive front door that was at least four times the size of a normal one.
Movement at the corner of the garage area caught my eye. There must have been a walkway that went down the side that I couldn’t see. I squinted as a two-foot-tall beast moved into the light.
Oh, fuck. They had a dog.
“Hi, doggy,” I whispered as I looked back at the hedges now blocking my view of the gate. I had no clue if it was secured like my sister’s was, but running that way would trap me with nowhere to go. Plus, who knew where that cop car had stopped?
The dog growled and stalked toward me, its teeth glinting in the outside lights. Was this how I died? Being mauled by a vicious Rottweiler while drunk on wine and holding my Squishmallows?
The SUV was about equal distance between me and the dog, but that wasn’t an option unless I wanted the entire neighborhood to wake up from the alarm.
I stepped off the walkway and onto the grass, hoping there was something I could climb on or hide behind on the other side of the house or in the back.
The dog wasn’t attacking yet, so that was good, but I had a feeling he would as soon as he was close enough.
Knowing the dog would run as soon as I did, I stepped out of my flip-flops and flung Jane Doe at him, then took off running, hoping the sacrifice would at least slow him down.
He barked as I sprinted along the front of the house and then turned down the side of it.
There wasn’t a gate, thankfully, but the grass gave way to stepping stones with gravel.
I looked back to see the dog nearly to me, and I yeeted poor Princess Leia at him, hitting him right in the face. My guilt only lasted a second as my foot missed a stone and I stumbled into the stucco, my pills falling from my hand.
There was no stopping. I’d come back for them once I got away. Or hell, I’d just get in the car in the morning once I was sober and go back to the compound where I had more and couldn’t get myself into trouble.
This trip had been one bad decision after another. It was unlike me, but I had always kept myself on a tight leash. I had to be the best and couldn’t let anyone down. It was like all of that drive had left me once I graduated and didn’t match.
The backyard opened up in front of me and I quickly scanned it the best I could. I needed to climb something or…
The pool wasn’t exactly an infinity pool but had a thin ledge between it and the glass panel railing. It was my only option because I certainly wasn’t going to make it to the outdoor kitchen farther away and climb up onto the counter in enough time.
I was almost to the railing when the dog made its move. It grabbed on to the bottom hem of my pajama shorts with a growl and yanked. The material ripped and pulled down, throwing me off balance. I flailed my arms as I started to fall sideways, my pitiful cry for help loud in the silent backyard.
If I hadn’t already alerted N’Pact to my presence by all the noise I was making, the loud splash of falling into the pool and the dog barking sure as hell would.
The water was a shock to my system as I went under. It might be better to just sink to the bottom and save myself from the embarrassment of being arrested sopping wet with my shorts down.
Nope. Not down. Now they were off.
My shorts had been pulled far enough down my legs that now that I was in the water, they fought to float back up to the surface, and with all my flailing, came right off my feet. I had never been more relieved to wear underwear.
Needing air, I surfaced in the middle of the pool, causing the dog to go wild.
The lights upstairs came on, and I looked around frantically for somewhere to hide.
The keys were no longer on my finger, and I hoped I’d dropped them back with my pills and they weren’t at the bottom of the pool. Things were a bit of a blur.
I swam as quietly as possible to a round flamingo pool float and went under and into the hole in the middle. I could float it closer to the side, have the neck point toward the house, and maybe they wouldn’t see me.
Who was I kidding? I was so busted and was going to end up on the five o’clock morning news being handcuffed and put in the back of an OPS omega transport vehicle. My parents were going to be so disappointed in me.
Biting my lip to stop myself from bursting into tears, I waited, trying to stay calm. The dog wasn’t barking anymore, but I could hear his nails clicking on the cement. I didn’t know for sure if it was a male dog, but it felt like it.
What sounded like a sliding door came from the house, but also there was the sound of someone running from one side of the yard.
“Alpha, go back inside. I’ll check the perimeter.” The voice was all business, and I sank lower into the water, only my eyes above the surface. “The perimeter sensors didn’t go off, so it might just be a raccoon again.”
“Gizmo, come.” Someone with a voice that was slightly raspy from sleep called the dog, snapping his fingers. I couldn’t tell who it was without revealing myself by peering over the edge.
“They’re in the pool under the flamingo.” I looked up to see a figure on a balcony upstairs and was certain it was Tate Carter.
“Out. Now,” the man who had called the dog barked.
I hadn’t had a lot of experience being barked at by an alpha, but I’d witnessed my sister being commanded by our fathers many times. It wasn’t a bark like a dog, but its purpose was to control.
This alpha’s bark? It washed right over me, only giving me a sliver of motivation to listen to him. Either he was the weakest of the group or there was something wrong with him.
“I think she’s naked,” the guy who had come running said. “Unless one of you wears pink shorts with unicorns on them.
Suddenly, the flamingo went flying, and I was looking right up at Alvaro Estrada holding a leaf skimmer.
“Hi.”
Hi? That was all I could say to the tan Adonis frowning down at me? There were enough lights that I could clearly see his defined abs and the veins popping in his forearms. He must have jumped right out of bed because his dark brown hair was messy, and he was only wearing white briefs.
Good Lord. I’d never seen such a magnificent alpha.
Not everyone could pull off tighty whities, but he should really have become an underwear model.
I tried not to look too long at the impressive bulge.
If he was that big flaccid, how big was he hard?
And with a knot? I was starting to feel a bit warm all over.
I subtly inhaled through my nose, trying to catch his scent and was met with the sharp sting of chlorine.
“What the hell are you doing in our pool?” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at the other man, who I wasn’t familiar with. “You can go, Jonathan.”
Jonathan shook his head in amusement and left me with the leader of the pack, who was fishing out my shorts. Tate came out of the house, his sweatpants hanging indecently low. There was no way he was wearing underwear under them.
“Did Jonathan call the police?” Tate stopped and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, Beck is going to have a field day with this.” He pulled out his phone and the flash of his camera nearly blinded me.
“Wait. Beck?” I was sobering up, but with how tired I was and the effects of the wine, I was struggling to process what was happening. They were acting so nonchalant, like this was an everyday occurrence.
“No wonder she didn’t respond to my bark,” Alvaro muttered, letting my shorts plop onto the cement. “Let’s go, Kayla. We’ll walk you home.”
Now things were making sense. “I’m not Kayla, and I didn’t respond to your bark because it could hardly be considered one.”
Tate snapped and his pointer finger went up, things making sense to him now too. “The twin... what’s your name? Layla? Isla?”
“Kara.” I didn’t move from where I was, my legs moving slowly under me to keep me afloat. I really did want to sink back under. If I got out of the pool, they were going to see my underwear and my nipples poking through.
“That’s right. Kara with a K. How the hell did you get in our backyard and lose your shorts?” Tate sounded very amused by the whole situation and my face heated.
“Your dog chased me.” I looked to where the dog was sitting obediently, watching me. “He almost bit me.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Get out of the pool before I come in and get you. Tate, go get her a towel.” Alvaro had his arms crossed and was scowling at me. I guess my observation about his bark didn’t give me any brownie points.
With a sigh of defeat, I swam to the steps, my excitement over meeting my favorite band overshadowed by the lump of worry in my throat.