Omega Scorned (Omega Reckoning #5)

1. Waiting

Waiting

Emilia

"You should be grateful a pack was willing to take you in so quickly," the beta woman told me, as she ushered me to the door of the Omega Reassignment Center.

Grateful. How could I be grateful when I'd lost the loves of my life just six months ago? The real reason she thought I should be grateful wasn't the speed of this match; it was the fact that a pack had chosen me despite the massive scar on my face.

Any beauty I'd had was gone, along with my two alphas, Orson and Leon. The car accident that had taken them from me and destroyed my face would haunt me forever.

Now, I stood in the plush waiting room, hands dangling at my sides.

The alphas had seen a photo of me already, so they knew what was coming.

I hadn't seen them yet, but it didn't matter.

What I wanted was irrelevant at this point.

You can't stay forever in the ORC, so here I was, waiting for my new pack to pick me up.

"Here they are!" The beta chirped, looking far too pleased for the situation.

My stomach churned as I peeked up at the men walking into the room. My blonde hair fell over my face, partially hiding the scar.

There were three alphas now standing in front of me. All three looked like they'd just stepped out of the office, dressed in suits, with shiny shoes and neat haircuts. They all studied me carefully, the middle one pursing his lips.

He reached forward and pulled my hair back with one hand, examining me carefully before glancing at the other two. Both of them shrugged and nodded.

"We'll take her."

"Emilia?" The beta turned to me, but it wasn't really a choice.

I could say no and keep rotting here in the center until the next pack came along.

These men were probably as good as it was going to get.

Their scents didn't seem bad, a mix of fresh mint, cedarwood, and fresh clipped grass filled my nostrils. I could do this.

"I'll go."

The men signed the paperwork and I trailed after the lead alpha with the other two following as we left the building.

It was chilly outside and I shivered in the thin dress I'd been given.

When you entered the ORC, they didn't let you bring any belongings at all, so I wasn't even sure where this dress had come from.

"This is us. You can sit in the back with Daryl." The main guy got into the front seat of a dark SUV.

I opened the back door and got in, finding my seatbelt and snapping it closed with shaking fingers.

One of the other men climbed into the other side of the vehicle, giving me an easy smile. "I'm Daryl. That asshole is Jake," he said, pointing at the lead alpha. "And our other alpha is Rory."

"Hey, Emilia." Rory twisted in the front seat to smile at me. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi." I clenched my shaking hands together. "How far is your place?"

"A couple of hours from here. Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

"I'm okay, but I don't have any clothes or anything."

"We'll stop on the way to find something," Jake assured me. "Do you have a favorite place to shop?"

I shrugged. "Anything is fine." I was in no position to make demands when these men had been kind enough to take me, defects and all.

"Okay. Well, we're all starving and we're going to hit the McDonald's drive-through. You sure you don't want anything?" Rory asked.

"If you're going anyway, I'll have fries and a vanilla shake," I decided.

Their scents swirled through the vehicle, pleasant, but not clinging to me. Pine, mint, honey, and spices all wafted through the car, with my own ginger and fig scent mixing with them.

We got the food first, then got on the highway while we all ate. The fries, though hot and salty and delicious, sat in a lump in my stomach. There was no knowing what I was going into.

For now, the three men seemed to be friendly enough, but there was no way of knowing.

I'd heard horror stories of omegas being bonded to packs that treated them horribly.

At least I could still reach out to the Omega Reassignment Center if needed, should this group be lousy.

Part of the process was a check-in at 1 month and at 6 months, so I knew I'd be able to talk to someone then.

Feeling a little better, I settled back against my seat. "What do you all do for work?"

"Ah, straight to the point. What does a second-rate pack do to make money," Daryl chuckled.

"No, that's not what I meant!" My stomach twisted. "I'm sorry, never mind. I don't need to know."

"It's fine," Rory said. "We're all in different businesses. I run a construction company, Daryl is a pilot, and Jake is the CEO of Nalia Enterprises."

I nodded, but kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to give the wrong impression again.

Turning to the window, I watched the scenery flash by and tried to ignore the ache in my chest where my mates were missing.

The snapping of the bonds had nearly killed me, but it hadn't been that noticeable when I'd been in the middle of actively dying anyway. Now, I wished I'd gone with them.