9. BBQ
BBQ
Oren
Without her.
Instead, they had a beautiful model-like woman with them. This must be Candace.
Santi was already greeting them when I stepped up to his side with a smile.
"I'm Jake," the tall, neatly groomed one said. "This is Rory, Daryl, and our omega, Candace."
"Great to meet you, this is our omega, Oren. Grayson is on the grill and Jude is hiding somewhere around here," Santi said easily. He gave me a glance and I could feel his curiosity through the bond. He hadn't even met Emilia, but he knew this wasn't her.
"Come grab some food," I invited, gesturing toward the grill and the table we'd laid out with food.
As the pack moved toward the food, they greeted other neighbors who seemed pleased to chat with Candace. Did they notice Emilia was missing? I frowned, wondering what was happening here.
Then Jude appeared. He scanned the pack with a frown and walked up to them, instantly moving to Jake.
"Where's Emilia?"
The other alpha looked surprised. "Emilia? She doesn't leave the house."
"Funny, we met her the other day," Jude commented, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the alpha.
"What?" Jake looked genuinely confused. Had she neglected to tell them about our afternoon together? "How?"
"She came over for lemonade," I said, trying to gauge their reaction. The men all looked at each other. Candace looked annoyed.
"I'm hungry," she whined. Okay, I didn't like her.
"Emilia is… special," Jake said with a tight smile.
"We took her in because she had nowhere else to go and it was a shame to let her languish in the center.
She doesn't like to be in public because," he gestured to his face.
"So, we just let her muddle along with her hobbies and keep her fed and such. "
"She's sweet, but with that face, you can understand why she prefers to avoid gatherings like this," Candace giggled. "This would be a nightmare for her."
I let them walk away and Jude turned to me.
"Is that true? Does she hate leaving the house?"
"How the hell should I know?" I looked at the house next door, scanning the upper windows that looked over the fence.
"I'm going to find out." Jude headed for the gate.
"What are you doing?"
"Asking her." He stopped and gazed into the distance for a moment. "I'm taking food."
A minute later, armed with a plate piled high with food, he marched out the gate and over to the next house. I trotted after him, wanting to stop him from scaring her, but also very curious about what she might say.
Jude rang the bell and when Emilia didn't immediately appear, he rang it again, twice in rapid succession.
There was movement inside and then the door opened only a crack. "What?"
"Emilia, do you hate being in public?" Jude asked. "Also, we brought food."
The door opened wider and I could see her drawn face, mostly hidden behind her pale hair. Her eyes were rimmed with red, like she'd been crying. "What are you doing here? Aren't you having a party?"
"Yes, but your alphas showed up with Candace and not you, so we came to investigate," I told her. "May we come in?"
"Yeah, I guess." She shoved the door open wider and stepped back. She was still wearing her pajamas, light cotton ones with tiny rosebuds all over them.
Jude wasted no time in heading for the dining room where he set the plate on the table. "Come eat, Emilia."
I shut the door and followed her to the dining room where she stood frowning at the food.
"Why did you bring me food?"
"Because you didn't show up to the barbeque and we figured you'd be hungry," I told her. "Dig in."
She sat down, then jumped up again. "Do you guys want something to drink? Let me grab plates and you can share the food with me."
"We're fine. Sit down and eat," Jude said.
We sat down across from her and watched as she took the plastic fork and scooped a mouthful of potato salad into her mouth.
"This is really good!"
"Thanks." Jude gave her a warm smile. "Grayson made the meat. Everything else is mine."
Emilia ate until she seemed to be full and leaned back in her chair. "Aren't they going to miss you over at the party?"
"We missed you at the party," Jude said simply.
"Your alpha told us you didn't like to leave the house. Is that true?" I asked, not trusting Jude to be tactful with the question we both wanted an answer to.
"They've never offered. I didn't even realize until today that they don't take me anywhere because of my face," she said, sounding bitter. "I was such an idiot not to see it."
"Did they say what your role is now that they have Candace?"
"I'm the backup, I guess?" She shrugged like it didn't matter, but the pain was obvious in her eyes. She lifted them to look at me. "I get it, though. Who wants an omega with this stupid face?"
Jude jerked like he'd been slapped. "You're beautiful."
"No, Jude, I'm hideous." She lifted a hand to her hair and pulled it back, turning her head to show us the full extent of the scarring.
The dark puckered line ran from her temple, over her brow and cheekbone, before splitting in two.
One branch ran to her jaw and the other cut into the corner of her mouth, pulling her lips slightly to the side.
The cut had somehow missed destroying her eye, despite running straight over it, the brow and socket protecting her eyeball.
"You're strong."
"Very," I said. "Your old pack died, right?"
"Yes."
"And you survived. That scar is evidence of what you endured. What you lost. It's a part of you that only makes you more stunning," I assured her.
Tears welled up in her eyes. "I wish I could believe that."
"Will you come meet our alphas?" I asked.
"No, my pack wouldn't want me there."
"Okay, tomorrow, then."
She laughed, even with a tear running down her cheek. "You're used to getting your way, aren't you?"
"Yes." I winked at her and tossed my long hair over my shoulder. "So, you'll come meet them?"
"Fine. The guys will probably take Candace out tomorrow and I'll come over if you really want me to. If you think they won't mind."
"They won't," Jude said confidently.
"You better get home before my pack realizes you're missing and tries to figure out what you're doing over here."
I shook my head. "We'll go, but there's nothing wrong with being good neighbors." I didn't add that they obviously didn't want her, so what did they care if she had men visiting her? But I kept it to myself. She didn't need that added stress.
We left her with the extra food and said our goodbyes before heading back to the party where I watched her alphas and beta fawn over their new omega. It was sickening and all I wanted was to pull her out of that house and keep her for myself.