Chapter Fourteen
Palmer
I seriously can't believe we've left her like we have. Not to mention the hurt and betrayal that she must feel, but to be going into heat, thinking you've got no one to help you through it. Makes me absolutely sick to my stomach, which in turn, makes me angry. I've already lashed out at my pack members several times in the time that it took to get her bags packed and her loaded up into the rental SUV.
They won't call me on it either. I'm pretty sure I've taken her loss harder than any of them. I fell in love with this girl, only to have her ripped away the moment she started loving me back. I've spent weeks being angry at Roz, and honestly, the rest of them. Maybe if they'd have run out that door with me and went after her that day then we could've stopped her.
"I hope we've got everything," I tell her as we're walking out the front door.
"We can buy her anything she needs," Roz offers, making me roll my eyes at the alpha.
She doesn't ask for things. Hell, I'm surprised and more than a little proud of her for demanding her car back. Which we, of course, still have. My little savage. She doesn't say goodbye to her mom or the alpha claiming to be her father. Neither of them speak as we walk her out. I'm curious to if our presence changes anything, but it doesn't matter. She's got us. I'm really glad she agreed to come home, because I really would've hated to add kidnapping to my growing list of accomplishments. I'll tell her that one day when she's not feeling like shit.
When we get out to the SUV, I order Cordell to sit up front where we'll have to roll the windows down some. Then looking to Brent, I tell him, "You should give her your hoodie. She can sit in the very back with me and Jake."
Every eye turns my way, including hers, but she isn't surprised like the others. She smiles sweetly at me. I lean down and press my lips against hers.
They all do as I ask, Cordell hopping up front and Brent relinquishing his hoodie. Jake gets in the backseat, and she's quick to follow.
"When did you become an omega expert?" Brent asks me with Roz looking on curiously.
"I haven't had anything to do for a few weeks," I reply, bitterness in my tone.
"That's fair," Brent says. Roz pats me on the shoulder on his way around the vehicle to the driver's seat.
I'm going to still be angry with him for a little longer, too. Even if Billie isn't. Jumping in the backseat, I scoot as close as I can, squishing her between me and Jake. She snuggles down into Brent's hoodie, laying her head on my shoulder and falling asleep before we've even hit the highway. Other than a few pitiful sounds in her sleep, she doesn't stir at all.
When we finally make it home, she's still sleeping so peacefully that I don't want to wake her, but we need to. Shaking her gently, I say her name, kissing her forehead. She slowly comes to, realizing where we are, and I'm pretty sure we all feel more than hear her sigh of relief.
I take her hand, walking her up the stairs inside. We come to my door, and she doesn't even question it, following me. Her body shifts toward the bed, but I pull her toward the extra door almost hidden in the corner of my room. I flip on the low lights as we walk in, and get the pleasure of seeing her eyes light up in astonishment. There's two king size, double padded mattresses stretched out wall to wall covered in warm colors and the softest materials I could find. Massive pillows are scattered all over. Best of all, I stole a whole bunch of crap from everyone in the house, so the space doesn't smell new. It smells like us.
"Who did this?" she asks, awe in her voice.
I run the back of my finger across her flushed cheek. "I did. While you were away. You're supposed to have your own nesting space in your pack's house."
Her eyes flood with tears as she goes up on her tiptoes and smashes our lips together.