Chapter 15
15
Jude
“Remind me why we’re doing this again?” Kellan snarled as we watched Calla and Hazel smile at each other over a pile of blankets, both oblivious to the blatant stares fixed on them from all over the department store.
“Because we can’t keep her locked up forever,” I replied, even as I glared at someone who lifted their phone to snap a photo or video of our omega.
Hazel’s picture had been splashed all over the news when she’d been missing, making her an overnight fascination to the world. But none of us had expected a trip to the mall to turn into a fucking circus.
Thank god our whole pack was here to run interference. We’d set up a perimeter around the two omegas to make sure no one got too close, but the longer this went on, the more twitchy our alphas became.
Rhett moved closer to Hazel, his back brushing against her as he took note of the blue throw blanket. “You like this one?”
Hazel turned and smiled up at him with a nod, but then her expression melted into uncertainty. “But we don’t have to?—”
Rhett sighed and gave her a look. The same look he’d been giving her every time she started to protest that we didn’t need to buy something.
She was wrong.
If our omega wanted it, then we needed to buy it for her.
In the two hours we’d been at the mall, we’d gone through four stores. The first stop had been to pick out clothes for our omega. Honestly, I wasn’t sure we’d even make it past that store when Rhett had insisted on an impromptu fashion show so Hazel could show off each piece.
The more Hazel tried on, the more Rhett grabbed from the racks. Rhett had always been something of a clothes horse. The alpha always looked impeccable in a suit—something I fucking loved. Even now, the rest of us were in jeans and t-shirts while Rhett was in fancy black pants and a navy blue button down with the sleeves rolled up.
That was as casual as Rhett got for a public outing.
After clothes, it had been a furniture store that specialized in dining rooms and kitchens. We’d picked out everything from a new dining room table to a fancy espresso machine. Next it had been a shoe store where Rhett, yet again, had Hazel try on a variety of shoes from sneakers to boots to heels that had all of us salivating.
At this point we’d given up on being able to fit everything in the car and opted for a concierge delivery service Crew’s mom and sister often used. Hazel’s new wardrobe would be waiting at the house when we got home.
Now we were in The Cozy Nest, a store that had everything an omega could want and more. I’d never seen so many colors and types of fabric in my life, but the best part was the smile that never seemed to leave Hazel’s lips.
“Okay, yes,” she said, still looking up at Rhett, “I like this color.”
Rhett took the tag and used the little barcode reader one of the attendants had given us to scan the item into what would be added to our pack total.
Hazel rolled to her tiptoes and kissed Rhett. “Thank you, alpha.”
The bolt of pleasure that rocked through Rhett rippled out through the pack bond, and I discreetly adjusted my half-hard dick in my jeans.
“Can we take her home yet?” Kellan demanded in a low tone. His dark eyes were filled with lust and want.
I hid a smile. “Not yet. She hasn’t done shit like this in years.”
Kellan’s expression turned tender as he nodded. “Yeah.” His scowl snapped back into place as a woman edged closer. He turned and blocked her approach with his body, glaring until she shrank back.
We made it to a section dedicated to lights when a sharp voice rang out.
“Oh, my god! Hazel Jones, is that you ?” A tall woman with pale blue eyes and massive lips threaded her way through an aisle. Her honey blonde hair was loose around her face, and the overpowering scent of roses damn near slapped me in the face.
I fucking hated roses. The fragrance reminded me of my grandmother, who I’d adored but reeked of crushed rose petals. Trailing behind her with a stoic look was a slightly older man with a receding hairline and a sweaty upper lip. One inhale marked him as an alpha, but it was pretty obvious the omega was running the show.
Hazel frowned, and I almost stepped in until recognition flared in her eyes. “Jenny?”
“You remember me!” Jenny approached and threw her arms around Hazel.
Hazel hugged her back, but shot Calla a look over Jenny’s shoulder. “Uh, yeah.”
“This is Randall, one of my alphas.” Jenny touched the chest of the man following her like a puppy. Her eyes sparkled with something that set off warning bells in my head. “And who are these hot guys?”
“Her pack,” Calla supplied curtly.
Jenny’s megawatt smile dimmed. “Calla. I didn’t even notice you there.”
Calla’s returning smile was brittle and tight.
Hazel cleared her throat. “Jenny, this is my pack. Crew, Jude, Kellan, and Rhett.” She pointed to each of us in turn. “Jenny went to high school with Calla and me.”
“A freaking lifetime ago,” Jenny giggled. “Back when Hazel was just a basic beta.”
Crew bristled, his jaw tight. “Hazel’s never been a basic anything.”
Jenny’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean anything bad by it.” She lowered her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. “Hazel, we’ve all heard about what happened to you and have been so worried.”
Hazel shifted, leaning back into Rhett, who was still standing close by. “You have?”
“Well, of course. I mean, when we saw the reports about your kidnapping…” Jenny pressed a hand to her chest. “How awful for you. You remember Georgia and Beth, right? Our packs are close, and we couldn’t stop worrying about our poor Hazel.”
Hazel’s nose wrinkled. “Uh, right.”
Rhett noticed Hazel’s discomfort and tried to step in. “Do you need anything else, dove?”
Hazel turned and shook her head. “No.”
“We should grab dinner,” Jenny suggested, reaching out to grab Hazel’s arm.
Crew and Kellan tensed, ready to physically rip Jenny away, but Calla stepped in and inserted herself between the two women.
“We already have dinner plans, Jen,” Calla lied with a saccharine sweet smile.
Jenny’s eyes narrowed. “It’s nice that your best friend lets you hang around her pack since you can’t seem to keep one of your own.”
Calla’s spine went stiff.
“What did you just say?” Hazel demanded as Crew stepped closer, his blue eyes cold and lethal.
Jenny waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not a big deal. Plenty of omegas have a hard time finding the right pack. I mean, I found mine right after high school and you just found yours, too. I’m sure Calla’s not the only one with… issues.”
Randall snorted, clearly amused by his omegas antics.
“I think we’re done here,” Hazel said, her tone razor sharp and eyes narrowed.
Fuck, I loved this woman.
Jenny lifted her nose and sniffed. “No need to be hostile. It’s just girl talk, Hazy.”
“It’s Hazel,” my girl retorted, as she moved closer to Jenny, “and this is me calm. But insult my friend again, and I’ll show you hostile.”
Jenny stumbled back. “Clearly your ordeal has affected you.”
“No. People I barely know being rude to my best friend affect me,” Hazel quipped, her barbed words tipped with acid. “We’re not friends, Jenny. We never have been, and you acting like we were is transparent and sad. You think I haven’t noticed the dozens of people taking my picture since I got out of the car with my pack?”
Well, shit. Guess Hazel wasn’t as oblivious as we’d all hoped.
“I get it. My story is the current media trauma that everyone wants to watch and dissect, and that’s fine. But I draw the line at people like you acting like we’re friends to level up your own image.” Hazel shook her head, her cheeks flushed. “It’s disgusting. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my pack and I have some shopping to do.”
Jenny’s face twisted into a scowl as her alpha settled his hands on her narrow hips. Randall’s indifference turned into annoyance as he looked at Rhett. “Word of advice? It’s best to learn to control a mouthy omega before she’s pack.”
Hazel’s soft gasp was drowned out by Rhett’s snarl as he pushed Hazel behind him and grabbed Randall’s shirt. It took barely any effort for Rhett to lift Randall up until the smaller alpha’s toes barely touched the ground.
Kellan and Crew closed rank around them, and the soft chatter of the rest of the patrons in the store went eerily silent.
“Here’s your own word of advice, friend,” Rhett gritted out, “stay the fuck away from my omega.” Rhett shoved him away, and Randall landed on his ass.
Jenny dropped to his side with a cry of alarm. “Randy, darling, are you all right?”
Hazel grabbed Rhett’s arm. “I think I’m ready to go now.” Her voice was tiny and small, all the joy from earlier sucked away.
I moved in closer, feeling my pack’s fury vibrating through our bond. Hazel’s scent was sharper now, more potent, and her cheeks even redder than before. Her fingers shook as she pushed her hand into Rhett’s.
“People are watching,” Hazel whispered.
Sure enough, people had their phones out and were videoing the entire exchange.
“Time to go,” I announced to the pack, needing to physically pull Crew and Kellan away from Randall, who was still on the fucking ground like a little bitch. “Come on. Hazel needs us.”
That seemed to snap them out of their anger. Both men spun to look at Hazel, who seemed to be struggling to catch her breath. Suddenly her eyes squeezed shut and she doubled over, pressing a hand to her stomach.
“Hazel?” Calla’s voice was high pitched with worry as we all circled around our omega.
A few employees came over, but all three alphas growled when they got close. The air was saturated with the scent of Hazel and our pack. I looked around, noticing even more people coming into the store from the mall’s entrance. Most of them were men, noses in the air as they likely smelled Hazel.
Hazel, our unbonded omega.
People started talking again, and I blocked them out until a niggling little thought cut the chaos of the voices around us and landed in my mind.
Was she in heat?
My blood ran cold because no. No fucking way. Not here in the middle of all these assholes.
“We need to go,” I snapped, pushing Rhett aside and almost flinching back when Rhett bared his teeth at me.
Instantly Rhett’s eyes went wide with shock when what he’d done registered. “Jude?—”
“It’s fine,” I cut him off and took one of Hazel’s arms. “Calla, we need to get Hazel out of here. Now .”
Calla nodded and went to Hazel’s other side. We moved fast as a team, pushing through the crowd until we made it to the doors that led to the parking lot. We were on the wrong side of the mall from our car, but getting outside was our best option.
Crew slammed the doors open, and he growled at a couple attempting to enter the store as Calla and I pushed Hazel outside. Rhett and Kellan followed.
“Talk to me, baby,” I urged Hazel, rubbing her back.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” Hazel asked through a whimper.
Calla’s eyes were huge. “Haze, you can’t be going into heat again. It’s too soon.”
Hazel let out a pained groan. “Something’s wrong.”
Kellan swung Hazel up into his arms and looked at Crew. “Call your dad.”
“Already am,” Crew replied, phone pressed to his ear. “Papa? Something’s wrong with Hazel. She’s… It looks like she’s going into heat again.”
Rhett’s hand curled around mine, and I leaned against him briefly. All three alphas were spiraling as Hazel kept making these little whimpers and whines.
“It’s okay,” Kellan tried soothingly, his chest rattling with a frantic purr as his wide eyes met mine.
“There’s no way she can be in heat again,” Calla insisted. “It has to be something else.”
“Papa wants us to come into his office now,” Crew announced, hanging up the phone and stabbing his fingers through his hair. “We’re gonna figure this out, baby.”
“Stay here,” I said. “I’ll get the car.”
Rhett nodded. “Hurry.”
I turned and sprinted as fast as my legs could take me.