Chapter 7
Bear
Spencer and Chase had been watching Flora for the past few days. I trusted them to keep her safe, but that didn’t mean my skin wasn’t itching with the need to see her again. It was more than just curiosity; it was a burning desire inside me.
As I gathered my things to watch her, my surveillance equipment and a few bottles of water, Spencer meandered into my room.
“Did you notice the security camera in her building?” he asked casually.
“Of course I noticed it,” I said. “That relic probably hasn’t worked in years.”
He was talking about the dusty camera in the main lobby of Flora’s building. I had clocked it the moment I walked into the space. There was something almost comical about its presence—a symbol of safety that offered none.
Spencer grimaced. “Yeah, she’s not really living in the best of areas, is she? I highly doubt the building manager keeps that up-to-date.”
“No, Flora mentioned he was useless,” I said, remembering the way she cringed when I suggested asking him to do work on the building to make her more secure.
“There are other cameras outside of her building. We could potentially use them to get eyes on her.”
That piqued my interest. “Do you think it’s a good vantage point?” The more angles I could see Flora from, the better. I wanted to ensure she was safe at all times. It was a crazy urge, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Of the two cameras I saw, they would cover the door and most of the street,” Spencer explained.
“I’ll ask Chase to see if he can pull any of the footage from the last few weeks,” I said. We were all fairly tech-savvy, but Chase was definitely the genius when it came to that sort of thing. I had witnessed him hack into a number of security systems over the years.
Spencer grinned. “Already done.”
“Thank you.”
“Also, while you’re checking the building, I’m going to follow her to class,” Spencer said.
“Do we have the time?” Usually, only one of us could be spared to keep an eye on the little omega because we still had Pack Garnett to protect.
Spencer nodded. “They’re having a movie night and ordered takeout at like sixteen-hundred hours. They’re probably going to be asleep by eight.”
I snorted lightly. “The life of parents.”
“It’s definitely not for the weak,” Spencer admitted.
“Nor are evening classes. I can’t believe the university allows single omegas to take classes so late.”
I agreed. It was already dark by the time Flora went to class.
It wasn’t safe. Maybe if she lived in one of the closer dorms that was well-lit, it wouldn’t be so bad.
After that night, when she had grabbed my hand, I had become obsessed with finding out everything I could about her, including her family.
It didn’t take much digging to learn they were solidly middle class and could afford to put Flora in one of the safer buildings, yet she seemed to be paying for everything herself from scholarships and tutoring.
I scratched the back of my head. The problem with researching families was that we knew what their actions were, but not necessarily their motives. Not that I believed there was any good reason for them to allow their omega daughter to live in a shitty dorm.
“Yeah, we need to dig into her parents more.”
“Do we stay on task?” he asked. “I feel like we’re getting very attached to her, and we’ve never even had a conversation with her.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Can you just walk away?” He and Chase may not have had a conversation with Flora, but I certainly had—and held her hand.
The indecision on my pack mate’s face was clear. Something about her was pulling us toward her. I knew there was no way in hell I was going to forget her.
Spencer avoided my question, instead simply saying, “I’ll get Chase to send you anything he finds on the cameras,” before striding out of the room.
He may have been going back and forth on what Flora meant to him, but I was under no illusions.
No matter what happened, I would protect her.
I had never imagined an omega falling in love with me, given how my face looked.
I was a monster—but I would happily be her monster.
Even if I spent the rest of my life in the shadows, watching over her, I would do it gladly.
I watched as Flora exited the building, checking her purse for something, before walking down the street toward her eight p.m. class.
Once she was out of sight, I checked my phone to make sure that Spencer had her in his view before sliding from the car and heading toward her apartment building.
There was supposed to be a key code to enter the building, but as I approached the flimsy door, I doubted it would withstand a firm breeze, let alone a potential intruder.
My suspicions were confirmed when I pushed the door with minimal effort, and it swung open on creaky hinges, as if it were lamenting the toll of age and neglect that had worn it down over the years.
We already knew the lobby’s security cameras were dead.
Hell, I doubted they were real in the first place.
The building manager may have stuck fake cameras on the wall to pretend they were doing at least a halfway-decent job.
Nothing about the building screamed that it was well-maintained or that anyone cared even slightly about the security.
That wasn’t acceptable. Flora should have been living in a dorm building with a doorman and a working security system. If I had anything to say about it, she wouldn’t be in such a decrepit building much longer.
Following the familiar path up to her door, my nose picked up the strengthening scent of honey and rose as I ascended the stairs. Her scent hit me stronger than any other around. It made my nerves vibrate and my head swim. It was only a small echo of what I had smelled when I had walked her home.
Picking the lock was easy. Concerningly easy.
The hallways were narrow with no cameras, so no one noticed me entering her space.
Her apartment was just as I remembered, tiny and drenched in her scent. This time, I could look without the omega’s eyes on me. I had done my best to observe as much as I could about her home when I was there last, but now I could take my time and get to know exactly what made Flora Hewitt tick.
As I wandered through her apartment, I took in all the small details. The half-eaten bags of chips on her desk. The pens with the ends chewed, and the laundry piling up in the overflowing basket.
My eyes paused on her nest.
I wanted to investigate more. My descenter was industrial strength, so I would leave no trace. Then again, a nest was a deeply personal thing, and it felt rude to intrude.
Yet I couldn’t stop myself.
Her nest was somewhat sparse; she needed more fancy throw pillows and fluffy blankets.
Everything in her nest was a variant of cream or pink, except for some dark, leathery fabric. Moving closer, I stilled when it dawned on me exactly what that item was.
It was my jacket. The one I had given her the night I’d walked her home. The one that was covered in my scent.
She had placed it in her nest.
An overwhelming rush of pride and excitement hit me. Had Flora enjoyed my scent that much? To put it in her nest where she slept? Well, that made me feel a thousand feet tall.
Part of me wanted to roll around in her nest, to cover myself in her scent.
Leaving the nest untouched, I turned and surveyed the studio apartment once more. Even though she was on an upper floor, her windows needed proper locks and latches. All an intruder needed was a ladder, and they could get in.
The door was flimsy. At a minimum, I needed to install a deadbolt. If I could, I would have installed a whole new door, thicker and more secure.
I was about to open the fridge and check what food she had when my cell buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw the message from Chase.
Chase:
Got the security footage.
I didn’t have much time left until Flora came home, and while the prospect of seeing her was exciting, I doubted she would be happy to find me lurking in her apartment like a creeper.
So, I gathered my things and headed down to my SUV.
From the driver’s seat, I kept an eye on the door to Flora’s building while grabbing my phone.
Making a mental checklist of everything Flora needed, I opened the security footage and started scrolling through. Most of it was innocent enough, students milling around, chatting to one another as they walked wherever they were going.
It took a while to find what I wanted. Video of Flora walking home. The moment she popped onto the screen, I was paying attention. She was hugging herself as she strode quickly to her place, head down.
So, she didn’t notice the hooded figure following her.
Or waiting outside her building for almost an hour after she went in.
Rage, unlike anything I had experienced before, boiled under my skin. My vision went red as I watched the figure stand outside Flora’s home, lying in wait.
For what, I had no idea.