6. Jet
Jet
“What did you do to him?” I demanded. Joel wasn’t someone I would normally suspect of causing harm to one of the omegas, but I’d seen Elliott’s face when he’d burst in the door. He’d been terrified.
“I didn’t do anything, man. What is your problem?” Joel frowned at me.
“He was shaking, and he burst in like you chased him up the stairs!”
“Well, I didn’t. All I did was ask him if he was okay. Then when he took off running, I waited until he got inside, then I followed him up the stairs.”
“Do you know why he was shaking?” I was beginning to calm from the burst of anger I’d experienced after seeing Elliott looking like that. I didn’t know what had come over me.
“Jackon’s mate went all alpha on him and Elliott after seeing them talking to me.
I don’t think the shirtless alphas working nearby helped.
He yanked both Jackson and Elliott by the hand back to the ranch, then picked up Jackson and took him home.
Jackson’s pregnant, so I guess that’s what triggered that behavior.
Anyway, the whole scene seemed to scare the little one. Elliott.”
As alpha ops, we’d been trained in alpha/omega behavior, although there wasn’t a lot known about it.
A lot of what we learned was speculation.
Alphas were known to be possessive; therefore, it made sense that they would be possessive with their omega mates.
It made sense that a pregnant mate would make that possessiveness worse.
Sometimes I thought the descriptions of alphas bordered on animalistic, and that didn’t make me feel very good about myself or make me want to be mated to an omega who would amplify those characteristics in me.
It seemed I owed Joel an apology. “Sorry I came on so strong. I guess I feel a little protective over Elliott after what he went through recently. He already has issues. We all need to try harder not to come up on him unawares.”
“Sure,” Joel said. “Carter already got onto me about that, and I feel bad about it. I’ll just go wait for Elliott over there.” He pointed to a low stone wall on the other side of the garden.
I nodded and went back inside. I’d been hanging around the ranch because Solomon was here, and I was assigned to him.
He wasn’t in the kitchen any longer, so I wandered into the hallway and spotted him in the living room talking to one of the therapists and Elliott.
I was glad to see that Elliott appeared calmer than he had a few moments ago.
I leaned against the wall out of sight. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but hear Gail tell Elliott not to skip his therapy sessions anymore. I hoped he listened to her. Working on his fear of alphas would be beneficial to him.
Again, it struck me how like Clayton Elliott was. A small, vulnerable omega mistreated by alphas. That had to be what it was.
Ever since coming to the Borders’ ranch, I’d been dreaming of Clayton and the past so much, it was affecting my sleep. So, yeah. I guess the fact that Elliott reminded me of my kid brother was stirring up memories.
Maybe I could benefit from some therapy myself.
As Solomon seemed content to sit and talk, I let myself out onto the front porch.
The omegas were safe inside the ranch, and I needed some air.
At times like these, I longed for a cigarette, but I hadn’t smoked in years and wasn’t about to start again.
Taking a seat on one of the rocking chairs, I looked out toward the mountains.
This was a peaceful place, and I felt lucky to be assigned here.
Recently, Nova had hired a few ranch hands to help with the work. They were betas vetted by the SOS, all of them relatives of omegas who were either unregistered or had been registered by the government and never seen again.
I was more concerned about the three kids who would be spending the month of August here as part of the troubled teens rehabilitation ruse.
They would have real therapists and get the benefits of the rehabilitation, but the whole thing was a cover set up to disguise the activity that went on at the ranch.
Those kids couldn’t be depended on not to tell their parents if they thought there were unregistered omegas on the property.
They would have to be kept on a different part of the ranch, which was why a building had been erected for them at the south end.
All their activities would be scheduled and the omegas would not be permitted to be outside during those times.
Hopefully, it would work. At least there were only three teenagers coming and only for a month.
Dallas, another one of the three therapists at the ranch, approached the porch.
“Hey,” he said to me as he climbed the stairs. He was a good-looking guy, blond with hazel eyes and a nice smile. A beta, of course, so he could work with the omegas.
“Hi.”
Dallas took a seat in the rocker next to me. “It’s hot out today.”
I nodded. “Sure is.” I was pretty sure he and the other two therapists at the ranch had worked with the omegas for a while. Curious about them, I decided to ask him a few questions.
“Did you know the omegas well when you came to work here?” I asked conversationally.
“Yeah. I’ve been with them almost from the beginning—when they were rescued. About four years.”
“Are they all doing okay here?” I asked.
“Each of them is different, but on the whole, yes. Why do you ask?”
I shrugged. “Just curious. I’m responsible for keeping them safe. I want to make sure there isn’t anything I should know.”
Dallas pursed his lips as though in thought.
“Honestly, everyone is fairly well-adjusted now. The only ones I worry about are Riku and Elliott. You’ve read their histories, so you already know about Elliott’s fear of alphas.
Riku’s a little hot-headed and impetuous.
He’s kind of hard to read. So different from his twin brother, who’s easygoing and predictable.
” He smiled as though he’d just thought of something pleasing.
The front door opened and Elliott and Solomon stepped out, Gail behind them.
She was an attractive, heavy-set woman in her forties with a bohemian style.
Today, she wore a flowing, V-necked mustard-colored shirt that complemented her dark complexion, wide-legged pants with leather sandals, and a beaded necklace and earrings.
Her dark, curly hair was pulled back with a matching turquoise clip.
“These guys are headed home,” she told me. “Where’s Joel?”
Getting up from the chair, I said, “He’s around the side of the house, near the garden. We’ll get him as we pass.”
After waving to Dallas, I followed the two young men down the porch steps, making sure I stayed a good distance from them. Joel joined us, and after we saw Elliott and Solomon into their house, we sat down in the shade to play a game of cards.
I was surprised when, a few moments later, Elliott came out of the house carrying two glasses.
“It’s hot out here, so I brought you some lemonade,” he said, carefully handing a glass to both me and Joel. We’d barely got our thanks out before he was scurrying back into the house, shutting the door behind him.
“Well, that was a nice surprise,” Joel said, smiling before he took a sip of the lemonade. Then he made a face. “Man, that’s sour.”
After taking a sip, I had to agree.
I drank every bit of it, though.