Chapter 15 #2
It’s exactly part of what was bothering me too. This is twice now, we’ve run into her not being taken care of. First she was crying, now she’s out here in the cold alone. Ariana winces at his words, but Evan continues Jason’s line of questioning.
“C’mon, they don’t let you have friends?” He’s grinning good naturedly and acting casual about it, but I know he agrees with the more serious man. They’ve run the good alpha bad alpha act on me too many times to not recognize it now.
Ariana, lacking that sense of familiarity, mulls it over. There’s a hint of desire in that pretty scent as she considers the suggestion, making me sit up straight.
“They’re my pack. I have to do what they say,” she answers resignedly, making us deflate. “I should be going back.”
Jason meets my eyes, expression grim. They might be her scent matches, but it feels like they’ve reduced her to less than a person. She doesn’t have to take their word as gospel just because she’s an omega.
“We’ll walk you home,” Sebastian’s already on his feet.
“I don’t want to be a bother, you guys already paid for my food.”
“I insist.” Sebastian holds out a hand to help her up. I can tell he’s working to keep his voice softer than its usual commanding tone.
She looks like she wants to protest further, but relents. We wouldn’t force her, but it would be a lie to say we’re not a stubborn pack.
We make quick work of clearing the bench, tossing containers and napkins into the recycling. Ariana leads the way through the park, the four of us loosely surrounding her like guards.
It’s a shame. Walks have been my favorite thing lately. Today, I don’t want this one to end. My chest tightens as the path turns from being surrounded by greenery to high rise buildings, reluctant to let her go back.
But we can’t exactly steal her away. And as much as I dislike it, there’s a bond there keeping her tied to her pack.
She stops in front of a building entrance, reaching for the zipper of my jacket.
“Keep it,” the words come out before she’s even had a chance to drag it down.
“First your umbrella, now your jacket?” She lifts her eyebrows, hair whipping in the wind. “You keep giving me things. What am I gonna do with all your stuff?”
“Build a nest?” Evan offers, his playful tone contrasting with the problematic words.
I shoot him a sharp look at the suggestion. It’s a serious faux pas, joking about nesting with an omega bonded with someone else. It’s an intimate and personal act between packs.
The younger alpha catches my eye and has the decency to look sheepish. “Kidding, obviously. That would be weird, right?”
Ariana laughs, but there’s a blush staining her cheeks. “A very daring joke.”
“That’s me.” Evan winks at her, resting an elbow on Jason’s shoulder. “Daring and weird.”
“Mostly weird,” Jason mutters, though there’s no animosity in his words.
Sebastian steps forward, pulling out his phone.
“Here. Let me give you my number.” It looks like he’s been encouraged by her amused reception to Evan’s boldness, following in his footsteps.
“Just in case,” he clarifies smoothly as she opens her mouth.
“If you need anything, or if you want to take us up on that walk invitation.”
She doesn’t respond immediately, inner turmoil written across her face.
“We won’t message you,” Sebastian continues to assure her. “Not unless you reach out first. It’s all on your terms, at your pace. No pressure.”
It’s hard to pretend I’m not delighted when she hands over her phone. Sebastian types in his number first, then passes it to Evan. One by one, we create our contacts.
“Thank you, for everything. The food, the jacket, walking me back. You didn’t have to do any of that.” She clutches her phone as we give it back, looking up at us earnestly. She’s biting her lip again. “If there’s anyway I can repay you-”
“No need.” Jason cuts her off. “We wanted to.”
“Thank you,” she repeats it like she’s unused to kindness. “Bye, then.”
We echo her farewell as she walks into the building. She stops at the door to wave sweetly. Something about it makes my chest ache. Without her comforting chamomile scent, the restlessness in me stirs again. We all wave back, and then she’s gone, disappeared into the lobby.
“Her apartment’s not far from us at all. She’s been here for years, and we never knew.” Jason breaks the silence as we stand, watching the door close behind her.
“All this time, she’s been this close.” Sebastian shakes his head. “If we’d known…”
The realization settles over us like a weight. “We could’ve helped her,” Evan concludes mournfully. “Before they got their hooks in her. They’ve got her conditioned, man.”
Sebastian starts walking backwards, looking up at the building. He squints, as if he’s expecting to see her from a window if he looks hard enough.
I can still smell the faint scent of tea on my clothes from where she brushed against me. I breathe deeper, trying to hold onto the feeble remnants.
“People will accept anything if exposed to it long enough.” Jason sighs, pulling off his glasses and wiping them on Evan’s shirt. “And she’s probably been exposed to this type of controlling thing since she was old enough to understand pack dynamics. That’s a lot to unlearn.”
“Doesn’t make it right,” Evan mutters.
“No,” Jason agrees, placing his glasses back on his face. “It doesn’t.”
“So what do we do?” I can still see her, looking down, drowning in my jacket.
“We can help her. We could show her,” Sebastian stops craning his neck to look at us. “That there’s another way.”
“She’s still under their spell.” I point out the obvious. “It’ll take awhile for her to be able to accept that.”
“Then we’ll wait.” Sebastian’s never been patient in his life, but his words come out sincere.
I can’t refute his words, but they don’t calm the hollowness inside of me.
Will she accept it if we try to help her?
We’re undoubtedly fascinated by the chamomile scented omega, but she’s clearly still under her pack’s influence.
She might hate us for suggesting they’re not right for her.
As we walk away in silence, the idea makes my blood soil.