8. Zale
Zale
I’m not sure why I linger in the woods that border Saylor’s lake house.
I suppose someone should call the police and warn them about the Alpha that’s stalking Omegas at Wynter Lodge, but I have not been able to stop thinking about Saylor ever since she fell into my arms back in the hallway at Silver Grove High.
To this day, I still vow to find Ryan Rice and knock his brains out for daring to humiliate her.
He just wanted to get her attention because he was obsessed with her, yet he couldn’t because Saylor was too smart for his bullshit.
I tried once to get him to back off after he knocked her books from her hands, but it would have just drawn too much suspicion if I ever got too protective of her.
If I had stood up for Saylor, then that infuriating male would have known that I was crazy for her, too. And then he would have gone and blurted it out to the whole school.
Saylor was quiet and liked to keep to herself. So, she would have hated all the unwarranted attention.
So, for her sake, I tried to keep away. At the time, I told myself that I couldn’t be disloyal to Emma. That she didn’t deserve our rejection and indifference just because we found our perfect scent match.
But when I look back, I realize that that had been my first mistake.
She was my Omega, and I should have done more to ensure she felt safe and protected. That she felt appreciated.
Of course I knew she was my scent match. I knew it from the instant my Alpha caught wind of her sweet meadow scent in the school hallway, but by the time I came to, Saylor was already gone.
My mind takes me back instantly as I hold on tight to River’s jacket, trying to get that faint hint of her scent again.
I don’t think River is even aware that I took his jacket. And I doubt he will want it back after I’m through with it.
Once again, I am fifteen years old, towering above everyone else in the school hallway as I let her scent fill my mind.
There we were with Emma laughing between us until Saylor walked past us. She had her head bowed, so I couldn’t see her face at the time, but our shoulders brushed.
And that was when her scent hit me like a tidal wave.
I didn’t even know what to do at the time, as I was too young. I just froze in the hallway, blocking everyone’s path. Even my brothers looked at me strangely.
It wasn’t until Emma spoke to me that I finally snapped back to reality again.
“Zale? You good?”
Emma’s distant voice echoes back to me as I keep sniffing River’s ex-jacket.
Honestly? I can hardly remember that girl anymore. Her face is starting to become a distant memory.
And I couldn’t even mourn Emma properly after she died. Because the only person I ever truly mourned for was the Omega I let go.
The one I never accepted because I was too much of a coward.
I had loved Emma at one point, but it’s been ten years now, and she would want us to be happy.
Poor thing. Forever eighteen while we all got to grow. Yet eighteen-year-old me was a complete idiot.
He never should have let Saylor go.
I tense up next when the door of the lake house opens, anticipating the very face that has haunted me these last ten years. That has invaded my dreams every night.
But when I see that it’s just my sister, I breathe a sigh of relief.
However, when I glimpse the gorgeous brunette in the doorway, my Alpha comes to life. And then he purrs in deep satisfaction when he gets a good look at his Omega once again.
She hasn’t changed. Not one bit. Except this time, she has a wide smile on her face. She laughs freely now with Daisy, and her joy is a sight to behold.
Especially when I think back to all the times when I wished that I could see her smile back at Silver Grove. Just once.
It was just too bad that the other kids made her life miserable at that school.
Still as beautiful as she was back then. The kind of beauty that just hits you completely unawares.
Now, I have to fight my Alpha instincts. He just wants to go over there to check if she is safe. That she is content in her new lake house.
He just wants to scent her… to claim her… to make her his…
To make her mine.
But she doesn’t need either of us encroaching on her happiness.
After all, we don’t deserve her. We never did.
Branches ruffle above my head as I stare at Saylor for far longer than is deemed healthy. Then leaves rain down onto me next, sticking to my hair.
I wipe them away in frustration, peering up at the tree.
My Alpha growls when he spies one of the bastards who publicly rejected his sister up in the tree.
Well, well, if it isn’t Wynter Lodge’s resident tree surgeon—Ash Thorn.
He wields a saw and a harness, cutting the limbs off the tree where I’ve taken refuge.
Where I spy on Saylor.
Honestly, out of all the Thorn brothers, I tolerate Ash the most. Briar seems pretty chill too, but Rowan’s a real piece of work.
Ash’s big, peppermint green eyes find mine next, and then he almost drops his saw as a sheepish grin takes over his face.
“Oh... Z-Zale… I didn’t see you there. S-sorry…”
I try not to show him too many of my teeth as I remove more leaves from my hair, deciding to go back to Daisy’s lake house.
I shouldn’t be lingering, anyway. Besides, I need to leave before Daisy sees me.
I point up at the Alpha where he hangs in the tree. “I was never here, Thorn. Got it? So, don’t go blabbering to my sister now.”
He nods, then salutes. “Yes, sir.”
Sir? He’s two years older than me.
Before I get the chance to leave, Daisy appears from behind the tree, gazing at me, startled. “Zale? What are you doing here?”
I sigh.
Busted.
She peers up at the lake house, crumpling her eyebrows. “Wait… are you here to see Saylor?”
I heave a sigh, taking my leave at last. It’s long overdue.
The less she knows, the better. I guess I have no place judging Ash for what he did to my sister.
Because I once broke an Omega’s heart, too.
“Zale!” Daisy calls out, persistent as ever, but I’m already pushing my way through the shrubs.
Yeah, that’s the last time I’ll be sneaking around the woods for a while. But whenever my thoughts linger around Saylor, I’m not so sure.
Perhaps someone should call the police after all. Because so long as Saylor is around, then my Alpha won’t ever be able to keep away.
“Zale Rose, you get back here!”
I roll my eyes. She really does sound like our mom at times, but I can’t turn back.
Because if I do, I can’t promise that I will be able to keep away from Saylor.
This is for the best.
I will not break her heart a second time.
By the time I stomp up the porch steps of Daisy's lake house, River is sketching. Trent reads beside him.
Neither looks my way.
That’s when River frowns at me, and he doesn’t even question why I carry his jacket in my hand. "You've got leaves in your hair, Z…"
I brush them away. "So? It’s a breezy day.”
River’s pencil stops moving then. Trent eyes me warily. That’s when he rolls his eyes with a groan. “You went near her house…”
I don't answer. I don't need to.
River sighs. "Jesus, Z."
Trent closes his book. "Why?"
I stare out across the lake for a long moment before answering, "I just wanted to see if she smiled now."
Neither has a response to that. Because they know exactly what I mean.
We were the assholes who almost destroyed that smile. And now we are getting our just deserts, only getting to glimpse her from afar…
And dammit. Now I need to take a shower too.
I hope River left some body wash for the rest of us.