by Joyee Flynn
Tag suddenly felt as panicked as I did at the mention of Wichita. I glanced at him and realized I wasn’t the only one worried about what we’d agreed to. In a weird way it actually made me feel better that I wasn’t alone in my fears. He gave me a knowing look and then everyone went back to what they were doing before I freaked out about the toothpaste.
“What do you feel like for lunch?”
“Whatever, I’m not really that hungry,” I mumbled as I got to my feet.
“Comfort food it is then.” He gave me a wink when I looked at him in a questioning way. Not saying a word, he pulled out his cell and started typing away. When he was done he gave me a bright smile. “Lunch will be ready in twenty so let’s go take a walk while the cook makes it.”
“Wow, I so want a cook to make me whatever I want when I’m in the mood,” I gushed as we headed down the stairs.
“Do you have your phone?” he asked and I nodded. “Text Azyle and ask if the Alpha house has a cook. As we think of things on our walk, just shoot off questions. Don’t read the answers yet, but just put the questions out there. One step at a time.”
I pulled out my phone and did just that, feeling a little less worry about what was coming tomorrow when we arrived at Wichita. Silly maybe, but emotions didn’t always make sense. “You’ve been depressed when you shouldn’t have been before, haven’t you?”
“Dewey, you have to stop putting it like that,” he answered with a sigh as we stepped out of the front door and walked down the driveway. “There’s no right or wrong way to feel when stuff happens to us. I know George would have told you that because Carson says it all the time.”
“Yeah, but there’s appropriate responses to things and this isn’t appropriate.”
“Bullshit,” Tristan snickered, shaking his head. “Appropriate is a relative term, for one. Two, you didn’t just call someone an asshole and try to kill them for being nice to you. Your whole world is changing. Yes, you have Taggart and now you know your Betas. But let’s be real here, Dewey. You’re scared about Wichita and I would think you to be an idiot if you weren’t.
“I love my men but even if for whatever reason we had to up and change packs, take over leadership of strangers in a few place—I’d be shitting midnight-blue kittens right now.”
“Midnight blue, huh?” I teased but gave him a smile that let him know I appreciated what he was saying. “I just feel like trouble follows me like a rabid dog. I know what happened at my old pack wasn’t my fault and neither was how my parents treated me or my childhood. But I’m twenty-three years old and I don’t know that I’ve ever just had a day where nothing bad happened.
“Even the good days with Tag, there was always some shit going on. When we finally get free and to safety, he has a shit reaction to the wolfsbane leaving his system. I mean, it just weighs on me and I can’t handle it all, all the time. I just want to crawl into bed and cry instead of being excited and learning more about Wichita. I don’t want to feel that way. I want to let go of my past and stop being such a fucking baby about it.”
“Enough,” Tristan growled as he grabbed my shoulder and spun me to face him as we reached the edge of the property. “You’re not weak. You’re not a baby or whiney or bitchy or out of line for how you feel! This isn’t the movies where everyone can keep their cool as they land on their head after a tragedy. This isn’t a story, Dewey. It’s your life. You suffered through hell and you’re scared it could happen again at your next pack.
“I’d be worried if you weren’t ready to have a breakdown.” He took a deep breath as if getting himself under control as he released his hold on me. “We all break, Dewey. We all freak out here and there. It’s part of the human condition or part-human condition like us. I’ve seen each of my men break down and I do. It’s not about size or age or being a baby. It’s about that one person can only take so much before it’s too much.”
“I get all that,” I sighed as I turned and continued to walk along the edge of the property. “But yesterday everything’s fine. Well, not fine, but I signed my name and let them claim me. Now all of a sudden I’m sad. It just seems I should be excited and ready to go but I’m not. And it makes me feel like an ungrateful bastard considering what everyone did to make this happen.”
“Ahh, I get it now,” he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and steering me back towards the house. “And I have to tell you something that doesn’t help. You’ve been feeling people’s emotions for a few years now. Normally it’s no big deal because the only one you cared about was Taggart. It’s different now, pint size. You have friends and men who care about you. You’re feeling their emotions and not realizing that it’s affecting you.”
“What do you mean?” He lost me on that one. I glanced up at the tall man, laughing that I was actually a year older than him and he had his act together so much better than I did.
“When did you start feeling like this today?” Right then I was glad that he was like a vacuum to me as another Omega. I couldn’t focus on anyone else’s shit right then.
Then the answer hit me when I was done with that thought. “Breakfast. I was excited because Percy and Azyle said the Alpha house needed updating and some color. I like color and Taggart used to let me pick things out for his house from catalogs. I think it all came together well and he liked it. I wanted to make our new house a home.”
“Then what happened?” There was a point to this and it was like right there but I just couldn’t connect the dots yet.
“Taggart got a call from the High Council enforcers. He wasn’t happy that no one cared he had to leave everything behind.”
“And he got upset,” Tristan filled in for me. “And then Jared had to get on the phone and he was annoyed to say the least. Then Carson called me with a problem so I was upset and Percy and Azyle are stressed trying to get everything ready so you guys can leave. Plus they’re worried about their new pack, because it still is a new pack to them too.”
“Are you saying I soaked in all the worry?”
“Yeah, we can use the sponge analogy if you want.” He nodded in agreement as we slowed our pace when we got closer to the house. There were ears everywhere. “Think of how fast you soaked up how to freeze someone which is my gift. It was easy, right? Once you could put the pieces into place and see how it worked in your mind.”
“That’s exactly how it felt.” I stared at him kind of funny, wondering if he could read my thoughts.
“I can’t read the thoughts of another Omega unless they let me,” he chuckled, having figured it out. “I know because that’s how I’ve felt and Carson too. It’s like snapping pieces of the puzzle together and suddenly you can see where the rest of the pieces go like as if it was put together.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, feeling a little bit better.
“We soak things up because of whatever makes us Omegas, pint size.” Tristan opened the door for me. “There are days I don’t pay attention to everything and suddenly I’m crying in the corner all alone dreading that someone will find me. We have kick ass gifts, there’s just negatives as well sometimes. This is one of them. If you don’t watch it, next thing you know you’re sucked into a depression.”
“And it’s one of the reasons you need an inner circle to keep you grounded,” Jared said quietly as he moved to grab the door and shoo us in. “We were worried. It took me a few minutes to figure it out but if Dewey’s getting overwhelmed you could be as well.”
“But we explained what was going on to his inner circle while we were stalking you from the window,” Cameron admitted sheepishly. I shrugged, letting them know it was all good. Everyone burst out laughing and I felt the mood of the room change so fast I stumbled and leaned against the wall.
“Baby?” Azyle whispered as he moved to help me stay standing.
“You’re saying this is because I care about everyone in this room?” I asked Tristan, needing to get a handle on this.
“Yes, but it might also be that you’re telekin
etic. Maybe it’s also a change in the electrical impulses in the room when the mood fluctuates. I’ll call the guy I know and see what he thinks. I used what you showed me to open their flies earlier but I don’t feel the cloud of electric charge like you said.”
“I’d appreciate some insight,” I said honestly. I yelped when Azyle swung me up into his arms. “I can walk.”
“Nah, you’ve got three men to carry you around always.” I rolled my eyes at his antics. He carried me to the kitchen as everyone followed and we sat down to lunch. My stomach growled when I saw the spread. Tristan did awesome, because every comfort food known was being brought over by the cook.
“At least I’ll never get fat with three virile men keeping me busy,” I chuckled as I dug into the mac and cheese, fried chicken, and mashed potatoes. I glanced up to see the men in question giving me lust-filled looks. Yeah, I was going to stay skinny. Rock on.
Chapter 9
“Pull over!” I shouted the next afternoon when I saw the sign that Wichita was ten miles away.
“What?” Tag asked, glancing over at me. When I started gagging with my hand over my mouth, he got the idea of what was going on real fast. He quickly pulled over onto the shoulder and I undid my seat belt as I opened the door. I practically dove out of the SUV and scrambled into the grass… And tossed my cookies.
I heard squealing tires and knew Percy and Azyle had pulled over as well. They had been driving in front of us to lead the way since they knew where we were going.
“What happened?” Azyle asked as he came racing over toward us. I sat back on my heels and shook my head. Which wasn’t the best idea.
“I don’t know,” Tag admitted as he gently rubbed my back. “He just demanded that I pull over. Maybe it’s nerves? We passed a sign that we’re getting close.”
I wasn’t ready to open my mouth to try and talk, afraid of what else might come out. Instead I gave him a thumbs-up to let him know he got it right on the head.
“Hey, it’s okay, my love,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m scared too. Today we’re just going to check out our new house and get settled. That’s all you have to focus on for now.”
“New house, got it.” I took a bottle of water Percy offered to rinse out my mouth. “Sorry, guys. All of a sudden I felt as if I was plummeting a hundred feet or something.”
“No worries, my legs were getting cramped.” Percy smiled and gave me a wink. Goofball.
“Apparently, so did my stomach,” I grumbled as Tag helped me get back on my feet. They all chuckled nervously as I climbed into the passenger’s seat, staring at me as if wondering what to do next. “I’m okay, guys. Let’s go home.”
“Everything’s going to be okay, Dewey,” Azyle said gently and then kissed my hand. I nodded, praying he was right. He closed the door and they got back into the vehicles. Then we pulled back onto the road and were on our way.
Twenty minutes later we were pulling into the long driveway of a mansion right out of Gone with the Wind. I hadn’t seen the movie, but it looked like what I remembered from the book at least.
“Wow.” Taggart whistled and I couldn’t agree more. “The upkeep on this place must be a nightmare.”
“There’s my logical pessimist,” I teased. He responded with an eye roll as he parked next to Azyle’s car. I climbed out and took in the grandeur of the house. “I can’t believe we’re going to be living here. Do I get my own wing?”
“If you want,” Azyle chuckled as he walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “But I’d prefer if we all slept in one of the master suites. I find I like waking up to you.”
“Me too,” I admitted with a blush. I took a deep breath as I glanced at my men. “Let’s do this.” They nodded and I grabbed my bag before we headed to the front porch. Just as we got to the front door, it opened.
“Welcome,” an older man said with a bright smile. “I’m one of the two Elders of the pack, Francis.”
“Nice to meet you, Francis. I’m Taggart Becket and this is my mate, Dewey Seymour.” They shook hands before the Elder turned to take mine. I was pleasantly shocked since most Elders I met looked down on Omegas.
“The pack is excited to meet you tonight and I’m thrilled you’re here. This is a good pack that has had a very rough time and needs the strength you will give it, Omega Seymour.”
“Just Dewey is fine,” I said nervously. “I’ll do what I can but I’m not sure I’m the solution.” Then something he said hit me. “Tonight? I thought we were meeting everyone tomorrow.”
“They didn’t want to wait but I promise it will be informal. We’re just having a cookout and a pack run around the grounds.” He gave me a soft smile and I couldn’t help returning it. He was like the sweet grandpa everyone wishes they had… If they had shitty grandparents like I had.
“You okay with that?” Tag asked me cautiously, eyeing me over as if I was going to throw up on the Elder.
“Yeah, we can handle this.” I sounded a lot more confident than I felt but I’d figure out a way to get it together.
“How are the boys?” Percy asked after hugging Francis. “Are they excited to meet an adult Omega?”
“What boys?” I mumbled to Taggart, hoping he knew what was going on.
“I have no idea,” he answered and glanced from Azyle to Percy, who both looked guilty as hell.
“We suck,” Percy blurted out. “We thought the High Council told you. Everything’s been moving so fast it never crossed my mind.”
“Tell us,” Tag growled, the order apparent.
“Remember Tristan told you our last Alpha was a sick fuck who was completely off his rocker?” Azyle hedged as he glanced at Francis, whose expression was calm as if wondering what our reaction would be.
“Yeah, something about having a boy-toy harem he abused,” I answered as the light went off over my head. Everyone was so worried and focused on that I was an Omega that things just clicked into place. “His harem was underage Omegas?”
Azyle nodded and sighed. “We didn’t know he had them locked in the basement until he tried to assault an Omega in sanctuary with Carson. We’d only been here a few weeks then. We took the old Alpha into custody and he was executed, but not before he confessed to having over a dozen Omegas he kidnapped from various packs.”
“Why haven’t they been returned to their home packs?” Tag asked and I nodded. That seemed like the logical move to me.
“He didn’t kidnap all of them,” Percy mumbled, looking really uncomfortable. “We say it that way because most of them don’t know that their parents sold them. Only two were kidnapped and their home lives were for shit so the Council said they could stay with us.”
“How many?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. Tag growled and I got the feeling we were on the same page. How could no one have told us about this?
“Fifteen. There’s one who’s going to be twenty-one in a few months and the youngest is fourteen.”
“Fourteen!” I shouted and lowered my voice when I realized the Omegas might be around. “So you’re basically saying we’ve got like fifteen kids we adopted by joining this inner circle?”
“Well, they’re not ours,” Azyle said as Percy shrugged. “They just live here since now that the pack knows about them we’re prepared to protect them. I mean, what better place to hide some Omegas from predators than in a dire wolf pack?”
Tag looked a little confused as well. “You’re all idiots,” I growled before turning to Francis. “I’d like to meet them right away and speak with them. Do they have rooms or what’s been done since they’ve been discovered?”
“They’re sharing a few rooms,” he replied with a smile. “I knew you would understand the moment I shook your hand, Dewey. They need you.”
“What am I missing?” Tag asked, his eyebrows drawn together.
“They’re kids, Tag!” I exclaimed, totally exasperated with them. “They’re kids who’ve gone through hell and been abused. We need to get George here ASAP. The
y need rooms of their own, routines, school. You get where I’m going here. It’s not like they need their diapers changed but they need to be taken care of.”
“Oh shit,” Azyle whispered. I wanted to scream you think? They were thinking of them as mini adults, but they weren’t.
“Let’s go meet my new kids,” I said to Francis as I walked into the house.
He led me up a grand staircase and down the hall to large adjoining rooms that looked as if they were a nursery once with a playroom. There was a flurry of movement as the seven in this room moved into the corner as a group as if scared of a potential threat.
“Hey, guys.” I kept my tone soft as if talking to scared animals because that’s what they looked like. “I’m Dewey, the new Omega of this pack.”
“So what happens to us if you’re the Omega now?” one older boy asked. He looked only a little younger than me so I guessed he was kind of their leader and the one who was going to be twenty-one soon.
“We’re going to be a family,” I answered gently as I moved into the room and sat on one of the mattresses that was on the floor. They’d been doubling up for now but that would change right away. “You have a new Alpha now, a good Alpha who I love and will take good care of this pack. We’re going to take care of you now. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
“Percy and Azyle have been very nice to us,” he hedged as he glanced at Francis. “And the Elder has as well in their absence.”
“I’m glad. From now on anything you need, I’ll see it gets done.” I decided to bite the bullet and be honest with them. “We didn’t know about you guys when we signed up to run the pack but we’ll figure it out. For now I’d like to get to know you all and see what needs to be handled right away. I’ve got a psychologist I’ve been working with that we’re going to call in to come talk with you guys and we’ll figure it out so you guys can get your own rooms.”
