by Susi Hawke
Omega Remembered
Book Two of the Northern Lodge Pack Series
An M/PREG Paranormal Romance
Susi Hawke
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Copyright © 2017 by Susi Hawke
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Any characters, locations, events or businesses are totally parts of the authors imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
Micah
Smiling down at the precious, crying little girl in the filthy travel crib, I knew that I had finally found her. I remembered my cousin Daniel's friends, Jenny and Jake, and this baby smelled like a mixture of Jenny and that of our former Alpha who had disappeared a few months ago.
It's been rumored that he and Helga took off with all the money in our pack treasury, fleeing for parts unknown, but I know the truth. My cousin had told me about the events of the day that Alpha Fremont had shown up and tried to take Jake down in a challenge on his own land. Of course, Jake had taken him out. It was his right as the Alpha, to take down a challenger.
Our pack here is in shambles now, and people have been leaving right and left. The ones who have stayed, are the ones that are too lazy to get involved with helping to maintain our pack-lands, so the place is going downhill fast. I can't get out of here fast enough to suit me, but first, I'd sworn to find this child.
I'd finally found this beta, Stanley, holed up at this crappy little cabin by the lake. He had been babysitting this pup, for some reason known only to the old Alpha. I would never have entrusted a baby to that man's care, but that's a moot point now.
Stanley is dead. I snapped his neck after he'd admitted to me that he hadn't fed the pup since yesterday, when I'd asked why she wouldn't stop crying. He'd claimed that he couldn't afford any more formula, and that Fremont should have been back long ago. He said that he hadn't signed on to watch a baby for this long. And yet, when I looked in the fridge, it was full of beer.
Basically, the rat bastard could afford to buy beer, but not to feed a baby? Yeah, he had to die, no question. I had snapped his neck in a rare moment of anger, and now I just needed to get this pup home to her uncle's pack up north.
I looked around for diapers, but there were none to be found. The poor girl was so covered with filth, that her little legs and privates were bright red and covered with a painful looking rash. No wonder the tiny thing screamed so much. I picked her up and took her into the bathroom.
I cuddled her against me while the water ran into the tub, testing it with the skin of my inner wrist to make sure it wasn't too hot or cold. I carefully set her down in it, but she started screaming harder as soon as her butt hit the water.
“Oh, baby girl. I'm sorry it stings,” I cooed at her, releasing a relaxing wave of alpha hormones to soothe her. “Let's get you cleaned up, I promise it will feel better when we do.”
I made faces at her, getting her to calm down, even giggling a little, as I finished up and lifted her back out of the water. Pulling the plug, I let the water drain while I took her to the kitchen. I found a few paper towels left on an old roll in there, which I used to pat her dry as gently as I could.
After she was dry, I rummaged through the cupboards until I found an old box of cornstarch. Perfect! Turning her over my arm, with her little butt up in the air, I sprinkled some of the fine powder over her butt and legs. It was a little more awkward to get her front powdered, since I wasn't about to lay her down on any of the filthy surfaces in this hellhole, but I managed to get it done.
In lieu of a diaper, I carefully shrugged out of my shirt while juggling the baby too. Once I had it off, I carefully wrapped the make-shift diaper around her tiny body.
“Alright, girlfriend! You ready to get out of here? Are you? Do you want to leave this dump?” I cooed at her, as we walked back through the main room. I didn't see any of her stuff that was still clean enough to even have near her, so I just took the car-seat that I found by the front door and got out of there.
I laid the baby on the front seat, and went around to the backseat to install the safety seat. I called my cousin, Daniel, while I fastened it into the car. By the time he answered, I was already reaching over the seat to grab the baby. After safely fastening her into the seat, I snapped a quick photo with my phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Danny-boy. It's me.”
“Micah! Where are you? I thought you were joining us up here.”
“I am, I'm leaving now actually. I just wanted to give you some good news for the Alpha. Also, I need a favor from you.”
“What's going on?”
“Check your messages, I'm sending a text right now of a little princess that I just found being, and I use the word loosely, babysat by some beta prick named Stanley. But, you should probably know that I had to kill him when I saw how he had treated her.”
At Daniel's intake of breath and choked sob, I knew that I had done the right thing in sticking around until I found the baby. I only wish that I had found her sooner.
“What do you need, Micah. Name it. Just bring Erin home.”
“Erin? That's her name, huh? Cool. All I need is some diapers, clothes, a blanket and some diaper rash cream. Maybe a few toys? I dunno. It's gonna be long trip. Plus, I really don't know what she eats, so I'm really gonna need some help in that department too. The fucker told me that he hadn't even fed her since yesterday, so that part probably needs to happen quick.”
“Do you need money? Or do you just not know what to buy? I don't get why you need my help for that stuff. I don't mind, I'm just confused.”
“Daniel, take a good look at that picture I sent you. If I take this poor child into any stores, I'm going to have the humans calling CPS or some shit. She is filthy for one thing. She has no clothes on, except for my shirt that I'm using as a temporary diaper. Oh, yeah, so add in that the naked baby is in the company of a shirtless man. Yeah, that will go over well. Anyway, her legs, ass, and girl parts are covered in red welts from a diaper rash to end all rashes, and her hair is matted to her head in places. This baby has been neglected to the point of abuse. I hate to tell you all that, but I need help if I'm going to get her quietly out of here, and home where she belongs with her uncle's.”
“Fuck. Did you say that you killed Stanley? Because if you didn't, then go back and snap his fucking neck right now for me.”
“Done, dude. That was my first move.”
“Righteous. Okay, head to Angela's, she has a kid about Erin's age, she should be able to hook you up. I'll call her now. If there's a problem, I'll call you back, but I'm sure she will help you out.”
“Thanks, Daniel. I can't believe that I didn't think of Angie, in the first place. Of course, she'll help me out with the little princess here. Now, go and give your Alpha the good news. I know that you're probably dying to tell him.”
“Ha! I will, but first I'm going to call Angela. Let's get Erin taken care of and fed before anything else.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Daniel. Talk to you soon.”
“Yep, thanks Micah. Love you,
cousin.”
“Love you too, cuz.”
I closed Erin's door, but as I was walking around the car to get in the driver's seat, I saw the curtain move in a room I hadn't checked out while I was inside the cabin. Two little faces were peeking over the window sill in the dark room. If I hadn't been paying attention, I wouldn't even have seen them.
Unsure what to do with the baby, I decided that I really couldn't leave her alone in the car, even if we were in the middle of nowhere. I went back over and got her out of the car, whispering in her ear: “Why didn't you tell me you had friends in there, Princess?”
She gurgled up at me, a string of drool hanging from her plump little lip. I hadn't smelled any other wolves in the cabin, but I hadn't been exactly paying that close of attention anyway, to be fair. I knew that I would've noticed if there had been another adult present though, our scents are much stronger than those of little pups.
Even though I was pretty sure it was safe, I still carefully held Erin against my chest with my left hand, as I crept back into the cabin. Stepping quietly through the filthy main room, I went over to the room off to the side that I'd ignored in my prior wanderings.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the door knob and opened it quickly. The light from the main room flooded in through the open door, and there by the window, I saw two little kids huddled together. They were trembling with fear, their little arms wrapped around each other and looking up at me with eyes as wide as saucers.
Sending out a flood of calming pheromones, I knelt down in the doorway and said: “Hey, I didn't know there were two pups in here. My name is Micah, what's your name?”
The older one, an omega girl, spoke up softly and said with the most fucking adorable little speech impediment: “My name Sawa. Dis Dywan. He my bwuva.”
“Hi, Sara, and you too, Dylan,” I said warmly. “How come you didn't come out and say hello before, when I was taking care of Erin?”
“Becoz Stanwee tode us to not weave da woom. Who Ehwin? Dat baby Natawee. Huh my sistuh.”
“Oh, you guys call her Natalie? Well, her real name is Erin, that's what her Mommy named her.”
“You mean Hugga? Huh not owah mommy. Her da mean wady dat da mate to owah alfa daddy.”
“No, baby girl, not Helga. You guys won't ever have to see her or your alpha daddy again. I came to take Erin home to live with her uncle's. Why don't you guys show me where your shoes and coats are, and you can come with us. I know you want to be with your sister.”
Sara looked at me hesitantly before answering. “Wot 'bout Stanwee? Him say no weave dis woom. We get in twubble.”
“Don't worry about Stanley,” I assured her. Realizing that I'd left his dead body laying out in the front room behind me, I quickly said: “Stanley is sleeping. We can go right now, and I promise that he won't ever bother you again. Okay?”
She and Dylan looked at each other, then over at Erin who was happily gnawing her own little fist, still safely tucked against my chest.
“Otay, mistuh. We go wif you.” Sara turned to Dylan and said: “Go get you swoos on, we go bye-bye wif da man.”
Dylan scampered over to a bunk bed near the window, and crawled under it. A moment later, he popped back out with shoes that he quietly carried over to his sister. I watched as the tiny girl put shoes on her brother, before calmly going over to the same bed and retrieving her own.
With a choked voice, I asked: “Do you have coats?” Sara shook her head no, as she fought to shove her chubby little foot into a shoe that looked at least half a size too small.
I blinked back tears for these sweet angels, and asked another question. “What about more clothes or toys? We need to take whatever you have with us now, because we're never coming back here again.”
Sara looked up at me and said: “Otay, mistuh man. I go get dem.”
She crawled back under the bed, emerging a moment later with a little plastic bag emblazoned with the logo from a local liquor store. It didn't look to contain more than a few scraps of cloth, but I reached my hand out to take it from her anyway. She shook her head and held it firmly to her little chest, while also reaching her hand out to clasp hands with Dylan.
“Okay, angel. Let's just get you guys in my car then.” I stopped for a second, as I realized that I now needed two more car seats. “Hey, Sara. Do you and Dylan have seats for the car?”
“No, mistuh man, dere onwee one seat.. Alfa daddy say we haffa be woof pups fo da cah wides. You wan dat we swift to pups?”
I thought about it quickly, weighing the odds between two little ones being buckled for a few miles without a safety seat, versus having them shift only to find myself wrangling wolf pups. Yeah, neither option was good, but I definitely had to vote for option A.
“That's okay, Sara. Let's save our wolves for playtime, okay? I'll figure it out when we get you in the car.”
Sara nodded her head, looking up at me with a serious expression in her big, brown eyes. I stood up, and said guiltily: “Um, let's walk out quietly, so we don't wake up Stanley.”
She looked at me like she knew I was lying for some reason, but rather than call me out on it, she just calmly walked out ahead of me with her brother in tow. I grinned at the gumption of this tiny angel, and followed them over to the door that I'd left open on my way in.
I herded them down the porch and over to my car. I opened the back door, and waved for them to get in. They scrambled in and climbed over to sit next to Erin's safety seat. I fastened Erin in, closing the door after I stepped away. After a quick walk around the car, I opened the door on the other side, and looked in at the two little ones who were staring up at me expectantly.
“Okay, guys. Here's what we're going to do,” I said, thinking about the best way to do this. “This is really not safe, but it will have to work for tonight until I can get you all to safety. You two are going to wear a regular seat belt, and you're going to promise me to sit tall and still until we get where we're going, got it?” They nodded solemnly as I buckled the lap belts, cinching them as snugly as I could across the width of their little hips, fastening them in together.
I stood and closed the door, running a hand through my hair as I wondered what the hell I'd just gotten myself into, and so glad that I'd found them at the same time. I waved my fingertips at them, smiling to reassure them, as I pulled out my phone and called my cousin back. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, Micah. You at Angela's already?”
“No, I actually am just now leaving. There was a complication.”
“What kind of complication?” He asked in a worried tone.
“Don't freak out, Daniel, but it turns out that Erin has a couple siblings. I caught them watching me through a window as I was about to leave earlier.”
“Holy shit, are you serious, Micah? How old are they?”
“I don't know much about kids, but the girl is about three I would guess, and the boy is probably two-ish.”
“And you have them in your custody?”
“Yep, and I'm about to take them all to Angie's right now. She can help get them all sorted out, and then I guess I'll be driving north with three little ones.”
“Thanks, Micah. I appreciate what you're doing. Do we know where the other two came from?”
“Not a clue man, pretty sure they don't either. Maybe you should ask the omegas you have up there, one of them might be able to shed some light on the situation. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. They definitely both smell like Fremont sired them though, so maybe let Seth and Maxx know. They may be the closest thing to family that these pups have left. I'll send a picture when I can, maybe it will help you guys to figure out where they came from.”
“Okay, well get those kids out of there, and I'll see what I can dig up. Talk to you soon, Micah. Oh, and before I forget? You made the Alpha's day. Jake has been in tears since I told him, he's that happy.”
I smiled as I hung up the phone, glad that I'd done my part to help bring the little p
rincess together with her family. I only hoped that I could do the same for the other two little angels. Getting in the car, I adjusted my mirror so I could keep an eye on the three little ones in the backseat.
I pulled out onto the dirt road that led away from the cabin and said: “Okay, kiddos. Let's the road!”
Chapter 2
Aries
Seth came in while I was cooking dinner, and sat down heavily on a stool at the counter. I walked over and set a mug of coffee down in front of the kind alpha. “What's up, Seth? You okay today?”
He looked at me and sighed. “Would you believe that Jenny wasn't the only omega that Fremont stole a baby from?”
I froze, my heart racing in my chest, as I frantically tried to breathe. “Why do you say that, Seth? How did you find out? Did they find them both?”
Seth's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, as he replied: “I said baby, singular, Aries. I didn't say that there were two. But, as a matter of fact, Daniel's cousin found a little girl and boy being watched by Stanley at your old cabin when he went there on the hunt for Jenny's little Erin.”
His words became garbled, as the room pressed in around me. I gasped for air as the world went fuzzy and I dropped to my knees. Seth quickly jumped up and raced around the counter to get to me.
“Aries! Breathe, man. It's okay, I'm right here, you're safe.” Seth breathed these words into my ear, as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up against his broad chest for a comforting hug. I trembled against him, as tears poured down my cheeks.
“What's going on in here?” I heard Daniel's voice calmly asking, as a flood of calming alpha pheromones filled the room.
“I think we don't have to look too far to solve the mystery of who Sara and Dylan's carrier is,” Seth answered over my head. “I was just sharing with Aries what you told me about my little cousins, and he kinda freaked out here.”
