Page 25 of Rustic Beauty

“What? She was just a little frazzled!” Ren whisper-yelled but I instantly knew it was more than that. Kieran had his head on a swivel, searching for her whereabouts.

“Kieran, sweetheart. Look at me,” Isaias whispered as he reached to hold Kieran’s face in his hands. “Hey, breathe. What’s wrong? Do you know her?” Our babies were half-sleep, completely oblivious to what had just happened. Granted, any normal pack would have chalked it up to an accident but we were all on edge. “Kieran.”

Our Omega let out a deep breath as he finally refocused on Isaias. “I don’t know her but she smelled familiar.” His brows furrowed as he sniffed at the air before turning to face me. “She smells like you but sweeter.”

I swallowed nervously because there was only one fucking person in the entire world I had met that smelled like me. However, I hadn’t seen her in nearly eight years after I was ceremoniously kicked out of the house. She had been my entire heart once, the light of my life until I was forbidden to talk to her. She faded into the background as I worked to survive and keep my head above water. The moment I felt it safe to return, I couldn’t find out where she had moved. Or where my parents had shipped her off to.

The woman looked nothing like the little girl I had left behind.

Kieran stepped a little closer, “Why does it seem like you know her? You do, don’t you? She’s yours.”

Isaias growled at that statement. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“My sister, Nala. I haven’t seen her in almost a decade.”

“Why would she be here?” Ren asked, saddling up against my side.

I swallowed carefully, not wanting any of the puzzle pieces in my head to fit together. Nala, my sister, was an Omega and from the three seconds I had caught a glimpse of the woman that bumped into Kieran, she seemedterrified. As sweet as her scent had been, there was also a burnt edge to it. Was Michael after her as well? Had Michael tried to take yet another thing that was mine? I didn’t even know the sweet dimpled girl anymore. She had barely been thirteen before I left but knowing that he might have her tied up in all this?

Yeah, I was furious.

Isaias pulled me into a tight hug, “Then let’s go home and the next time your phone rings,answer it.”

It made sense now why I wasn’t terrified of those calls even if I hadn’t answered them but now I was mentally kicking myself for not picking up. How long had she been in trouble, trying to reach out to her older brother and failing? And then seeing us out here, enjoying life? I felt like a piece of shit. Absentmindedly, I ran my hand across the bruise on my neck scowling when Isaias ripped my hand away.

“If that was your sister, I promise you we will find her and figure out what’s going on. I know you want to run after her but I need you to focus and help get us home. I’m going to call Xylo to keep a lookout.” Isaias was already ushering us to the car before he finished talking and while I wanted to disregard his words and run after that woman, that would only further antagonize the situation.

seventeen

KIERAN

The ride home was silent even as I kept checking on Joel. They must have forgotten that this bond thing went both ways because I feel every fucking emotion riding through our Beta. Even when Elias and Leo had been put down for a nap after being cleaned and changed, I could still feel Joel’s uneasiness as he waited for Isaias to try calling Xylo again.

Knowing that Michael most likely had been trying to sell me made me worry for Joel’s sister, Nala. The worst part was that this was the second time I had caught her scent and both times, it felt like more family had walked into the building. I couldn’t explain it but I knew that I already liked her before I’d seen her. The way she took off at the small shops wasn’t because she was scared of us per se but more so that she had bumped into Ren.

I had done the same thing for a while after escaping Michael.AnyAlpha I came across, I immediately took off in the opposite direction. No doubt she was looking for Joel—how she foundhim, I had no idea—but running into an Alpha hadn't been in her plan.

Isaias took a seat at the kitchen table as we crowded around him. The dial tone only rang once before Xylo picked up. “Sorry, I didn't catch your first call. What’s up?”

“Where is Michael?”

“Still in lock up. Hasn’t moved actually. Preparing for shipment.” There was an underlying hint of amusement in his words before he hardened his voice. “Why?”

“Because I’m pretty sure he left a few jobs unfinished. Just keep an eye out for a rogue Omega, alright?” Isaias prodded.

“Seriously? I kind of wanted to enjoy my Valentine’s Day,” Xylo joked.

“And we all know you live with your mysterious roommate that's rarely there.”

“Goddess, you're the worst. I got it. I haven’t heard anything but I’ll keep a look out. The fam doing alright? Great. I’ll give you a call later.”

We settled after Xylo hung up before Joel’s phone vibrated for a second and then stopped. He called back but was pushed to voicemail which didn’t make a lick of sense. Was Nala trying to find him or was all of this an elaborate setup? I tried to pull out any other memories that I stuffed down into my unconscious that would help us but nothing happened.

Frowning, I left the table, intent on working on the nursery to pass the time when that sweet scent filtered into my nose again. It was much closer this time—like it had been at the shops—a mixture of lemon and lavendar rising from the spring rain. It was also much stronger than seemed normal. The Omega wasn’t in heat, that much I could tell, but her scent was a thick syrupy sweet that made my stomach churn a little.

I ignored my mates as I tried to follow the scent, ending up at the back door. I threw it open and marched into the backyard,a place we had all but abandoned since we moved in. There was a shed and some grass but we hadn’t done much, knowing we’d use it in the future but having no use for it right now. The scent wafted in again and this time my mates groaned, smelling it as well.

And that’s when I saw her. The small little Omega stumbling toward me. She was completely cloaked as she scrambled to safety, her arms wrapping around my middle before she lost control of her legs. I scooped her up in my arms and her hood fell back. She couldn’t be anyone else than Nala because she looked like a carbon copy of Joel, just a little thicker like most Omegas were.

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