Page 20 of Curvy Dirty Omega

It had been the first time anyone had treated me like just another kid.

After the first few times, I’d brought little trinkets to hide in the sand for her to find and the look on her face every time she unearthed a treasure she hadn’t expected to find…

That smile had ripped my heart right out of my chest and turned me into a fucking fanatic. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for her.

I’d planned to officially court her the second we found out if she’d perfume as a beta or an omega. Either way, it hadn’t mattered to me.

Then, as fate would have it, my mother had insisted I attend a boarding school across the country while we were having a territory dispute with another pack. The school I’d gone to with Lucy had erased every trace of me per my mother’s orders, even though I was already attending under a false name.

Not telling her the truth about who I was had been the logical choice. Keeping Daphne—Lucy as far away from that danger as possible was the smart thing to do. If she knew my name, she’d go looking for me and someone could try to hurt her just to get to me or my pack.

But every day for the last fifteen years I’d regretted that choice.

My eyes caught on those magic-eight-ball earrings she was wearing and I tried not to grin. She was still fucking weird and adorable even if she didn’t smile anymore. At least, not the smile I’d fallen in love with.

Those little smirks of hers were just as devastating though.

Jesus fuck. Wasn’t I supposed to be mad at her for disappearing?

Lucy turned and locked eyes with me as if she could sense my attention on her and for the second time that day, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Rain slid down the glass behind her, but the clouds had parted just enough that sunlight was starting to shine down on the world, framing her in its golden light and gilding her dark brown hair that had always made me think of dark, bitter chocolate.

It was up in this bun that reminded me of when she’d taken ballet, but most of it was parted to the side and curling around her face to show me how long it might be when she let it down. The ends brushed against the top of her breast and she tucked it behind her ear with elegant fingers.

Black nail polish and some more ink peeked out from her wrist to hint at the sleeve of tattoos on her left arm. No ring on her finger and no bite marks that I could see, but her partner’s alpha scent lingered around her wrists.

It was infuriating.

I sighed and wished I’d had time to shower and change, but this girl wanted to do everything right now. It was weirdly reassuring to know there were some things that had stayed exactly the same. I may not have recognized her at first, but those eyes…there had been flecks of grey in them even before I’d left and when I saw her shoes it had all clicked.

She’d stared at me like she knew me. I’d almost blurted out her name right then and there, but she’d pulled away before I could.

Lou Parker was her name now, but her partner called her Lucy.

I had to admit, it suited her better than her original name.

“She’s pretty fucking cute, isn’t she?” Cas rested an elbow on my shoulder. “Are you sure pretending to date her is a good idea?”

I grimaced and tried not to think about how desperate I’d felt when she’d rejected me with such finality.

It was pathetic – all of this was fucking pathetic.

“She stands out.” I watched her turn and stare down at the pool of blood on the floor while various people on the forensic team took their pictures, inspecting the office just like they had been all morning. “People will notice her and with all those vultures outside…”

The second Gideon’s death had made the news, the press had swarmed outside the building, waiting for me to make some kind of statement. It had gotten even worse when it was leaked that I’d been arrested as a prime suspect.

My mother was most certainly not pleased about that which was why Lou Parker was now staring down at the pool of Gideon’s blood with this blank look on her face that told me absolutely nothing. She was careful not to get too close though. Blood on those axolotl sneakers would ruin her whole day.

If I hadn’t managed to ruin it first.

“Did you finish running the background checks?” I asked, changing the subject.

I would have to tell Cas who she was soon, but for some reason, I wasn’t ready to.

Part of me still couldn’t believe she was here – that she was just as beautiful as I’d imagined she’d be, if not more so. Everything about her was just as perfect as I’d predicted, but the marks of her past created an unexpected harshness.

She was also tall, which was a nice change from all the omegas I was used to. If she wore heels…fuck me, she’d be a goddess.

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