Page 38 of The Omega Archives: Part One

“Oh, tonight is going to be fun.”

“Until I crack my head open.”

“I won’t let you fall,” I promised a minute later, lacing up her skates. “Or at least not more than is bound to happen if you never skated before.”

She licked her lips in anticipation.

A minute ago I was about to rip my heart out and put it in front of her. Now already I wanted to bend her back and kiss her.

I needed to behave.

Standing up, I put my hands out for her to take. “Ready, careful now. Just hold onto me.”

She watched as I skated backward.

“So, you’ve skated before.”

“The only thing to do in small towns.” I led her on. Though unsteady on the greased floorboards, she wasn’t doing half bad. “I almost figured after you said that you were from one that you’d be wiping the floor with me.

“Definitely not.”

“You’re doing great.”

She lifted her chin to smile at me. “I am?”

“Hell yeah, way better than my...” I was going to hell. I should tell her now about my pack and how they all once tried to skate to varying degrees of success, but for the first time, I wasn’t sure I was ready to let her know. I wasn’t ready for her to study me differently. It wasn’t out of this world for a beta to be bonded, but it was uncommon in pack life that usually stuck to just alphas creating their little havens. I was just lucky to find myself in the middle of one. “My other friend, Demetri. He’s like a bear with no balance.”

“He sounds hilarious.”

“Only when he doesn’t want to be,” I confirm. “Okay, now it’s your turn to try on your own.”

“Don’t let go!”

“How else will you learn?”

“I’m going to fall on my ass and you know it," she bared her teeth in concentration.

“Well, then I guess you’ll fall on your ass.”

“Oh.” She stretched out the word as she looked down at her feet, slowly but surely trying to move. She wobbled once, nearly losing her balance. I reached out in case I needed to stop the fall. The sight only caused her eyes to light up with delight. “You’d like that wouldn’t you.”

“I wouldn’t laugh.” I put a hand to my heart.

“You totally would.”

“Would you laugh at me if I fell?”

She didn’t hesitate in her nod. “Absolutely.”

“Ha!” I spoke my laughter, watching as she gained more confidence, slowly taking steps forward until she found a somewhat steady glide.

Eventually, she got far enough to run right into me. A few people around us clapped as they watched in pleasant encouragement, though Ella didn't seem to notice. “I think I’m getting it.”

“You’ll be cruising around the whole place in no time.” I took her hand again, this time coming next to her as we slowly skated. “So, how did I do so far?”

“For the date?”

I nodded.

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