Page 28 of Heat Hesitation

"It's okay, you can say it."

"It said your dad was an alpha… had lost his pack years earlier, had a drinking problem… and made a scene after a few drinks during her performance. A pack tried to intervene, they argued, he took your mom and sister and left. Their car crashed over the bridge on their way home."

I nod, already knowing this version. It's the version Red heard, too, though he knew it was bullshit. He just doesn't know why it's bullshit.

"My dad had my sister and me with his first pack. Our birth mom and second dad died, then he met our mom, a beta, who raised us. It was just the four of us, but we were all blood as far as I was concerned. I loved them more than anything. Dad did have a drinking problem, but that was years earlier, after he lost his pack. He didn't drink anymore.

"Alma and Red were dating, but it wasn't serious. It was young love. He knew, we all knew, Alma wanted an OFA pack, someone from the Hills, someone sponsored. He didn't begrudge her, but he's always wanted the opposite. Anyway, she called me that night during the performance's second half; she was supposed to be on stage. She was crying."

I can't help the tears that form and all my alphas, even Theo, tense. Both Asher and Sully take a step closer, but I hold up my hand. I can't get through this story if they crowd me.

"I've never told Red this part. He'd fucking lose it." I shake my head, wiping the tears now streaming down my cheeks. I've not told this story aloud in a long time, and even then, only to the police, to the OFA. To the people who were supposed to care, to do something about it, not cover it up.

"She said she felt weird during the first half. She had this pull; she couldn't explain it. Then, all of a sudden, there they were. The Olcene Pack. Her scent-match. She said she knew it instantly, so did they. She was so excited. She thought they were, too.

"The four of them shuffled her into some old abandoned pool house, told her they wanted to talk. She was young, sixteen, and they overwhelmed her. The four of them—" I hiccup, "they rutted her. Took her, all four of them, right there in the dusty room. She was a virgin. I could tell on the phone she was scared. She swore she wanted it, wanted them, but they also took her by surprise. No nest, no thought to her comfort or safety. Afterward, they were just going to leave her there. She tried to go after them, to ask where they were going. They called her gutter trash. Do you really think we'd bond to a South Loop whore? they said. Told her to call if she was pregnant or the next time she was in heat."

A tissue appears in front of me. I can barely see anymore but wipe my face, scenting Asher's woodsy pine. The guys mutter and swear under their breath, and I can feel their outrage and worry.

"She was sobbing. So upset, she could barely tell me what happened. My parents found her crying after she stumbled back to the gala. They were so pissed. My dad went to find the Olcenes, got into a fight. The OFA officials, some teachers got involved, Fletcher included." I give Sully a pointed look, and he nods.

"But everyone played it off like she was at fault, and the Olcenes were just a victim of innocent omega perfume. The pack claimed Alma was lying about the scent-match. Anyway, she called me from outside; she and Mom were waiting for Dad to bring the car around. The pack must have followed her outside. She mumbled something to them and hung up the phone.

"I waited and waited. They shouldn't have been more than half an hour from home, tops. A couple of hours later, the police showed up. Said my dad drove off the road, and the Olcenes were on the scene, that they happened to be driving by." I grind my teeth at the memory.

"I don't know what the Olcenes did. I don't know why they were there, if they ran my dad off the road, or what. I can't imagine they hurt her on purpose; she was their scent-match, gutter trash or not—"

"She was not gutter trash!" Asher snaps. "Those spineless, useless motherfuckers." He gets up and stomps around the living room in a circle before ending right back in front of me. His eyes are wild, lost, confused. Sad for me, for Alma, too.

She would have liked him. All of them, really.

There's a loud bang on the door. All four men snap up, Enzo releasing me and letting go of my shirt. I take advantage since they're no longer looking at me and dart to the door, narrowly missing Sully as he tries to snatch me up.

I find Red on the other side, and when he takes me in—crying, red-faced—his alpha growls something fierce. I place my hand on his chest so he doesn't overreact, making my four alphas growl.

"I'm fine," I assure him. "I promise. Let's just go."

He bares his teeth but nods once, abruptly, stepping back so I can leave with him.

Asher looks crushed. He's the first I seek out, but I just don't have the emotional capacity to carry their heartbreak right now.

"Ophelia, I'm…" He shakes his head, willing the words to come.

"It's okay. So, you see? This is why I can't do this. Why it's so hard for me to be with an alpha that supports the OFA. They supported a lie that ruined my life, they let those assholes…" I bite back my words, remembering Red is listening.

Asher, who picked up the contents of my bag, hands it back to me dejectedly. "We're just too different. The very fact that you don't have any clue why this," I hold up my backpack, "is so important—that will always stand in our way."

Before I feel the need to spill any more of my life's secrets, I step outside, closing the door behind me. It's a miracle they let me go.

Chapter 12

Theo

The front door slamming shut is like a hammer to the gut. It reverberates through my bones, reminding me I'm not as unflappable as I try to be around Ophelia. It's quiet amongst the four of us. Needing to appease the itch beneath my skin, I slap my thigh and come to a stand.

"I guess it's my turn to follow the omega around," I say flippantly.

All three of my brothers bare their teeth, but as I ignore them and slip on my shoes, I listen to every urgent word spoken and every order Sully issues. Enzo's looking into the Olcenes' history. Asher's checking their business deals through Constantine Industries. Sully's digging into Ophelia's background and her apparent nightly activities.

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