Page 6 of Heartless

I squirmed under their combined shock. These girls had defended me through everything. Jasmine and Nadia were omegas, and part of Jasper’s pack, and yet they’d both stood up to his lieutenants after the Hunter Moon Formal fiasco. And when I’d moved out of Omega House and into Reed’s room, Nadia had fought hard to convince me to give Jasper another chance. There was a lot of stuff they didn’t know, but even with all the lies and secrets, they’d always had my back.

“I wish I could tell you different,” I said softly, my thumbnail biting into Callum’s claiming mark under the table. “But it’s true. On the night of the Packball Cup, I let Callum claim me.”

“You let him?” Nadia echoed, and the girls exchanged a long look. “But why did he want to? I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just he’s notorious for avoiding anything serious.”

Jasmine side-eyed me. “Except for when it comes to a certain mature blonde…”

“Tilly.” I tried to hold in my shudder at the thought of his seductive den mother. “I know it seems strange, but at the time, it was my only option.”

“And now?”

I took Darkness’ letter and the photo of my parents from my pocket and laid them on the table. “This came the other night.” I watched them scan the letter, then touch the picture with almost reverent hands. “Something’s wrong. And I know Darkness. He’s not just going to let things lie if he thinks his dad is in danger.” I felt my stomach pitch at the idea. “If it’s because of me... If the Denners got to Driftwood, or drove him off his land, I’ll never forgive myself.”

Jasmine grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “What can we do to help?”

“I need a phone. I have to talk to Darkness, and make arrangements.” I looked around the table at them all. “This isn’t shifter business. This is my family, and I won’t rest until I know they’re okay.”

“Of course,” Marnie said, her finger brushing the edge of the photo. “But that’s Parker West, isn’t it? It’s just more proof you’re a Marshall wolf, and that Reed should be helping you with this.” She took a deep breath, then huffed it out. “But you went to Callum Sawyer, who you detest. So, I’m guessing Reed stuffed up in a major way?”

“We just decided we weren’t right for each other,” I replied, avoiding her eye. I was tempted to nark on him about the Wolf Fire at the Hunter Moon Formal, but I didn’t want to complicate things. After all, his betrayal would mean less than nothing once I got outside these walls. “Right now I have to focus on meeting up with Darkness.”

“You’re going to leave?” Nadia looked horrified. “Vail, you can’t! The last time you went home, the Black Den Pack almost killed you!”

Jasmine’s nod was so vigorous, it sent her blonde curls flying. “Not to mention the fact they’re still sweeping bits of fur off the front steps!”

I winced, remembering the Denner body parts in the woods. “I’m going to be careful this time, I promise. And I won’t leave unless Darkness has my back. Which is why I need the phone.” I looked at Marnie. “Alphas get phones, right? I know some omegas do too, but I need one that’s not being tracked. I can’t have the alphadouches coming down on me again.”

Marnie was already nodding. “I should get it tonight. If not, I’ll borrow someone else’s. How soon are you planning to go?”

I pictured another night in Callum’s bed and almost gagged. But I’d only get one chance to leave, and I needed to make sure Darkness was on board. When I told them that, Nadia got slowly to her feet, her arms folded tight against her body. “I’m sorry, Vail. I really love you like a sister, which is why I have to tell Jasper about this.”

Her confession felt like a blow. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t a betrayal. She really believed Jasper Arras was the only one who could help me. But she didn’t understand that Scary Alpha wanted to protect me so badly, he was crushing the life out of me. “He told me I had to leave the academy, Nadia. Before the Denner attack, when he took me off the packball field, I asked him to trust me. To let me make my own decisions about staying or leaving.” I didn’t add I’d practically begged him, and told him I’d do whatever he wanted if he just let me choose my own pack, my own mate. “He knows I need to go. He just won’t let me do it my way.”

A heavy silence followed, and I could taste their sorrow and disappointment on the air, but Nadia just slowly shook her head. I slumped a little, knowing my chance to get away was evaporating before my eyes, until Marnie rose to her feet. The sparkle had gone from her eyes, but a steely determination had taken its place. As she stared at the omegas, that steel took on a silvery alpha hue. “Omegas, you won’t tell Jasper. Or anyone. This secret stays between us.”

They both froze in shock. Or maybe it was the pulse of Marnie’s alpha power holding us all in place. I’d felt this before, but maybe the other girls had never been forced to submit to an alpha’s will. I watched as the blood drained from their faces, and Nadia bit hard on her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Nadia,” Marnie said, “but you have to let Vail go. If things are so bad she’s let Callum Sawyer claim her, then it’s the right thing to do.”

***

Our lunchtime showdown left me a little queasy, so I decided to follow up on Mr. Wentworth’s book tip. I’d only been to the library with Jasper, and we hadn’t exactly been there to read, so I approached the building with mixed feelings. It was two stories, with worn wooden floors and pale stone walls, and reminded me a little of the rose cottage. But maybe that was just because they were both haunted by the first guy who’d ever broken my heart.

Instead of wasting my time trying to navigate their extensive catalog, I went straight to the older lady behind the counter. “I’m looking for a book by a guy called Theodore Grille.”

She gave me a strange look. “Did he reserve something for you?”

“Um. No.” I took the slip of paper from my pocket and checked the name. “Mr. Wentworth said to try here…”

She just nodded and called over her shoulder, “Theo?” When a guy in his mid-twenties stuck his head through the door of the small office, she nodded in my direction. “This omega is looking for you.”

I gulped. Not just because I’d obviously misread Mr. Wentworth’s tip, but because I’d met Theodore Grille before. Or seen him, at least. The night Reed had taken me to dinner in Huntington, he’d been sitting in the next booth with Jasper’s mom. He was lean and pale, with hair as dark as a crow’s wing and a soft, red mouth. Not exactly the kind of guy you could forget. But then, neither was the way his date had slapped me onto the bathroom floor for endangering her sons.

“Hello,” he said quietly, then held his hand out for the piece of paper. “What can I help you with?”

I quickly shook my head and stuffed it back into my pocket. “I think I made a mistake. I was talking to Mr. Wentworth about books, and he sent me here.”

“Well, you’re in the right place,” he said with a small smile. “Anything in particular?”

I cleared my throat. Both because libraries made me feel awkward, and because his eyes were the deep dark blue of the mineral pool at dusk. “Information on voids. Mr. Wentworth loaned me a book by Laurence Marrow, and I was hoping for something similar.”

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