Page 21 of Claiming Their Omega

Easton swallows. I can feel it. He pulls back and gently grips my shoulders, looking me in the eye. “No, it won’t be the same. But it won’t be the end, either. Are you okay, right now? Be honest with me, please.”

I shake my head. No, I’m not okay. I feel like I’m going to rip my skin off. All I want to do is curl up into a ball and cry. If this is what presenting as an Omega feels like no wonder my classmates all went bonkers. I can’t even imagine how bad a heat will be.

“You need to be taken care of. We do this with Omegas for a reason and it’s for your health. We can’t let you suffer. So let’s contact the local ORD office, and get you settled in, and take it one step at a time, okay?”

He keeps saying we like he’ll actually be there every step of the way. I know that he won’t be, and part of me wants to slap him for it, and part of me just wants to close my eyes and pretend.

I nod, deflating. I’m not sure what other choice I have. It’s not like I want to go into hiding or anything. I’m not trying to be some fugitive. I just want to be able to live my life and build my career.

“Hey, it could be worse.” Easton smiles gently. “You could have William here.”

I burst into laughter, tinged with hysteria and relief. “Oh, god, he’d be awful about it. Talking about how now he has to drop everything to take me to the Omega Resources Division.”

“Well, we’re going to drop everything to take you to the ORD office, and we’ll only complain once,” Easton teases me gently.

I wipe at my eyes. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional.”

“Your entire life just changed. Even a princess like you is allowed to be upset about that.”

“I’m not a princess oh my god.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Easton teases me. “You’re in a skirt and heels at this bar, though.”

“Okay, I didn’t know I’d be going out to this hole in the wall, I thought I’d be just having a nice dinner with my family, thank you very much.”

“And you wore those heels all day. Get yourself some boots.”

“I have boots.”

“Cute little high-heeled booties, I’m sure.”

I laugh again. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to calm me down.”

“Well, is it working?” Easton asks.

Damn it, it is. I still feel uncomfortable and panicky, but better than I did before. “I can’t go right to the ORD. I need to tell my family or they’ll freak out that they didn’t get to say goodbye.”

William would’ve probably driven me directly to the local Omega Resources Division office or made me get a ride for myself so that he could deal with ‘work stuff’. I would’ve had to call Aiden to pick me up and take me and that would’ve been insanely awkward.

Honestly, now that I think about it, it feels so obvious how William didn’t give me the consideration I deserved. I feel stupid for not seeing it before, but maybe I’m only able to see it so well because of how kind these four men who barely even know me are being. Jesse and his pack owe me nothing. Jesse hates me for crying out loud. But they’re here for me, and my ex-boyfriend isn’t.

Easton nods. “Of course. We’ll get you to them. They should be able to say goodbye.” He gives a small, sheepish smile. “I’m sure they’ll be better at comforting you than I am, anyway.”

I inhale his scent, the warm peach cobbler, toasted coconut, and oak barrels underlining it all. It’s insanely comforting. I just want to beg him to hold me.

But I can’t say that. It’s just the hormones talking and he’d be embarrassed. I’m sure if my head were actually on straight I’d agree that my parents would be much better at comforting me right now than he is.

“Jesse?” Easton calls. “We’ve gotta get her home.”

“Of course.” Jesse’s voice is tight and gruff. How odd. He walks on up with a look on his face that I can’t quite decipher. It’s not resigned, and it’s not annoyed, either. “I’ve played more predictable games of poker than you.”

“It’s not like I planned this,” I point out sourly.

Jesse nods at the others. “All right, let’s move out.” Like I’m a damn package he has to deliver in the mail or something. “The last thing I want is the local ORD claiming I was harboring a fugitive.”

I roll my eyes at him, but inside, my stomach clenches.

I really don’t like any of this. I’d give anything to not be an Omega.

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