Page 35 of Broken Bonds

“You could try.”

“Jilly.”

Ramsey’s melodic voice is like a beacon, drawing me in with its hypnotic sound. My eyes are immediately drawn to her, and I’m slightly amused at how diligently she’s working to avoid my stare. The salted caramel smell that she carries has a hint of a burning scent to it because of her anguish.

“Hey, everything okay?” Jillian asks her, quickly wiping her eyes and turning to her friend.

“Yeah, I’ve just got a headache. I think I’ll head home if you and Maribel have everything covered here?”

The faint quiver in her voice makes my muscles tense with the effort of restraining myself from drawing her close to me and shielding her from all her pain. The broken omega’s presence triggers my alpha instincts like no other, and I’m immediately driven to comfort and care for her. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

I know it’s the same for Link and Rion.

Even in her suffering, I can sense her inner strength. She may not want to go on right now, but she’ll get there. And we’ll be here to help.

She can accept it or not. Either way, we’re not going anywhere.

I watch as Ramsey walks away, heading out the front doors. My eyes don’t leave her until the doors close behind her, and even then, it’s hard for me to look away.

She held herself together for as long as she could today, that inner strength of hers showing.

Yeah, she’s a fighter. She just doesn’t realize it yet.

Ramsey will live, but she’s going to have a hell of a time pulling herself back up after this monumental loss.

ChapterSeven

RION

I catchthe way Forde watches Ramsey as she exits the bar and sigh at the kicked-puppy expression on his face. His alpha instincts and drives are probably more powerful than any of ours, something that has only been enhanced by how long he’s ached for an omega of his own.

If I hadn’t been so hesitant to move forward with courting sooner, and Link hadn’t been so eager to find his brother before beginning our search, Forde surely would have found his omega by now. Instead, we’ve kept him waiting and now he’s been put in front of an omega that’s been demolished emotionally and is dying inside. His basic intuitions are likely pressing him to aid her, to be there for her in whatever way he can. Regardless of the current circumstances.

Link’s reason for wanting to hold off was legitimate and understandable. He wanted his brother to join our pack, to be included in all decision making. Completely logical reason.

Mine is just thanks to a deep-rooted fear my father helped instill in me early on.

Having a father like Trevor Aimes left me with the burden of constantly worrying about the possibility that I could turn out like him, only worse because of my alpha nature. A drunken monster that takes his rage out on the person he’s supposed to care for. Logically, I know I’m nothing like Trevor, but that fear has been ingrained in me for too many years. I’ll need to physically cut it out of me to remove it at this point.

Being an alpha, it’s wired into my DNA to provide and look after an omega, but that doesn’t mean very much. Regrettably, there are many alphas out there that possess terrible characteristics and have a poor reputation. My apprehension about this issue is why I’ve been so reluctant to go out and find an omega.

Growing up as the only child of two beta parents, you’d assume my childhood would have been a breeze, and truthfully, it should have been. I believe our lives would have been drastically different if my mother had been strong enough to take the step and leave my father. As I got older, I tried reasoning with her to no avail. Presenting as an alpha and being told I’d be heading to an AOA near me left me feeling a relief I hadn’t felt in years, and I begged her to leave him before I had to go, but she still wouldn’t budge.

I call her as often as I can, try to visit, but he always finds a way to ruin everything, and I end up in a bad mood with an acrid taste in the back of my throat by the time I’m finished talking with Mom.

Now I just wait for that day I receive the inevitable call telling me he’s finally gone too far and killed her. He’s surely put her in the hospital enough that it’s become a legitimate concern for me.

I’m holding out hope he’ll croak before he ever gets that chance, but as I’ve seen, the gods work in ways none of us can understand. The ones that should get to live die way before their time, while evil gets to continue breathing and living. Doesn’t quite seem fair to me.

Right now, there’s a pregnant omega that’s been fractured in four different ways that proves my point.

Why did all her alphas have to die so soon? What is the purpose of her losing everything, and in the process, possibly losing herself?

Is there a lesson to be learned in all this loss? Or is it all just senseless and life’s way of truly fucking with you when you think you can be happy?

Forde doesn’t have to say anything. I can see it written all over him as he continues to stare at those doors long after Ramsey has walked out of them. He wants to remain here, just like Link.

Thus, by default, it appears I will be staying too. It’s probably only a matter of time before they decide we should just move here. I imagine once Link meets those babies, leaving will only be harder for him.

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