Page 107 of Feral Alphas

There’s a reason Kye’s a professional musician; he loves music so much it shines out of his soul, and he never turns down a chance to pull his instrument out. He returns a moment later with the big, glossy cello and settles on the couch armrest.

“Come on, Princess, time to shine.”

“Oh, I’m not very good at this,” I reply, shaking my head.

He makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat. “Oh, sorry, that’s what I call my cello. Maybe I shouldn’t?”

I laugh, seeing my mistake. “Why not? You can call it whatever you like. And she does sound like royalty.”

Kye beams at me. “Thanks, Rose! Any requests?” He runs his bow across the strings, checking the tuning.

“Hmm.” I remove the sealing tabs off the paint tubes and pour dabs onto my palette. “Do you know the one from the movie about the sinking ship?”

He scoffs lightly. “You underestimate me, Rose. I can play anything.”

I giggle as he begins, holding himself with an elegant air that appears every time he draws his bow. His left hand quivers as he vibrates the strings, and a smile settles on his lips. I don’t think he even realizes he does it, but music is clearly his happy place.

It might be mine too, because the gentle tones relax me and I fall into a kind of carefree trance as I experiment with the feel of the brushes, pausing now and then to empty and refill my water jar in the bathroom.

I don’t try to create anything in particular, simply load paint on and watch the colors blend and contrast and let paint drip down the canvas on purpose. A tube of gold lacquer catches my attention and I use a dry brush to splatter some over the top. When I finally set my brushes down, I feel peaceful.

“With the squares laid over each other, it looks a bit like a handful of abstract Uno cards,” Kye says, pausing his playing.

I chuckle. “It’s just messing around.”

“Well, I love it. You’ve got a real eye for color.”

Warmth flushes through me. The nurses back at the illegal omega center never said anything encouraging about my work. “You think so?”

“Yeah. My sister is studying art in college, so I’ve been dragged to my fair share of art galleries.”

I dip my last brushes into the water jar, watching the color leak into the liquid. “Sounds like it’s not something you enjoy.”

He wrinkles his dark nose. “The art is lovely, the people, notso much.”

I swivel on my stool to see him better. “You don’t get along with your sister?”

Kye waves his hand with the bow in it, making a big flourish. “Oh, Rachel is fine. We have fun teasing each other, but yeah, not so much with the rest of my family.”

Shared pain makes my heart heavy. “Not even your mother?”

He shakes his head and starts playing again. “I did, but she passed away when I was a teenager.”

I gasp and press my paint-stained hands to my face. “I’m sorry.”

He smiles reassuringly. “Thanks, but it’s okay. I miss her, and it wasn’t easy to deal with when I was young, but I’m alright now.” He smiles, lost in thought. “She liked to sing, so I grew up around music, and that’s probably where I developed my interest. But she hated swearing,” he adds as an afterthought.

“Is that why you have your own version of swear words?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles. “Silly, isn’t it? I don’t have much left of her so I kind of hung onto it.”

“It’s not silly. I like it.” I stir my brushes around in the water to wash them. I’m glad he can share his story with me. “If I had something of my mom’s I’d hang onto it too. I never met her.” I shrug and offer him a floppy smile. “I was at the illegal omega center all my life.”

“That’s heartbreaking, Rose. You deserve better.”

“Well, good thing I have it now,” I reply, my shaky smile firming. I waited a long time, but I finally have a real family that loves me. I want to know everything about them. “What about your dads?”

Kye sighs and drops his bow. “My dad is a controlling arsehole who cut me off. After mom passed, the pack broke apart and the other alphas didn’t hang around.” His frown changes into a sadsmile. “That’s the power of an omega, Rose, the soul of a pack, and ours died. Guess that’s why my father’s such a heartless bastard.”

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