Page 15 of The Long Lost Omega

As we neared the outskirts of the town, Safira suddenly perked up. Her eyes watched the green hills, filled with meadows and trails.

“Hey, would it be alright if we drove around a little?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I haven’t seen much of Haven yet. I’d love to see more of this new place before we head to brunch.”

Kaden glanced at me, and Jax gave a nod from the back seat. “Sure, why not?” I said, trying to hide my smile of amusement at how easy it was for us to say yes to her.

I took a right turn off the main road, heading towards a narrow, winding path. The further we went, the more the road narrowed. Trees arched over us, creating a canopy of leaves. Safira’s excitement was palpable as she gazed out the window. “This is so exciting! A whole new world to explore.” She said as Kaden and Jax paid more attention to her than to the view. Thecar rumbled as I drove along the dirt path, and the scenery was indeed beautiful, especially with Safira in the rearview mirror.

“Look at that view!” Safira exclaimed, pointing to a spot where the forest cleared, revealing a breathtaking panorama of rolling hills and a glistening lake. I made a few turns, even as the road grew bumpier. Suddenly, the car lurched.

I frowned and glanced at the dashboard. “I think we might have a problem.”

“What’s wrong?” Safira asked, her gaze shifting from the scenery back to me.

“We might be stuck,” I said, trying to maneuver the car forward. But the wheels only spun, digging deeper into the soft, muddy earth. The car didn’t budge. “Well, it looks like we’ve taken a detour from the detour.”

I looked at Safira, who had a sheepish smile on her face. “I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to get us into this.”

“This is not a problem at all. I’m sure we’ll be out in time for brunch.” I said confidently, getting out of the car to quickly realize that we would not, in fact, be out in time for brunch.

Chapter 13

Kaden

Drat. This was supposed to be the perfect day, and now we were stuck in the forest, all because Tony wanted to show off his off-roading skills. “Step on it!” He yelled from outside, crouched down to observe how truly screwed we were. Jax pressed on the pedal, but it was no use. The wheel just spun in the mud, flicking soil onto Tony’s face and suit. I cringed, wondering what kind of impression we were making on Safira. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, but to my relief she was covering her mouth, holding back laughter at the whole situation.

“Something funny?” I teased, and she shook her head. “I don’t think Tony will meet the dress code at the club. He might have to wait in the car.” I joked as she tried harder not to laugh.

“What?” Tony called out, his face speckled with tiny bits of mud.

“Nothing!” I replied as Safira and I held back our laughter in the back. She had a great sense of humor about the whole situation.

Jax, ever the responsible one of the group, pulled out his cell phone. “All right, it seems we need to have a tow truck come out and help with this. Unfortunately, it means we probably won't make our reservation on time.” He rested his arm over the top of the car, looking in at us. The small tick in his jaw was the only sign he was nervous about Safira’s reaction. He didn’t need to worry though. She turned to face me, her expression excited.

“Instead of waiting here, can we just get out and walk for a little bit? I haven’t been able to see much since I arrived here. To me, this is a whole new world. I want to see what’s different, besides biology and the name of the city.” Her eyes were full of curiosity.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to ruin your shoes.” I said as I glanced at her clothes. She was wearing one of the outfits we bought for her, which made me very happy. But even though she wasn’t dressed too formally, I also didn’t want her to ruin one of the few things she had.

“It’s fine. Also, who knows what we might find?”

“I’m down. It beats being stuck in the mud anyway!” Tony said, his grin lightening the mood.

“More like the mud is stuck on you.” Jax said, and Safira stifled another giggle. Tony looked at him confused, then crouched down to look in the rearview mirror.

“Aw man! This is a new suit too!” He griped as he tried to wipe the dirt off his face. I got out of the car, lifting Safira up and placing her on the dry ground far from the car. She looked shocked, but gave a very satisfied smile after. The three of us started looking around, walking down the path. It wasn’t too far off the main road, but was private enough that we could enjoy it as a nice nature walk.

The air was crisp and refreshing, and I was glad that Safira had opted to get out of the car. It reminded me of our first day together. The tension from the car problem faded away as I watched Safira take in the surrounding land. The way she appreciated something I took for granted made me aware of how lucky I was. It seemed that she hadn't been able to enjoy life much since we’d seen her last, but I was going to make sure that she was able to make up for lost time.

“Safira? I have to ask you something.” Jax said, breaking the peaceful silence. “ Aren’t you worried about your friends and family out there looking for you in your world?” It was the question that we’d all been avoiding. Would she be happy here, leaving everything behind? Would she try to go back? Safira bit her lip, not responding right away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. We don’t have to talk about it.” He quickly added, but she shook her head.

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s just that I didn’t have many friends back there. And my family, well, you all know what happened to my parents.” Her words sent me back to that day when we’d comforted her, and the memory of seeing her cry still sent a pang of pain through my chest. “What’s left of my family, if you want to call them that, aren’t people I’d ever miss. They neverreally wanted me around.” I shook my head in disbelief. How could anyone treat her that way? Especially her own family? I bit back a growl and tried to stay calm, tampering down my alpha instincts to fight whoever upset her. “I didn’t have a lot of prospects anyway. Honestly, if I hadn’t ended up here, I’d probably spend years scraping by, trying to get out of their house.” Her words were jarring. How bad was her life before? I never wanted her to feel that way again. She deserved so much more than what she’d been dealt.

Tony was already wrapping his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in as they walked. “I’m so sorry, Safira.” His voice was low and comforting. She just reached for his hand, holding it as we walked. Suddenly, she stopped.

“What’s that noise?” She asked. There was faint music in the distance, carried on the breeze. I listened closely.

“This way.” I grabbed her other hand and led her through the trees, with Jax following right behind us. The music grew louder, and I could smell the scent of roasting corn and grilled meat wafting by. The trees became sparse, and we stepped into an open field. There were tents, food vendors and all kinds of people milling about, some of them decorating a maypole.

“What is this?” Safira asked, her eyes wide. Jax, Tony and I quickly looked for any groups of unbonded alphas around, and after seeing and smelling none, we approached the forest festival.

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