Page 17 of Knot Our Omega

She jumped a mile high and clutched her shirt at her chest. Her clothes were worn and her jeans were too big for her.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay.” Her breaths were ragged. “I’m a little on edge. Everything is new.”

We walked around the place some more, Old Bay at Rumor’s side the entire time. When we got to the back door, she paused and whirled around to face us. “Is there something I can do to contribute? You all have your niches here. I would like to be a part of that if that’s possible. I don’t want to step on any toes.”

Vargas put his hand on her shoulder. “You would never be stepping on any toes, omega. I’m sure you have talents you are yet to discover.”

Chapter Eleven

Vargas

It was Rumor’s first day here, and as much as I wanted to spend every waking moment with her, she needed space and time. A lot happened to her all at once. When I discovered that she hadn’t even known about the alphas coming last night until just beforehand, my wolf tried to tear through me and go and hunt her family down.

No.

Not her family. The people she was blood related to. We were her family now, and we would protect her with our lives, especially from them. It had been all I could do to keep him in check. If I hadn’t pressed upon him that shifting in anger would scare her, I doubt I’d have been able to control him.

When Rumor asked what she should do today, it was obvious she meant chores. All three of us were in agreement, she needed to take time to adjust to her new pack, to rest, to explore the property. I had to admit that I thought that would be easier for her than it was. She hadn’t been allowed even a second’s rest in so long that taking a break had her fear responses kicking in.

I fucking hated her family.

When Penn came to us with the idea of rescuing her—because I refused to think of her as a purchase—his gut had told them her life had been bad. They rejected her as soon as she presented as omega and then treated her absolutely horribly. Far worse than I could’ve imagined, and I didn’t even know all of it. Between what little she told us and what Pendleton had witnessed, I didn’t need all the details to know it was a position I’d never wish upon my worst enemies.

Poor, sweet Rumor had been treated like trash and then sold to the highest bidder. I still felt awful—that we purchased her. It wasn’t something I’d ever feel comfortable with. But if buying her freedom was the only way for her to have it, then that’s what we had to do. We didn’t have the strength or numbers to start a war with them. And even if we did, it would put her at risk. I refused to ever do that.

It was a horrible system, but it was the one we had to work with.

My patch of carrots needed weeding and I had vegetables to harvest for dinner, so I went outside—hating that I was leaving her, but also knowing she probably needed a little space. Going from no positive attention to positive attention from three had to be overwhelming.

It had been a gorgeous morning, but I could feel that things were about to change. The sky was an odd color and the air was too still. A storm was coming, and I changed what I planned for dinner to a stew, because there was nothing better than stew on a rainy evening.

I brought the veggies I harvested into the kitchen and cleaned and chopped them, getting ready to assemble dinner. I loved cooking. Something about taking the things that I grew and turning them into nourishing meals for my pack was so satisfying.

Not just about nutrition and making them smile with delicious food—mealtime was important to us. It was when we got together, shared our day, made plans, and enjoyed each other’s company. For a long time, it had been three of us. Now it was four.

Rumor had been wandering around, peeking in the kitchen, pulling back and repeating. She was hovering, and I wasn’t sure why. I pretended not to notice for a while in an attempt to not make her feel uncomfortable. But, eventually, my wolf couldn’t handle it anymore. Her scent was teasing him, calling to him, but he also wanted to comfort her.

“Rumor, why don’t you come in? You can sit at the counter and talk to me while I’m cooking.”

“I can help—peel carrots.” She was so quick to try and help. If I thought it was simply out of desire to do so, I’d take her up on it. But until she learned and believed that we didn’t expect her to be our servant, I had to be cautious not to let her overdo it.

“I’ve got it. Just keep me company.”

“Are you sure that’s enough?”

That was everything.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

She walked over. Even if I didn’t know her and how kind she was—even if I hadn’t smelled her jasmine-vanilla perfume, she’d have taken my breath away. She was absolutely stunning, and I didn’t think she had any idea how gorgeous she was. Wilder, Penn, and I were going to need to fix that.

Even in her worn, torn, ill-fitted clothing, she had all of my attention. Not even a potato sack could hide those delicious curves.

We needed to buy her some clothes that showed her personality, didn’t have holes in them, and she didn’t have to pull up or pull down because they were either too tight or too loose. It was going to be fun taking her out and spoiling her.

“I used to do the cooking,” she said, picking at her fingernail, her leg bouncing enough that I could feel the slight tremor against the counter.

---