Page 40 of Wild Omegas
Damien almost killed my alpha.I was frozen before with fear, but now it’s fury pinning me to the spot. “Someone who’s after me started it.”
Carson shoots a confused look to Luke who just shakes his head once. “We can talk about that after.”
I nod. We will. We have to now.
Sirens sound in the distance. Luke and Brooks focus on fighting the flames with the garden hoses while I call a vet for the foal, holding Carson’s hand all the while.
“Fires are terrifying,” I whisper while we wait. “I’m sorry you had to experience that.”Because of me.I don’t say it because I know this isn’t directly my fault. I can’t help but feel it is anyway. But I know Carson won’t let me say it much less believe it for long.
He pulls me in tight. I duck my head under his chin. “Thank you for saving us. For spotting us in the flames.” I wrap one arm around him tightly in response.
The firefighters arrive minutes later, but in that time part of the barn roof collapses along with what’s left of my resolve.
My grandparents’ legacy is literally burning to the ground. Just the barn, thankfully, but a part of it nonetheless. They gave me Wild Skies for one year and in less than a month I’ve burned this down, too.
Damien won’t stop here. I know enough about how dangerous he is. But if he made it all the way to Wild Skies why not just kidnap me and call it done? Why taunt me like this? Why take away everything I’ve rebuilt brick by brick?
I know the answer. It’s always been about revenge. I guess I just can’t believe that any person has that much capacity for hate.
Then again, I had a great capacity for self-loathing just the same.
The firefighters demolish the flames. Fairwater Volunteer Fire Service is good at their job, but this is little comfort in light of what’s been taken away.
It’s a few hours before they finish up and leave. My alphas secure both the house—from intruders—and the horse stables but we’ll have to rebuild the barn as soon as possible. Luke is devastated but focusing it all into rebuilding plans even when wecollect in the living room and bring back the make-shift blanket-and-pillows nest from before. We eat dinner there and grab wine and whisky to drink in front of the unlit hearth. We’ve all had enough fire for today.
And then, while nestled between all three of them safe and sound, I tell them everything.
“I had a pretty successful bakery for a few years,” I say. “Then sales dropped off and I couldn’t recover it. I had to let people go, and then it was just me, a burnt out and financially struggling twenty-something who also just lost her pack.”
“Because you weren’t scent matches, right?” Carson asks.
I nod as Luke kisses my head. “I guess that was there reason, yes. So I lose my pack, my parents’ respect from losing the pack, and then am about to lose my bakery. The thing I spent my entire adult life building up and working toward.”
Tears prick my eyes. I can still see the teal walls, the pink sign out front, the small space filled with people and pastries and tables to drink coffee or tea at. This tiny little bakery in the middle of New York City with barely enough space for customers to move around in, and the even smaller studio apartment attached to it.
I swallow hard. Brooks wipes a tear away with his gentle fingers. My alphas are all idly kissing or touching parts of my body as we talk, a constant stream of comfort and reassurance. Not just for me because of what happened, but for all of us. We all experienced that barn fire. But we’re all here, alive, and no animals were hurt. The vet gave the foal the all-clear.
“What happened?” Brooks asks quietly.
Honesty. They deserve honesty. “I set it on fire with an intent to burn with it down.”
All three of them hold their breath. Their touches continue, but none of them speak right away. Because what do you say to that?
“It was a dark time,” I say to fill in the silence. I don’t want their pity, and they have no reason to be concerned now. “It was a brash choice I wouldn’t make again, with or without Damien getting involved. I just… thought there was no other path.” I pull in a deep breath. “I know there is now. I’m not in that headspace anymore. But I am terrified of Damien.”
“The alpha who’s stalking you?” Carson asks. “The one who set this fire?”
“Yes.” I explain about Damien’s crime lord status, about his safe house above my bakery that I couldn’t have known was there, and that he’s dangerous and vengeful. But I’m not quite sure they’re really listening to me. Their touches become more purposeful and they draw in closer. Maybe they don’t think I’ll notice or maybetheyhaven’t noticed they’re doing it. But my alphas are folding in around me to create a cocoon of safety after my admission. Even Carson, who definitely needs more comfort than me right now.
I wrap my arm around his shoulders. “I’m okay now, I promise. Sometimes…” I can’t say it wasn’t premeditated. There’s a lot I can’t say because it’d be a lie. “It was dark, and now there’s nothing but light. It’s not a thing we have to worry about again.”
“Good.” Luke kisses my forehead again. “And we’ll protect you from Damien.”
“He’s already been here,” I point out, not to show that they may not be capable of protecting me from Damien, but that what they do might not matter.
“We’ll keep a better watch,” Brooks says. This I believe. With his connections, I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t have this place wired up with security cameras by tomorrow afternoon.
“And we will never,everleave you, Josie,” Carson says. “We won’t do what your first pack did.”
