Page 13 of The Pack Next Door
If I found her, the noise inside my head would still, I just knew it. She would be the other half of my heart, and then… I swallowed hard as I turned the key in the ignition. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so goddamn lonely.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have!”Omega Hart said when we were introduced. Jace handed over the bouquet, having no idea that arum lilies were the omega’s favourite. “And lilies?” His cheeks flushed, his eyes shining as he looked up at my brother, then back at his mates. “Look what the…?” He raised an eyebrow at Jace.
“The Whitlock pack,” he replied smoothly. “We’ve just moved into the place on Jericho Street.”
“Ah, yes.” One of the Hart alphas stepped forward. “I spoke to your brother, Gideon, about the transfer.”
“That would be me, sir.” I stepped forward and offered the alpha my hand, shaking his when he obliged, firmly, but not so much it was apparent I was offering a challenge.
“Kieran Hart,” he said, those keen eyes taking me and my brothers in. “Welcome to Moon River. When did you arrive?”
I could make small talk in my sleep. As the rest of the Hart pack clustered closer, I described our journey, glad to see them turning their backs on other alphas seeking to court their favour. The envious looks of the other contenders were exactly what I was after.
“So you’ll be looking in on Maggie Reynolds?” one of the Hart alphas asked, shooting me a meaningful look.
I didn’t know who this Maggie was and found my mouth opening, but no words came out, when I got an unexpected save.
“Introduced myself to Maggie and her daughter, Briar, this afternoon,” Maddox said, shooting me a little smirk. “Found Briar in the backyard, dealing with a recalcitrant lawnmower. I braved snakes and spiders and fixed the mower, then cut her grass down to something more manageable. The two of them are coming by for dinner tomorrow night.”
That wasn’t the plan, I wanted to say. Our fathers had made clear what we needed to do. Make connections with the community. Impress them enough that they might accept us as the ruling pack once we won the dominance fight, but did that include whiling away our evenings entertaining the elderly?
“Well done.” I blinked, watching Omega Hart move closer and smiling up at my brother. “Maggie’s been doing it tough, and Briar…” He sighed. “I wanted better for her. Much better than the way she was treated.”
His eyes narrowed as he glared at a few packs that hung on the outskirts of the town square. They were the local alphas, who by rights should’ve been the main contenders for taking control of the town. From their proximity, I was willing to bet they wouldn’t even get a chance to participate in the alpha trials. Because Moon River was run very, very differently to the town I was born in.
In Glen Hallow, might equalled right. If you were the strongest, everyone else gave way to you, letting you dowhatever the hell you liked. The Hart pack had made clear to everyone that only the alphas the town supported would take their place, and this was our opportunity to win them over.
“Would you like me to introduce you to some of the omegas here?” Omega Hart asked, looking back over his shoulder at us. “You’ve yet to find your mate. Maybe he or she’s right here.”
“I couldn’t think of anything I’d like more,” I replied, following the omega to the back of the stage where a line of men and women stood.
The first fivewere not mine. I’d smiled and asked them banal questions, only paying enough attention to keep the conversation going before we were moved on to the next omega.
“And this is Kirsty,” Omega Hart said with a smile.
Kirsty was very pretty, with a tumble of dark brown hair and eyes that shone a little too brightly. Her nervous smile had me frowning, and when her fingers started picking at the thumbnail on the other hand, I put mine out.
“Pleasure to meet you, Kirsty,” I said. “I’m Gideon.”
“Gideon?” She seemed to realise she was making a mess of her hand then, going to grab mine with it, then swapping to the other hand. “Lovely to meet you. So…”
Her eyes flicked around the square as if looking for something, and I turned and followed her gaze. Her scent, it stunk of fear, the smell of burning flowers almost choking me.
“Kirsty.” I stepped in closer, my hands rising to place them on her shoulders, but I pulled them back. “Are you in danger?”
“What?” Her eyes went wide as she stared at me, the dark irises bleeding to silver and back again. “Oh, no.” She shook her head and then let out a ragged little laugh. “I’m just really, really nervous. You’re not my alpha, are you?”
Part of me wished I was. What she felt, it couldn’t be contained and resulted in her clawing at her flesh, as if to find a way to let it all out. I knew what that was like. But what was the source of her pain? Instead of making grand declarations, I shook my head slowly.
“I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I won’t help you.” I took her hand, inspecting the cuticles that were red raw and almost at the point of bleeding. “Whatever it is, it’s not worth hurting yourself over.”
She pulled her hand back slowly and smiled sheepishly.
“Just a bad habit. Sometimes I get so wound up…” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to do with the feeling.”
“Bring your focus to the world around you.” I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “What can you see, hear, smell?”
“Um… the lights are really bright,” she said. “And I can smell the barbeque.” I watched her take a big breath in, then let it out slowly, her scent sweetening a little. “Wow, that kinda worked.” Her frown was back seconds later. “Not totally, though.”
