Page 56 of Dream Mates
Jett put some oil in a pan. “It is. Grace is from a fucking different world. Again, I don’t think anyone’s realized how much that’s probably affecting her. I mean, what would it be like to grow upwithoutdesignations? That could be the unease we get from her sometimes. Just not knowing the cultural norms and body language could do it. I see it when we get recruits that grew up in mostly beta or equalist areas.”
Equalists didn’t believe in designations. They thought we’d be better off doing away with the classification system that hadbeen used for thousands upon thousands of years. Of course, therewerephysiological differences. But they ignored that.
There were also large swaths outside the cities that were mostly beta, especially in the middle of the country and parts of the south that had been settled by betas to farm.
“Cultural cues. She’s lacking in expected cultural cues.” NowthatI could grasp, working in international markets.
“Exactly. Not only did she not grow up expecting to be a certain designation, she didn’t even grow up internalizing them. Evan didn’t anticipate being omega, but he knew from health class, the media, and just life, about the societal views and expectations of them.” Jett dipped the wings in the flour mixture as the oil heated in the pan.
“I’m a little worried about her,” I sighed. She’d been through so much and Wes wasn’t handling his shit.
Jett gave me a look as he continued to coat the wings with spiced flour.
“When did I start caring about her?” I drowned the last of my bourbon and poured more, remembering pulling her into my arms to comfort her–and her trying topurrfor me. Like with alphas, omegas didn’t purr for just anyone.
Her first purr was forme.
“If this isn’t rhetorical, I think that it was sometime between her disarming a gunman to save your mate and her getting pushed down the stairs by your ex.” Jett carefully put the wings in the hot oil, and it made a sizzling sound.
I thought about this for a moment. “That sounds about right.”
While I’d made an active choice to not be a dick after I saw how I was hurting her, it was her smacking the shooter with a chair that made me realize she genuinely cared about Evan.
“You’re head alpha. Youshouldcare about the people who are mated to your packmates. She’sbondedto two of them andSpencer wants to be the third. You know, I feel her sometimes.” Jett got down a large plate.
“Me, too.” Just twinges through Evan’s bond. Like little dust motes dancing through a ray of sunshine, occasionally reminding me that she was here. I sighed. “But… I… I’m not ready.”
It came out raw. They were all asking so much of me. To let someone else be part of our home, our family.
To open my heart again.
“Not ready to not be a dick? Because no one is asking you to mate with her.” He gave me a measured look as he lined the plate with a paper towel.
“I’m glad, because I don’t intend to. But I think I truly care about her. I’mhappyshe’s back and safe and not just because it tore Evan and Wes up inside.” I frowned and took another sip.
“That’s a perfectly normal way to feel about someone who lives in your house, is bonded to your mate, and will eventually join your pack. There’s nothing wrong with caring about her.” He smirked.
It was still a lot. Caring for someone meant opening yourself up for hurt. Loving someone meant that you could have your heart broken.
“She has to follow the rules,” I grumbled. Though in some ways, some of this felt like my fault. Grace kept secrets because she didn’ttrust me.
“I think she understands that now. I believed her when she said that she wasn’t ready to tell you. It’s a huge thing to tell someone, even without that little tidbit she slipped in around the fire about being fucking institutionalized as a teenager for saying the wrong things.” Jett made two different sauces out of butter, hot sauce, and spices.
“I accidentally triggered her tonight. I was trying to be playful and grabbed her wrists when she was play-hitting me. Theyfucking tied her wrists when they beat her.” I winced. It tore me up inside that someone would do that to her.
“Fuck.” For a moment Jett went quiet, the only sound in the kitchen was that of sizzling chicken. “Does anyone even know what actually happened to her when they made her forget that Wes was real?”
Just the thought made my blood boil. It was an awful thing to do. That was probably why she was a gamma, not an omega.
“Wes, I’m assuming. But I still don’t quite understand how it all fits together. Like why did her mom hate alphas if she lived in a world without them? Why make her forget him for the same reason? If Grace is from a world without designations, how could she be a gamma?” I was so confused.
How could omegas even survive in a world without alphas? A heat without an alpha was a painful experience. A lifetime of unsatisfied heats could be devastating.
Jett shrugged as he used tongs to turn the wings. “If it’s that important to you, ask her sometime.”
“I just want to understand. Jett, I’m not used to people like her.” I’d meant it when I’d told her that she confused me. It could be that she was lacking in those cues I expected.
It also went beyond that.
