Page 84 of This Fate That Guides Us
“We knew they would happen, but not to the extent they have. Having the Senator from New Hampshire decide to do a campaign tour at the same time threw a few wrenches into our plans. The label’s security teams handled it though. Worst we had to face was some shit being thrown at our cars, and that happened in Nashville so it wasn’t a surprise.”
“I was shocked they managed to sell out the amphitheater there with how anti-pack the whole area is,” Canyon adds. He’s watching Abby at their outdoor grill, probably thinking about how she was treated before she left our hometown.
“Yeah. We tried to get them to change it to somewhere else but they were pretty adamant we do a show there. The crowd was nice and it did sell out quickly, so I guess they were right in the long run. I just hope no one who attended had to deal with any bullshit because of us.” I slide my hands into the pockets of my jeans and shrug. Everyone knew there would be backlash for attending a pro-pack concert in deep anti-pack territory. It won’t do me any good to hold the weight of the consequences of strangers' decisions on my heart.
Canyon’s phone rings and he gets pulled into a conversation with one of his business partners so I wander over to where Abby is working. “Need a hand?” She smiles when I ask and quicklysets me to chopping some vegetables for a salad. Getting lost in the work I let silence stretch between us for several minutes.
“We met our omega.” I finally blurt the words out. Abby’s hands stutter where she’s butterflying chicken. Those brilliant eyes turn to me in shock.
“Wild Man, that’s great!” Her lips turn into a frown when I offer her a dejected smile. “This isn’t good news?”
“Should be.” I slide the lettuce from the cutting board into a bowl and grab some radishes to work on next. “It’s a fucking mess is what it is. She was the photographer on our tour. Omen–that’s her name. We met her at the label’s office a week before we started and every one of us felt an undeniable pull. Spent the first few weeks of the tour getting to know each other. It wasn’t easy since she’s very closed off, but by the time we were ready to play our show in New York, we were all in. Her too.”
“What happened?” Abby’s focused on her task but she glances over toward me when she speaks.
“Hell, that’s what happened. Turns out Omen isn’t actually who she said she was. Or maybe she is, but didn’t use to be.” I keep my voice low not wanting it to carry and risk someone else overhearing. If my aunt chooses to tell her mates, that’s fine, but I don’t want Canyon’s call to pick up on any of Omen’s history. “She’s in the DAU’s protection program.”
“Fuck,” Abby swears. “Well, there’s your reason why she was so skittish with you guys. The people who go into their program come from awful places.”
“Yeah.” I blow out a breath and add the radishes before setting my knife aside. Facing my aunt, I tell her the story of us finding out Omen’s birth name and her connection to Nebula’s sister. Abby’s eyes fill with tears as she listens before her expression drops and her face turns blank. “I don’t understand why she hid so much from us. And I don’t know what to do toget Nebula to understand Omen’s not at fault for her family’s mistakes.”
Abby is quiet as she finishes getting her chicken into a marinade and in the fridge to chill until closer to lunch. I gather the dirty dishes and drop them in the sink, letting the hot water and repetitive washing get my emotions back under control.
When everything is cleaned up and put away she leads me to a white wooden swing hanging in their garden. She pats the seat beside her and lets me gently sway us back and forth. Looking out over their lawn I can see the river shimmering in the distance with the city of Trenton looming in the background.
“What you and your pack are going through is rough. For Nebula especially. He’s still grieving the loss of his family, so learning his Fated omega is related to the man who rejected his sister has to be difficult. I can’t claim I understand how he feels because I don’t. My brothers and I were never as close as he and Elizabeth were. I empathize with his loss and the shock he must be feeling.” She pauses, collecting her thoughts as we swing.
“Your omega on the other hand… Keeping so many secrets must have weighed on her heavily. When I presented as an alpha, I was mortified. You know the awful things we grow up hearing about them. So I hid my designation not only to protect myself from our family but also because I couldn’t come to terms with being a female alpha. It took over a year after I left Tennessee for me to start to be okay with who I am. Maybe your Omen is the same. If she’s related to the Montgomerys, she likely grew up hearing even worse things about alphas, omegas, and packs. Maybe learning she had a pack of Fate matched mates scared her.”
She shakes her head. Taking a deep breath before continuing. “It would have broken me to try to pretend Kipp and Juny weren’t mine after we met, so I can’t imagine trying to hideour connection. Not that the type of connection we share can be hidden anyways.”
“I guess that’s where I’m confused. She hid our connection but our relationship was still building. We were damn near inseparable, and every single one of us had intimate moments with her. If she was willing to let things between us grow, why couldn’t she tell us we were Fate matched mates? Why put in the effort and start to fall in love without revealing the truth?”
Anger seeps into my tone as I think about it. Was she just leading us on the entire time? That’s the question rattling around in my mind over and over since we found out.
“Try to put yourself in her shoes. You know what it felt like when you met the guys. How strong the pull was and how comfortable they made you feel.” She shifts on her side of the swing, sitting on one of her legs so she can turn to look at me.
“They felt like home,” I admit.
“Exactly. Now imagine knowing being close to you could’ve gotten them hurt. You’d want to stay away to protect them?” I nod, my stomach souring at the thought of endangering my pack. “Would you have been able to resist the pull, even knowing you were bringing danger to their doorsteps? Or would you have found ways around it?”
Blowing out a breath, I stare up at the sky. “You’re saying it’s likely Omen hid our connection in case she had to run? To keep us safe?”
I see Abby shrug out of the corner of my eye, a sad smile stretched across her lips. “I haven’t met her so I don’t know why she hid your connection. This is just a guess. It’s what I would’ve done if your grandparents were the violent type of anti-packers.”
We swing in silence for a few minutes before she says something that shakes me to the core. “You know she didn’t have a choice about hiding her identity from you, right? She’s inwitness protection, Wild Man. Telling you about her birth family could put her safety at risk.”
Being so lost in the betrayal we felt, I never stopped to consider the implications of her telling us the truth. We never would have told anyone who she is, but all it takes is one slip of the tongue to blow her entire world apart. Then the Montgomerys could find her–something I refuse to even imagine.
“Did you ask her why she hid your connection?” Abby asks, a scrutinizing look in her red eyes. Her lips turn into a frown when I shake my head. “You reacted without talking to her. Titan, I love you and your mates to pieces, but you messed up. All four of you need to sit down and listen to what she has to say. If you don't, it's very likely you will lose your omega.”
“Shit,” I curse. “I know. But how do I convince Nebula? Tie him to a chair and gag him so he has no other choice? ‘Cause that’s the only option I see moving forward. He hates Omen and her entire family for what her brother did to Liz. He can’t breathe through his anger long enough to see reason.”
Abby pats my arm gently. “Honestly? Nebula has to decide for himself. If you try to force it, you’ll create a rift in your pack.” She lets her feet down, so I stop the swing so she can stand up. “That doesn’t mean you can’t listen. Nexus and Callisto too. Fate gave you skin writing as a connection for a reason. Use it.”
She walks back to the pool to rejoin her mates, leaving me sitting on the swing contemplating everything she told me. I don’t have any solid answers, but I do have an idea of what to do next. I need to talk to my omega and hear from her why she hid our connection.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
