Page 17 of These Bonds that Unite Us
“No. I’ll try to eat more later, it’s just too much right now.”
Bea nods and returns to her own food. The quiet between us grows awkward the longer it stretches. I’m so used to myenergetic bestie filling our space with constant chatter that her silence feels like a punishment. Which I guess it is, in a way.
“Primordial Covenant is lucky I’m not their manager,” she growls out suddenly, her tone vehement. “I’d make their lives a living hell for what they are doing to you.”
I shrug, glancing out the living room window. My Fate matched mates made their choice, I just have to find a way to live with the consequences.
“When Mom called to tell me your safe house had been compromised, I thought I’d lost you.” Tears trickle down her cheeks, her voice shaking along with her hands. “Then the live stream of you going to the church happened… You aren’t leaving me again. I refuse to allow it. We can find you chosen mates to cancel out the chemical rejection. I’m sure the omega match program would be willing to help, and I know Donovan will vet any pack you meet with.”
Her optimism brings a brittle smile to my face. As easy as it would be to start trying to find new mates, I don’t know if I am ready to trust someone with my heart again. Not after it was destroyed the last time.
“You can find a pack of convenience,” she continues, not noticing my reluctance or more likely ignoring it. “Someone who has to find an omega to get his inheritance or keep his family business.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes. Those types of things happen in romance books all the time, but I doubt they translate to reality. There aren’t heirs to billion-dollar fortunes out there looking for plain, middle-class omegas to bond to secure their wealth.
“Or you could go on First Glance Pack!” She whips her phone out, already starting to research the steps to getting on the show. I reach across the table and gently cover her screen. When she looks up at me I shake my head.
Standing, I gather our plates and carry them to the sink. “I’m sorry I scared you. With the mess inside of my brain, it was too easy to forget there are still people in my life who love me. Who would be hurt if I left them behind.” She slouches against the counter beside me, studying my face as I start to wash the dishes. “I’ll find a way to make it through the chemical rejection, I promise, but it won’t be by finding another pack. I’m not ready to form that type of connection with anyone, even if it was just out of convenience.”
“Fine. For now, I will accept that. But if you start to spiral again, I’ll sign you up without asking for your permission.”
Settled onto the couch to binge-watch romantic dramas, I spin a spoon in my pistachio ice cream. “What happened with Lex and Ridley?” Now that my birth family is no longer a threat to our safety, the bodyguard duo has been reassigned within the DAU. Which means that the connection I felt growing between them and my bestie should be free to flourish.
“Fucking nothing,” she pouts. “They were both put on the team to hunt down Doctor Harrison, so they left while you were still in the hospital.”
“They didn’t say anything about the pull between you? They just left?”
“Eh.” A blush coats Bea’s cheeks as she stares into her empty bowl. “Ridley came to see me before he left. Something happened, but he didn’t want to claim me. Spouting some bullshit about it putting a target on my back while he’s gone.”
A frown stretches across my lips at the defeated fall of her shoulders. Perhaps I’ll have some asses of my own to kick after they return. Lex especially. After everything that happened to me, you would think that stubborn alpha would get out of his own head and chase his girl.
“Then we’ll make sure they realize exactly what they are missing,” I comment with a grin. “That’s what selfies are for, right?”
“Fates, I missed you!” Bea leans her head against my shoulder, knocking against my cheek. I wrap an arm over her shoulders in a half hug. With my best friend at my side and my sister only a phone call away, a piece of me starts to believe I can make it through this rejection.
I just have to take it one day at a time.
“I know what we need!” Bea’s voice is way too loud in our quiet apartment as she bustles into the living room. She just returned from a day at the label, her business casual attire looking way too stuffy for dinner at home.
“An island vacation?” I joke, flipping open the bag of takeout she’d brought with her. The spicy, earthy aroma of Indian curry filled my senses. Paired with the garlicky, mildly yeasty scent of freshly baked Naan bread, my stomach is already growling loudly.
The new medicine to help with the chemical rejection has brought back some of my usual appetites, though I have to eat small meals throughout the day otherwise nausea erases any progress I make. It’s a tightrope, balancing the side effects of the medicine with the needs of my body. At least I no longer feel like I’m on a crash course with an early grave.
“No, though that does sound lovely.” Bea rolls her eyes as she heads into her bedroom. She leaves the door open so I can still hear her, though the sound of her voice is muffled when she starts to rummage through her closet for comfy clothes. At this point, I think we should have found a three-bedroom apartment to rent so she could turn the spare room into a walk-in closet.
I have bowls waiting for us on the coffee table by the time she finishes changing. She grins as she collapses on the other end of the couch. “We need a night out.”
My head shakes rapidly, declining before she can expand on her suggestion. I may have more energy now than I did a week ago, but I still feel like I’m running on an eighth of a piston. I doubt my body is healed enough to enjoy a night of drinking and dancing. Honestly, leaving the safety of our apartment sounds exhausting enough.
“Well, too bad. I’m not accepting no for an answer this time. You are finally free of the threat your birth family posed, so it is time to start enjoying your freedom!”
“Where do you want to go, exactly?” I ask with a sigh.
“New Jersey. Candy Courage is playing a show in their hometown, and I used my connections at the label to score us backstage passes! We will finally get to meet those goddesses!” She dances happily in her seat, her dark eyes bright with excitement. “Foster is going too! It will be an omega-only night out!”
“Fine,” I agree. It’s not that I want to go–because I don’t–but this is a dream come true for Bea. Meeting Candy Courage will also be a really good distraction for my bestie while the men she thought would be her mates are away on DAU assignments. She’s supported me through so much this past year, the least I can do is attend her dream concert with her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
