Page 19 of These Bonds that Unite Us
My mood sinks each time I remember the devastating image of Omen on the TV screen a few days ago. The gaunt, broken woman we’d seen was barely recognizable. Worst of all, though, is knowing we are responsible for her decline. I did this to her. Broke my omega when I abandoned her. My actions are ones I doubt I will ever truly be able to atone for, but I will spend the rest of our life trying.
Nebula and Tim talk about the sound studio he’d had the house’s office converted into as we head upstairs. Most of the bottom floor space is taken up by two garages, so there isn’t much to see here. The upper levels are where the majority of theconstruction crews' upgrades are. A newly renovated kitchen, an updated bathroom, and a nest.
Stepping off of the stairs, I look around in wonder at what they’ve accomplished. The entire space is now built for our pack. From the massive bed in the main room to the giant walk-in closet big enough for all five of us to share. A drool-worthy master bath takes up a large part of this story with its raised jacuzzi tub and rainfall shower.
But the most important part of all is the dark space at the end. Omen’s nest. My pack and I stand silently in the doorway, unwilling to enter this sacred space without our omega at our side.
“I’m fucking terrified,” Nebula breathes. His head is leaning against the door frame, his dark blue eyes focused on the scentless nest-bed inside. “I adore how protective Bea is of her best friend–Omen deserves to have unconditionally supportive people like the Powells in her life–but her good intentions are only going to hurt our girl in the long run. I don’t know how to get through to Bea to help her realize preventing us from seeing Omen is only impeding her chance of surviving the rejection.”
“Yeah,” Titan grunts. “Seeing her on the live stream, it was easy to tell she’s hangin’ by a thread. If we don’t get to her soon…” He trails off, afraid to speak the words aloud. We fall quiet, lost in our own thoughts.
I squeeze Cal tighter against me. His bond is filled with confusion, fear, and doubt. Mostly related to our girl, but also from the strain between the four of us. I know he instinctively wants to comfort Nebula, to ease some of his ache over the memories of his sister and his regrets about his actions toward Omen, but he’s holding back. Ever since our trip back home my beta mate has been setting boundaries he never had before. He’s standing up for himself and being vocal about his thoughts andneeds. I’m so fucking proud of how much he’s grown in such a short amount of time.
“It would help if she’d answer our calls or respond through our connection,” Titan grumbles.
Across from him, Nebula straightens, running his palms down his thighs. Guilt and nervousness trickle through his bond, shining in his blue eyes when he finally looks up from the floor. “That is my fault. After Bea told us everything, I blocked her number on all of our phones.”
“No, you didn’t.” I dig my phone out, opening my message thread to Omen so I can show him all the messages I’ve sent her. As soon as the images appear on the screen I notice they are all marked as undelivered. “What the fuck, Nebula!”
He runs a hand through his hair, his free arm twitching. “She also sent me a message the day you returned from helping her through her heat.”
“What did you do?” Titan growls, his eyes narrowed. The anger pulsing through his bond matches my own.
“I told her we would press charges if she continued to try to contact us.” Titan’s fist slams into Nebula’s cheek, sending our alpha stumbling back several steps.
“You had no right!”
“I know, okay! Fuck, I know. I messed up, and I can’t take it back. All I can do is try to fix the mistakes I’ve made along the way.” Nebula doesn’t back down when Tee steps closer, nor does he try to stop him when he shoves Neb to the floor.
“You’re an asshole, Nebula. You’d better fucking fix this.” Titan stomps past us, snagging Callisto’s hand and dragging him away too.
I’m left with my alpha, his cheek red and his eyes downcast. Sighing, I offer him a hand and pull him to his feet. I am fucking pissed at him, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy seeing him hurt.
“I’m going to find a way to convince her to hear us out,” he swears. I can only nod in response. A future with Omen at our side seems to grow more impossible with each road bump we encounter.
We linger in the driveway for a few more moments, allowing our longing to pour into the house in the hopes Fate will hear us and grant our plea to bring our omega back to us.
During the drive back to the city, I watch as Titan unblocks Omen’s number and tries to call and text her. The call immediately goes to voicemail and the messages sit unread. “It’s likely she hasn’t gotten her phone back from the DAU.”
“You know,” Callisto starts as we drive back to the city. “Bea isn’t Omen’s only friend. We could try to reach out to Lex or Ridley again.”
My head is already shaking before he finishes speaking. “I text them both several times, but neither one has seen the messages yet. They are either taking Bea’s standpoint, or they’ve been pulled into something with the DAU and aren’t in a position to help us.”
As we’re pulling into the lot of our apartment Cal jerks upright, his eyes wide when he turns to face me. “Lex and Ridley may not be able to help, but Omen is also close with the Wilson Pack.”
“Fuck, that’s right!” Nebula grins tightly, though it falls a second later. “Shepherd is likely to kick our asses, but Foster might help. It’s worth trying.” He pulls out his phone, already dialing the male omega’s number.
The line rings several times before he finally answers. “I considered not answering, since speaking with you assholes would be a waste of my time, but then I realized if I answered I could hear whatever pitiful excuses you have for rejecting my best friend with my own ears.” Foster’s voice is tight and harsh. “So, go ahead, dig your graves a little deeper.”
Nebula sighs, his bond pulsing with the regret consuming all of us. “We fucked up, Foster.”
“A vast understatement. Your actions nearly killed her. This goes beyond fucking up.” Foster sighs. He sounds heartbroken and frustrated. Something we can relate to, but I don’t voice that thought. I’d just piss him off further and he may hang up before we can get any information about my girl. “I’m glad you and your pack are able to admit to your faults, but if you know how severely you’ve mishandled the situation why haven’t you tried to correct it?”
“We’re trying,” Nebula growls. “But it’s impossible to do anything when we’re getting blocked at every angle.”
“You mean Omen isn’t taking your calls?”
“She hasn’t seen any of our messages so we assumed her phone was still with the DAU, or was lost in the chaos,” Cal chimes in quietly.
