Page 6 of These Bonds that Unite Us
My existence is yours
This heart and this body
Are at your command
-Callisto’
I don’t wait for a response because I don’t think she’s ready to accept our feelings or apologies. Instead, I pack up my things and begin the drive back to Nexus’ parent’s house. My sweet alpha needs the same reassurance my brother was able to give me.
CHAPTER THREE
Now Playing: Mistakes- Glasswaves
The living room of my parent’s house has been transformed into a mini theater, with thin blanket curtains hung on a piece of twine across the front of the room. Behind the curtain is a stage made of spare plywood. My nephew Caden sings into a pretend microphone–a cooking spoon–while my twin nieces Evelyn and Eleanor play their own makeshift instruments behind him.
Their performance is a testament to how openly my shitty feelings are being broadcast, otherwise, I doubt anyone could have convinced these preteens to create a pretend rock band using pots and pans.
When the front door opens, Caden stutters over his rendition of one of our songs, his smile growing. “Callisto! Come sit!” He points to the couch next to me, demanding my beta mate join me.
Cal chuckles, slipping off his shoes before sinking onto the cushion, his body pressed against mine. The soft scent of cedar and violet helps dim the storm of regret swirling in my mind andheart. I lift my arm and wrap it around his shoulders, then I turn my attention back to the playful chaos my family always brings.
Caden, Evelyn, and Eleanor step to the front of the stage, swooping into low bows as their show ends. My parents and sisters clap loudly from their seats around the room, whooping and cheering. My heart pangs seeing how easily their support comes. They would never abandon me in a tough situation, they would find a way to be by my side. Just like I should have done at the end of Omen’s heat.
“You guys were kick-ass!” I praise when all three of them turn to face me. Huge grins break across their faces while my sisters throw me light-hearted glares.
I can see the hope in their eyes as clearly as their relief. My family is worried about me, and I know I should feel motivated to ease their concern. Taking steps to take care of myself would be better for everyone, but I can’t bring myself to give a shit what I look like.
What use is clean skin and silky soft hair when my life is falling apart at the seams?
“Definitely record worthy,” Callisto adds.
The trio dances happily, readying for an unrequested encore. Thankfully, my mother swoops in to distract them. “I bet my rock stars are starving after that show!” They chatter noisily as she leads them into the kitchen and starts to pull out all of the fixings for ice cream sundaes.
“Want me to bring you some ice cream, baby brother?” My sister Grace asks on her way to corral her overexcited children.
“I’m good, thank you though.” I don’t want food or words of placation, I just want to know my girl is alive and free from her terrible birth family.
When it’s just me and Cal left in the room, he angles his body so his chest presses against my side, head tilting up to look at me. “She’s alive.” I search his face, afraid to put to voice thequestion resting on the tip of my tongue. “No she didn’t write to me and I didn’t hear anything from the DAU, but I know it to be true. We’d feel it if she was gone. When you wrote to her on your arm in Los Angeles you felt the messages go through? The warmth from them sending?”
Hope sparks in my chest, the faintest flicker awaiting news to fuel their flames. I nod slowly, fighting through those panicked moments to remember the feeling he is describing. The messages sent, we just hadn’t received a response. “She’s alive,” I repeat his proclamation with a soft breath.
His arms wrap around my chest, holding me tighter. I can feel the quiet racing of his heart beating in time with mine. This isn’t a fix-all. My girl could still be in trouble–captured by the cult her family runs or injured and on the run–but knowing she is alive can be enough to carry me through until we know more.
“Thank you, Songbird,” I whisper. My head drops to his shoulder, my nose burying against his neck so I can soak in more of his soothing scent.
Knowing Omen is out there somewhere has to be enough for now. I can’t give up when there is a chance she still needs me.
Lying on the grass in my parent’s backyard, I stare up at the night sky. The occasional star glimmers above me, shining brighter with the sliver of a moon keeping the sky dark. Callisto brought me out here to relax and watch the meteor shower that’s supposed to be visible.
My beta’s chest rests beneath my head, his hands combing through my hair and scratching along my scalp. The motion is so soothing my eyes begin to droop. Despite Cal’s reassurance our omega is alive, sleep has evaded me. My worry runs too deep for my mind to rest for more than an hour at a time.
“Did you send her another text at dinner?” Callisto asks. My sisters had dragged us out for a kid-free dinner at one of their favorite restaurants a few towns over. Keeping up with my map of promises, I sent Omen a picture of the food I ordered and told her about all the other things I want to do with her when we visit Nashville. Together.
“Yeah,” I slowly reply. She hasn’t responded to my texts either, though that isn’t as worrisome. When her identity was leaked to the world, she was forced into hiding to protect herself. Which meant leaving her phone behind and cutting off all contact with the outside world. “I’ve sent her one every day, except for the day after we got back from Los Angeles.”
“You should order a map,” he suggests. “Like the one you got for Titan’s birthday, but instead of national parks it could be restaurants you want to visit together.”
A smile stretches across my lips, imagining how full the map would be. “That’s a wonderful idea, Songbird.” A dog barks in the distance, filling the gap in our conversation as we watch the dark sky. “What about you?”
