Page 26 of These Bonds that Unite Us
The noise comes again, a muffled strained sound. Slipping out of bed, I tiptoe out of my bedroom and down the hallway. The dark room is bathed in small strips of moonlight from the windows, making it difficult to tell what the source of the sound could be. I hold my breath and wait to hear it again, or for something to move.
One second, two, and then it happens again. The front door shudders as something hits it from the outside, but it doesn’t break. Part of the reason we chose this apartment was its security features. One of which is reinforced exterior doors.
I keep my steps light as I move into Bea’s bedroom and knock on her nest door. Knowing my best friend won’t rouse easily, I grab her phone off the charger and slip back to my bedroom. The 911 dispatcher tells me local officers are five minutes away. Waiting for them to arrive has my already frazzled nerves on edge.
Exhaustion pulls at me, trying to convince me to crawl back into bed and sleep away the stress running rampant in my body, but I fight to stay awake. It wouldn’t be safe to fall asleep now. Not until I know whoever is trying to break in is no longer a threat.
Bea stumbles into my room a few minutes later, her eyes wide. I show her the call still connected to emergency services and her shoulders relax. She slumps to the floor beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder and watching the hallway cautiously.
Red and blue lights filter through my bedroom window several minutes before the dispatcher connects us to the officers at our door. “Miss Powell? My name is Officer Faulkner. We’ve searched the exterior of the building, but whoever was here left before we arrived.”
A sigh of relief slips through my lips, but my nerves don’t dissipate. I help Bea to her feet and we both head to the front of the apartment to speak with the officers face to face.
“It is clear someone was here, as you can see by the splintered piece of the door here–” Officer Faulkner points to a spot below the peephole where an impression of someone’s shoulder has left a dent. Fear skitters up my arms knowingwhoever was on the other side was strong enough to damage our aluminum door.
“While your security measures seem strong enough to stand if the attacker returns, we believe it would be best for the two of you to stay elsewhere for the next several days. We will post an unmarked unit to watch the apartment. Hopefully, this was a one-time occurrence. A feral alpha who caught your scents but has since moved on, but we won’t know for certain until we capture them.”
Bea and I thank him before he steps outside to speak with his partner and their boss. They aren’t leaving until we do, so I grab our suitcases from the front closet so we can pack our things quickly.
“Well, where are we going to go?” Bea asks with a frown. I pause midstep, realizing she’s right. Normally we would go to her parent’s house, but they are all away for various events until the beginning of next week. I would say we’d go to Foster and Shepherd’s apartment for the night but Hannah is staying there, so they won’t have the room for two extra omegas.
“Shit,” I mutter, letting the suitcases slide to the floor. “I’ll call Donovan. Maybe they can send a bodyguard over to stay here with us until your parents get home.”
She nods, snatching her suitcase and tossing it on her bed. Turning away from where she’s collapsed beside it, I dial Donovan’s number. He answers after several rings, his voice groggy with sleep. I wince when I see the clock on our stove reads nearly three in the morning.
“Bea?”
“Hey, it’s Omen. I’m sorry to call you so late–”
“You are welcome to call me at any hour, kid. What’s wrong?”
I smile, already feeling a little safer hearing his voice. He’s like the grandfather I never had growing up. Something I willnever tell him because he’d be appalled to hear me call him old, even with his graying hair he lives like he will never be a day over forty.
“Someone tried to break into our apartment,” I admit. My voice still shakes, but I don’t try to hide my concern. With my history being broadcast on national television, it isn’t outside of the realm of possibility for one of my birth father’s followers to track me down and try to retaliate for his arrest. “They left before the cops arrived, but the officers think we should leave for a few nights as a precaution.”
“And you don’t know where to go, since the Powells are out of town.” He hums thoughtfully when I agree. I can hear the soft sound of him getting out of bed and heading to his office in the background as he considers our options. “While I’d love to send someone over to watch after you two, we don’t currently have anyone to spare.”
My heart sinks a little, but I guess it makes sense. With the breakdown of New Hampshire's state government and my birth father’s cult in New Hampshire, the DAU has had its hands full for the past few weeks.
“For now, I’ll have someone head your way and the two of you can sleep here for the night. Tomorrow I will make some calls and find somewhere for you both to stay.” He quickly ends the call, and a few seconds later a text comes through my phone with a picture of the DAU agent coming to pick us up. I let Bea know what our plans are before I head to my room to pack.
One day I’ll be able to enjoy my nest and our apartment without being driven out of it by threats to our safety.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Now Playing: Take Me First- Bad Omens
Walking into the green room after the Candy Courage concert, my soul fragmented. The signs of Omen’s Rejected Omega Syndrome were frightfully understated when we’d seen her on TV. Nothing could have ever prepared me to see my sweet girl so gaunt and lifeless.
As soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew I’d never be able to forgive myself for the suffering I caused her. An eternity on my knees begging for her forgiveness still won’t be enough to make up for walking away from her. My mistakes are scars on both our hearts, reminders whispering to us in the dark when our thoughts are at their rawest.
Two days have passed since we saw her, and I still feel like pieces of me are being torn off, little by little. It’s agony being away from her when I know how much she’s hurting, but we have to respect her decisions regardless of how much they suck.
We fucked up, we have to own it and allow her to choose what happens next.
I’m terrified she’s going to push us away. That she’ll think our crimes against her are unforgivable. As much as I love my mates, I don’t know if I could survive in a world without Omen, and that’s exactly what we will face if she decides to reject us. The Rejected Omega Syndrome will claim her life and she’ll join Elizabeth in whatever paradise rejected omegas go to.
Though I’m not sure how Omen has ROS to begin with. We may have walked away, but none of us truly rejected her. The process usually involves a verbal severing of the tie between both parties, which never happened with our girl. I’ve researched the limited information available about the disease, but no one seems to have a solid answer for me.
