Page 33 of For the First Time
“It’s okay.I get why you’re upset.”
“Do you?”Everett asked.He didn’t sound like he believed me.
“Of course.Who you invite into your pack should be a pack decision.”
“Ah, that’s what I thought.”Despite being in Oaks’s lap, Everett reached over and pinched my chin, forcing me to look at him.“All three of us want you in this pack, Babygirl.We just wanted to invite you together.Have a proper talk like we’re doing now.Some of us are just more impulsive than others.”He looked up to give Atlas a pointed look and whatever he saw on the other man’s face had Everett’s lips fighting a smile.
“If he showed you the necklace, why aren’t you wearing it, darlin?”Oaks was still rubbing his head against my neck and shoulder, but his words were clear enough.
“Apparently, she has something to tell us,” Atlas said.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to push off Oaks.I wanted to stand like Atlas was, to clear my mind and present them with the facts.Except, Oaks tightened his hold on me.I ran my fingers through his blond hair, just barely letting my nails scratch at him like I knew he liked.“I just need to stand.”
Oaks shook his head.“Just tell us like this.”
Neither Atlas nor Everett moved to try and help me.Apparently, I was going to admit everything like this.
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment, before I started.I decided to begin with what happened a few months ago.“When I was still working with the OC, I had the privilege of checking in with omegas who the OC thought might be in danger with their pack.I would meet with them and take down notes about their relationship and ensure the omegas felt safe.”
“All right,” Everett said, his tone kind and encouraging me to continue.
“That’s where I met Hannah.She’s an omega, and she had an accident a few months back—”
“I remember seeing that on the news,” Oaks said.“She was attacked at a protest.”
“By the peace officers.Not the betas.She was at the event and left when the officers showed up but one of them scented her as an omega and actually chased after her.They were in the wrong.They should have just continued to follow her and instead they tried to apprehend her, and it ended with her skull breaking open and—”
“Breathe, Babygirl.”The command from Everett had my rambling words cutting off.He gave me a look that told me he was waiting to see my chest rise with an inhale and no one was continuing until he saw it.I obliged.“Good.Now, we saw the interview with Hannah.We all rooted for her and for that fucking bill to fail.”Everett glanced over at Atlas, giving him a reassuring look before returning his attention to me.“What does this have to do with you?”
“Well, I was the one sent to interview Hannah at the hospital.Which was all fine.But when I got back to the OC to put in my notes, I saw that she already had a profile.Her pack was being investigated for omega abuse.People had reported seeing Hannah, out alone, on multiple occasions.Those occasions happened to line up with other known protests.”
The next part was harder to admit.I dropped my gaze down to Oaks’s shirt.His blond chest hair just barely peeked over the round collar, and I let my fingers pet him as I said, “I deleted her former profile.No, more than that.I deleted Hannah’s name from the system.From any list marking her as an omega that went to protests or broke city laws wandering by herself.As far as the OC was concerned, Hannah met her pack and bonded with them and was never seen again.In the positive way.Like she never had any flags.”
Atlas came up behind me, standing between Oaks’s spread legs.His hand came to cup my cheek, turning my face until I was looking up at him.“You did good, pet.”
A shiver ran down my spine at his words.The praise, the acknowledgement, it felt good.“The OC is supposed to protect omegas.It’s supposed to be a safe place.I don’t know if it’s that anymore.I wanted to do good.”
“What happened?”Everett asked.“After you deleted everything?”
“The OC claimed they were downsizing due to funding.Really, they blamed Hannah.They kept saying her cry for omega independence meant the politicians lowered funding to the OC thinking that less omegas were going to participate in events to find packs.It was all bullshit.They just wanted to punish omegas for Hannah speaking out.”I’d gone on a mild rant, so I took a breath, and continued.“Anyway, with funding cut, I was let go.”
“It sounds like you were in a senior position.Why did they let you go?”
I couldn’t help the way my shoulders rolled back at the compliment.I was in a good position.“I’d worked with the OC since I was thirteen.Started as a volunteer, then part-time, then fulltime, then I even got a few promotions.”
“And they let you go?”
“I deleted the files on Hannah.”
“But they didn’t know that,” Atlas said.
“Someone with a high enough security clearance could have gone back in and saw what I deleted.They would have known.”
“But if they confronted you about deleting the files, then they had to admit to tracking Hannah before.”Oaks lifted his head, searching my face for confirmation.
I nodded.“So they let me go with a different reasoning.Honestly, it was fine.I felt like I’d done good, and I wasn’t really in a position to trust the OC after everything.”
“What changed?”Everett asked.“All of that was before you came here.But these last few weeks...”
