I wasn’t a violent man, but I wanted to wring her father’s neck for not taking care of her. What a shame of an alpha and a father he was. Not to mention, auctioning off his daughter. “That was wrong of him. We will make sure you have a nest as soonas we can get it built. In the meantime, we could get you some softer blankets and you can maybe make a nest in the bed you have.”
“That sounds good. To be normal.”
We laughed at her comment, but it was actually sad.
“So,” Tyrone started, “of all the things you were trained to do, are any of them things that you love to do? That you enjoy?”
“That I enjoy? I’ve never been asked that before.”
Tyrone covered her hand with his. “I’m asking now. If we are going to build a life together, we have to know what your likes and dislikes are.”
Cannon leaned in. “Before you tell us, we want you to be completely honest. We don’t expect you to earn your keep or feel like anything you do is in exchange for your home or your things.”
“I’ve never chosen anything for my life before. In school, I had to take certain classes for the good of my future sleuth—and my value at auction, never got to choose myself.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “You chose us before you met us. You chose to share a dream with Tyrone and let us know how to find you. I suspect you share with him who his packmates were as well so we could help him rescue you.”
Millie’s cheeks reddened. “I did do that. Well, my bear kind of chose for me, but I’m not here only because of her. I’m here because I want to be.”
Hearing her say that did my bear good. And me. It was one thing to get her away from monsters but, if she didn’t want to be here with us, we would have to let her go. I wasn’t sure I could do that. I would, though, for her good.
But it would be hell.
“How about this? You tell us the one thing you were trained to do that you hated. You had to complete the task and loathed every second of it.” Tyrone had a way of talking to her. Maybe itwas their connection. Maybe it was just him. I envied it. I really did.
She sighed. “I really hate cooking. I hate everything about it. Planning the meals. Shopping for the groceries. Putting them away. Remembering to thaw things out. Cooking. Dishes. The only thing I like about it is eating.”
We all laughed at her candor. That was the honesty we needed.
“Then we will handle all of that. Felix and Tyrone are teaching me to cook but I enjoy it now.”
She nodded.
“But he let you go to college,” I added.
“That was only so that I was capable of having an intelligent, educated conversation with my alpha or pack, contribute to their prestige. They said without an omega with something to talk about, the alpha might get bored with my stupidity.”
Another thing we would have to help her unlearn. She was smart all on her own. We weren’t concerned about book knowledge. I wondered if she liked to read. She probably loved a ton of things she’d never been exposed to.
There was something else I needed to talk to her about. We did. Might as well rip off the bandage. “Would it be okay if we brought you to see a doctor who specializes in omegas? We would like to get you checked out and make sure the suppressants and blockers you are on suit you.”
“I’ve never been to a doctor.” She shrugged.
Again, I wanted to punch her father.
“How did you get on the suppressants and scent blockers without seeing a doctor or healer?” Cannon was shaken by her admission. An omega needed regular visits to the doctor, more so than anyone else. Their biology was different. They needed specialized care. Especially one who wasn’t mated or part of a pack.
“An older man came to the house. He would look me over and then give my father a bunch of pills for me to take. They made me feel dizzy, but my father said that was normal and not to complain.”
“That may be why your scent is so faint,” I said. “Maybe we could bring you next week, or there may be a doctor willing to come here.”
“As long as it’s a woman, please?”
Cannon nodded. “Absolutely. Your body, your choice of doctor.”
“Thank you. And…you three smell very nice to me. At least the part of me that is not messed up.”
“Hey,” I said and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “None of this is your fault and you’re not messed up. Anything that is wrong was done to you and we’ll do our best to help you feel better.”
