Now, I can be one of those people for Beau.
Chapter Four
BEAU
Dream.
The beautiful Omega that took my hand in hers without hesitation—her name is Dream.
She looks like an angel. Long brown hair and hazel eyes filled with kindness and care. She’s beautiful. Shockingly so. She’s more than that, though. Her presence is comforting, like warm sunlight against your skin. She’s sunshine itself, and her scent…Fuck, her scent.I’ve never been drawn to the scent of anyone before, but Dream? I want to keep her. Mine, all mine. Rose petals and sweet vanilla. I want to lose myself in her.
Shit. What was I saying?
It’s uncomfortable being in a room full of Alphas as they all stare me down. Well, four Alphas and two Omegas, but the male Omega, Easton, is twirling a blade between his fingers, so he’s not exactly putting me at ease here.
He narrows his eyes and lifts his nose to the air, sniffing. Again. That’s the fifth time since I walked into this office clinging to Dream like she’s my lifeline. I don’t ever want to let go,and that thought scares me almost as much as everything else. Almost.
“Beta?” Easton asks with a low grumble, watching me so closely it feels like he’s peeling my skin back, layer by layer.
I’ve been lying about who I am for so long that the prospect of confessing the truth now makes me want to vomit, but the Hayes Pack helps Omegas. Not Betas.
They’re criminals, unapologetic for the things they are willing to do to protect the more vulnerable designation. Ruthless and cutthroat. Not to be fucked with. They might be willing to help on their own terms, but I’ve heard the rumors about them. They’re deadly, especially the male Omega, if the rumors are even half true.
I know they have another Omega. I can scent her on them, but she’s not here. Maybe they’re protecting her from all of this, or are they keeping her locked away? No. They aren’t tainted the way my father is. They haven’t harmed their mate.
Time to face this. To tell these strangers my deepest secrets and pray they can help me. If not, it’s over. All this fighting to stay alive, for what? Twenty-two years of pain?Fucking bullshit.
“No.” I swallow thickly and drop my gaze to my lap, staring at my hands as they shake. Dream places her steady hand on top of mine once again. She doesn’t speak, but the comfort of her touch means more than I can express.
How do I keep her?
“No?” Easton asks, grinning like a cat that caught its prey.I’m the prey.“You’re an Omega.” His smirk turns lethal, and I shift in my seat. He saw through me so easily. “I know a thing or two about being an Omega in hiding.” He lifts his chin, shifting on the desk. I don’t need Easton’s scent to see his discomfort, but it’s obvious he’s wearing blockers.
“Shh, Pretty Omega,” Kodiak, the scary Alpha, says as he steps closer to his mate, placing a hand on Easton’s shoulder, offering comfort that doesn’t need words.
“I assumed you were an Omega, even if your public persona is a Beta. This isn’t surprising,” Declan offers, waving it off like my biggest secret means nothing. Like it's inconsequential. Like it hasn’t shaped my entire adult life for the worse.
“Not sure how you managed to hide it from the public, though. You’ve been famous since I was a kid,” Hayden, the youngest Alpha in the room, adds, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It wasn’t my choice.” I swallow thickly, sweating as my heart starts to pound erratically in my chest.
These are secrets. Deep, dark, never to see the light, kind of secrets. Ones that could lead to my death if they leave this room, but I’m desperate. So incredibly fucking desperate. I take a shaky breath, clinging to Dream’s hand like it’s the only thing keeping me tethered to this world.
“Yes, I’m an O-Omega living as a Beta. I didn’t want this for myself, if that's what you think. And I’m sure by now you’ve gathered that this isn’t known information. Only myself and my father know the truth. If it leaves this room, then you might as well put a bullet in my skull right now. It would be a mercy kill,” I hiss, the anxiety making me bold, like a cornered animal trapped between two paths that both lead to death.
“No one in this room will betray your confidence. You can trust that we wouldn’t agree to help you, only to turn around and be the cause of your death,” Declan says, his tone reassuring, but the sweet, soft smile that Dream gives me as she nods along to her boss's words is what sets me slightly at ease. Only slightly, because I just told a room full of strangers my deepest secret. Words I’ve never spoken aloud before.
Is the room starting to spin?
“So, you’re here because…?” Hayden asks, leaning back against the wall behind the desk. I can’t tell if he’s adding more space between us for my comfort or just because he felt like leaning back.
Easton’s knives are also gone now, which I find interesting. The big Alpha, the one I’ve been trying hardest to ignore, finally sits in a chair that is considerably smaller than he needs it to be to accommodate his size.
Dream’s scent blooms, filling the space between us with comforting vanilla icing and rose petals.
Sweet fuck, she smells good.
I might be a severely suppressed Omega who has never been in heat, but I’m also a man, and Dream smells like sex and desire, mixed with comfort and affection. All things I’ve been starved of. Maybe I’m foolish, but the moment she took my hand in hers, I trusted her. Am I really that easily swayed? That easily controlled? Fuck, I’m a fool, but it’s already too late.
