“Yes! Talk soon, darling!”
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up, taking a deep breath. Talking to my mother was a draining experience. I loved her dearly and always would, but we had such different views on what an omega's life should be that our conversations grew tiring. Despite the challenges, the bond I felt with her remained strong, even if our perspectives clashed.
From my medicine cabinet, I picked up the little yellow pill bottle and turned it over in my hand.
My first heat had hit a few weeks after I started college. My mother was the last person I wanted to tell, so I kept it a secret and paid out of pocket to visit the local omega clinic and get a prescription for heat suppressants.
If she ever found out, my mother would have started pressuring me to come home and settle down. The only reason she and my fathers were slightly okay with me going away to college was that I wasn’t having heats yet.
Part of me felt bad for lying, but it was better than the alternative. The calls would be incessant… well, more so than they already were. There was an expectation that I would settle down with a pack of alphas as soon as possible becausethatwas what my family believed to be true happiness.
My parents, while progressive in some ways, still clung tightly to these beliefs. They would often reminisce about how they met. It was difficult for them to understand that, even though I did ultimately want those things, I was in no rush and wanted to find alphas who understood me. Who understood my love of numbers and studying.
I tipped one of the pills into my hand before padding into the small kitchenette area. After grabbing a bottle of water from the small fridge, I took the pill, following it with a drink.
Sighing, I put my phone down, leaving it on the tiny counter space and I ensured it was on mute, and returned to my nest to enjoy my book in some peace and quiet.
It wasn’t the same without that damn pink pillow.
Chapter 7
Bear
Spencer and Chase had been watching Flora for the past few days. I trusted them to keep her safe, but that didn’t mean my skin wasn’t itching with the need to see her again. It was more than just curiosity; it was a burning desire inside me.
As I gathered my things to watch her, my surveillance equipment and a few bottles of water, Spencer meandered into my room.
“Did you notice the security camera in her building?” he asked casually.
“Of course I noticed it,” I said. “That relic probably hasn’t worked in years.”
He was talking about the dusty camera in the main lobby of Flora’s building. I had clocked it the moment I walked into the space. There was something almost comical about its presence—a symbol of safety that offered none.
Spencer grimaced. “Yeah, she’s not really living in the best of areas, is she? I highly doubt the building manager keeps that up-to-date.”
“No, Flora mentioned he was useless,” I said, rememberingthe way she cringed when I suggested asking him to do work on the building to make her more secure.
“There are other cameras outside of her building. We could potentially use them to get eyes on her.”
That piqued my interest. “Do you think it’s a good vantage point?” The more angles I could see Flora from, the better. I wanted to ensure she was safe at all times. It was a crazy urge, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Of the two cameras I saw, they would cover the door and most of the street,” Spencer explained.
“I’ll ask Chase to see if he can pull any of the footage from the last few weeks,” I said. We were all fairly tech-savvy, but Chase was definitely the genius when it came to that sort of thing. I had witnessed him hack into a number of security systems over the years.
Spencer grinned. “Already done.”
“Thank you.”
“Also, while you’re checking the building, I’m going to follow her to class,” Spencer said.
“Do we have the time?” Usually, only one of us could be spared to keep an eye on the little omega because we still had Pack Garnett to protect.
Spencer nodded. “They’re having a movie night and ordered takeout at like sixteen-hundred hours. They’re probably going to be asleep by eight.”
I snorted lightly. “The life of parents.”
“It’s definitely not for the weak,” Spencer admitted.
