Asher and Mason clearly don’t want to leave her alone with me, but they do. They take their time in leaving the living room, and they keep tossing glances back at Jess, as if they would rather pull out their own teeth than go, but the omega doesn’t need to say it a third time. Soon enough, it’s just us.
And when she turns those big amber eyes to me? I feel the same thing I felt at the Omega Garden, like I’m falling, tumbling hard into the unknown. It’s the opposite of a bad feeling, however; my inner beast welcomes it, craves it, needs it as if she’s turned into the air I breathe.
Jess moves to sit on the coffee table in front of me, crossing her ankles as she rests her hands on her knees. Her black and blue hair is down, a mess around her face, and she wears a baggy hoodie and some kind of stretchy pants that flare out around the ankles. Bare feet, no socks. Even though she looks like she just rolled out of bed—or maybe she’s ready to go to bed—she’s perfect in every way. The epitome of beauty.
“Are you going to start, or should I?” I ask her with a smirk as I lean back on the couch. Not the most comfortable position, now that my wrists are tied behind my back, but I manage.
All she does is stare at me and pucker her lips, as if she’s lost in thought.
Oh, those lips. Those lips easily set my mind ablaze. I could do a lot of things to those lips. Kiss them, lick them, nibble at them, especially that bottom one. She’s tempting in a way I’ve never been tempted before.
Seriously, I’ve had to save omegas when they’re in the throes of their heat, and though it was always difficult, I was able to hold back. But Jess? If Jess started to writhe and moan and beg me for relief, I don’t know that I could. A man’s willpower could only be so strong.
“I’ll start, then,” I say, needing to speak, lest I spend too much time thinking about how weak she makes me feel. “The police will show up here sooner or later. If you want Asher and Mason to avoid any sort of repercussions for this, you’ll need to come with me.”
Jess shakes her head. “I can’t go with you. If you take me back—” Whatever she’s going to say, she stops herself by biting her bottom lip. Again, that freaking lip…
If she didn’t come up here with the Thompson alphas to mate with them, there must be another reason, a reason she doesn’t want to say.
“What’ll happen if I take you back?” I ask, needing to know more, needing to know the full truth. Runaway omegas are a dime a dozen, but I sense there’s more to this than a simple runaway. With the way she acted at the Omega Garden… it has to be related to her not wanting to match with anyone.
She folds her arms over her chest and looks away, and for a split second, she doesn’t look like the strong, confident, somewhat mean omega she was at the Omega Garden. Here and now, she only appears lost.
I want to help her. I can’t say I’ve ever wanted something more. Whatever’s bothering her, whatever she’s trying to run from or avoid, I want to help her, to be her strength where she has none. I only know what I was able to research about her before I tracked her down, but there’s still a whole world of her I’ve yet to discover.
I know she was in the car when her parents got into an accident ten or so years ago. I know they died while she lived,but it was a hard, long recovery for her. After that, her aunt and uncle moved in and became her guardians, and then a few years back, her uncle passed away, too, leaving her with her aunt.
The Dryers, even after all this, are still a respected family, but she’s the last of the line. A founding family that can trace their bloodline all the way back to when this country was created, and with a few terrible twists of fate, the last name will be gone just like that.
“Jess,” I say, my voice soft and gentle, “tell me what you’re running from.”
Her gaze snaps to mine as she demands, “Why? It isn’t like you can help me.”
“Maybe I can. You might not know this, but recently Alabaster Security has grown. We aren’t just a private security firm anymore. When the owner’s kids found their omega, she was… she was also running from someone. Once they got it all sorted, she helped them see how terrible things are for a lot of omegas. Unofficially, we’re all about helping omegas.”
Jess rolls her eyes. “Yeah, like I’m going to believe that.”
“I mean it. I’m not just saying this just to bullshit you. Tell me why you risked everything to make it up here—why you reached out to an alpha you haven’t spoken to in years.” Oh, yeah. I also know she and Asher Thompson had a falling out not long after that accident. Probably, they just grew apart, as kids often do. There was absolutely no evidence that they talked online prior to her fake profile.
She leans forward and puts her face in her hands, breathing hard. Seeing her so distraught, so upset, makes me want to go to her, pull her into my arms, and hold onto her while I croon into her ear that everything will be all right.
But, alas, I’m currently tied up.
When she lifts her head, I note the determination on her face, and I assume she’s going to spill the beans, whatever those beans are, and I am beyond ready to finally see the full picture.
“Right before we first met,” she begins, “I went snooping in my aunt’s office. I found a locked drawer, but I got in, and I saw what she was hiding. A will that said if I’m matched off to a pack before my first heat, my pack will get half of my family’s fortune, while my guardians will get the other half.”
Hmm. Seems pretty standard. Definitely doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to hightail it all the way out here, but I don’t say anything to her. I simply wait for her to continue.
She goes on, “But there’s an extra clause that states if I’m not matched by then, everything will go to me.”
Ah, there it is.
Jess gets to her feet. Soon enough she’s pacing around the coffee table. “I know you’re probably thinking that it’s stupid, but my aunt is awful. She’s the worst. She doesn’t deserve a penny more from my family’s fortune.”
My protective instincts kick in as I sit a little straighter and ask, “Has she hurt you?”
“She’s never beat me or kept me locked in my bedroom, if that’s what you’re asking. No, my aunt is… not that kind of terrible. She’s cold. She’s cruel. If you’re not of decent blood, she treats you like you’re trash. She’s not the kind of guardian any omega should have.”
