The other Alpha in the room, a broad-shouldered, grumpy-looking blonde man, nudges Omen. “If we were to be discovered by your birth family, it’s better they only get eyes on one of you. Especially with children in the mix.”
I would do anything to protect my sister. I have. For years. But if the choice is between protecting her and protecting my children? The choice is obvious. Omen has the full weight of theDAU to protect her; my kids only have me. I know she would agree with my choice, something that she immediately proves when she deflates.
“For tonight, they’re staying here. Hannah has the information we need about your father’s plans. But that can wait until the morning. It’s late, and this little sweetheart looks seconds away from passing out on the couch.”
Everyone glances at Kaitlin, who is barely awake, as she slumps against me. This trip has been a lot for her. From the disrupted sleep schedule to meeting so many strangers, I imagine her tiny body is in overdrive, trying to make sense of things. As much as I wish I could promise her a break soon, I don’t know how long we will have to be in a DAU safe house.
Omen leads Foster and me upstairs, the latter scowling and refusing to allow me to carry Kaitlin despite her being half-asleep. He sweeps her into his arms instead, whispering reassurances when she realizes it isn’t me holding her. My heart aches when she settles easily, falling right back to sleep against his chest. If I weren’t already pregnant, seeing how these men treat my daughter would make my ovaries weep.
The bedroom we’re given for the night is plain and bare-bones, a lot like Kaitlin’s room at our house in Whitlan. I hate it, but it is only temporary. Tucking her into bed, I kiss her tiny cheek. My precious girl is so strong. She’s been through so much in her short life.Too much.
Brushing my regret aside, I slip back into the hallway where Foster and Omen wait. We hurry into the next room, which I assume is my sister’s, given the pile of blankets on the bed. Crowding into the room, I can’t help but study Omen. Noting how awful she looks.
When Foster bluntly mentions it, I almost elbow him.
Just because she looks like a hot mess doesn’t mean we can tell her she is a hot mess!
When she shrugs but doesn’t refute Foster’s statement, I start to worry. Fates, please don’t let me have stayed in New Hampshire to protect her, only for me to lose her when I finally escape. “Are you… sick?”
“It’s a long story…” Omen glances down at her feet. Whatever is going on clearly makes her uncomfortable.
“We have time,” Foster tells her. “So spill. I’ll get Shepherd up here if I have to.”
We both turn in alarm. I would laugh if I weren’t thirty seconds away from crawling out of my skin. I spent almost the whole day trapped in a car with these two. I do not need that sexy Alpha stomping up here and going all growly and protective over my sister. Whatever fight I am managing against the pull between us will not survive!
Thankfully, Omen must not want him to make an appearance either, because she quickly blurts out an explanation that leaves me reeling.
“I met a pack. My Fate-matched pack. Only they didn’t know that because I didn’t tell them. Icouldn’ttell them because then I’d have to tell them who I am. About our family. We still got close since I was working with them. I was actually going to confess everything, but then I got drugged at one of their concerts and spent a week in heat, alone. My best friend Bea had to be the one to tell them who I am, which would have been whatever except one of my Alphas had a sister who was Fate-matched to Ben, and he hates our family because the rejection killed her. So now they want nothing to do with me.”
It takes several long seconds before either Foster or I can speak. That is a lot of information to sort through, and there are obviously a lot of details missing.
“They rejected you?” Foster shouts, his expression morphing to outrage.
“Hush,” I remind him, pointing to the thin walls. As angering as this news is, I don’t want our out-of-control emotions to wake Kaitlin. He gives me an apologetic glance before turning back to Omen.
“They didn’t technically reject me. Not with words. But my body is reacting as if they did. It’s called a chemical rejection. My brain basically tricked itself into believing I’ve been rejected.”
“That’s… confusing. And honestly, even if they didn’t say the words, their actions spoke loudly enough. Who is this pack again? You mentioned a concert?” If this room weren’t so small, I would be pacing to release some of the anger burning inside of me. Some pack of jerks rejected my sister? All because she was born a Montgomery? Like she had a choice about what family she was born into?
“It doesn’t matter. They made their choice, and now we all have to live with it. I’ll be fine; I just need time to work through the messed-up brain chemicals.”
Part of me doesn’t believe it will be as simple as she makes it sound, but there is a hopefulness in her eyes that keeps my mouth shut. If she’s been rejected, I don’t want to risk fraying her tether to the future.
“We can talk more tomorrow,” she promises, ushering us out into the hall when I yawn. Pausing at the door to my room, I pull her into a tight hug. Without words, I try to convey how happy I am to see her. Only when things feel awkward, do I pull away. With a whispered ‘good night,’ I slip into the room and carefully climb onto the bed, tucking Kaitlin against my side.
Exhaustion has my eyes slipping shut before worry can send my brain into overdrive.
Chapter Five
The safe houseis silent as Kaitlin and I walk downstairs. It’s far too early to be awake, but my little bug has decided to be up for the day. She’s always been a morning person, waking with the sun. If I weren’t so tired from a restless night of attempted sleep, I would enjoy the first rays of light with her.
Stepping into the small living room, I’m surprised to see Lex, Omen’s bodyguard, seated on the couch. He glances up when we walk in, offering me a silent nod. Kaitlin clings harder to my hand, hiding behind my legs as best as she can. He doesn’t acknowledge her as we walk by to collect her crayons and coloring books from the coffee table. Not ignoring her the way my family would ignore her, but out of respect for her wariness.
In the kitchen, I find the fridge decently stocked.I wonder if Omen has learned to cook since leaving Whitlan? When we were younger, it was always me sneaking into the kitchen to learn alongside the chef while my sister stayed hidden in her bedroom. She always preferred reading to cooking.
Falling back into the role of caretaker, I pull out ingredients to make everyone breakfast. Nothing fancy, just eggs and toast. Something to fill our empty stomachs.
Acidic sunflowers fill my nose as my sister arrives, the dark circles beneath her eyes more prominent in the early morning light. She grumbles as she takes the spatula from my hands and orders me away from the stove. A laugh slips from my lips, and I can’t help but tease her.
