I could see them in my mind. Tall stalks with yellow petals reaching for the sky, thick green stems swaying just above my head. Flowers so high the bees would stay far enough away, too busy to bother with me as I watched from below.
“Did you have flowers at Lockswell?” Vincent asked, his hands tucked into the front pockets of his pants.
“Sort of,” I answered. “They grew out back—wild ones. No one ever cut them down. There was a garden too. I didn’t mind working in it. Herbs, vegetables… mostly for the younger kids.”
Vincent nodded, slow and thoughtful, as we walked the edge of the yard. “Would you want to do that here?” he asked. “The garden, I mean.”
I glanced at the soil. At the space. And thought about what it meant to grow something that wasn’t just for survival.
“Maybe?” I wasn’t too sure. I could, if the Alpha wanted one. But at the same time, if he wasn’t going to use the items grown, then there was no point.
“That’s an accepted answer. We have months before spring is here again. I don’t care one way or another. I just want you to be happy. And finding hobbies to keep you busy while I work during the day will be a good idea.”
I’ll just sit at your feet all day,I thought. I didn’t need a hobby.
I didn’t say anything in reply. I had a feeling that Vincent wouldn’t want me at his feet all day long, eventhough that’s exactly what I’d do if I were given the choice.
“What other plants would you plant?” He asked, returning to the subject at hand.
“Daisies and roses. And maybe a lilac bush. Your yard is very green, Sir. It needs color.”
“Come springtime, you can make a list of different plants we can plant. I’m not out here often, but I bet with your touch, I won’t want to ever leave it.”
My cheeks heated as I refused to glance at the man. My stomach swirled, too, but in a good way.
How could such an easy statement like that make me feel seen and confused at the same time?
I’d never felt like that before. I haven't felt useful even one day of my life until Vincent Harris stepped into it.
Lost in thoughts I couldn’t name, feelings too tangled to sort, I stumbled over my own feet.
I would’ve gone down hard, face-first into the grass, if Vincent hadn’t caught me. His hand gripped my upper arm, firm enough to hold me steady, gentle enough not to leave a mark.
“You okay?”
I nodded, heat rushing through me. Embarrassment bloomed sharp and full, curling around my throat until words felt impossible.
I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe. But Vincent didn’t push. He just held on.
Once the embarrassment only simmered, I muttered out an apology. Omegas weren’t meant to beclumsy. We were trained to be sure-footed, always thinking a step ahead.
“No apology needed, sweetheart.” Vincent’s voice wrapped around me, causing my eyes to blur with unshed tears. It was a type of comfort I had long forgotten about. Warmth and acceptance.
Neither of those things was something I was given. It was stripped from me along with many other things that I had since forgotten about.
When I had tripped, I was often hit upside the head or smacked with a thick wooden board on my backside. Sometimes for other Omegas who had difficulties in learning to keep their balance, they were forced to walk on a thin board that didn’t even fit the width of a foot. And if an Omega fell off it, they’d get punished by different methods, then told to redo the walk until they got it perfect.
“Where did your mind go just now?” Vincent asked. His hand was still on my arm, but now it wrapped around my elbow, like he was afraid I’d disappear into my thoughts.
Given, I just did.
“How Omegas are trained to walk correctly. Any form of misstep is returned with a swift punishment.”
“That won’t happen here.”
I grimaced, not believing his words. The handlers always used them.“If you follow the rule, it won’t happen.”
For some reason or another, rules tended to be bent at some point. Either I didn’t keep my expressionwelcoming enough, or I moved too fast, or some other thing. A punishment was bound to happen.
