Chapter 4

"Where am I?" Brianna thought as she woke up in an unfamiliar room.

The room looked extremely luxurious, and the bed she occupied also felt very comfortable. It was really different from her own bed, which feels very hard.

Although the room was comfortable, she couldn't feel relaxed. 

The room is dominated by the alpha scent, which was quite strong and made her feel uncomfortable.

Unable to bear it, Brianna slowly started to get up from her bed. "I can't be here; I have to get out of here," she thought while holding her stomach protectively.

But just as she was about to stand up, the bedroom door opened, and a blonde woman with a worried expression on her face entered the room.

"Brianna, I was so worried about you!" the Beta said as she hugged her tightly.

Knowing that she wasn't in any danger, Brianna returned the beta's hug.

"I'm fine, Celicia; you don't need to worry about me," said the Omega, to her cousin, which was immediately answered with a shake of the head by Celicia

"Not to worry? You told me not to worry? Look at you, Brianna, you almost died! I don't know what would have happened to you if Jack didn't save you!"

Brianna fell silent when she heard the name.

'Jack...? Don't tell me he's...'

CREAKK~

"Hey, you finally woke up. You scared me for a sec there; I thought you were going to die!" the Alpha said as he entered the room.

"Jack..." Brianna whispered in disbelief.

Of course she knew the alpha; in fact, Brianna really knew him!

He was her cousin's best friend and... also her first love, Jack Nicholas Burkley.

"Hi Brianna, long time no see," he greeted while flashing her a smile, which made her blush.

'He's still as handsome as ever,' Brianna thought.

"You know, Brianna, you are very lucky that Jack took a shortcut on the way home;

Otherwise I don't know what would have happened to you! Ugh, if only you had agreed to stay with me then, your condition wouldn't be this bad! " Celicia scolded her.

"Celicia, we've talked about this many times. I can't accept your offer; your life is already very busy, and—"

"But at least it's better than living with them, Brianna! Can't you see the condition you're in? You're slowly dying because they keep abusing you!"

"Wait, abuse?" Jack interrupted , furrowing his brows in confusion.

" What happened? Who abused who? Does that have anything to do with why Brianna was in the forest?" he asked.

The Beta turned to Brianna, as if asking for permission to explain the situation, and Brianna slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah, actually... Brianna was abused by her parents; that's why she tried to run away from home, that's also the reason why she ended up in the forest." Celicia explained as she looked sadly at Brianna.

"And this isn't the first time she's tried to run away... This incident has happened many times, and I've also tried very hard to persuade her to live with me, but this stubborn girl keeps refusing my offer!"

"I see... okay, I get it, but why did her parents abuse her? As far as I know, Brianna and her family are doing well."

"That's because Brianna is pre-"

"Because I don't like being a ballerina!" Brianna answered spontaneously, which caught their attention.

Celicia initially gave her a confused look, but after seeing Brianna's code, she finally followed her. "Yeah, because of that," the Beta agreed sheepishly. 

"You know how Brianna's parents have high expectations of her, considering that she’s the only child in the Jones family"

"Yeah, if I remember correctly, Brianna's parents were even very proud of her achievements as a ballerina... " Jack said, nodding his head in agreement before continuing.

Well, now that you've run away, where do you plan to stay?" Jack asked the Omega.

"Um, about that," Brianna paused as she tightened her grip on the blanket, "To be honest, I haven't thought about it yet."

"Seriously, you still don't have a plan yet? Listen, Brianna, you don't have to think about that, just stay at my place and—"

"But I don't want to interfere with your life, Celicia. You'll be getting married soon, and I want you to live happily with your mate. Now think about it; if I agree to stay with you, will he be okay?"

And that response left Celicia speechless. She didn't know how to answer that. She had no response for such a sharp retort. 

She never discussed this matter with her mate either.

Seeing that her cousin had fallen silent, Brianna continued what she wanted to say, "After all, I still have some money left in my savings. I think I can rent somewhere."

"But you forgot, Brianna, you're an artist; what if there are people who know you and have bad intentions? You should stay with —"

"Stay with me." Jack said suddenly, making the two women in front of him turn their heads.

"There are many guest rooms here, and you can use one of them."

"Wait, living with you? Tsk, you must be joking, even though you are my best friend, I would never let Brianna live with you.

How could I leave my precious cousin to an alpha who still doesn't have a mate like you? From any angle, it's so wrong!" said Celicia in a scornful tone.

"Now then, do you have any other choice? She has no one, and she's an artist. If Brianna stays with me, I can guarantee her safety!

I am the CEO of Burkley Corporation, remember?; no one dares to mess with the Burkleys, not even her parents! If it's not enough, I can work from home! And as for you," the Alpha said as he pointed at Celicia.

"Can you guarantee all of that? Considering  that you're getting married soon, you're bound to be even busier than now."

"About that..." the Beta looked confused; her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Seeing that Celicia was cornered, Brianna, who had been silent all this time, immediately defended her.

"Jack, she's done enough for me. After all, this was my problem from the start, and as for the offer, Celicia was correct; I can't live alone after all; it's too dangerous for me.

I will accept your offer; that way, Celicia won't worry too much about me because you are someone I can trust," Brianna replied, her gaze fixed on Jack.

Hearing that, Celicia immediately knelt beside Brianna's bed and gently held the omega's hands.

"Brianna, you never bother me; I'm just worried because I care about you so much." Celicia said it sincerely, and Brianna could see it in her eyes.

"It's okay, Celicia; I know you love me; and thank you," she replied with a genuine smile.

"But I agree with only one condition," Celicia said while fixing her gaze  on Jack.

"If you ever dare to do anything bad to her, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Okay," said Jack. "Well, if you have nothing else to say, I'll walk you out. Besides, it's getting really late; it will be dangerous for a Beta like you to go home this late."

"Okay then, I'll leave now. Hey, Brianna?"

"Yes?"

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, okay? We are family, and always will be."

We are family.

For some reason, Brianna was deeply touched by those simple words; no one had ever said those words to her, not even her parents.

"I will, Celicia; after all, you are my only family." the Omega said it with a big smile plastered on her face.

After waving goodbyes, Celicia went out of the room, escorted by Jack.

When Brianna was alone, the Omega showed her panicked side.

"Oh no, I can't believe that I chose to live with Jack! I can't even remember the last time I spoke to him." Brianna muttered, cursing her stupidity but happy at the same time since she would live with her crush.

"Hm, but I guess living here isn't a bad choice either. As far as I remember, Jack is a good Alpha; that's why I fell for him in the first place."

Not long after, Jack returned to the room.

"Hey Brianna, you still up?" he asked, which made her jump in surprise.

"Well yeah, I'm still awake," Brianna answered quietly.

"Okay, then. I just wanted to give you this, please read it before you go to sleep," the Alpha said while throwing the book at her.

Brianna was confused at first when she stared at the book, but then her eyes widened when she read the contents.

"Jack, what is the meaning of this?" she asked.