I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes but remained silent. There wasn’t much I could say to him that would change things. The Omega Centre told me that he had been listed as my guardian. It wasn’t like I had anybody else around.
My mother was dead and my father had disappeared from the face of the earth a week before she died. I was an unclaimed Omega with no family, deserted in a small town where most of them disliked me for some reason.
“Shit, I need to call Lauren to let her know,” he muttered.
Swallowing, I focused my attention on the passing scenery. It was a small town basically in the middle of nowhere with few shops and even fewer houses surrounded by ranches for miles. The Omega Centre was located just on the outskirts of town, newly build and fully functioning. The center had been my home for nine years and now they wanted me gone.
I was being thrown into a world I had only learned about while living at the center. The thought of being out in the open, surrounded by Alphas filled me with fear. I had only ever been around Omegas and Beta’s with the few occasions where the center tried to find me an Alpha.
Thinking about the Alpha’s made me remember what my doctor had told me a week ago when I went for my annual check-up. My heat was going to hit soon and in order to make it through it, I needed an Alpha.
“Do you need anything?” Draven asked me. “You don’t have a lot of things.”
I shook my head. I didn’t need anything else at the moment, not clothes anyway. What I needed was a place to stay where I could hide away the moment my heat hit. Preferably somewhere far away from Alphas.
My eyes darted over to the man who sat in front of the car. Not all Alphas were bad, I knew that. Draven had rescued me when I was twelve but he had always been careful to respect my boundaries. That was something I couldn’t say about the other Alphas I met at the Omega Centre.
The car slowed and then turned off onto a quiet street with double-story houses on either side. Green laws, beautiful gardens, and a few high walls. A fancy neighborhood, nothing like the place where we used to live when before we started moving around.
He stopped the car in front of a big black metal gate and leaned forward to search for something in the glovebox. Muttering under his breath, he sat up and then leaned out the window to press a button on the box thing that stood a few inches next to the car.
There was a low sound, and a few minutes later the gates began to open. We started moving again. My eyes darted up to stare at the branches of the tall trees we passed until we reached the end of the drive.
I certainly wasn’t expecting the house to be so big.
“Here we are.” Draven parked the car behind a sleek silver one and glanced over his shoulder at me. “We don’t have any animals.”
Swallowing, I hesitated a moment before I climbed out of the car. I glanced at Draven who was busy pulling my bags from the back of the car and then turned my attention to the house.
It was bigger than the other house on the block. The garden was colorful and well taken care of, but from what I knew of Draven and his family, I could bet that someone other than them took care of things.
“Come on.”
I clutched the hem of my shirt as I followed him up the steps to the front door. My heartbeat increased the closer we got to it. Meeting new people was something I hated. I was comfortable with those I already knew because I knew whether I could trust them or not.
Cool air greeted us the moment we stepped into the foyer. I tugged my t-shirt away from my sweaty skin and blew out a breath.
The first thing I noticed was the fact that nearly everything was white—from the walls to the furniture. It looked too sterile and unwelcoming. My lips twisted when I took in the paintings on one wall. What was it supposed to be?
“Lauren?” Draven called.
I shifted from foot to foot as we waited for the woman to appear. My unease increased when I smelt her—sickly sweet with something else. Instinct screamed at me to run but since I had nowhere to go, I stood my ground and waited.
Not even a second later, a woman stepped into view. Her blue eyes instantly locked on me and narrowed. She frowned and then seemed to pale considerately.
“What’s she doing here?” she sneered.
Draven lowered my bags to the floor, snapping her attention to him. “This is Sin,” he introduced. “Sin, my bonded mate, Lauren.”
“I don’t care who she is,” Lauren hissed. “What the hell is she doing in my house?”
I expected him to scold her, but he didn’t. He moved closer and reached out which made her jerk back. Frowning, Draven stared at her silently for a few seconds and then started explaining things.
“Remember that girl I told you about?” he asked. “The one I rescued from that Motel that closed down a few years ago? This is her. Sin is going to stay here with us until—”
“No,” Lauren interrupted her. “She’s not staying here.”
“Can I talk to you for a moment?”
“There’s nothing to talk about! I don’t want this little—”
“Now, Lauren!” he growled, instantly silencing her. “We’ll be right back, Sin.”
Draven gave me a stiff smile before he gripped her arm and steered her into a room off to the side. He pushed the door closed behind them but it didn’t close all the way. I could hear every single thing they were saying and based on their conversation, Draven’s mate wanted me out of the house immediately.
I stared at the door for a few seconds before I glanced around again. My eyes locked on the sliding doors I could see from where I stood. They had a pool too and the water looked extremely inviting. Shaking my head, I focused on the staircase but it only held my attention for a few seconds.
The door behind me opened, making me stumble forward. His smell hit me first, making me spin around. He didn’t look like I imagined him to but there was no mistaking the fact that he was Alpha born.
His eyes darted around and then locked on me. I watched in dismay as his eyes brightened and his lips curled up into a smile. He stood straightener and puffed out his chest as his scent thickened.
“Looks like today’s my lucky day.” The door clicked shut behind him. “Who might you be sweet Omega?”
My eyes darted to the door for a few seconds, but he still stood close to it, blocking the only escape I had. Draven was in the other room and I knew that if I scream, he would be here to help me, but would he do anything? The Alpha that stood in front of me looked similar to him so it must mean that they were related.
“What’s your name?” he repeated.
I swallowed and took a small step back. There was one thing I learned about Alphas and that was that they thought that they were superior to Omegas because of their status. They like to abuse the power they held to get what they wanted.
An Omega’s biology was different than a Beta’s. An Alpha had power over them but they couldn’t control them. They didn’t submit to an Alpha because it wasn’t in their nature, but being an Omega—especially an un-bonded one—was dangerous. One growl and an Omega would drop to their knees and agree to everything the Alpha wanted.
It was what I feared most.
I didn’t want to be bonded to an Alpha or anyone for that matter which was why I ran the moment the stranger open his mouth again. My eyes were glued to the sliding doors. I had no clue if danger waited for me beyond those doors, but I knew that they were going to lead me to my freedom.
The Alpha called out behind me, making shivers race down my spine. Reaching the doors, I gripped the door handle and pulled but the door didn’t budge, not even an inch.
“It’s locked,” he said from behind me. “That door always stays locked so that my little sister can’t go near the pool when no one’s around.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I slowly turned around and jerked back when I realized how close he stood. His lips curled up into a predatory smile that made my stomach clench.
“Now answer the question,” he growled. “What’s your name?”
My lips parted but then another scent hit me, making my knees weaken. Goosebumps broke out all over my skin when her soft voice reached my ears.
“If she refused to answer you the first time then it means that she’s not interested so why don’t you take a hike before I make you?” The Alpha scoffed and turned, giving me a view of the person who came to my rescue. “Mom won’t let you lay a hand on me.” “I don’t really give a fuck about your mother,” she said as she moved closer. “I’m sure your father—” “You know nothing so stop making assumptions. What are you doing here anyway? Is my uncle too busy to keep you occupied?” Her eyes narrowed on him but she didn’t answer or back down when he turned his full attention on her. Rolling her eyes, the woman moved closer. She walked around him and surprised me by moving in front of me. Her presence made some of the fear fade. “You have a very nasty habit of sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” she hissed. He smirked. “What are you going to do about it, Bella? Run to daddy?” She growled and took a step forward but at that moment, Draven and his mate appeared. “What’s going o
“You know that it’s not only my decision, princess.” I glanced up at Michel as he entered the workshop with his phone pressed to his ear. Our eyes locked for a moment before his eyes darted away. Frowning, I turned off the machine and straightened. “Hold on, I’ll put the phone on speaker,” he muttered. Pulling the phone away, he pressed something on the screen before he placed it down on the table so both of us could hear clearly. There were a few minutes of silence before Bella spoke. “Is Ty with you?” “I’m here,” I told her. “Good.” She sucked in a breath. “I...A friend of mine needs some help. Draven offered for her to stay here with them but Lauren is being a bitch. She doesn’t want to stay here but she doesn’t have anywhere else to go.” “You want her to move in with us?” I asked her. “We all know why that’s a bad idea, Bella.” “I know,” she whispered, “but she’s not like that. I wasn’t thinking of her moving into the house with us. There’s the cottage that has everything
I had butterflies in my stomach. It was something I had heard the other Omegas say when they were about to meet with an Alpha. I had never understood it until recently. It was supposed to be a good thing but it didn’t feel like it. This was a lot different than Draven telling me that I was going to live with them. I had gotten to get to know him over the years but now I was going to meet an Alpha I had never met before. “Are you sure we shouldn’t have waited for Draven to get back?” I asked Bella for the third time since we left.She waved a hand at me. “I’ll call him once we get home.” I nodded, but her words did nothing to ease some of the worries I felt. We left early because Bella said that it was best to drive before it got hot. Nobody had been awake when we left. “He’ll worry,” I muttered.“I’ll text him, okay? Will that make you feel better?” she asked me.“Yes.”We drove in silence for a few minutes. Being close to Bella felt nice. The only scent that clung to her skin wa
I stood back with a smile, but it instantly dropped when I took in my handy work. Letting out a growl, I stomped forward and ripped the curtains from the couches. The living room wasn’t going to work because there were too many windows and the bedroom was too small. Letting out a huff, I glanced around. My brows dipped into a frown when an idea hit. It was a long shot and there was no guarantee that it was going to work. Gathering the curtains in my arms, I hurried down the hall into the bedroom. I dumped them on the bed and walked over to the closet. Pulling open the door, I studied the space with a critical eye. It wasn’t going to work either! Letting out a growl, I spun and studied the room again. The bed stood in the middle of the room with little space between it and the wall on either side. I stared at the window for a moment and then at the bed. The windowsill could be used along with the bed to hold the curtains up. With the picture forming in my mind, I hurried into the ki
“How’s everything going?” “Fine.” I turned my head to stare out the window again. Draven had asked Bella to give me a lift into town. The ride had been silent and slightly awkward. I had stared out the window for the whole drive but I hadn’t missed the glances Bella gave me as we drove. Had her alpha told her that I bit him? “Sin, can you look at me?” Draven asked softly. I sighed. “Everything’s fine. I only talk to Bella and sometimes her Alpha. They don’t bother me and they always make sure that I have everything I need.”“I spoke to your doctor.” My eyes snapped over to him. Draven stared down at the table top for a few minutes before he looked at me again, but with narrowed eyes. There was no need for me to ask what she said because based on the way he was looking at me, I already knew that she told him what she had told me. “This isn’t something you can ignore, sweetheart.” I flinched. Pushing the chair back, I stumbled to my feet and made a beeline for the exit. Draven g
I tilted my head to the side and pressed a fingertip to a dark bruise a few inches beneath my ribs. There were two sets of bruises, one set from Jackson, and the other from Tyrone. Letting out a sigh, I turned away from the mirror and bent forward to take a look at the healing wound on my knee. My eyes locked on the bruises surrounding my ankle instead. It throbbed, but it didn’t hurt as badly as it had. I knew it was probably because of the painkillers I had taken the moment we got back. Straightening, I grabbed the towel from the railing, tried myself, and then wrapped it around my body. Just as I stepped out of the bathroom, the cottage door opened, and then slammed shut a second later. I turned and frowned at Bella who had come to a sudden stop when she saw me. Her eyes dropped but immediately snapped back up to my face. She licked her lips and gave her head a slight shake. “We need to talk.” “About what?” I asked. Her eyes narrowed. “Draven called me.”I clutched the towel t
He sat on top of the dark brown horse with a confidence I envied. The horse was beautiful but massive and scary even from a distance. Pressing my forehead against the window, I tried to get a better look at him, but he was too far away. Michel and Tyrone were early risers. I’d watch them from the window as they walked to the barn, and a few minutes later they would ride out of their beautiful horses. They’d be gone for a few hours before they’d return and head right back to the house. Sometimes Bella would go with them, and other times she would greet them on the porch. In the past week, I noticed that she had left the ranch three times. Sometimes she’d have a few bags with her when she returned, and other times she’d be empty-handed. A knock on the window made me jerk upright. I blinked at Michel and then frowned. He smirked at me as he walked off. I pulled open the front door before he could knock. “Good morning,” Michel greeted cheerfully. “Where’s your horse?” “He’s waiting
“W-why?” “She hasn’t been herself,” he muttered. “I know that she’s sad but I can’t do anything to cheer her up because I don’t know what’s wrong.” I bit my lip. Reaching up, I slipped a few strands of hair behind my ear as I debated what to do. I could lie or I could tell him that it was between Bella and me. Or I could tell him the truth. The moment my heat hits they were going to know anyway. “I lied,” I told him. “About what?” Michel straightened and turned to stare up at me. “What did you lie about?” “I didn’t actually lie,” I muttered, “I just didn’t tell Bella the whole truth.” “Truth regarding what, Sin?” He didn’t look angry but there was an edge to his voice that made me hesitate. My lips parted and just as I was about to tell him, the unexpected happened. There was a loud thud that startled both me and the horse. I cried out when the horse suddenly took off at full speed. Michel yelled something but I didn’t hear. He had told me what to do to stop the horse but I cou