I lay in bed into the wee hours, thinking of all kinds of things. How we could have approached her in a softer way. How angry she was. Her pain. It hurt me now, even hours later.
A small part of me still thought we had a chance.
Maybe there was a way we could earn her trust. Show her we weren’t like other alphas. Show her we could be mates she could feel safe with. Mates who would treasure her for the gift she was.
There was a chance our fate wasn’t sealed in being alone.
Chapter Eleven
Lily
I did exactly what I promised myself I would. When the three alphas approached me, I didn’t cower and submit. Nope. I stood up for myself and didn’t take the bait. I walked away.
It was everything I told myself I’d do in the situation.
Rumor might have the perfect dream life here with her mates, but she was not the rule. She was the magical unicorn of omegas.
We didn’t live in a world filled with DarkShadow Packs. If anything, my pack was the one others aspired not to be. Forgetting that was easy to do. I lived a good life here, but that didn’t change the fact that omegas were treated horribly everywhere else.
I refused to let myself become complacent simply because Rumor had this perfect life, one she willingly shared with me. A false sense of security could lead to darkness taking over my life again. These alphas might act like they would take care of me and treasure me the way Rumor’s did her, but that’s all it was, an act.
I was staying here…with them.
End.
Of.
Story.
There was no reason to chance it. Back before Rumor took me in, I’d have risked everything to get out of there. But that time was behind me now.
I was no longer forced to do hard labor without food or sleep, no one beat me anymore, not for mistakes I made or for the mistakes of others, my pack smiled when they saw me, and I never had to help clean the wounds left by a whipping onsomeone who “stepped out of line.” This was a good pack, the best pack. And they accepted me into their fold and treated me like I was important.
I had a good life, better than I ever dreamed possible. And, more than how they treated me, this was a family. I had cubs around me, both Bernie and Rumor’s growing baby. Cubs bring packs to life, and being part of that, even as an auntie, was everything.
“Where did you go?” I’d been finishing up cleaning the jar returns for hours now and wasn’t any closer than when I started. And this missing dishcloth was the third of the day. At this rate, I was going to be in the kitchen for a decade. But that was fine. At least those alphas weren’t here trying to woo me with their sexy smiles and delicious scents.
“Argg.” They needed to leave my head already. They weren’t paying rent. I was evicting them.
Maybe I needed to stay away from the market for a while.
My wolf tried to tear through me and take my skin at the thought of skipping market days. That wasn’t happening. She needed to chill out.
He did have a point, though. Selling my goods gave me a purpose, bringing money into our pack. Allowing those alphas to push me out of there was just as bad as falling for their courting offer. Right?
Or maybe I’d been too harsh, shutting them down without hearing them out.
“Argggg.” I stomped my foot like I was three. Second-guessing myself wasn’t going to help my situation. I needed to cut it out.
I did the right things for myself. Full stop. I didn’t decide in the moment and go by feelings. I had a plan, and I stuck with it.
So, why did I feel so completely shitty?
It didn’t help that my wolf was madder by the second, pacing around inside me, growling, growling, and then growling again.
Most days, I could ignore her if she got pesky, but when she got this worked up, it ate away at my resolve and, eventually, she’d win.
I went back to the dishes, grabbing yet another clean dishcloth. My beast growled louder, catching me off guard and I ended up dropping a jar. It didn’t break, but that didn’t mean the next one wouldn’t.
