Something in my expression must have tipped Julia off because she next squeezed my hand on hers. “You were leaving when we got here?”
I tore my eyes away from the group of men and nodded. “Yeah, I was going for a walk.”
“A walk? Sure. Let’s do it.”
She got up quickly and pulled me with her and dragged me across the room. “We’re going for a walk.” And with a quick kiss on the guys, we left the room.
It was less than thirty seconds since the door closed before Julia laced her arm in mine as we walked. “Okay, what’s happening? Are you okay?”
My laugh was empty. “What was the giveaway?”
The way I looked absolutely crazed? Was it my damp skin? My T-shirt clinging to my body?
Julia giggled. “No South American girl is going for a walk unless something is going on. When you’re born in the heat, walking is not leisure.”
Oh god, that was so true. I never in my life wanted to go for a freaking walk until now, when everything was falling apart in my head. My knee-jerk reaction was to push Julia away and just tell her to mind her business, but I found myself spilling my guts and telling her everything. Every single detail since the moment I landed in this porn version ofMidsommar.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry, this is probably my fault.” She cringed once I finished my tale.
“How?”
Julia made a face, and we moved from the square to a bench overlooking the village. She took a big breath before saying, “Noah called Anders when they found me. I’m a lost omega too. My dad ran from his pack like yours, and he married my beta mom. No one tracked me down, though. I accidentally ended up in their village, and my heat started like this.” She snapped her fingers. “Noah was happy. He wanted everyone to know there were more omegas out there.”
I nodded, looking away from her friendly face for a while. As much as I didn’t want any of this to happen, I couldn’t remain ignorant. I was glad I knew who I was. I was glad I was standing in my dad’s birthplace.
“It’s not your fault. It’s just so difficult. These guys hate my dad, and sometimes they act like I should understand.”
Julia nodded. “Dad made sure never to bring me to his village. I was only there once and never again. Apparently, my uncle said I was probably an omega, but Dad wasn’t interested in cluing me in. It’s hard when an alpha leaves a pack. The ones who stay behind will always be broken.”
Broken.
Is that how they felt? I looked around at the happy families and the sun shining over our heads. Regardless of my dad’s warnings, this place was starting to look like a paradise instead of the hell he painted it to be. My hungry eyes followed an omega and two of her alphas. She had to be the same age as the guys, but her eyes were full of life as she laughed. Kids played across the street, the alphas gave her a sweet kiss and joined what I could only guess were their kids, and she watched them with the most beautiful smile on her face.
“I’m trying to understand, but…” I confessed.
“I know,” Julia said sweetly. “The bond they share is not something we know, but you have to know, packs bond for life, Isadora. They swear to stand by each other's side, and thatpromise is forged in fire for them. Even if they don’t find an omega, they stand together.”
I couldn’t look at her, but the omega and her pack in front of me filled my eyes with unwanted tears. It was simply too much right now.
“And when they find an omega?” I dared to ask.
My eyes found Julia’s. She was warm and good even though I’d just met her. It was hard to accept that we were the same, given our contrasting looks, but I felt an unnatural kinship to her.
“When a pack finds their omega, there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for her. These guys live for their omegas, and they’ve been told it was never happening to them. They gave up hope and…” Her words hung in the air between us until she took another breath with a small smile. “You can’t try to make sense of this by using any measure that you learned before. These guys aren’t just regular guys. They’re alphas. They’re a pack, and you are not some girl. You are an omega.”
Chapter Fifteen
Per
“She’s in the middle of a heat,” Sven reminded us all. “She shouldn’t be walking around.”
“We can’t keep her locked away. If she wants to go, she should go,” I replied, but I understood his feelings. My own protectiveness was screaming at me, pushing me to run and only stop when she was in my arms.
“And she’s not your omega?” Wylder asked.
The visit was ill-timed. Any other time, I'd be more than happy to see Noah, Wylder, and Theo, but with a situation like this on our hands that I could barely understand myself? I shrugged at his question and the arch of his brow.
“No, she’s not. She’s Karl’s kid,” Anders said once again to the room.
