Page 8 of Broken Harmony (Heartbreak Melody #2)

“Go! Have fun. Happy birthday, sweet girl. Hope you have the best day. Your gifts should be there soon. We miss you, love you, bye!” Everyone shouts their goodbyes, then they hang up before they answer my question.

Staring at the phone, I frown. It’s like any time I ask about Lulu these days, Mom finds a way to change the subject.

Have I become a little too obsessed? Does she think I need to get over Lulu?

Sometimes I think I should. But I know it’s never going to happen. She’s buried too deep into my soul to be rid of.

I might not be able to get over her, but I do know I need to move on and start living my life.

She’s probably started college at the church by now and is already going out on dates with men her parents set her up with.

The thought makes me want to throw my phone. Shaking my head, I try to push that out of my mind and head downstairs to find my friends waiting in the foyer.

When Skyler sees me, he smiles. “Happy birth—”

When I’m halfway down the stairs, three sets of growls fill the room, and my body stiffens.

“Enough of that.” Chase strides over and slaps all of them on the shoulder, snapping them out of this weird little haze they seem to have been under.

“Shit, sorry,” Ryker chuckles awkwardly. “We were just... fuck, Ally, you smell like my cock wants to be inside you.”

My eyes widen. “W-what?”

“I will not fuck my sister, I will not fuck my sister,” Tyson chants looking up at the ceiling, fist clenched, nostrils flaring.

“Get a hold of yourselves!” Skyler snaps, his Alpha bark making me shiver. Well, that's new. “Just because she’s an Omega doesn’t mean shit. It means nothing.” Skyler looks at me, eyes wide. “Well, it means something. Like, we’re going to respect you and stuff, make sure no one hurts you. And–”

“I know what you meant,” I laugh, putting the poor guy out of his own misery. “We’re best friends, like siblings. Just because our bodies want something doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”

Ryker eyes me up. “So, you're telling me your body wants my dick in it?”

“Keep talking about your dick to my niece, and I’ll chop it off,” my uncle snaps.

“Yes, sir,” the guys all grumble, and I can’t help but laugh at the way three Alphas listen so well to the older Omega.

“I’m going to have to learn how to do that.” I giggle at my uncle.

Giggle. I fucking giggled? Ugh, kill me now.

“Come on.” I clear my throat, pushing past the guys. “We have to stop by the store before we go or this is going to be one long fucking day.”

***

“What about these?” Tyson asks, holding up a pack of what looks like underwear.

“That’s for old people, dude!” Ryker snatches it from his hand and puts it back on the shelf.

“How heavy is your flow?” Skyler asks, holding up a bag of pads. “This says it’s good for overnight.”

“Oh!” Tyson holds up a box of tampons. “You could just shove one of these up there,” he chuckles. “Like a plug.”

Ryker’s brows furrow. “That's so tiny, though.”

“These say they line your panties.” Skyler shows me another box. “Don’t look like they would hold much.”

It’s taking everything in me not to be rolling around on the ground laughing right now. Ugh, I love these guys so damn much.

As soon as they snapped out of the weird I want to fuck you moment, they went into older brother mode again. Maybe a little bit of Alpha is coming out of them, wanting to make sure I’m taken care of. It’s sweet, honestly.

They have no idea what they are doing right now, but it’s the thought that counts.

“Guys,” I laugh. “We’re in the wrong aisle.”

“We are?” Skyler’s brows furrow. “But you said you need pads.”

“Yes, but these are for Alphas and Betas. Omegas need a completely different kind.” I walk out of the aisle and head into the one next to it.

“Holy shit. There’s so much,” Tyson murmurs.

“This is pretty much everything in the other aisle, but made to block out my scent and help control slick.”

“Why do they cost so much more than the others?” Skyler grumbles. “Just because you're an Omega doesn’t mean you should have to pay more.”

“Maybe it’s because it's harder to make these?” Ryker questions.

“Pretty much,” I answer, browsing the products. “It’s because they’re more expensive to make, too.”

“Stupid,” Skyler mutters.

I smile over at him. “Yeah.”

Not giving them a chance to suggest a million different things again, I grab a few packages of pads, panty liners, and tampons, shoving them in the cart Tyson is pushing.

“Alright, good to go,” I tell them.

In the time it takes us to head to the cash register, the guys have added in a teddy bear, fuzzy socks, three blankets, and some candles.

“And what is all this?” I ask, as I put everything on the conveyor belt.

“You're an Omega,” Ryker says, as if that answers my question.

“And?”

“Well, you're gonna need a nest and stuff, right?” Tyson says.

“We just wanted to make sure you had a head start.” Skyler rubs the back of his head shyly.

The smile on my face falls, and my lower lip trembles. Tears start to spill, and before I know it I’m full-on sobbing in the check-out line.

“Shit, I think we broke her,” Tyson sounds panicked as Skyler wraps me in a hug.

“No,” I sob into Skyler's neck. “I’m just so thankful I have you guys.”

“Shhh,” Skyler soothes, rubbing a hand up and down my back.

I take a deep breath of his scent and sigh, everything in me starting to settle. This is what I needed since I first woke up, everything my body was screaming for.

It doesn’t have to be romantic. It can be completely platonic. But I know right now, with everything going on in my life, I’m going to need my Alpha friends to help me navigate these new feelings.

And from the looks of it, they don’t seem to mind.

I’m confident in knowing they wouldn’t let anything happen to me. With them by my side through all of this, and all our new upcoming adventures, I’ll be okay.

I wish she were here, I wish it were her I was holding. But it’s not. And it won’t ever be.

I need to stop. Because it’s killing me, this longing for her.

She’s never not on my mind.

But I’m about to dive headfirst into the biggest journey of my life. I need to have a clear head. That still didn’t stop me from calling Lulu’s number this morning and nearly breaking down when I heard it was still not in service.

This is my life now. She’s made her choice. And while I wish I could be there to convince her to fight back and be by her side while she does it, that's not what fate has in store for us.

If it’s meant to be, the universe will find a way. It always does.

“Sorry about that.” I step out of Skyler's arms and turn to the cashier, who has already rung everything up and put it all in bags. She has a soft smile on her face, no judgment at all. “Just found out I was an Omega today.”

“I can relate,” she laughs softly. “And congratulations."

“Thanks.” I smile back. I go to pay, but as I put my card down, Skyler slaps his black card onto the card reader first.

I go to protest, letting him know I can pay for my own things, but he just grins and winks. “Birthday girl doesn't pay. Rules are rules.”

“Fine,” I huff out, knowing it’s a fight I won’t win.

“Come on, Spitfire. Let’s go have a kick-ass day. Everything will be okay,” Skyler reassures, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as the guys grab the bags.

My heart wants that to be true, but there’s this dull aching feeling in my soul telling me there's already something wrong.

I just don’t exactly know what that is right now.