Page 30 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)

Reyna

I don’t know whether it’s because of the chaos of the day, or my normal nap-taking habit, but I also pass out when I make it back to the guest bedroom.

Or I guess, my bedroom, for now.

When I finally peel my eyes open, it’s dark in my room. I can still see the faint hints of purple skies through the window, so the sun must’ve only set recently.

I roll over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. That’s when I realize the thick white comforter is curled around me in the center of the bed.

Like a makeshift nest.

My heart picks up at the idea.

An actual nest.

Does the Graylock Pack have one?

Of course they do, all pack houses nowadays are made with rooms made to become nests when a pack moves in.

I swallow hard. Why in the world am I imagining what it would be like to have my own nest with this pack?

Nests come with heats.

Oh fuck.

Heats.

Stone’s last few words come back to me.

“ I want you to know that I haven’t forgotten about what you’ve told me. About the Sorel family. About the danger you were in. We’re going to talk about that, eventually, Wildflower. ”

They already know about how I’ve taken suppressants. But they don’t know why I was so dead set on taking them. So determined that I did the things I did for money.

That’ll be a shitty conversation.

No one but Dom knows what happened to me that night, and I know how that turned out. Sometimes I question whether or not I would be better off if he’d never shown up.

I fight the urge to scrub my hands down my face. I didn’t remove my makeup. Whoops. My mascara is probably all smudged around my eyes, after that nap.

There’s no point thinking about the past like that.

I wonder what woke me up?

I roll over and glance at the nightstand. My phone screen lights up.

That was probably it, I guess.

I put it on do not disturb mode so no stupid social media notifications or anything would bother me, but I guess something about the way the screen lit up after it started getting dark woke me up.

The bed is so big that I have to get up onto my hands and knees to crawl over to the nightstand to reach my phone.

The screen lights up, and my mouth goes dry.

Terror swirls, low in my gut, and the reality of what I was running away from hits me like a truck.

My phone has been flooded with notifications. I scroll through, my world falling apart with each scroll.

There’s a text from three and a half hours ago, right after I passed out for my nap.

Dom

Where the hell are you Raine?

Thirty minutes and four missed calls after that, there’s another flood of notifications.

Dom

Answer the fucking phone

Shit is going down and the Sorel family has fucking questions I don’t have the answers to

We’re coming to your place. You better answer the fucking door

Two dozen more calls.

Dom

You traitorous fucking bitch

That text was sent two minutes ago.

I’m going to fucking vomit.

Another text notification comes through. This time, it’s a video attachment.

My phone falls to the carpeted floor beside the bed with a thump. I don’t even have to play the actual video to know what’s in it, because the first frame says it all.

It’s my house. My family’s house.

Engulfed in flames.

A strangled cry leaves my throat and my chest feels like it’s going to explode. I can’t fucking breathe.

They destroyed everything .

A sob racks my entire body. My hands come up and tug desperately at my hair until I feel the burn of pain on my scalp.

This is all my fault.

I knew we were leaving that house behind, but I thought we’d have a chance to go back and try and get a few more things. There was so much I didn’t get to take with me.

And now it’s all gone.

Oh god, how am I going to tell my family? How will I tell Mom and Dad that everything they worked so hard for is gone?

My phone lights up again.

Unknown number

We will find you.

You will pay.

Oh god.

It’s not just Dom hounding me anymore. I’d bet money that whoever is texting me right now is a part of the Sorel family. And the Sorel family means fucking business. They won’t just let this slide, especially if they’re smart and know how much I know about them and what goes down on the Southside.

My hands are trembling as I reach down for my phone. I almost expect it to burn my hands as I pick it up, but the metal is cool.

I need to make sure my family is okay.

Screw whatever else is going on. I text Sav first, because I know she’s the most likely person to have her phone on her.

Reyna

is everything okay?

Sav

Yea we’re just getting dinner ready

What’s up?

Mom is asking if everything’s okay with you?

is Dad home from work, yet?

Yea

You’re freaking me out Rey

What’s going on

nothing, Sav

it’s okay

i’ll figure it out

Okay

Whatever you say

I miss you

i miss you too

I still feel like I’m going to pass out, as I stand up from my bed. It’s like my brain thinks Dom and the Sorel family goons are going to crawl through my phone and drag me back to god knows what.

Torture, probably.

Death, too.

I’m a very proud person. I don’t like asking for help.

But I can’t handle this situation alone.

Not when my family is at stake.

I grit my teeth, fighting back my shaky breaths, as I make my way out into the hallway. The house is quiet and mostly dark.

I make a beeline straight to Milo’s door and don’t bother knocking before bursting in.

Milo whirls around in his swivel chair, his eyes going wide as he looks at me.

The only light in the room comes from his collection of monitors on his large desk. In any other circumstance, I’d be impressed by his setup.

Now is not that time.

“What’s wrong?” Milo asks, immediately standing from his chair.

He rushes over, his eyes going wide as he looks down at me.

“You—you’re crying.”

I reach up and wipe at my cheeks. Fuck, I guess I am crying. So much for my makeup.

Such a stupid thought, at a time like this, but I can’t help but feel self-conscious, standing in front of an alpha—a man—I’m very much attracted to, without makeup.

“Talk to me, Reyna, I—I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong,” Milo says, his hands hovering over my shoulders as if he wants to touch me, but doesn’t know if he’s allowed to.

“I—I need help,” I say, shoving my phone at him.

His brows draw down in confusion, but another text pops up. With the way my phone buzzes, there seem to be quite a few text messages. He clicks on the notification and his expression shifts to one I never thought I’d see on his face.

One of pure, unadulterated rage.

“What the hell is this?" He growls.

“What the hell is what? I can’t see,” I say, trying to pull my phone down so I can read the message.

He reluctantly angles the phone so I can see the latest text message in the flood of threats.

Dom

I don’t know what game you’re fucking playing, but a Southside omega whore like you is only ever good for one thing

Just because you’re throwing your lot in with Northside alphas doesn’t mean they’re going to save you

You can run

But you can’t hide

“Who is this?” Milo growls.

“Dom. He’s, well, he was my pimp, I guess,” I say, wiping at my cheeks and under my eyes.

“Can I go through your phone?”

“Yeah, go for it,” I say.

Milo takes a second to scroll through it, probably looking at the rest of Dom’s messages and the ridiculous amount of calls he’s made.

“Why didn’t you come to me earlier?" He asks, his jaw clenched as he continues to scroll. “This guy has been texting and calling you for a few hours, now.”

“I—I was napping. My phone was on do not disturb until now,” I say. “I came here as soon as I saw what they were sending.”

“Have you watched the video?" He asks softly, glancing up at me.

“N—no.”

“Do you want to?”

I shake my head. I don’t think I could handle it.

“What good would that do? He sent it to me to hurt me and it’s already done its job.”

Milo nods solemnly as he goes back to my phone.

“Who is this new unknown number?”

“I—I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s the Sorel family,” I say, hating the way my voice wavers.

“The Sorel family is the big crime family, correct?”

“Y—yeah. Big on drugs and disappearing omegas,” I whisper.

He nods.

“I’m taking your phone, now.”

“Wh—what?” I ask, blinking up at him.

“I’ll get you a new one as soon as I can, but you’re changing your number. I’m not going to let these people talk to you like this.” His words come out with such authority. I think, with how kind and soft spoken he’s been with me since I’ve met him, it’s easy to forget that Milo is an alpha too.

“O—Okay,” I say, reaching out and gripping the hem of his shirt.

I did this when he stood between Killian and I, when Killian was freaking out in the hospital room earlier.

It’s comforting.

I wouldn’t be caught dead doing this before everything happened. Maybe it’s something about Milo and his softness that brings out my own vulnerability.

“I’m going to try and track this number," he says, lifting my phone. “So we can confirm who sent it.”

“Wait a second,” I say, using my hold on his t-shirt to tug him back to me when he makes a move to step away. “If—if you’re going to take my phone, I need a way to tell my family what’s going on. They’re going to freak out if they can’t get a hold of me.”

Milo nods before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his phone. “Use my phone for now. Maybe give them a call. I’ll have Killian or Theo bring back a new phone after work, so we can get it set up tonight.”

I nod, taking his phone tentatively.

“Thanks,” I say, blinking up at him. The word doesn’t feel like enough to really express how I’m feeling.

“You’re welcome," he says, his expression going soft.

There’s a moment of silence between us. His gunmetal scent swirls around me, thickening the longer he looks down at me.

I’m so tempted to wrap my arms around his neck, go on my tiptoes, and pull his lips down to meet mine in a kiss.

But that’s a bad idea.