Page 29 of Cost of Courting (When it Raines Omegaverse #6)

Chapter twenty-seven

Bailey

This neighbourhood reminds me so very much of my dad and uncle Charles.

I stand on the sidewalk really looking at this world.

It’s poor, you can see that. The shutters are broken or missing, there is no grass, no one drives luxury cars.

But there is something about the way they look after each other.

I don’t know my neighbours. I doubt any of them even want to know me.

I slide my phone out before I can stop myself and dial my dad’s number, but the phone's engaged.

Before I can put the phone away, I get a video call from Kelly. I frown and answer it because he doesn’t usually call me.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

I curse internally. Not Kelly, but Charles.

“Yep.”

I glance around, making sure no one is looking at me as I make my way into Selene’s backyard.

“Why are you calling me all the time?”

“You’re running away. I know what running looks like.”

“It’s not running. I gave the company back into the hands of the people who work there.”

I shove my hand into my hair and pull.

“And we both know that’s just to buy you some time to sort out your problem.” Charles smiles. “Have you sorted it out yet? ”

I growl at him. “I don’t like you.”

“You love me. But, in all seriousness, how are you?”

He actually cares how I am. I don’t know why that shocks me. I guess I’m used to only my dad or the…no I’m not thinking about that.

“I’m getting there.” I press my lips into a line and then abruptly sit down and glower at my uncle. “So, I met someone who said to me that being an omega is a strength.”

“And what do you think?”

“I don’t know. I thought she was wrong at first, but the more I see, the more I think I am wrong.”

“She?”

I growl at my uncle’s smile that is beaming at me from wherever the hell he is.

“Yes, she.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s my pack’s omega?”

Charles chokes. “Say what?”

I grin at him. “See you later, Uncle.”

“No, wait a minute, Bailey!”

I hang up the phone and snicker. Charles and I have this friendly rivalry that borders hostility some days. He has been instrumental in this new version of me. I don’t know if I should thank him or not.

I have restraint, and he’s got me thinking about others more now. But I don’t feel like a Raines. Isn’t that half the reason I was out here seeking a beta? Because I felt like a failure. Because everything I tried to do, I sucked at. I couldn’t take over the club. I can’t take over the company.

I don’t know who I am anymore.

I bite my lip and wander through the backyard, pausing when I find a fence panel that is at a bizarre angle. I reach out, intending to fix it, when I notice a bit of blood on the unpainted wood. The light is so dim now, sunset right here, but I know blood when I see it.

“No, Selene. What have you been doing now?” I grumble.

I push the fence aside and notice a faint trail in the dirt. I squeeze through and follow the path until I get to the back porch of this house on a different street.

Dot looks up when I stop in front of her and shakes her head.

“You’re not meant to be here. She’s not going to like you intruding.”

“She was bleeding when she came here. Why would she?” I pause, really looking at her. “Doctor? Dot, right?”

“Nurse. Yes, Bailey? ”

I take a seat next to her, shaking my head when she offers me a cigarette. “No, thanks.”

“I know they’ll kill me, but I figured that everything is going to kill me and if I was going to have one vice, it was going to be this one.”

“Stress?”

“Stress and a lot of things, really. It’s not fun when you have to be the person who is constantly cleaning up the battalion of beaten women in this neighbourhood.”

“That’s a really honorable thing, Dot. Even if it is hard.”

“You’d think so, but maybe I just want to make sure I get a chance of a happy ever after, you know, when I croak it.”

I snort out a laugh. I like this straight shooting woman and her dry sarcasm.

“So, Selene fights a fair bit, huh? That path is worn.”

Dot grunts. “She does what she has to do. We owe her a great deal of thanks. Some of these people could have gone their whole lives with no one to fight for them. She’s changing their futures. How could I do anything else but mop her up when she comes crawling home?”

“She’s an omega. It’s dangerous.”

“She’s who she is, Bailey, you can’t change her or her nature.

She might be an omega, but she’s got more alpha in her than any alpha I know.

She understands that pack means protection, it means safety, it means everyone is fed, bills are paid, people are punished or ripped out the pack.

Selene pulled us all in with home-cooked meals, kind words, fixing gardens or repairs, bringing shopping, standing between us and those who would hurt us.

We didn’t trust her. No one believed in her, but, slowly, she pulled us into her web and showed us something different.

She understands the heart of a pack, and when she lost hers…

she built one instead. That’s the omega you’re so worried about. ”

She snorts a laugh.

“Don’t be worried. Selene is the moon lighting the way home. Be afraid for everyone else. The moon goddess has no mercy.”

I sit back, and we fall into silence while I let her words sink in.

“Your dad let this territory go. He should have fought for it.”

I turn my head to look at her. “Why did he let it go?”

“I believe there was an issue with a girlfriend and a little girl who needed his help. Anderson stopped caring for a while, and we were the casualty of his grief.”

I wince. “Lia.”

“What?”

“That’s the name of my sister. Lia. She needed him, but he couldn’t help her.”

Dot nods in understanding. “Sometimes we can’t help. Everyone thinks you can, it's black and white. You either help or you don’t, but sometimes help makes it all worse. ”

I frown and turn to face her. “What do you mean?”

“Luna doesn’t know what’s going on. She doesn’t know how bad her boyfriend is.

That is Selene’s weakness. This guy is the worst news, and if ever Selene has a nemesis, then it would be him.

Luna is why she stays her hand, pulls her punches, and lets things slide.

Luna’s words are the swords that cut our glorious moon to pieces. ”

Dot hands me a beer.

“Since she has decided that you are hers, you’re going to need to step up. Not to protect her but to walk beside her.”

“You two know each other well,” I murmur.

Dot tilts her head back, looking up at the sky. “Yeah, we’re good friends. We’ve been that way for a long time.”

“I’m not sure I’m the right person for her. I’m a mess at the moment.”

“Of course, you are. You’re an omega and alpha, just like her.

Things will always be messy. But you know how to lead, you know how to protect.

And the heart of an omega can see all the parts a pack needs that an alpha might miss.

You are unique and powerful. If you are half the person she is, you will be amazing. ”

I hang my head. It’s like she’s reached right inside me and pulled all my doubts and fears and laid them out.

“What if I’m not good at being an omega?”

“Because you’ve been running so long?” She snorts. “Even if it’s new to you, Bailey, you’ve always been an omega. It’s simply a part of who you are.”

“How do you know all this? How did you even know what I was?”

“I’ve met someone who could slide the designation scales like you. Alpha to beta. We were friends, the best of friends.”

“What happened to them?”

“Oh, they went on and met a pack and got to experience true happiness.”

“You lost contact?”

Dot looks down at the cigarette she’s just lit. “I didn’t want her to be torn, to look back and feel sorry for me stuck here. She was happy. That made me happy.” Her voice trails off. “That’s all I need.”

I think Dot was in love with that person. Maybe that’s why she’s helping me and why she’s so protective of Selene. Maybe we remind Dot of the woman she loved.

“I don’t know how to make the two parts of myself work in sync.”

She laughs, low and mocking. “Then why aren’t you talking to the person who already figured it out?”

I huff. “I don’t want her to think I’m a mess. ”

“You are a mess.” She elbows me. “Lucky for you, our girl has a soft spot for hot messes.”

I sip my beer and ponder that while Dot leans back in her chair, lost in her own thoughts. It’s nice and companionable. Selene doesn’t know how good a friend she has.

Now I just need to find a way to be the alpha or omega she needs.