Page 11 of Enticing Little Omega (Twisted Little Tales #5)

Christa

T he bell above the diner door jingled as it always did, a familiar chime that rang like background music to the clatter of plates and the low hum of the morning regulars nursing their third cups of coffee.

I wiped my hands on a dish towel and leaned against the counter, watching Honey move with practiced grace between the booths.

I was trying really hard to pretend it was just another Wednesday in Mystery Falls.

But I knew better.

It wouldn't be long before Honey's pack insisted she stop working at the diner.

She already didn't live with me anymore.

And now they were here. Have been.

For days.

And they haven’t even been to see me!

Everything was changing, and I wasn't ready for it, or okay with it.

"Did you hear about the newcomers?" old Earl asked from his usual spot at the counter, voice low.

A shiver raced up my spine at his casual gossip, as if my thoughts of them brought up the gossip.

Earl leaned toward his buddy, Mason, eager to dig into new gossip.

Mason arched a brow. "No? What newcomers?"

"A pack. Three Alphas and a Beta. Moved into one of those rental cabins outside of town. The first two showed up a about a week ago. Last two pitched up a few days later."

I continued my careful wiping of the counter as if they're discussion meant nothing to me. I couldn't afford to show any reaction because it would only add fuel to whatever fire was already burning.

Forcing myself to move to the coffee machine to grab the full pot I picked it up and started warming up the cups on the counter.

It took everything in me not to show the turmoil bubbling inside me. The hair at the back of my neck stood on end.

I was being stupid. I knew they were here. It was only a matter of time before everyone started discussing them.

"They're not just renting for a week-long trip either. Molly told me they paid upfront for a couple of months," Earl continued, getting into the groove now that he had an avid audience in his friend.

"That's not just passing through," Mason muttered. "You think they're looking to move to town? What on earth could they want in a small town like ours?"

Earl's grin turned positively gleeful at his friend's question. "Rumor has it, there's an Omega hiding in town."

At this, Mason guffawed.

"Of course, there's an Omega hiding in town. But she's been found, hasn't she?" The toothless patron pointed at Honey, where she was smiling at a family seated at a corner booth.

Earl bumped Mason's shoulder with his own before cuffing him behind the head. "No, you idiot! Another one. Apparently, our small corner of the world is Omega Mecca."

I forced a smile as I refilled Earl's mug, careful not to spill a drop. My hand was steady, but only because I'd spent the last two years mastering the art of pretending.

Pretending I wasn't terrified of being found.

Pretending I didn't miss my old life, my dad, my home, like a phantom limb.

Pretending I wasn't still looking over my shoulder every time a stranger—which was every damn day—walked into the diner.

But more than anything else... pretending that I wasn't missing the biggest part of myself by hiding my very nature.

Once again, Earl didn't notice a thing, too wrapped up in the sound of his own voice. "They say this Omega's been here a while too. Living all quiet like. Under the radar. I guess someone must have sniffed her out if there's a pack looking to court her."

"You think the pack came all the way out here for that?" Mason asked, scratching at his stubbled chin. "Seems like a stretch, don't you think. Omega's aren't that rare. They could just get themselves one in the city."

Earl shrugged, not pleased with his audience for not playing along with him. "Alphas get real strange when fate gets involved. I bet she's their scent match, and they hunted her down.”

I nearly dropped the fucking coffee pot.

The weight of the words hit me square in the chest, sharp and sudden.

He was too close to the damned truth.

"Christa?" Honey's voice cut through the rising buzz in my ears. She stood by the pass through window, holding a fresh plate of eggs and toast, her eyes searching mine. "You okay?"

I blinked and cleared my throat. "Fine, fine."

She didn't look convinced.

I wasn't altogether surprised.

"Have they—" she began to ask, but I shook my head to stop her from completing the sentence.

"I'll just take this to table four," I offered quickly, taking the plate from her hands before she could do me in with any more of her concern.

I needed distance.

I waved through the booths, smiling and nodding at familiar and new faces.

This was normal.

Routine.

I could do this.

Then the bell rang again, and as was my habit, I looked up at the door to greet the new guests.

The very four guests that had Earl and Mason gossiping like a bunch of biddies with nothing better to do.

The pack.

My pack.

Fuck.

I dropped the plate on table four without a word to the startled trucker sitting there and stormed to the door that led to the kitchen.

It didn't take long for Honey to follow me. "Do you want me to chase them away?"

Goddess, I loved my friend. She was tiny, smaller than most Omegas. Na?ve as a newborn doe. And protective like a mama lion with her cubs.

I shook my head in response to her question before taking a deep breath. Jo, our Beta boss, and the owner of the diner loomed over me with a fierce scowl on his face.

"What the fuck now? Things were just settling down after Honey and her drama." His voice was filled with concern.

"Uh..." I looked at him, biting my lip in uncharacteristic fashion. I wasn't this nervous mess. Dammit, I needed to get hold of myself. "So. You know how I'm an Omega right? Running from my... stepmother?"

He squinted at me, but nodded for me to continue.

"Well, I guess I never told you how I met my pack on the same night I ran away, huh?"

Jo swore up a storm before storming into the walk-in freezer. When he came back out, he was holding his favored shotgun and was heading toward the front.

"No!" I cried out in alarm. "You don't need to chase them, Jo. They did nothing wrong."

The old man looked at me, his face clearly transmitting that I needed to convince him—and soon—before he was gonna pepper some men with buckshot.

I rushed to explain my situation and by the time I was done, Jo was sitting down on the stool we all used to take our breaks.

"You two girls are both gonna leave me, aren't ya?"

Oh boy. Honey's eyes instantly filled with tears, and before I knew it, I was in the middle of a damn cuddle pile with our Beta boss and my best friend.

I didn't know how long we stood like that, before we jumped apart when someone cleared their throat at the pass-through window to get our attention.

Back to the real world we go, I guess.