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

Two Years Later

Christa

I stared at the reflection in the mirror, taking in the woman who I had become in the last two years.

Christa.

The name still felt foreign yet strangely fitting, a small nod to the past I couldn't quite escape and the future I was still learning to inhabit. My gaze lingered on the familiar, yet strange face in the mirror.

I leaned forward, palms braced on the tiny bathroom sink, and tried to find the girl I used to be in the face of the woman I was becoming.

"You've come a long way," I told my reflection. "Two years. You made it. You might not have lived as much as you wanted, but you damn sure survived."

It sounded hollow. Even in the silence.

I wanted that to be enough. It kind of had to be, because what were my other options, really? There was no way for me to do anything but what I have done.

So I might not have healed, and maybe I hadn't moved past all the baggage I was lugging around. And I certainly hadn't chased any of my dreams except finding something stable, something safe.

And I had that.

A roof over my head.

A name I could be proud of.

A great, dependable job, with people I enjoyed spending time with.

And more importantly, quiet, sure safety.

There were no big dreams waiting for me anymore. Just... a daily routine I didn't hate. And it was enough.

It was .

I straightened up, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, and let my mind drift back—back to the night everything changed.

Back to the night I watched Marigold take her last breath.

The bag she gave me was old and soft, like it had lived a dozen lives before it ever landed in my lap. Inside it held a burner phone, cash, and a single torn napkin with the name of a biker gang scrawled across it in blue ink. No instructions. Just that.

I didn't know who they were. I didn't even really know who Marigold was, but it was the only option I had.

So I took a chance, and I dialed the number.

Someone answered on the first ring and helped me. No questions asked. Just like that.

They told me they'd leave me a new identity, a good supply of suppressants and directions to a place where I could disappear for a while if I chose to. Somewhere where people didn't ask questions.

And that's how Christa was born.

I didn't ask anymore questions. I wasn't stupid enough to question my one opportunity.

I settled in Mystery Falls because it was small and quiet and nobody cared who I used to be. I worked at the local diner. Got a nice place that I rented from the diner owner for cash. Kept my head down. Laughed when I had to and smiled when it would look weird for me not to.

But after a while, it got lonely.

I was a newly presented Omega with no pack, no family, no friends.

Nothing.

Then... six months into my self-imposed exile, Honey arrived.

I knew what she was even before she did. Another Omega, like me, on the run.

And I knew, just knew, I had to help her like Marigold had helped me. Pay it forward, if you will.

She was so pretty, so sweet and innocent. And so incredibly na?ve that it sometimes felt like I was raising a damn toddler.

She moved in that same day and soon became my best friend. My sister.

Honey never asked questions I didn't want to answer, and I think that was because she had her own secrets and she was very grateful that I didn't ask her anything either.

We talked about everything but our backstories.

For eighteen months, she was everything I'd been missing since my dad passed. Even before that, if I was being honest.

And then they came.

The same damn motorcycle club that gave me my start.

Her fated match. Scent matched.

Her pack.

At first, I thought I'd lost her completely, but they came back to town. Honey with her own story to tell, but no matter what adventure she'd been on, she was back, and now I had my friend back.

One who was going to skin me alive if I didn't get a move on.

"Christa! You here?" The same sweet Omega called out, pushing into the apartment we once shared as if she still lived in it.

"Coming, babe!" I shouted back at her and quickly finished putting on my lip gloss. "What's the rush?" I teased as I shucked on my favourite leather jacket.

Rolling her eyes at me, she smiled as she responded. "Not much. Only that we're finally going to meet the super secretive Tigress, and William is here for a visit."

This time, I rolled my eyes at her as she pushed me out the door so she could lock up behind us.

The Tigress, William and his hotty doctor was all she'd been able to talk about for ages, so really it was a relief that they were finally coming by so Honey could chill the fuck out.

"Is William bringing his Beta doctor with him?" I asked Honey.

"Uh-huh. He finally convinced the cutie that they were better together. I can't wait for you to meet them."

"And the illusive mastermind behind all the drama everyone had been experiencing," I remarked, and she laughed in response.

She'd nearly dragged me all the way to the diner when my heart stopped at the sound of a familiar voice stopping us in our tracks.

"Tut, tut, tut. What are two pretty little Omegas like you doing alone out here?"

My heart stopped. And kind of started again, but at double time, at what I saw.

It couldn't be.

It was impossible.

"T!" Honey cried out and jumped forward, grabbing the impossible stranger into a hug. "Oh, my goddess! I am so happy to finally meet you."

T or the Tigress looked out of place and uncomfortable with the affection Honey bestowed on her.

I couldn't even laugh at it, because my world had just been turned upside down. There was a buzzing in my ears and I couldn't keep up with their conversation over it. Not until Honey looked at me questioningly.

Like she was waiting for me to say something.

"Marigold?" I pushed the name out past the knot in my throat, working hard to keep the tears from falling. I would not show this weakness right now. "What the fuck? I watched you die!"

T or Marigold, or whoever the fuck she was, just looked at me with no expression. None.

Because obviously she didn't care that she'd completely rocked my world two years ago.

And apparently the universe wasn't done messing with me.

Because that's when someone cleared their throat.

And when I looked to see who was interrupting us, I nearly passed the fuck out.

William? And his beta hotty doctor?

They were two of the pack members I ran away from two years ago.

Because of course they were.