Page 18 of Match (Damselverse #1)

Chapter eighteen

Halle

I clutch my throat helplessly, brushing my fingers over the marks that Penn’s teeth left on my pulse.

The wound throbs, but it’s already healing nicely since he finished the bond with a seal of his saliva, making it official.

We are now bonded, and a whimper shakes free of my lips as I wrap my arms around my legs, balancing my chin on my knees.

I don’t know where he is or where he has gotten off to, but his absence hurts.

I start to cry.

Again.

What in this world…

It seems the whole girl boss/kickass female was just completely lost on me, hey.

But fuck it. I can look after myself. In fact, I had no freaking choice in the past, and I don’t recommend it. One star.

My Omega needs to be taken care of. It’s in her DNA.

But why the crying? I sound like a beluga lost at sea.

I’m pretty pathetic right now, as my Omega openly bleeds for her Alpha. He has gone to do God knows what, and she needs him.

I can still sense him through our newly forged bond, and he’s angry. However, he has already mastered the art of blocking as he shuts down our connection, not wanting me to see or feel what he does.

The snub stings. But the matter remains…

I am Penn’s Omega.

And he’s my Alpha.

We are mates now, and I guess this means I no longer belong to my old pack. Despite how terrified and bereft I am, a smile curves my lips.

The door to the basement creaks open, and then Dane’s voice echoes down the stairs. “Petal?”

My heart hammers when I hear the firefighter. I am now a part of the pack. Dane is my packmate now by default.

The big Alpha comes down the stairs, and when he finds me huddled in the corner, he double-takes. “Halle?”

I smile shyly. “Hi, Dane.”

He doesn’t speak for a moment. Then he steps toward me, crouching down at my level. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

The only thing that hurts is my heart, as my Omega really feels Penn’s absence, but she’s also on cloud nine.

I don’t know what came over me as we were kissing. I just needed Penn to bite me.

And he pulled through.

I shudder as I recall the pain of his teeth and his hot breath on my neck.

A growl sounds in Dane’s chest when he spies the bruise on my arm, and I smirk when I think about what Penn will do to Daryl if he ever gets his hands on him again.

“Don’t worry, Halle. I threw that Beta to the kerb. He won’t hurt you again.”

But I’m still grinning like a happy idiot as I know that Daryl’s threats are weak now. Pack Grim can’t hurt me anymore. If they do, Penn will kill them.

I saw the psycho in his eyes. That Alpha is relentless. It really is true, what they say about the shy types.

They’re fucking crazy.

Dane sighs, leaning against the wall opposite me. He deliberates on what to say. No doubt he knows what happened between me and Penn, and I hope they won’t stay mad at him for too long.

I hope they’re not mad at me . I only went and wormed my way into their pack like a good little parasite.

Aiden doesn’t trust me enough as it is.

“Halle…about what Penn did…I’m sorry.”

I look at Dane.

Why? I’m not. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I can still sense how my and Penn’s souls are entwined.

There’s no untangling that bond. My former pack can eat their heart out.

“It shouldn’t have happened that way. Normally, these things need to be discussed as a pack, but Petal… please know that I was planning on biting you one day myself. I’ve felt a deep connection with you ever since I found you unconscious in this very basement. It’s what drew me to you.”

I know exactly what he is talking about because I have always felt it, too. The draw between us is like a great magnetic force.

I knew from the moment that I looked into Dane’s eyes that he was mine. I just didn’t dare to let myself hope.

But things are different now. Penn is my mate. I am safe.

Maybe I can be Dane’s Omega, too.

“But I want the moment to be special. That’s a vow, Petal. I promise, because…guess what? I’m in fucking love with you.”

I close my eyes, and a tear drips down my cheek. That’s the first time an Alpha has ever said that to me, and it’s already been an emotional evening.

So, I say it right back. “I love you, too, Dane.”

And I do. It’s true storybook love, too. Not whatever my old Alphas pretended to feel for me.

Dane moves closer, wiping the tear from my cheek. Then he licks it off his finger, smiling. “Tastes sweet.”

I can’t help it. A giggle pools from my lips, and Dane soon joins me as he helps me to my feet.

His arms don’t leave me as they remain on the small of my back.

Dane tips my head back to gaze into my eyes, and his thumb grazes my jawline. I shudder at his touch.

Then, he leans close, placing a sweet kiss on my lips. No tongues. It’s not an intense, passionate kiss like the one Penn and I shared, but it’s just as potent.

Suddenly, he lifts me, wrapping my arms around his thick neck. I wrap my legs around his waist and let him carry me up the stairs.

It's only when we bump into Aiden at the top of the stairs when the weight of my choice hits me.

The Alpha doesn’t even look at me, as if he can’t stomach the sight of me, content in Dane’s arms.

He only has eyes for the big Alpha.

It seems all our guests have gone home for the evening, and it finally dawns on me…this is my bookstore, too.

What’s Penn’s is now mine, and I become giddy at the idea of owning so many books.

Aiden crosses his arms. “I just received a call from the police station.”

Dane rubs his massive hand up my spine, and I shudder, placing my head against his shoulder as I close my eyes.

“The police station?” Dane asks absentmindedly, continuing to rub my back.

“That’s right,” Aiden sighs. “Penn has been arrested.”

Now that gets my attention, and now my gaze snaps toward Aiden. “What?”

Yet he only looks at Dane, ignoring me completely. My Omega weeps. As it turns out, she recognizes the handsome vet as her Alpha, too.

It's just a shame he doesn’t want me or her.

“It seems he got in a bar fight.”

Dane hikes up a brow. “A bar fight? You sure? This is Penn we’re talking about.”

Aiden exhales, stepping toward the door as he proceeds to lock up. “Well, be that as it may, it seemed he caused quite the disturbance. He kept ranting and raving about his Omega .”

My heart flutters, and my Omega melts like a kitten at the idea of her new Alpha fighting for her honor.

I just hope he didn’t get himself hurt. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to my new Alpha. I just want to nurse any bruises he may have received as a result of his heroics.

Aiden continues. “I have no doubt in my mind who he beat up.”

That’s when Aiden’s eyes land on me. Then they fall on the bruises Daryl's gnarly fingers left on my arm, and there’s no missing his anger.

It lights up his eyes, making the hair rise at the back of my neck.

But then he swallows back his growl, pulling out the keys to Penn’s bookstore as we leave at last.

As he locks up behind us, he says, “Come on. Let’s bail him out."

My heart sighs. Thank God they’re going to get him out of jail. The idea of Penn being inside a cold cell hurts my heart.

Dane must sense my unease through the bond he shares with Penn as he rubs his massive palm up and down my back, telling me that everything will be okay and that I will be reunited with my Alpha.

Because if I have to spend another moment without Penn, then I may just go crazy.

There’s a Penn-shaped hole in my chest after all.