Page 17 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Tully

I tried to maintain some level of decorum while eating, but failed.

Ajax marinated salmon in soy sauce with a brown sugar rub, paired with sides of jasmine rice, steamed vegetables and macaroni and cheese.

While I stuffed my face, they pushed their food around on their plates, except for Lloyd, who ate with a fevered pace like me. I lowered my fork and grimaced.

“I wasn’t sure if you liked salmon, hence the—” Ajax waved a hand at the macaroni and cheese.

“Macaroni and cheese is my love language.” I took another bite of the salmon, unable to help myself.

Ajax beamed, like he'd been waiting for my approval, which was ridiculous. I could cook well, if it was basic. Fenella hated the mess I left in the kitchen, so I’d been subsisting on whatever would keep in my room.

I snuck a look at Walden. He embodied everything you expected from a man whose ancestors founded this city.

Lloyd coasted a hand over my knee, swallowing the last of his meal.

His touch settled the rising embarrassment that bubbled away in my stomach.

I was out of place at this table, with three sets of cutlery.

Tiny silver spoons so shiny I could see my reflection in them.

The sleeve of Walden’s jacket slid down my arm.

I’d put it on without thinking after my glorious shower.

Walden’s gaze flickered to it and he laid his fork down, picked up the material and folded it until it nestled neatly at my elbow.

“Better?” he rumbled.

His warm green eyes pierced through the iron of my protective shield and into the soft, vulnerable soul beneath.

I viewed Walden through a filter of awe and a pinch of mortified hurt.

This poised, handsome alpha managed the weight of his name with such ease.

He’d only grown more untouchable in the time since I’d last seen him.

Yet he made no move to say anything about who I was, or what I’d been doing.

“Much,” I squeaked and ducked my head as heat flooded through my veins.

Anyone would think I voluntarily shut myself in a house for the past eight months and forgot how to interact with others normally. Let alone gorgeous, intimidating alphas.

Oh wait.

“I’m sorry for what happened with Fenella,” Ajax said from the other side of the table.

Pan snorted as he poured himself a hefty glass of wine. A few burgundy drops slipped down the curved edge. He collected them with a long, thin finger and licked them clean. The sight of his pink tongue sent a jolt through my body.

“My brother is leaving out the part where we were all so enamored with your scent she’d stolen. You should stick around, angel. Let us give you the same treatment.” His smile stabbed between my breasts and trailed down, down, down between my legs.

My mouth went dry, at Pan, but also at the rising scents that swirled around the table. Pan tilted his nose up and took an exaggerated sniff, eyes twinkling.

Ajax elbowed him hard in the side. “You’re drunk. If you’re going to open your mouth, at least put some water down it,” he snapped, but it only made Pan’s smile wider and darker.

He directed a wink at me. “You don’t mind, do you? Want to sit on my lap? I’ve got pianist fingers. Do you know what that means?”

He waggled his elegant digits. Chipped black nail paint swallowed the light and his chunky silver rings glinted.

Sharp inhales echoed in the room, but I couldn’t look away from Pan’s hypnotizing grin.

I pressed my thighs together. What would it feel like to have those fingers pry open my legs and play with me? I stifled a whimper.

“Out.” Walden’s nostrils flared.

Pan pouted immediately, tearing his gaze away with difficulty. “Walden—daddy,” he whined.

My gaze bounced between the two of them. Palpable friction ached against my skin, abrasive with the force of their locked stares. There was more to the pet name, a history that Walden didn’t wear easily.

“Leave before you say something you’ll regret in the morning,” Walden ordered, pointing at the door. Pan paused for a beat, chin jutted out in readiness to argue. “ Now, pup. I won’t warn you again.”

Walden’s voice held a thread of alpha bark, and I leaned into Lloyd as the warning pressed on me.

Something spread over Pan’s face and his fingers brushed the necklace on his neck.

A mixture of shame and relief. For the first time, his acerbic expression softened.

He folded out of his chair and took a step backward.

Pup? I slid Lloyd a sidelong glance, but he poured himself a soda, studiously ignoring the war of wills that spilled out over the tablecloth.

“I apologize,” Pan offered; sincerity sobered his jagged edges.

Without waiting for a reply, he wandered upstairs. In his absence, Ajax exploded with a stream of further apologies. Two red spots flamed on his cheeks like stop signs. The hysterical laughter I had smothered earlier rose with vengeance. Walden wiped his hand down his face.

This was so on trend for me. Stuck in a place where I didn’t belong.

My parents couldn’t fit me into their world, and the Hartlock name was too heavy to shoulder.

My daydreams never lasted long enough before I was spat back into a world that didn’t know what to do with me.

Now I was sitting at a table, hearing an alpha call another alpha pup.

“It’s fine,” I gasped, wiping tears from my eyes.

Lloyd passed me a tissue with a furrowed brow.

“Pan treats everything like a joke,” Lloyd explained, but I waved away his comments.

Ajax blew out a sharp breath, and a candle on the table flickered.

“I’m not bothered, trust me,” I assured.

Walden stared down at his salmon like it offended him. My omega instincts urged me to soothe the bristling alpha. Fingers itched to dig between his hunched shoulders. The need was so great that I interlocked my fingers.

He wasn’t mine to touch. Walden would have the most perfect omega one day. Not like me. Or perhaps he was already in love with someone else? A prickly alpha?

But the downturn of his lips bothered me more than I could understand. There was something tumultuous between him and Pan. It crackled through the room, even with Pan gone.

“Thank you for letting me borrow your jacket.” I rubbed my cheek along the collar.

Our intermingled scents thrilled the baser part of me. Walden tore his hollow gaze away from his plate and finally, he relaxed. I could feel it, rather than see it. Like the entire room sighed in relief.

“Anything you need.” He cleared his throat. “I’m at your disposal, Tully.”

He said my name with weight, with texture. Like it was something precious. I suppose it was, if combined with my other name.

“You must be exhausted. Don’t feel you need to rush off tomorrow,” Lloyd said.

The laughter threatened again. This time it was as hollow as Pan’s.

“Family? Friends?” Walden narrowed his eyes. “You have somewhere safe to go, don’t you?”

“Just as long as you don’t go back to living with Fenella.” Ajax collected the plates from the table.

Lloyd had told them about her throwing me out. I hurried to help, piling them up.

“Please, let me handle this,” he protested, easing the stack out of my hands.

Lloyd tugged me back into the plush seat.

“I-I have options,” I lied.

There was no one in this city who I could turn to, no-one I trusted.

My closest connections were Thorn and Clay, but Thorn refused to help.

That was the whole point of moving to Astaly.

So I could shed the past and learn to exist with no need for anyone else.

Walden turned in his seat, his thick eyebrows bunched together.

He knew who I was, and his stare roved under my skin.

He let out a measured exhale.

“You said you didn’t want to go there, but just in case you changed your mind, I called the Omega Center. They’re at capacity for emergency accommodation, but a room should be free next week. It’s yours if you want it.” His tone commanded naturally.

In a twisted way, I could see why Pan had teased him with the nickname, daddy. Stern, disapproving father vibes abound. My spine tingled.

It was presumptuous, and yet tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I’d been looking after myself since I was old enough to walk and deep down, I hated it. Being strong and independent didn’t come naturally to me. I wanted to be coddled. Protected. Cherished.

This pack couldn’t offer me that, no matter how soft, warm, and gooey my baser instincts went.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I protested, but Walden folded his arms, refusing to break his powerful stare.

This was the Walden I remembered, a leader.

“Walden will control every aspect of your life if you let him,” Lloyd joked.

Every aspect of my life ?

Heat flared between my legs. Would he use that domineering tone in the bedroom? My nails dug into my palms to control my wayward thoughts.

“I’ll consider it, about the Omega Center, I mean,” I conceded in a strangled tone.

Walden gifted me a slow, approving nod, and I shivered in delight. Why did it feel so good to do as he wanted?

“How about some dessert?” Ajax called out, “I made chocolate mousse. Will that settle your sweet tooth?”

“Hey,” Lloyd pouted. “That’s my specialty.”

My mouth watered. The prospect of sugar overload whetted my appetite like nothing else. What would Chase say if he saw me now? He’d been the only alpha I’d ever noticed before and now I was practically falling over myself for this pack. I ignored the warning ache in my stomach.

I’d ignore any red flag for chocolate mousse.

“You’re not going to the Omega Center, are you?” Lloyd muttered in my ear as he arched a knowing eyebrow.

I shook my head, thanking Ajax as he put a bowl in front of me. Whipped cream and a mint leaf garnished the mousse. Lloyd didn’t press the subject, distracted by the bowl Ajax slid toward him.

“Thank you. This has been the best meal I have had in years.”

“Of course, of course. I’m so glad we could help. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Ajax insisted, and waved between Lloyd and me. “I feel like I’m missing something, though. Do you know each other?”

Lloyd choked on his mousse, and I rubbed a flattened palm over his back. The furrow between Ajax’s brow deepened.

Oh, your packmate paid me for nudes and I touched myself to the sound of his rumbling voice .

Was that too much information for a near stranger? I touched myself to your coffee and hazelnut scent . There was no way I could admit that, could I? My cheeks flamed, and I swallowed more mousse to keep from answering.

“We have more than enough space, Tully,” Walden interjected, saving me from answering. He declined the dessert and leaned back in his seat.

I ignored the press of his gaze as I finished mine in silence.

Space wasn’t the issue, and he knew it.

Afterward, Lloyd walked me to the guest room, turning the knob and standing aside so I could enter. He hovered close, reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear. I sidestepped with a quick grimace. I needed the touch too much and that scared me.

“Did I tell you how glad I am that you’re here? It feels like a dream come true right now,” he whispered.

My stomach swooped, and I snatched my bottom lip between my teeth.

Our scents mingled as Lloyd cupped my face and stared down at me.

His eyes were an anchor for the storm of my emotions.

The waves of stress lapped at me softly, but his salt and sunscreen made it serene.

I fought the urge to sink into his hold.

What we experienced over the phone was amplified in person.

“I’m so glad you’re real,” I replied.

Lloyd laughed as his thumbs grazed my cheeks. “Not as much as I am. But can I ask a small favor?”

“What?” My breath hitched. Did he want to come inside? Could I say no if he asked?

“Can I have your number?” Lloyd waggled his eyebrows, and I sighed and held out my hand. I plugged in my number while my inner voice screamed at my stupidity.

You’re so desperate, aren’t you, pretty?

Lloyd leaned in close. “My room is right next door, so if you need anything, you can always wake me up.”

“Goodnight, Lloyd.”

I closed the door before I lost my mind and invited him inside. What was I thinking? When I was safely under the covers, my phone buzzed in my hand.

UNKNOWN: Hello honey girl.

TULLY: Lloyd?

LLOYD: I’m so glad we can do this again.

TULLY: Text each other?

LLOYD: Yup. Promise not to block me. I don’t think I’ll survive if you cut me off again.

TULLY: I missed talking to you.

LLOYD: You don’t have to be scared. We’ll look after you.

I went to sleep with my phone in my hand. Clutching to the foolish hope that his words were true.

What would it be like to have Lloyd as mine? Or Walden, the alpha whose family name was as famous as mine. What about Ajax, who filled me with delicious food and welcomed me with such warmth? Or Pan? The brooding, sharp alpha whose long fingers threatened to unravel me?

I turned my head into my pillow and shook off the hopeless dreams.

Baylark Pack deserved someone better than a homeless, useless omega.