Page 21 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Tully rubbed her fists against scrunched eyes.

She tried so hard to reel in the heaviness of her burden.

I didn’t know the details, but I could feel it like a physical, suffocating shroud.

Threatening to drag her deeper into the darkness.

Tully might have been carrying the legacy of her name alone in the past, but she wasn’t any longer.

I knew intimately what it was to be known as a Baylark first and Walden second.

The legacy shaped me into an unyielding rod.

I thought I would break under the scrutiny, and it wasn’t until I met my pack that I knew how necessary it was to let others help hold the weight.

Which is why I reached over and pulled Tully into my lap.

She trembled and let out a soft cry. Her small hands scrambled.

I tensed for the prick of nails, but Tully tucked her head into the nook of my neck.

Had someone used Tully for the power of her name? Is that where her fortune went?

I wanted to pry her secrets from the inside and fix it all. I’d find any person who hurt her and make them pay. Her scent surrounded me, raw and sharp.

“There’s always someone trying to use my name to leverage themselves. But I’m lucky to have people around me I can trust. My pack has their faults, but we’re a family.”

I thought about CJ and the meeting he insisted on having me attend. If it wasn’t him, it would be someone else.

“That’s great for you.” Tully clicked her tongue with a watery mutter.

“I can help you, Tully. We all can. I can’t imagine the stress you’ve been under, having to deal with it all on your own—”

A bark of laughter cut me off. “Well, isn’t this cozy?” Pan sauntered to the table and parked his ass on the edge.

His hair hung in curls around his face. He wore a black sheer tank top and a dark blazer. Silver jewelry overwhelmed his wrists.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?”

He was wearing the collar I gave him. A collar with a silver circle. Warmth flooded my chest at the sight. Our relationship was corroded, but Pan still wanted my dominance. Tully turned on my lap, missing the simmering malevolence in Pan’s expression as she wiped her eyes.

“I took the morning off,” I explained.

I wrapped my arm around Tully’s waist.

Pan shook his head, his prickly demeanor fading as he noticed Tully’s emotional state. She was like a frozen rabbit on my lap, paralyzed with stiff tension. I ran my hand down her spine, not giving a damn about my scent transferring onto her. We were past polite conversation.

“What are the tears for, angel?” Pan reached his hand out and rubbed a strand of her hair between his fingers.

“You can trust us to help you,” I whispered into the shell of her trembling ear.

Tully let out a shuddered breath and sagged against me. “I don’t know how.”

“Did you tell Lloyd?” I asked. “You’re close with him.” It wasn’t jealousy that tightened my chest. It wasn’t.

Pan was so intrigued, he was silent for once.

“What am I meant to know?” Lloyd asked as he wandered into the room, Ajax on his heels.

They both froze as they saw Tully in my arms. A mixture of envy, desire, and surprise flitted across both their faces.

Tully cringed at their arrival, and she folded off my lap like her ass was on fire.

Her gaze flicked to the doorway and my stomach sank.

She was spooked and about to run. But Pan wrapped his hand around her wrist and caged her between the table and his legs.

“Let go.” Tully flattened her lips.

Her warmth echoed through me, and I wanted to yank her back and give her everything she needed.

“I know Walden can be overbearing, but has he driven you to tears already?”

Tully didn’t answer, intent on ignoring all of us like we might disappear if she hunched her shoulders high enough. One tear escaped her trembling lash line, and Pan caught it on his thumb. He held the glistening drop up with a quiet awe.

“Tully, what do you need?” Lloyd whispered, his face pinched.

He and Ajax lingered at the table. There was no need to tell them to tread carefully. The scent of charred fig, a cloying and overpowering sweetness, clung to Tully.

I waved Lloyd off, my chest aching as his face fell. He waited for a moment, perhaps hoping Tully would answer him, but she didn’t. She remained stiff in Pan’s hold. Ajax clenched his jaw and walked into the kitchen, pulling down mugs with tight shoulders.

I couldn’t stand the growing pressure under my forehead. The way my fingers itched and muscles twitched. Her scent was so sharp and bitter, it stung my nostrils.

Tully had a problem, and I wanted so desperately to be the one to solve it. Pan reached around with his free hand and dragged the bag of supplies I bought for Tully. He twisted a fruit-themed stamp in his lithe fingers.

“Aren’t these pretty?” My skin burned as Pan’s upper lip curled and I waited for a sharp retort to follow it, but he only sifted through the pile. “What’s this?” He flipped open Tully’s black bullet journal.

Lloyd fell into the chair next to him.

“That’s Tully’s bullet journal,” he explained.

Pan let go of Tully’s wrist. She didn’t seem to notice as Lloyd explained the design she’d made for the month, and I sucked in a sharp breath at her creativity.

“What layout are you going to do for the next one?” Lloyd directed the question to Tully, and she peeked at him, like a snail coming out of its shell.

Pan took in the intricate pages. She had put a lot of care into making it look beautiful. Each line was methodical, elegant.

“Mood tracker, monthly calendar, bucket list—” Pan flicked through the pages until he landed on one that caught his interest. “What’s this? Heat tracker? Angel, no wonder your scent is so ripe.”

Tully squeaked and tried to close the journal. His teasing brought back color to her face, even if it was embarrassment. “That’s private.” But her begging only excited Pan.

My teeth hurt from the sugariness of their entwined scents.

“I won’t be able to play nice if you go into heat in this house.”

“This is you being nice?” Tully snorted, slamming the journal and tucking it against her chest.

At least she was responding now. Pan threw his arms behind his head and smirked. Smudged eyeliner left black rings around his eyes. He had been drinking yesterday, and I would bet money he was nursing a wicked hangover today. Yet my chest ached at the sight of him, so effortlessly alluring.

“I can be nicer. Spin around and sit on my lap.” Pan’s lips twitched as he accepted the cup of coffee Ajax offered him.

Tully pushed out of Pan’s loose hold. “Are you trying to irritate me?”

“Is it working? Better annoyed than crying.”

“We were worried when you didn’t come out of your room yesterday.” Ajax put a glass of juice on a coaster for her.

Your room .

The label sent a wave of warm shivers down my spine. I wanted it. Tully in her room, on Pan’s lap. Their scents painted on my skin. I swallowed a groan. These thoughts weren’t helpful right now.

Lloyd ran his hand through his tangled golden locks. “You didn’t reply to my messages.”

Tully grimaced and dropped her head, the levity wiped off in an instant. She picked at her fingernails.

“I know you did something. She was fine until you spoke to her,” he snapped, jabbing his finger in Pan’s direction.

Pan’s eyes widened, and Lloyd scoffed. “You think we wouldn’t find out? Her scent and yours were mingled and both bitter as anything.”

“Are you done?” Pan crossed his arms over his chest. “She came to me upset, so don’t pin her discomfort on me. Maybe she’s realized this pack is an utter mess, and she doesn’t want to be involved with any of us.”

“It’s not that,” Tully muttered, shaking her head.

“What happened?” Ajax cradled a mug.

“I’ve been trying to organize a place to stay and my friend blew me off.” Tully shrugged. “I-I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Panic flared through my nerve endings.

“I think we should talk.” Ajax’s eyebrows jammed together, and he nudged a chair out with his foot.