Page 25 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Tully

“You have a private theater room?” I sucked in a gasp as Ajax swung open the padded door.

Walden and Pan were already inside, and they shared a look.

There were several rows of red wine velvet chairs across from a massive screen, bordered by more burgundy velvet. The walls were painted black and lined with vintage movie posters. There was a popcorn maker in the corner and at the back of the room, rows and rows of film reels.

“T-This is…” I fluttered around, trying to take everything in. “Oh, and—Gods and this.”

My parents did not approve of my love for videography. They tolerated my fixation and eventually bought me my camera so I could make my own pretend movies. It was escapism at its finest, and being able to control what was on the screen was powerful.

I enjoyed being in front of it, too, until my mother told me my ‘little movies’ were a waste of time. How would they help give back to the community? That was the only thing that mattered.

“You might like these.” Ajax took me straight to the rolls of film and pointed out a section marked historical. I ran my fingers along the tags with a knot in my throat.

“I’m going to treasure this one even more, knowing I screened it for a Hartlock.” Ajax pulled out the documentary that played at the Starhaven Historical Society.

I grimaced, wishing the memory was a good one for me.

The scent of popcorn filled the air as Walden turned on the machine. This dark room was a balm to my omega instincts, and I shuffled a little closer to Ajax. Seeking his warmth and strength.

“What should we watch?” His low rumble was as soft and warm as the velvet chairs around us.

“We’ve got snacks, and whatever you might need.” Pan wandered over, holding up a pack of scent wipes.

My stomach knotted at the sight of the Campion Pack logo etched in gold. Did Chase ever tell his brothers where he got the formula and how he tested the early versions on me? How delighted he had been when our mingled scents became sterile.

It won’t be forever. Give me a little longer and I can introduce you to my brothers.

I shook off my disgust and when they weren’t looking, I swiped it into the trash.

“I remember the camera you had. Do you still enjoy that kind of thing?” Walden asked, handing me some popcorn. I stifled a laugh at how he looked, still in a suit, with a pocket square, but with black socks.

“We have that in common.” Ajax took one of the film reels over to the projector and fiddled with it.

After a moment, he stood back and turned the projector on. The motor whirred, and the screen lit up with black and white.

“When I was younger.” I snuggled into the seat, mesmerized by the silent movie playing.

“You know what? I’ve suddenly developed an interest in history and or movies.” Lloyd beamed, throwing himself into the seat beside me.

He was pleased I was pleased.

Butterflies rioted in my stomach. Ajax stalked to the side, flipping open a small, hidden cabinet. There was a minibar stocked with all kinds of drinks and utensils for cocktails.

“Is a cocktail safe to have before your heat, or is it like caffeine?”

Did I want to get tipsy in a dark room with Baylark Pack?

My gaze flickered to the trash can, where I’d tossed the wipes. My skin ached like a raw pulse.

Chase maneuvered me until I doubted every single action I took. I’d been his toy, and I let him steal so much from me. Almost left the damn city to get away from the lingering rot of his touch. A million scent wipes couldn’t take away the shame he tattooed on my skin.

That was why I straightened in my seat and said. “Whatever you suggest.”

Ajax laughed as he got to work. “You’re going to love taking Tully to dinner, aren’t you, Walden?”

Walden pursed his lips and didn’t reply. Lloyd spun in his chair and pointed at Pan.

“Remember when he tried to order for you, Pan, and you dumped his drink in his lap?”

I was so curious about the pair, especially with what I had witnessed between them. They were oil and water, not a natural combination but a mesmerizing one. Pan smirked and draped himself on Walden’s lap.

“Gotta keep them on their toes, right, Tully?”

I flushed under their twin stares.

Ajax sighed as he carried over a tray laden with snacks and a giant espresso martini. He chuckled as my eyes widened. Did he know my longing for coffee was being exacerbated by his scent right now?

“I know you don’t drink caffeine in the mornings, but the afternoon is fine, right?”

“I’m a terrible lightweight,” I protested, even though my mouth watered and stomach flipped.

Lloyd reached over and jammed a straw in the drink. “Challenge accepted. We can get obliterated together.”

The conversation lulled as we settled into our seats, and I shared my drink with Lloyd. Ajax had put a mix of snacks on a plate for me, mostly sweet. I floated on a pleasant buzz, leaned back, and locked my fingers over my bulging stomach.

Walden let out a bark of laughter and I felt a pang of envy to see Pan cozy on his lap. Walden curled his hand around Pan’s chin and pulled him closer to kiss him.

I didn’t have much experience with relationships. My best friend was in a pack with my ex. My parents had been tight-knit, with barely anything left for me.

There was bitterness in the spaces they had left, my parents' and Chase's. The lines of connection we had with others were prone to entanglement. But I’d rather be in knots with someone than adrift and alone like I was.

A wave of Lloyd’s calming scent washed away my morose thoughts.

It cradled me like the tide. What would it be like to be part of this pack?

My head clamored with a million shouldn’t and couldn’t objections.

My parents’ disappointed tones and Chase’s judgmental ones clashed together. But underneath it all was my voice.

Small from being ignored.

I’d been ready to leave behind everything I’d ever known, including my name. Could I handle the weight of the Hartlock legacy if I had a pack supporting me? My insides tumbled. Want expanded and shrunk as I battled the one thing I couldn’t dismiss.

“Are you okay? You got quiet.” Ajax’s eyes crinkled as he leaned over.

“Just thinking.”

“That’s dangerous.” Ajax’s gaze drifted over to Pan and Walden, and their cocoon. “You want to sit with me?”

Voices knocked around my skull. Warning, berating, urging.

Stop staring at alphas and grow up, Tully.

It wasn’t logical or responsible, which my parents would have wanted.

Brush past me with a sour face like that again and I’ll never give you my knot.

It wasn’t demure and well-behaved, like Chase preferred. He echoed in my ear and a dark trickle spread across my chest. But only for a moment. I filled my lungs with the truth. His voice wasn’t mine.

Even if it sounded the same.

When I touched myself to the sound of Lloyd, the tiny, neglected part of me got its wish.

As I stared down at Ajax, I listened again.

Wordlessly, I climbed over the chairs and into Ajax’s soft lap.

I wanted the connection he offered and there were no gods who would make me ashamed of that.

Not the Oracle, the Warrior, or the Sage.

They knew, like I did at my basest self, this was what I needed.

Ajax banded his arm around my waist and gently tugged me closer to his chest. I chanced a look at Lloyd and he wore a giddy smile. Walden and Pan were looking, too, and there was no thread of discomfort in me at being watched by them. Ajax shored me up with his strength.

“There’s just one thing I need answers to,” Walden rumbled as he fed Pan a chocolate. “We grew up in each other’s circle, Tully. But how did you meet Lloyd?”

“Is it a dirty little secret?” Pan teased.

Oh, it was dirty, and because of who I was, it had to stay a secret. But the truth burst out of me, coaxed by the soft, encouraging smile toying with Ajax’s lips and Lloyd’s scent lapping at my nostrils.

“You know I didn’t have any money, and I couldn’t get a regular job because—” Chase would track me down.

“You’d cause a stir wherever you went?” Ajax supplied for me when I trailed off.

The screen flickered with the black and white film. But they were all watching me.

“I started an account on Only Omegas. I didn’t expect to like it so much.” They strained to hear my whisper. “Then Lloyd messaged me.”

Ajax’s chest rumbled. A laugh, a growl, a mix between the two. His fingers left a maddening tattoo of heat on my upper arm as he drew circles.

“I told you.” Lloyd shot a smug look at Walden. “I knew she was—you were—special.”

“But you didn’t know who she was?” Pan’s jaw dropped open. “Angel. I’m thinking I need to call you something different.”

The lust on his face hypnotized me. As did their scents, and underneath me, the merest hint of Ajax’s thickening cock.

“So, it was all innocent?” Walden’s eyebrows met.

I’d been as interesting as furniture to Walden growing up, and I wondered if that could change.

He was eight years older than me, more worldly and powerful.

But I’d learned something with my work. How the silk rope felt in my hands as I tugged men to their knees for me.

That power had a name. Walden wouldn’t look at Tahlia and be unmoved.

“I called myself Tahlia.” I rocked my ass gently over Ajax and he grunted. “And thought about Lloyd every time I took a new photo. He watched me touch myself, and when I came I-I—” I cut off.

What was I thinking? Lloyd’s flushed pink cheeks, lust, heavy lids, and hands crawled over his body like relief lay in some secret corner.

But I knew there was only one place he would find it, and I wanted to give it to him so badly my teeth ached.

It was this dark room. The muted sound. Their amplified scent.

My heat was one perfect lungful away from crashing.

“You thought about how much you wanted to keep him?” Ajax’s arm tightened around me. “Did you imagine it was his fingers on you? It could be, all you have to do is stay.”

“I-I had a jacket. One Fenella borrowed to go on your date and it smelled like a-all of you.”

Walden cursed, and the chair squeaked as he dug his hands hard into the material.

Ajax buried his head in my neck.

“ All of us? ” Pan gulped.

“Gods, the way I wanted to crawl through that phone and touch you,” Lloyd confessed.

“I wanted you to keep me. Claim me. Cherish me,” I whispered, admitting my true desire.

My parents kept me away from the spotlight because I couldn’t handle the pressure. Then Chase kept me a secret and painted my soul dark with rot. His betrayal twisted up parts of me that were already splintered. Only Omegas gave me a taste of what it was like to be coveted.

I wanted to be wanted.

But I craved to be claimed.

My cheeks flushed with heat at how loose my tongue was. Logic was blurring at the edges.

“I would, Tully. Cherish you, always.” Lloyd whispered, and the tone of his voice dragged a whine up my throat.

“We would be so lucky,” Ajax added.

“W-what about just through my heat? Could you take care of me?” My teeth chattered together with rising need. My fingers sought Ajax, and he sucked in a shuddering breath as I traced his arms and full, bearded cheeks. “I think it’s here.”

“Baylark Pack would be honored,” Walden croaked, and he tugged his tie loose.

Deep down, that felt like a win. My heat was coming, and for the first time, I could experience it with a knot.

It should have terrified me, but I was tired of being scared.

Of doing it all on my own. This time would be different.

I had an entire pack ready and willing to help me.

All I had to do was ask. I wanted to experience what it would be like with them.

No marks, no presumptions. Whatever followed, we would deal with later. I'd had enough of hiding and misery.

Now I was going to take what I wanted.