Page 40 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Ajax

I turned the car off and checked my notifications. My stomach clenched when I noticed the two missed calls from Walden. The looming gala kept me far too busy when all I really wanted was to curl up with my omega. Tully had snuck under my skin and made a home in my heart.

Another call from Walden lit up my screen and I answered.

“What’s up, boss?”

“H-he’s coming.” I froze at the tremor in Walden’s voice. “The High Prince of Astaly. I just got an email from him, a personal one. Ajax. This is beyond—”

I almost dropped the phone. Walden could have told me he’d stepped down from the foundation and it wouldn’t have surprised me as much as this news.

Astaly, our Designated neighbors across the ocean, were powerful and famously insular.

They didn’t allow outsiders to cross their borders without rigorous checks.

The royal family was haughty and mysterious.

We’d only ever interacted with the high prince, who would inherit after the queen died.

It was a great honor, and a terrifying weight to host him.

“Security?” I gasped through my tight throat, a million different contingencies running through my mind.

“He’s bringing his own team, but it’s more complicated. He’s asked specifically to meet Tully. We need to convince her to attend.”

My throat went dry, and I worked it for a moment before finding my voice again.

“Walden. She said no.”

Tully returned from the foundation dinner, much too quiet.

She’d complained of a headache and went to bed early.

Walden was perplexed. In his opinion, the night was a success.

I watched her closely throughout and she seemed quiet, but calm.

Walden insisted that Tully had charmed everyone.

But the next morning, she said she didn’t want to attend the gala and was unlikely to change her mind.

“We need this.”

He needed this. It would be a huge win for his reputation.

“You can’t think of anything at the dinner that upset her?”

“Nothing, well, there was a moment where her scent turned bitter, when Toni was speaking with me. You know there is no threat there.”

“Flirting, you mean?” I growled.

Toni was notorious, determined to use whatever skills she owned, including a honeyed tongue and long lashes. She was the right balance of savage and smart, and I might have respected her if we didn’t also suspect her of having ties to the HLA.

“I don’t flirt, and besides, I need to keep her close for our investigation.”

“And I suppose I can’t tell Tully any of this,” I sighed.

“The less people that know the better, especially after the official investigation was closed from lack of evidence.”

I ground my teeth. We were doing our own private investigation into the flirty, bold human and I hated that Walden was right. If she really did have ties to the HLA, we didn’t want to give up our advantage.

“Are you home? Could you speak to Tully? Lloyd and I will be here late tonight and Pan is out for dinner, doing, well, you know.”

My brother was having his monthly dinner with our parents, the one I wasn’t invited to. It was unspoken between my brother and me, and another typical snub from my parents.

“I’ll talk to her, but I’m not convincing her to do something she doesn’t want to do. Prince or no prince.”

Walden tried to add something else, but I hung up the phone. I ignored his call as I bounded up the stairs and knocked on Tully’s bedroom door.

“Come in.” Tully’s voice sounded small.

I pushed it open to find Tully contemplating a long, champagne colored gown. It had gauzy long sleeves and shimmered as though dipped in sunlight. She didn’t turn when I entered. She was wearing one of Lloyd’s hoodies. The hem skimmed her mid-calf, the sleeves swamped her arms.

“That’s a gorgeous dress. Have you decided to come to the gala after all?”

My chest tightened as I wrapped my arms around her front, plastering myself to her back. Her scent burned sharp in the room, and I ran my nose down her neck, trying to soothe her. She let out a deep sigh and sank against me. I was glad she took the comfort I offered, at least.

“It’s a present from Walden, although I think Pan picked it out. I don’t think he liked my answer.”

“You would look beautiful in it, and we would have so much fun.”

Another beat of silence, followed by a whistling sigh. She cracked the window open, and the sheer curtains billowed in the breeze. The fresh air cleared my lungs of her dissatisfied scent.

“I can’t Ajax. Especially not after the dinner.”

I turned her in my arms, making a noise at the devastation swirling on the surface of her gaze. She was an icy lake, set to crack and plunge us into the freezing depths of despair. I fought the urge to crush her in my arms.

“What is it, Tully? What happened?”

She lay her head on my chest, and I looked at the beautiful gown.

How long had she been here? Staring at the intricate crystal beading and being too frightened to try it on.

It would fit perfectly. I already knew it.

Pan had impeccable fashion sense, and he knew the coloring would make Tully look like a golden goddess.

“Listening to everyone at that table speak over my head, like I was a pretty doll, was a horrible reminder. I’m not going to that gala, with all those cameras in my face, to pretend I’m something I’m not. Your pack, Walden, even the human delegate, they’ve done things that matter.”

I frowned and lifted her chin. “Don’t discount yourself, Tully. You deserve to be there like everyone else.”

“Give me one reason. That isn’t my Designation or surname.” She pulled out of my hold.

Her eyes narrowed as they flicked to the dress. I crossed my arms over my chest, resting them on the bulk of my stomach.

“Your parents, that alpha, they really did a number on you, didn’t they? I could give you a thousand reasons, but you’ll never see your worth, will you? I know the feeling,” I added, when Tully’s shoulders stiffened. “Trust me.”

She finally turned, her ashy brows drawn together in confusion. “What are you talking about? You and Pan fit in this pack like you were born to be in it.”

I sighed and moved closer. “Do you want to know where Pan is right now? He’s having dinner with my parents.

They’ll spend the entire night trying to convince him to play piano professionally again.

He’s their golden child, always has been.

There’s nothing I could achieve that would make them admire me.

” I gestured to my straining stomach. “Especially because of this.”

Her gaze softened. “Your weight?”

“The more they berated me, the more I ate. I was a highly awarded public speaker and debater. But it was never enough. I got used to the way their faces dropped when I didn’t magically become like Pan.”

I hesitated as I chewed on the bitter truth, and whether to share it. Tully’s shoulders curled in like she could make herself disappear, making my choice for me.

“I know you didn’t grow up in a pack but most people who do have more than one dad.

Pan’s dad was the one with musical talent, but he passed away.

I know it shouldn’t matter but having my biological dad choose Pan feels like losing a game I was designed to win.

What parent doesn’t love their child? It’s taken me years to realize their approval is worthless.

I’d never be happy if I was constantly chasing it. ”

“That’s horrible,” she muttered, shaking her head. “How can you even call them family when they treat you like that? No wonder you and Pan have your struggles.”

I shrugged. My chest burned from the admission. I didn’t like to crack open old hurts. What was the point of it? But Tully needed to know she wasn’t alone in this feeling. And where she saw worthlessness, I saw a survivor.

“I don’t—call them family, that is. My pack is where my heart is.

We might squabble, disagree, and fight, but I know they value me for who I am, not who they want me to be.

We want to make you feel that way too, Tully.

Remember what Walden said the other day?

It doesn’t matter what strangers think about you. ”

Tully’s eyes shimmered, and she pressed her pointer fingers into the corner of her eyes.

“Eavesdropping, were you?”

“Yes, and I won’t apologize for it.”

“I appreciate you trying, Ajax, but my parents became martyrs for Starhaven. How can I ever compare to that?”

“Why do you have to?” I asked.

She blinked, startled by the question. “What do you mean?”

“Tell me why you have to follow their path?” I cupped her cheek. “If you’d done what they wanted, the Hartlock line would be gone. Now it’s your choice to live how you want, your choice of how to honor the legacy of your name. Or not at all. The future is entirely yours, Tully.”

Tully leaned into my touch and her scent rotted in my nostrils, thick with loathing.

“It doesn’t feel like enough. For them to die for nothing.”

“They died for you, Tully. For the entirety of Starhaven, but I’m sure you were in the forefront of their mind.” I faltered and blew out a breath.

Guilt pricked my stomach.

“I didn’t believe the police when they came to tell me. I’d only just turned eighteen. It still seems unreal to think about.”

“It was an accident, wasn’t it?”

“One of the HLA rebels thought my parents had weapons and killed them both. They were just bringing food and begging to stop the hostage situation.”

I dragged Tully against me. “They were the catalyst to the end of it all.”

“That’s what the history books will say.

” She muffled bitterness against my chest. “My dad grew up there. That’s why they were so determined, it was personal.

They said the city needed them, but I needed them too.

And everyone wants to tell me how amazing they are, and all I can think about is how much I hate them for not choosing me and making me the coward. ”