Page 56 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Walden

“So, Thorn. You seem well acquainted. Enough that he organized a home for you?” Sybil sidled up to Tully, tossing Thorn a look of interest. I didn’t like the way Tully looked at him, like he was her savior.

I wanted to be that.

Thorn, Ajax, and Pan carried in the ratty couch Tully had in her apartment.

Clay leaped up onto the middle with his head tipped back in mirth.

He did it for Tully’s benefit, tossing her a wink.

I didn’t like that either. How they insisted on driving her over, and how they knew parts of her I didn’t.

“I've known him since I was young. They’re both my friends and have taken care of me for the past month.”

I ground my teeth so hard they cracked. That should have been my job. The distance between us tugged at my ribs. What I wouldn’t give to not feel so disconnected.

“Is he single, asking for a friend?” Sybil piped up.

“Does he know how to smile?” Beatrice asked as she offered a plate full of snacks.

Thorn stood off to the side, and narrowed his eyes in our direction, hearing her question easily.

Clay was wandering around the lounge room, touching every expensive piece the designer insisted on.

He pocketed a silver dove ornament. What did it matter?

This house was sterile without Tully’s sun-baked honey and fig scent.

“He can smirk. Does that count? He and Clay are together, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be open to it. Just know, he has a lucrative side business, and it isn’t entirely legal.”

“Perfect.” Sybil clapped her hands. “I love—” I growled at her words, and she let out a nervous giggle. “I mean, my friend loves bad boys.”

Absolutely not. I wasn’t having one of my sisters hook up with an alpha like Thorn. They needed to be treated like princesses, protected and spoiled.

“I need to say goodbye.” Tully gravitated to his side and Thorn tilted his head, closer than necessary.

My teeth cracked again. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from them.

They’d explained the phone call, and how they’d been tickling each other and that was what we heard on the phone.

What would have happened if we had let it go? What would CJ have done to my omega?

“Not happening,” I warned my sisters as they licked their lips and watched Thorn and Clay.

“Don’t be a buzzkill. Just because you’re unhappy doesn’t mean we all have to be,” Beatrice scolded.

“This isn’t a singles mixer, and you’re supposed to be on my side, not ogling the competition.”

I tossed my hand through my locks. Messy was becoming my new trademark.

I didn’t have the energy to maintain the perfection I’d always projected.

I fought the insane urge to pick Tully up, toss her over my shoulder, and lock her in our house until I destroyed every threat to her safety.

My suits mocked me in my wardrobe. They were tailored, expensive, perfection, and I didn’t want it.

I wanted Pan, and Tully, in a tangled mess under my covers.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sybil threaded her arm through mine.

My heart is broken. My pack is in pieces.

“I don’t know what to do.”

My sisters exchanged worried glances and Sybil rolled to her toes and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“She’s been through so much, and this probably feels like whiplash. Right now, Tully needs support more than ever. Listen with an open heart and keep being your amazing self. We love you and we’re here if you need us.”

I gave them a trembling smile. The vice in my chest loosened.

I was lucky. I had a family that adored and supported me and a pack that backed me one hundred percent.

Tully thought she had no one. Thorn brushed a lock of hair off her cheek and I let out a whispered curse.

What was wrong with me? I never let my composure crack in public.

When Tully wandered back, I couldn’t help myself. I nodded at Thorn and Clay as they left, ignoring the way my sisters ran after them. They’d still given her a place to live and been with her when she ran from us.

“I have another rule. Exclusivity. I don’t want to field rumors of you seeing other packs.” I smothered my seething anger.

Tully slid me a look of amusement. “Jealous?”

“Immensely.” I swallowed hard and her eyes flew wide with surprise.

After Chase, did she think I would watch those other alphas care for her without reaction? I craved her as if starving. My alpha instincts rippled under my skin, and it was only my practiced restraint that stopped me from becoming an overbearing beast. Even that was frayed.

“Walden,” Ajax warned, and I shot him a sharp look.

Somehow, he looked more composed than I did.

I hadn’t been right since Tully left and I had to live with the hole she left in my chest. I loved her and Pan to distraction.

What I felt for them cracked my perfect facade, and I resented Pan for it.

I was supposed to be untouchable, and he made me crumble.

But a life without either of them was worse. I’d rather shatter into a million pieces than live with the loss of them.

Lloyd balanced a box of Tully’s things on the counter. She still had so little, but I was glad to see the pens and scrapbooking things I’d gifted her were amongst them.

“Thorn was riling you up. Take deep breaths, daddy and don’t fuck this up,” Pan whispered as he brushed a kiss across my cheek. His bubblegum scent lightened my dark mood as much as the tender brush of his lips. He’d been by my side since we left The Barracks and I latched onto his affection.

Tully watched the movement with interest.

“What?”

“You kissed Walden in public earlier when we were leaving The Barracks.”

My chest ached as I gave a curt nod. Pan offered a soft smile.

“I know it wasn’t a heart attack, but I thought I was going to die. You learn a lot when you realize it’s almost over. Like how pointless it is to care what other people think about your relationships.”

“We’ve changed since you left, angel,” Pan said.

Tully didn’t respond, but her expression turned thoughtful and she wandered over to the couch and curled into the armchair.

We all followed, caught in her thrall and unable to leave her after what happened earlier.

I still had so many questions, but I swallowed them.

Our scents mingled, and it settled me for the first time in a month.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” I said.

Tully sighed and looked out the window to the backyard.

Lloyd sank into a seat while making a subtle stop motion. But I couldn’t. I was a steam-roller down a hill, and the meager restraint I’d shown earlier evaporated.

“You can trust us, Tully.”

She fiddled with her sleeve and stared at me. Need rolled through me, only marred by the fact that I was the one who caused this distance.

“Chase was good at making promises, too.”

I let out a choked noise. I wasn’t anything like Chase.

Tully didn’t have to worry about me hurting her.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say so when I bit it instead.

Iron flooded my mouth as I stared into her crystal blue eyes.

She thanked Ajax as he placed two drinks in front of her: coffee and water.

“You think we’re the same?” My lungs filled with needles.

Another sigh. “Of course not. Chase took my trust and destroyed me. I crawled back from the brink and your lie was like a shove to my chest. I tumbled right back to the start and now I’m rebuilding.

My mistake was jumping into something without doing the work on myself, or this will become a cycle I’m stuck in. ”

“Does that mean you forgive us? Forgive me?” My short nails dug into my palms. Pan pressed his thigh against mine.

“You don’t want me to answer right now, Walden. I’m a tangle of emotions and most of them aren’t logical. You lied, and that’s a trigger for me. Even asking you for help was a stretch.”

The pack cringed in silence.

“I’m not infallible, Tully. I’ve made so many mistakes—”

“Like what?” Tully cocked her head. The coldness in her eyes became an ice snap.

“We wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for me,” I said through gritted teeth.

I should shut up. Pan told me not to fuck it up, but I couldn’t stop pressing. I was a fixer, and I needed to know how to make this right. Her scent turned acrid, and I wrinkled my nose.

“Name them. Because you haven’t once owned what you did. You’ve said sorry, but, you’ve looked down your regal nose like I should trust your word, like I should just get over it. Because it’s inconvenient for you.”

“That’s not—” Sweat prickled down my back.

“ I’m not done, ” Tully said, and if she were capable of a bark, her tone would have immobilized me.

“I was just attacked by an alpha who threatened to ruin me.” Her hand lifted to her shoulder for a moment.

“I don’t owe you forgiveness because I asked you for help.

If you don’t think you can make the distinction, let me know and I’ll handle this on my own. ”

Lloyd let out a noise. “Tully, we never wanted to hurt you.”

I took in a shaky breath. Ajax muttered something to me, but I was too busy sinking to my knees on the soft carpet. I shuffled over to her. My chest burned for a moment as fear flashed in her eyes.

Was her trust in me so eroded, she thought I’d hurt her? Didn’t she know she was my heart?

“What’re you doing?” Tully’s voice was high-pitched.

Her scent flooded my nostrils, and I let it burst in my lungs. The bitter, rotten fig. Sour honey. It polluted me, and I had to fight for the right words.

“I’m sorry, Tully.”

I rested my hands in my lap, turned them palm up in plaintive need. Pan made a noise, a half-sob before he smothered it.

“We all are, angel.”

“The prince emailed me, asking specifically to meet you, and I brought it up with the pack. They warned me it wasn’t a good idea.

I asked Ajax to talk to you, but he was very clear.

If you said you didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t have pressed.

I regret my choice every day because hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do. ” My voice cracked.

“Thank you, Walden. That helps me feel better.”

“But?” Pain spread through my kneecaps as I waited.

Tully’s slow, sad smile froze the frantic pumping of my heart.

“I’ve been in awe of you since I was a kid.

If you told me to walk across broken glass barefoot, I would’ve asked how fast. I can’t fix the imbalance between us, even if I accept your apology.

That’s what you’re not getting. These words don’t fix what is wrong inside me. I need to do that on my own.”

“Please.”

Please what ?

My insides tore to pieces as she shook her head and turned away, and her lack of emotion made me wither. Eucalyptus burned my nostrils. I wanted hope. Needed to know there was still a chance, however minuscule it might be.

“How can you have a relationship with someone when you’re beneath them?”

I stretched my hands out wide. My ribs cracked open, and I offered my tormented heart.

“How can you say that? You made my dreams come true the day you walked back into my life.”

“Don’t you see? I fit the mold you already created. An omega. A Hartlock. Someone you can coddle and control.”

“No, you’re twisting what I’m saying.” I exhaled as my knees throbbed.

“Do I want to coddle you? Absolutely. I want to spoil and cater to your every whim. Not just an omega, but you. I love your open heart, how you can be vulnerable and strong at the same time. I admire your spirit and creativity. You’re the missing piece I’ve waited for, and nobody else could fill the space I have for you in my heart. ”

I laid it all out. All the twisted, throbbing emotions that ruled my thumping organ.

“You have such a way with words, Walden.”

Tully locked her bruised heart up tight. Her bitterness made a meal of me.

I blew out a frustrated breath. “And you don’t want them. I hear you. So, tell me what to do to convince you they’re the truth? I’d do anything for you.”

Her crystal eyes found mine and the hurt shimmering on the surface cut me like glass. She lifted her shoulders and caught her wobbling bottom lip in her teeth.

“Let’s focus on Chase and we can revisit this conversation, okay?”

Not okay.

“I’m a stubborn alpha, Tully, and I’ll wait however long it takes. Can you spare me a flicker of hope?”

“Right now, I can’t spare anything. Will you still wait?”

I got to my feet with difficulty, the weight of my failures heavy on my shoulders. My stomach churned with hot snakes as I returned to Pan’s side.

I locked eyes with Tully. “The gods know I’d wait until the stars burn out for you, Tully.”

Ajax whispered his agreement as I sank into my hurt. I don’t know how long I sat there, seeing nothing. Pan kissed the side of my head and his sweet, playful scent brought me back.

“Where is everyone?” I cleared my dry throat.

“Hiding away and nursing their hurt.”

I reached for my alpha, and his breath puffed against my neck.

“Are we ok?” I whispered.

I’d been falling apart for the last month, unable to think about my campaign or anything else.

Pan was the one holding me together and fighting for his future.

He’d quit drinking altogether, and started going to our therapist, Dr. Hanes, individually.

He was also in another program to help support his recovery from addiction.

“I know what Tully means, when she says she’s in awe of you. You are an intimidating man to love. I know my heart hasn’t been the easiest to hold, either. Tully is the balance we both need. I bring out the worst in you, and she brings out the best.”

I pulled back, squinting at Pan. “What are you talking about?”

“The drinking, the drugs, the public scenes. I know they’re not things you want in a lover.”

I laced my fingers with Pan’s and leaned forward to cut off his words with a kiss.

“You take my breath away, pup. There is no one in this world who has a spark like you do. I’m sorry if you ever felt like you had to dim your shine to stand next to me. I’m proud of your strength, and your heart is cherished in my hands.”

Pan crawled into my lap and I held him against me like a buoy.

“We’re going to win her back, daddy,” he whispered, and I nodded in the crook of his neck.

Our omega wanted nothing to do with us.

But I was a determined, stubborn alpha, and I would not give up. Tully didn’t want words, but she said nothing about actions.

Be patient. Be here. Never give up.

I breathed and promised myself. Tully didn’t know what she’d unleashed in my chest, but she would. There wasn’t an obstacle in this world that could keep me from winning my place in her heart.