Page 68 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Tully

“So.” I stirred my tea with a grimace. “This is awkward.”

Seph sighed and rested her hand on her chin. She was in a loose summer dress and she bounced a crossed leg. “It doesn’t have to be.”

I gave her an incredulous look, my stomach a swarm of bees. It had been almost a month since Chase leaked my nudes and my head was still a mess. I had thrown myself into Hartlock, Unfiltered, and finishing up the series I was doing featuring my old footage from The Barracks.

The outpouring of support from people about my situation was unexpected.

There was still significant hate, but I avoided my comment section to keep my head clear.

Moving forward was hard when you still held on to the past. Hadn’t Pan and Lloyd taught me that lesson?

They were making changes, and I was inspired.

When Seph reached out, I balked, but it was necessary. Chase affected her just as much as me and I owed it to her to explain my side of what happened.

“Did you have any idea what he was hiding?” I leaned forward.

Seph shook her head, looking over my shoulder at the expansive yard below us. Both our packs were down there, pretending to sunbathe by the pool. Really, they were waiting for any sign to intervene.

“It’s funny, people always say trust your gut and I wish I’d listened to mine. Deep down, I always had this notion that he never loved me. I don’t think he was capable of it, looking back. I can’t tell you how many nights I spent crying, wondering what I could do to make him see me.”

“Seph—” I protested as her eyes flooded with tears.

She dashed them away with a soft growl, and with great effort, she pulled her shoulders back.

I saw myself in the movement. The way all women are forced to at some point in their lives.

They take the hurt, bruised feelings and put them behind a shield.

She’d revisit them in the midnight hours, when the quiet and shadows didn’t judge how she broke down.

“It makes sense, but I’m so angry.” Seph dabbed her eyes. “What he did to you makes me feel sick, and because of him, we lost so much time together. My pack has been incredibly supportive, even though they lost a brother.”

Seph’s soft, buttery scent was so familiar. But it took me to a place where I didn’t want to exist anymore.

“I don’t know what to say, but I’m glad your pack is looking after you.”

Seph had a worldly air, but was still humble. As a friend, she was spontaneous and generous. I wanted love for her, a deep, all-encompassing love. She needed healing, like all of us touched by Chase’s lies.

“Likewise.” Seph peered over the balcony and waved at the group of tense men. Ajax showed off something on his phone, doing his best to distract Seph’s alphas. “Do me a favor though, don’t let what happened with Chase ruin your future.”

My chest ached at the thought of my pack. Each day that passed, I softened more and more.

They’d made me their center and kept showing up, even when I was ungrateful or skittish.

Forward was the only way, but I was stuck.

I rubbed the mark Pan left on my neck and relaxed.

There was good sprinkled amongst the bad right now.

Pan was bright and tight in my chest, and I liked the feel of him.

After being alone for so long, it comforted me.

“Excuse me?”

“I saw you smiling at the gala, Tully. You saw a future with them until Chase…” Seph cut off and her hand scrambled over the small table and tangled in mine.

“I don’t know how to let it go,” I admitted.

I stared over the railing, and one by one, my pack turned their heads up. Lloyd sent me a bright smile and a wave. But there was a furrow in his brow I recognized. They were worried about what was happening up here.

“Look at your pack. They’re coiled tighter than springs right now.”

I considered them again, finding more stiffness the longer I looked.

Seph was right, but I still didn’t know what to do with the information.

Maybe I just had to lean into the mess like I did when I kissed Lloyd and let Pan fuck me with his tongue.

I changed the subject and for another hour, Seph and I talked about what we’d been up to. When it came time for her to leave, she paused for a moment.

“I debated whether I should give this to you. But I think it will help.”

My phone pinged with a video file. Seph smiled, and it was a bright footnote on a day I’d dreaded.

When she left, I marinated in her words. I shivered, reaching for a blanket on the couch before I paused. My pack milled around the kitchen. Ajax was cooking and the other three were helping.

“I’m cold,” I barely said it before they all bounded over. Lloyd tore off his hoodie and pressed it into my hands.

“Wear this, honey girl.”

Walden spent a good five minutes fussing with a blanket. Tucking it around my legs until I was perfectly cozy. When Walden was done, Pan placed a hot chocolate on the side table and gave me a wink.

Pan stared at the bite mark on my neck with such stark, desperate longing. Like he wanted to do it over again. Or did he want to be bitten instead? Ajax interrupted by bringing over a plate of food.

“I cooked all your favorites.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and warmth rolled out underneath my skin.

I wasn’t cold any longer, and something sprang between my legs that I didn’t expect.

Lust.

“I’m in the mood for something silly or nostalgic. Sound good? Why don’t we put it on the big screen?”

Within five minutes, I was situated in the theatre and Ajax flipped on an old cartoon I used to love as a child and I sighed with pleasure.

“How did you know I loved this?”

“Walden’s spreadsheet.”

We ate dinner in the sunken chairs and sank into memories. Lloyd made popcorn and tossed pieces into Pan’s mouth.

“We actually won a competition doing this, got free lunch at the canteen, which was a lifesaver for me,” Lloyd explained when I accused them of cheating.

The night felt like cotton candy. So sweet and normal . Walden opened his laptop and worked, joining in on the conversation intermittently. He would scan the theatre now and then with a protective eye. It lingered on Pan and swept over to me.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked, hopeful.

“What about a sweet treat?”

Walden set aside his laptop and rushed to the kitchen to get me something to eat. I wasn’t hungry, not really. But Walden wanted to take care of me, and I wanted to let him. I could admit, in the safe confines of my brain, it felt good.

That night, I retired to the nest, but it wasn’t the haven I’d hidden in for so long.

Nightmares jarred my sleep and finally, in the early hours of the morning, I gave in.

I pulled out my phone and tapped on the video Seph sent me.

It was only audio, and I made a noise as Chase’s smug voice filled the nest. The sound brought sweat to my upper lip.

“Everything between us was consensual. How do you like the little whimper she makes when you slide deep inside her?”

“She whimpered for you. She screams for us.”

Oh, my gods. It was too much. My scent burst out like the threat of him was real. Bile rose in my throat, but I was in too deep now to stop.

“You used Tully’s body, her heart, her legacy, for your own devious means. If she had a fortune, you would have taken that too, instead of settling for Seph Campion.”

Walden sounded like he was about to snap. I wished I could have seen his face in this moment. Chase would have felt scared. That brought some warmth to my churning stomach. I listened as Seph entered the room and tore strips off Chase for lying.

I don’t know when I started crying, but my cheeks were wet. My lungs caught in shallow breaths.

I didn’t need them to fight my battles. But there was strength in being able to accept help. I tossed in the nest, the blankets not the right warmth. I needed to be in someone’s arms.

My skin was tight as I padded down the hall to Ajax’s room.

“Are you awake?” I whispered, finding his door unlocked. I tugged at the corner of his bedspread until he opened a drowsy eye.

“Tully?” He shot up. “Is everything alright?”

I burrowed into Ajax’s chest, so desperate for him that he let out a sleepy, incredulous laugh. His hazelnut was earthier, draped in sleep and it made my muscles relax so fast that the back of my eyes stung.

Gods, I’d missed this.

“Tully, are you ok?” Ajax rested his head on top of mine, pulling me closer into his body. His legs entwined with mine, and I let out a soft sigh. His fingers searched out my scent glands, laying his rich hazelnut and coffee over my bitter frustration.

“Nightmares.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Ajax’s voice was gravelly.

“Not even a little.” I burrowed deeper into his warm body.

“Are you nervous about next week?”

Walden’s sisters had organized a PR brunch, where I was going to discuss my journey with potential sponsors. It would be the first time I was screening some of my interviews. My passion had brightened every corner of my life, and I wanted to keep doing this kind of work.

Was I nervous?

Perhaps earlier, but in the haven of Ajax’s arms, I felt nothing but safe. How many nights had I wanted something like this? Cried myself to sleep so many times for exactly what I had now.

The hurt I felt when they lied couldn’t exist when I was in Ajax’s arms.

I had a pack who had my back. A chance at a future that I always dreamed of.

“No, I know you’ll look after me.”

Ajax hummed, and he nosed my hair. “Sleep, treasure. Your heart is safe with me.”

I didn’t need to talk about it.

I had to take the first step and be brave.