Page 82 of Omega's Flight

I cut him off. "Don't say you're sorry. You’ve apologized a thousand times and I’ve forgiven you even more. It was worth it to learn what we did, and you weren't going to save him anyway." I put my hands on his upper arms and squeezed. "I'm not mad, and I don't hate you. I want to be friends, if we can. I know you're busy doing important things and you probably don't have a lot of time for random omegas, but if you have time, I'd like to get to know you."

His look of relief told me I'd made the right choice and when he pulled me into a wordless, teary hug, I hugged him back, hard.

We spent the evening wandering around together, talking about his school, my art lessons and math lessons and working around the enclave. His mate strolled by at one point and we chatted with him and Jason's Mac for a while. I saw Abel and Bax on the other side of a crowd at one point, Bax's belly obvious now, but no sign of Holland or Quin.

Then, about the time the dancing should have started, I saw Cas hurrying through the crowd, pushing people out of the way of his beeline toward Bax and Abel.

"What's that?" Bram muttered and glanced toward me. "Wanna go see?"

I nodded. It was nosy of me—not a very attractive trait in an omega—but I was curious. And it was Cas. I hadn't seen him in a while, not since he'd come to apologize for not finishing the second journal sooner and had explained that Garrick was gone outside walls and he needed to pick up the slack. Nearly a month ago, maybe longer.

Okay, it had definitely been longer. I was trying not to notice that, though. He was a busy alpha, and I was just the omega his packbrother had taken in out of charity.

We worked our way through the crowd and met the other three halfway there.

"Bram," Abel said. "Good, we might need you. Call Adelaide and get up to the clinic." He grabbed Bram's arm and spun him toward the main building.

"What's going on?" Bram asked, already headed for the building doors.

"Garrick's bringing in the omega. We don't know what kind of shape he's in, he's been in an adult facility because the juvenile one wouldn't have him."

"He's underage?" I tagged along, for lack of anything better to do.

Bax nodded and took my arm. “He and his sister ran away, trying to get him here. You don't have to come. This might bring up memories." His green eyes met mine and I saw his own memories in them.

"I can handle it. Unless you don't want me there."

He shook his head. "I don't know what we'll need. But if you don't mind being a runner, in case we need something that isn't at the clinic. Or need someone brought to us."

"Sure." I was glad to help. It felt a little like I was paying back some of the care I'd gotten when I'd first arrived.

We got to the front door of the main pack building just as the pack's van was turning the corner, the headlights flickering across the buildings. Bax was shaking and I put an arm around him and hugged him. He cast me a grateful look, and then the van was there and Holland and Quin had bailed out of the front seats.

The side of the van slid open and a very tired-looking Garrick stepped out onto the grass. Holland gently touched his shoulder, then his chin, and I could tell somehow that he was making sure Garrick was all right.

How bad a shape was the new omega in?

And then Quin reached past them into the van and helped what had to be the prettiest little blond thing I'd ever seen out of the opening. Prettier than Bax even, with corn gold hair and china rose skin. Eyelashes so thick and long he looked like he was wearing make-up, a mouth that my mother would have said was meant for kisses, and a slender body with long legs and elegant arms.

I should have been jealous, but when I got a good look at his face, it was like looking at a dead man. His eyes were blank and while he moved and stood and responded when someone spoke to him, it was like there was no one home inside.

"Come inside, my dear," Holland said gently. "We've got a room for you in an apartment. You're going to stay with my brother, just down the hall from me."

He moved like a robot, or a puppet, going where he was taken. Quin brushed past me to take Bram by the arm. "Just look," I heard him whisper. "Don't do anything, but tell us if there's anything broken or breaking."

Aside from his heart? I'd seen that look before on bereaved lovers. He was far too young to look like that.

Bram sidled up to the new omega. "Hi, I'm Bram." Curiously, I watched his hand brush over the omega's body, making stroking movements but never touching. Casual, and hidden in things like tucking a strand of hair back behind his ear and straightening his shirt, brushing an imaginary bit of dirt from his cheek. "I don't think I heard your name." Bram paused and waited for the omega to reply, but the young man just stared blindly at him, almost as if he didn't speak English.

"This is Julius," Holland said gently after a too-long moment. "We're going to go up to the clinic for a very, very quick visit, then we're going to get him settled in."

I stepped back and bumped into Cas, who was around the front of the van talking in urgent whispers to Garrick, who was swaying a little on his feet. "Cas," I said without thinking. "Look at Garrick, he's exhausted. Have you eaten, Garrick?"

He turned his head, slowly like he was having trouble switching gears and licked his lips. "No, not really. I think. It was a crazy day."

I tugged on Cas's arm until he bent his head close to mine. "I'll get some food from the tables. Make sure he gets home?"

"Sure. Good idea." He ran his hand casually down my back and stepped away to talk briefly to Quin before coming back to take Garrick's arm. "Time for bed, law man. Come on, your work here is done for now. Let the rest of us be heroes for a while."