Page 20 of Ondine, Vol. 2 (Cash City Omegaverse)

Screaming on the Lawn

Ondine

J ake holds in his glee. His lips are tight and his eyebrows raised.

“He’s around,” he answers, and I have to give him credit for not pretending like he doesn’t know who I’m talking about. “Probably with Shadow and Sebastian.”

“How? Why?” My voice cracks.

Jake stands up tall and confidentially says, “There are two types of people in this world. Those who play fair. And those who win.”

My mouth parts. What a total Jake thing to say.

Sebastian is outside. I have to go find him and then he’ll lead me to Arnie.

I turn and dart out of the room.

Jake can easily catch me but he lets me run. He’s right behind me though.

I burst out of the house and run across the lawn. I go to where I saw him last and then look around. There’s a bonfire near the river’s edge. Three men sit around it. I see Shadow and Sebastian. But the third man’s back is to me.

My feet are bare on the cool grass. I run towards them without a thought of it.

“Arnie!” I call out but I’m so emotional it comes out quiet.

Sebastian sees me and pops up on his feet.

“Ondine? Are you ok?”

The third man stands and turns to me.

Arnie. I crash into him.

Arnie.

He wraps me in his warm embrace and I start to cry. My feet sink into the gravel below us.

Jake and his pack are talking to each other. He explains, “She saw the nest and knew he had made it. She wanted to find him.”

I pull my face back. “They hired you to make my nest?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer me.

He strokes my hair and looks lovingly at me. I get to enjoy that space for a little bit. Arnie is here. He’s here at the Meier house.

Finally he says, “No, they didn’t hire me, honey.”

“Oh, what do you mean? Why are you here?”

He looks up at Jake. “You haven’t told her?”

“Told me what?”

Arnie looks down at me and smiles sadly. He takes my hand and brings it up and behind his neck. He places my fingers on his hairline and I feel the marred skin.

“What is this?”

“It’s a bonding mark, honey.”

A jolt of surprise goes through me.

“You bonded with the Meier Pack?”

He grimaces. “Jake kidnapped me, and I wasn’t left with a lot of options.”

I spin to face Jake with all my ire. “What did you do?!”

“I win. That’s what I do.”

“Win what!?” I don’t know why I’m yelling.

“You!” He yells back, and I feel Sebastian crowd in close, putting himself between Jake and me.

I understand he doesn’t like me yelling, but every emotion feels like it’s on the surface.

“You kidnapped and bonded Arnie to win me?!” I’m screeching.

“I wasn’t going to let you leave me, Ondine! You were mine the day I found you on that train. Mine! You’ve had my heart since the day you let me bend you over my desk while the sun was shining, and fuck you! And you’ve had my soul since I made you scream while I licked your cunt in the hotel!”

It’s not the most romantic confession but I still can’t help feeling so warm and delighted at hearing it. And that I’ve brought this man to this level doesn’t hurt. I almost want to push him further.

“And what if I only want Arnie? What would you do then?”

Sebastian is more obviously now trying to separate us. He puts his hands up and walks toward Jake. Our emotions are too high.

“You think I’m bothered that you want some well-hung beta? You think he could satisfy you? You’d come collecting that orgasm I owe you the very first opportunity you’d have, don’t lie to me!”

The audacity of this man! “Screw you!”

“Gladly, Ondine! Don’t hold on to him like you weren’t just calling me daddy not ten minutes ago!”

Sebastian cuts off my reply, “You guys stop! Yelling on a lawn is completely unhinged. The neighbors can all hear you!”

Jake bares his teeth at Sebastian. His sharp alpha teeth that drew blood on my Arnie.

I turn back to Arnie. His arms still around me.

I’m holding the front of his sweater with tight fists.

“You’ve bonded with alphas? You hate alphas.”

He smiles slightly. “It’s ok, honey.”

I don’t know why I needed to hear that so badly but I did. My face is hot. Tears track down my cheeks.

“It’s going to be ok,” he repeats.

Betas can’t purr, but he starts humming. He’s humming me a song.

Sebastian

We all stand in abject horror as the beta hums a song to Ondine. And what truly startles Jake is that it’s working. She’s relaxing in his arms.

And I may be crazy, but I think the song might be a popular hip hop song called “All them bitches.”

But at least they stopped yelling about kinky sex for all our neighbors to hear.

Are we the trashy neighbors whose business we scream for all to hear?

This surprise beta was a little too much for Ondine’s disposition. We probably should have told her in a gentler manner.

“Where’s he going to stay?” Ondine asks. Her voice is so goddamned sweet I have to stop myself from saying “awe.”

Jake huffs a breath and then answers, “I put him in the spare room. The one you’ve been using.”

What?

“Where’s Ondine’s room, Jake?” My desperation coming out clearly.

There’s only four rooms in the house. I honestly thought we were saving the last one for Boone. But now we have a beta and want an omega.

“With me.”

I roll my eyes and Shadow, who’d been up and with us, takes that as a sign to go sit back down by the fire.

“Freddie can stay with you, Sebastian.”

I can feel my face flush. Why does everyone seem to know that we are close now?

“I’m staying with Arnie tonight,” Ondine declares.

Oh shit, they are going to fight again.

“Fine! Good!” Jake yells but at a low, hissing volume. “That’s why I acquired him. He’s mine, Ondine! Mine! Bonded and registered. I hope you two get real close. So close you’ll never want to be away from each other again. Because when that happens then you’ll be mine for good!”

It’s the most threatening I’ve ever seen from him. Ondine doesn’t look too upset about it. Maybe fake-shocked. But that’s it.

I glance over at Shadow and he’s got a marshmallow roasting on a stick over the fire. I roll my eyes.

I’m already planning on getting up early to go fishing. I’ve experienced too much in too little time.

Ondine throws her head back and marches off, hand in hand with Arnold.

Jake stays put watching them intently. I go sit with Shadow, who offers me a toasted marshmallow. I decline.

Finally, Jake joins us. And for one small moment it feels like nothing ever changed. It’s just the three of us. Like it’s always been.

Our bond hums with the three of us being near one another.

“How’re you doing, Jake?” Shadow asks.

“Are you kidding? They are like magnets.”

“So, things going according to plan?”

Shadow pops a marshmallow in his mouth.

Awe poor Jake. All his scheming seems to be working out for him. Ondine is in the house. She’s aware she needs us to have her favorite man. And Jake and her are fighting. Which I think is their preferred state, honestly. I could feel Jake’s anger rise at the same speed as his sexual arousal.

“It is working out though, isn’t it?” I look over at him and he’s got a smile on his face.

“A flawless plan perfectly executed.”

Shadow changes the subject, “Oh, I found her parents. Like you asked.”

I startle a little at the confession. Ondine’s parents were…missing?

Jake flops his head to me, obviously feeling the confusion in the bond.

He explains, “Ondine’s parents were a no-show at her graduation.

They didn’t seem to care at all she perfumed omega, and, most upsetting, her chronic bond sickness is definitely from years of neglect on their end.

She was a beta born to two alphas. It seems they didn’t care much for her when she stopped being a cute little kid.

When she was twelve or something, they went traveling and left her at their country home. And then never really came back.”

Shadow cuts him off—“Turns out they did not go far. They stayed at their townhome in Cash City. I don’t have much evidence they traveled at all.”

“I want to know why they left her. What was so important. And why her perfuming and graduating didn’t seem to get their attention. Should we put in our guesses? I think they are on drugs. Drugs are much better than daughters. I can’t think of something better than drugs at all actually.”

I roll my eyes at Jake.

“I think I figured it out,” Shadow says, putting away his s’more stuff. “They just contracted with an omega.”

Oh, wow.

“I stand corrected. Omegas are better than drugs.”

“Yeah, but here’s the thing. Their omega is a female. And she’s 24 years old.”

I’m going to be sick.

Ondine is 23.

No.

“Yes. And they’ve been courting her for a year and half. Her name is Acadia.”

“We can’t tell her.”

I agree wholeheartedly with Jake.

We sit at the fire for another hour. Jake, lounging in his chair propping his head up on his hand. Shadow playing on his phone. And me, just trying to clear my thoughts.

I’ll never sleep again if I can’t clear my head.

Suddenly Jake gets a text and runs off into the house. I’d be worried but he seemed curious and hopeful. So I let it go.