Page 22 of Ondine: Vol. 2

“Oh,” her little voice breaks. Through the bond, a deep sadness takes root. She shoves it down quickly. “Ok. I hope you have fun.”

Fun?

“Of course, sweetheart.” She leans in and kisses his cheek. Sabbies looks like he’s going to cherish that kiss for the rest of his life.

“You look beautiful in that dress,” he says and then leaves.

I can feel this really strange energy from Ondine. It’s like a warble. She turns to face me and I see it on her face. She’s very upset. She swallows and takes a deep inhale, and then it’s gone.Pushed away. Oh fuck no. This is that thing she does to hide herself from everyone. Who taught her to do this? I can’t even feel her sadness or pain anymore. It’s gone. Completely.

Well, that’s not going to work anymore.

Ondine

We take the stairs up to the penthouse, to the back entrance. Freddie doesn’t want to prematurely alert his mother at our arrival. He told me that this would be better than giving her a heads up that I was joining him for this meeting. He said he’d make sure I was ok.

He holds me in one hand, and in the other hand he holds Killer. We enter the penthouse and he lets her down, then unclips the leash from her little vest. She stays near our feet. Freddie then helps me out of my cardigan, drapes it on his forearm.

I smell an omega. Not Tina. Another one. Freddie also smells the air, but says, “My dad and Shadow’s dad are here. How strange. They are hardly ever together.”

He catches my eye. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

I smile and nod, and he catches me with a quick kiss, then leads me through the penthouse. It’s gaudy and immaculate, and just expensive looking. She loves marble-work. Red velvet tufting. And oversized vases.

We find ourselves in front of a den, the double doors open to reveal Tina standing by a bar cart, two alphas on a couch.

Killer darts under a couch and leaves us standing there, hand in hand, facing everyone.

Tina turns to face us, holding a glass with clear liquor in it.

“Freddie! And…your brother’s temporary omega?” Tina’s entire left side of her body limps down, like she’s had a ministroke.

What a weird thing for me to be called.

“Mom,” Freddie acknowledges. “Dad. Judge Wong.”

Did he just call Shadow’s dad, Judge Wong? I guess they aren’t that close.

“Freddie, why did you bring your brother’s temporary omega here?” His dad asks him.

Freddie pulls me up next to him. His arms surround me possessively. “Ondine, this is my dad, and you remember my mom. And this their pack mate. Everyone, please meet Ondine. My mate.”

There’s a sort of pop in the air. Like everyone’s brains just broke at once. Freddie’s arms drop down.

“Freddie, you haven’t registered any omega. There’s no pack on record,” Tina calls my mate a liar.

My mate, with his agitation creeping on, takes a cigarette out of his pack, but before he can even bring it to his lips to light it, his father marches over and takes it from him. He breaks it in half, tabacco sprinkles onto the carport.

I interlace our fingers, and Freddie turns and smiles at me. I bring him closer to me.

Tina, not waiting for an answer to her accusation, asks, “Isn’t this the temporary omega for your brother’s pack? The one they have to regulate their hormones?”

I bare my teeth at her.

“Mom, Ondine and I are scent matches. Just bonded.”

The weirdest thing happens: Tina’s entire body shimmies with happiness. An unexpected reaction. Is she capable of being nice?

“Oh my god! This is amazing! I knew it would happen one day. Who’s your family? Are they a big pack? Are they in a clan?”