Page 31 of Rugged Hearts: Part One

She lets out a sound of acknowledgment. “I’m going to go read the letter and then call the police. Where is it?”

Her body tenses, so I work my purr up again to help her relax. “The couch,” she says softly. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“Okay, I’ll go grab it and be right back.” I move to get up but she tightens her grip around me.

“No,” she nearly yells, “I don’t want it in the nest.”

“Can you come with me?” I ask and she nods against my chest. We move to get up, her hand gripping mine so tight.

Entering the living room, I see a letter and an opened envelope on one of the cushions. Grabbing it, I sit us down. Thea is still in panic mode; she’s no longer crying but her body is shaking. It’s only amping up my anger. I maneuver us so she’s sitting with me similarly to how it was in the nest. This time her face near my neck, taking big breaths of my scent that is calming her. In this position I can hold up the letter to read and she won’t see it. Small mercies.

Every line I read makes my blood boil more than I thought possible. Thea is picking up on it as she lets out a whimper at one point, snapping me out of a spiral. He starts the letter waxing on about how he misses her, then in the middle he’s clearly pissed she left her place of work. By the end he’s talking about how thisis better anyways for them to talk and he gives disgusting specifics on how he wants their reunion to be. The urge to rip this letter up is so strong. The fact it’s our only evidence is all that stays my hand.

Pulling out my phone, I type a quick message to the group chat with my parents, telling them we got a letter and are calling the police. Shortly I hear the notifications go off with their replies but I can’t read them yet. Moving Thea so she’s sitting on the cushion next to us, I get up and take pictures of the letter and envelope for our records. I’m not sure if the police will take them or not but I know we will need our own copy since this doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Calling the police is quick and now we wait. I return to the couch and comfort Thea. I’m not surprised she’s so upset. She’s terrified, really. That only adds to my frustration. I don’t know how to ease her fear. I’m scared too. How do you deal with something like this?

The police have been here for half an hour already and act like they’d rather be anywhere else. I was already on edge with everything that happened and this is nearly pushing me over. Suddenly the front door opens and a breath of relief escapes me at seeing my dad, James, walk in. I fill him in quickly on what I’ve gone over with the officers.

The one who’s talked the most, Officer Morgan, says again, “There isn’t much we can do. We’ll file the report and pass it along to a detective but without any inclination of who this could be from it’s just a nasty letter.”

The effort to restrain a growl is insane. Thankfully my beta dad is here with a slightly calmer head. “Can we have this detective’s information you plan to pass it along to so we can follow up with them, especially if anything else is received?” he asks.

The two officers glance at each other, clearly not wanting to do just that. The other officer who hasn’t spoken much says, “She’san unbonded omega, what do you expect? Of course she’s going to get attention from alphas.”

That’s it, that’s what breaks through my restraint, a deep growl emanates from me, causing said officer to put his hand on his weapon at his side. He doesn’t pull it out but the threat is there.

“Easy.” My dad says more to me than anyone else. “The name and number please?” he asks Officer Morgan again, who relents. Once we have the information they leave quickly.

As soon as the door is shut I let out a yell of frustration, causing Thea to flinch. Fuck.

“Thea? Let’s go pack a bag, you guys are going to stay with us for a couple days.” My dad ignores my outburst. She hasn’t said anything this whole time, clearly lost in her own head. Silently, she gets up and lets my dad lead her to the bedroom to pack. I glance at the letter now on the coffee table, my anger building again. I need to calm down. Thea needs me.A little while later they both return with two bags packed. My dad gives me a look that says everything I already know.

She’s not okay.

We’re finally lying in bed. I love my parents, but they went a little overboard tonight. Thea isn’t a baby to be handled with kid gloves. She’s strong. She’s processing today and tomorrow the fiery omega I love will be back. All the anger I’ve felt today will be nothing to the anger she’ll have.

I hold her from behind, our bodies connected nearly everywhere. I kiss her cheek. “Sweetness, we’re going to get through this. I promise.”

“What if he takes me away from you?” she asks, her voice sounding so broken.

“I won’t let that happen. We’ll be bonded soon, in less than two months, we’ll be connected as close as we possibly can be.Who knows, you might get sick of me once we’re bonded,” I tease, trying to lighten what’s been a dark day.

Turning so she’s facing me, a small smile ghosts across her lips. “Not possible,” she says as she wraps her arms around me. I settle my head atop hers. We’re both letting each other’s scent calm us down. Home. She’s all I need in this life. I won’t let this bastard get to her.

29

THEA

“How are you feeling?” Rebecca asks as I finish loading up my cart with supplies for the day.

Confused, I answer, “Fine?”

“Oh that’s good. Ben said you were sick the day before yesterday. Glad you’re feeling better!” Day before yesterday? Connor’s anniversary and my freakout. I didn’t even think about what happened with work. It was near the end of my shift but I guess I left them hanging. I’ll have to thank Ben for covering. Is this going to be weird having my scent matches as my boss? Definitely.

I didn’t get a chance to talk to Keelan about what I said that day. An apology seems like too much, since he pushed me and all. But I should thank him for helping and taking care of me. Maybe he’ll be at the cabin working this afternoon. First, I need to get through my work for the day before checking for him.

The cold seems worse today, especially with the wind. The leaves are twirling around as I pull up to the Andromeda cabin Keelan is working on. His truck is here. This is a nice change, for once I’m approaching him and I haven’t been crying. Climbing the steps tothe porch I see some of his tools but not him. I round the corner of the cabin, discovering him working on one of the posts on this part of the porch. As I approach, he turns his head in my direction from where he’s crouched down near the base of the post.

I suddenly feel awkward. I don’t know how to start.