Page 11 of Spark (Damselverse #2)
Chapter eleven
Dacre
M y Alpha won’t stop whining like a goddamn mutt left out in the rain as I slam my locker shut, placing my head against the steel.
It cools my skin, and I sigh, trying to calm the wanton beast that lives rent-free inside me. He goes from thrashing in his chains to whimpering like a lost puppy, and it appears there’s a certain hazel-eyed brunette he's pining for.
Ruby…
The Omega I saved from the fire is living with us now, yet I’ve barely spoken two words to her.
She makes me so nervous. My palms sweat, and then my heart palpitates. What sucks is that even Xavier, the grade-A prick, rises to the occasion, helping her during her nightmare.
I hadn’t even sensed her in the thrall of that night terror, yet Xaxier did. No matter how much he denies it, the asshole knows what he’s doing when it comes to an Omega…
He is a goddamn pro, and I hate him for it, slamming my fist against the locker.
There’s a reason why he knows how to treat an Omega. Sydney was his entire universe at one point. That was before he met me and Nolan, but even then, we sensed the ominous cloud that resided above him.
Alphas go dark when they are separated from Omegas, and Xavier is no exception.
He’s a gloomy bastard.
“What’s wrong?”
Startled, I glance up to find the hazel eyes of Dane, and for a second, they remind me of Ruby’s. Her hazel eyes are on the greener side, though, whereas Dane’s are more on the grayish side.
“I’m…I’m fine,” I lie, pulling myself together as I grab the towel from my locker, drying my hair.
At least I have work to distract me. But work is the reason why my poor Alpha is crying.
Dane raises a brow. “You sure about that? I can hear your poor Alpha crying from the showers. It’s the Omega, isn't it? Your damsel?"
“She’s not my damsel,” I protest.
“I saw your face the night of the fire. You knew she was in there. You even had the dream, didn’t you?”
He’s right… Just before the bell went off.
“Was it that way for you?”
Dane nods, grabbing some deodorant to spray his armpits. “Hell, yes. And I thank whatever God sent that dream my way every day. You should be doing the same. Ruby would be dead now if you hadn’t sensed her.”
Fuck, he’s right. Just a few seconds later, and I may have been too late.
“It’s just… I don’t know what I'm doing. How do I make her feel at home?”
“Easy. Just let your Alpha take over. Trust me, they’re quite intuitive when they need to be.”
That’s easy for him to say—the golden retriever of his pack. Nolan, the golden retriever of our pack, is out right now taking her nest shopping, and I missed my chance.
Sure, I could blame my reticence on work, but really, I’m just using it as an excuse to avoid her.
The captain could always find another Alpha from another firehouse to take over my shift. He did it for Dane when he first mated with Halle.
“Hey, how about we double date? Halle and I can help you with Ruby. That will get you out of your shell. How does that sound?”
I suppose we could. But the last thing I need is Dane showing me up. Poor Ruby will wish that she had matched with him instead.
I’m just about to give Dane my response when the captain calls me in. When I look at Dane, he smiles at me knowingly, and I roll my eyes.
This happened with him just a few months back. In fact, I was standing where he is now as I watched him being called in to the captain’s office.
If only I had known then how my own life would have changed. For the better, who knows, but one thing I do know…
Ruby is mine, and I couldn’t live without her now.
Perhaps I will get to bite her one day as my gums ache all the way to the captain’s office. He’s just finishing signing something as I wait in the chair before his desk. Then he steeples his hands, giving me that tight smile.
“So, Bloom… care to share why you’ve been so distracted?”
Like he needs to be told.
“I’m sorry, captain. It won’t happen again. I promise I will—”
He holds up a hand, and I stop, waiting for his response. He laughs, leaning back in his chair. “It’s fine, Dacre. We all know what your problem is. It’s your new Omega… Dane has let me in, too.”
Of course he has, and I sigh, rubbing between my brows.
“Which is why I am giving you leave…”
No. I need to work.
Any way to avoid being a disappointment to Ruby. At least at work, I am needed. I’m a firefighter, someone dependable.
People depend on me to save them.
Here, I am a hero rather than a sorry excuse of an Alpha who can’t even sense when his Omega is having a nightmare.
I wonder where her phobia of thunderstorms began. I’ll admit, even that thunder had shaken me to my core. I thought the house was going to split right down the middle at one point.
“But, captain. Sir…”
“No buts, Bloom. Now, gather your stuff and head home to that new Omega. You are dismissed.”
And now he returns to signing his forms.
Well, looks like I’m beat.
Now I have no excuses for being a shit excuse of an Alpha.
Poor Ruby. She deserves better. But it looks as if the only good thing I will ever do for her is saving her from that fire.
I go back to my locker, and Dane is waiting for me. “Well?”
I sigh. “He has given me leave.”
“How long?”
“Long enough for me to help my Omega settle in at the packhouse. Fuck… what did you tell him?”
I throw the Alpha an accusing look.
Dane shrugs. “Everything he needed to know. I’m sorry, Dacre, but you can’t keep avoiding her. I’m sure you will come around. Don’t keep giving that rat bastard, Xavier, all the limelight."
Well, there’s a way to get me motivated, and I smirk, meeting the wicked glint in Dane's mischievous hazel eyes. “Maybe I will consider that double date. Do you think Halle will get along with Ruby?”
Dane scoffs. “Halle gets along with everyone. Even Penn.”
That is a surprise. That nerdy Alpha is a hard nut to crack. The few times we've met, he was clipped and brusque, and it felt like I was talking to a robot.
I’d take a robot over Xavier any day—a stoic bookworm over a tortured artist.
Well, I suppose it’s time I returned home to Ruby and got my shit together.
My Alpha needs to see her.