Page 4 of Tending Our Omega (Saved by the Alpha Pack #1)

James

“I don’t know about this,” I said, looking at myself in the mirror in the living room.

Heath did nothing half-assed, so we were staying at a cabin right out of a social media post. Full wraparound porch.

Private bedrooms, each with its own en suite.

I was already planning a few meals to cook in the chef’s kitchen.

The espresso maker was the one right out of my dreams.

I had volunteered to go see Romi again. It had been a full day since we’d seen her, and that felt like too much.

This time, I’d go under the guise of ordering food.

The bar she worked at had an impressive menu for a small place, and we ordered enough to feed us and some extra on the off chance we had company. And by company, I meant our omega.

“We need to get more information. Get to know her better. Besides, Seth will scare her to death.”

Seth shoved Heath’s shoulder. “He’s not wrong. Everyone thinks I’m angry all the time, but I’m just pensive. She didn’t even spare me a glance, and omegas…”

Seth had been scorned. Had an omega who used him for his money and claimed she wanted to bond with him. But, when her heat came, she sought another pack. She never wanted him at all. She was out for his money and name. His parents had practically pushed them together.

He said he was over it, but he’d never dated again. He didn’t even want to pursue another omega with the other avenues. He went with us because pack.

“It’s fine. I’ll do my best. Besides, I’m going to pick up food, right?”

“Right. Go get ’em.” Heath pushed me out the door. Darkheart was a town where I could walk to the bar, the market, and even the tiny library.

I zipped my jacket. The night was chilly.

I hoped Romi had something to keep her warm.

A jacket. A coat. A sweater. Whatever. I hadn’t shared my observations about her from the night before with the pack.

It was her story to tell, but the signs couldn’t be denied.

Dark circles under her eyes. She was entirely too thin.

Gorgeous, but the way she moved made me think she was tired and worn out.

I wanted to scoop her up and make her life easy. Give her anything and everything she was missing.

First, I had to get her to talk to me.

I walked into the Darkheart bar and took a seat in the area marked for pickup orders. Earlier, when we’d gone to the market for supplies, the owner had gushed about the Darkheart’s burgers and fried green beans with spicy ranch, so that was what we ordered.

“What’s the name on your order, sugar?” An older woman approached me. She had a shirt with the bar’s name on it but no name tag.

“James,” I answered, not looking at Romi. She’d stopped what she was doing when I walked in but hadn’t said anything to me.

I drummed my fingers on the table and looked out the window, determined not to stare at Romi. Hardest thing I’d ever done.

“What are you doing here?” Romi’s voice broke me from my focus on anything but her as she sat across from me in the booth made for two.

I pointed to the sign above me. “Getting food.”

“Really? Just getting food?” She shot me a scathing squint and folded her arms over her breasts.

I had a couple of options. Challenge her. Or give in and tell the truth. I’d never been one for challenge, and our omega, well, my wolf just wanted me to spill the beans.

“To get food and see you. Maybe.”

For some reason, that made her laugh. “At least you’re not a liar. I hate a liar.”

“Me too.”

She glanced around the bar. “Where are your buddies?”

I snorted. Couldn’t be helped. We were all in our late twenties, and it had been at least fifteen years since anyone called us buddies. They were my bonded brothers. My packmates. We were a family, even if we were missing a piece.

“My buddies? You mean Seth and Heath? My pack?”

“Pack.” She sneered at the word. “You three are a pack?”

I nodded. Clearly this woman had been scorned by someone relating to or involved with a pack. The word came out of her mouth like venom. “We are. We met in college. All going for different degrees but we knew our wolves were kindred.”

Her features softened. Her shoulders relaxed but only a hair. She was defensive. Even her smell was tangy tonight. I wished more than anything that I could be a source of ease and calm for her instead of this silent standoff we were having.

“Where are they?” she asked.

“They are back at the cabin. We rented an Airbnb down the road.”

“Oh. Why did you rent a place to stay?”

Romi had a lot of questions. They were all pointed and dug for concise information. People who needed those kinds of details had often been betrayed and needed to gather data to know what to do next or make contingency plans in their heads.

I wondered who hurt our omega so badly.

“We needed a place to sleep.”

“Oh. That makes sense. But for how long? You’re just on vacation, right? Passing through?”

That one stung. Maybe she didn’t get the scent match for some reason. Or she was already packed up?

“We are still deciding. Why don’t you want us around?”

She wiped a circle on the table with her cloth. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

My heart broke for this woman. Here we were trying to connect with her and care for her, and she was afraid we wanted something from her.

“We stopped here on a road trip.”

“Right. No one stops at Darkheart on a road trip.” She sat up straighter and leaned over the table. “Did Clinton send you here? Jeremy? One of the betas?”

“I don’t know anyone by those names. Who are they?”

“Never mind. I just can’t deal with this. Look, no one knows I’m an omega, and I don’t announce it or go around talking about it either. I keep to myself and work hard for…” She trailed off. “I don’t need any trouble or people sniffing after me.”

Romi was angry. Her scent was laced with it, along with anxiety and fear. All the feelings I never wanted to inflict on her. Not for a second.

“I’m sorry I upset you. I was just coming to see you. My mistake.” I didn’t even want to wait for the food anymore. I wanted to leave her be so she could calm down and not worry about our pack doing anything to her or being in her space.

Before she could answer, I got up from the booth and left. No food. It didn’t matter. My appetite was beyond spoiled anyway, seeing how I’d affected her. In the opposite way I wanted to.

I had no pipe dreams of her swooning and begging us to mate and mark her immediately, but she spoke as though we were a threat to her existence.

That was the last thing I wanted her perception of us to be.

We wanted to care for her. Court her. Love her. Show her how she should be proud to be an omega.

How we would live for her protection and adoration if she let us.

I walked back to the cabin and opened it.

Heath stood up from the chair he was sitting in. He had a documentary on TV. “Well? How did it go? Where’s the food?”

I shrugged and started up the stairs to my room. “Not good, brother. Not good. And I forgot the food.”

“Since when do you forget the food?” Seth asked. They always joked about how much I ate but I didn’t care. I was a hungry, growling shifter wolf boy, and I loved everything about food. Making it. Eating it. Shopping for it. Planning meals. All of it.

“Since Romi didn’t want me around.”

I went up the stairs without another comment from them. I would have to give them details later on but, for now, I wanted to collapse onto my bed and try like hell not to be heartbroken.