Page 44 of Their Knotty Pack (Starbrook City Omegaverse #3)

Bethany

I find Hunter in the downstairs bedroom that's been converted to an office, his head in his hands as he stares at a folder on the desk.

"Hunter?" I call gently, not wanting to startle him.

"Bluebell," he looks up at me, his eyes tired, before checking his watch and frowning. "You're home early."

I wince, walking in and perching on the edge of the desk.

"Yeah…I kind of got fired." His brows shoot up and he opens his mouth to speak, but I hold my hands out.

"Before you say anything, it's probably for the best. The whole place left a sour taste in my mouth after leaving Pack Hansen, and…

well speaking of the douchebags, they came to my work today.

It was the last straw for management, apparently. "

Hunter goes still, his eyes darkening as he looks me up and down. Not with heat or lust, but assessment. Appraisal. Is he…is he trying to see if I got hurt? "Did any of them lay a finger on you?" His voice is calm, but it's that deadly calm before the storm. The quiet before the slaughter.

"No." I quickly shake my head. "You know Brennan Petrov? The guard at the OMS?"

Hun ter nods. "Yes. He was at a barbecue with his pack that Kieran's sister invited us to to get to know us. Your brother was there too."

Hannah had them over for a barbecue? Oh. That must have been the one Archie invited me to that I was too busy feeling sorry for myself to attend.

I nod. "So, Brennan showed up, and he scared them off. He may have threatened them a little." I smirk. "They ran out with their tails between their legs."

Hunter closes his eyes, exhaling out of his nose before opening them. "I spent the day compiling all the evidence I can against them for harassing you, and am filing the restraining order with the judge first thing in the morning."

Something Pack Hansen said before leaving the OMS sticks in my mind. "They said…" I swallow, and Hunter looks at me expectantly. "Good luck finding a judge that will approve a restraining order against them…do you know what that means?"

Hunter frowns. "I'm filing it with Judge Caldwell, the fairest and most impartial judge in the courts. Whatever they're implying…it won't be an issue." His attention goes back to the open case file on his desk.

My shoulders deflate in relief. "Good. And Hunter?" He looks back up at me in question. "Thank you. For doing this. For…taking care of me."

He gives me a small, sad smile, nodding once. "Thank you for trusting me to do it."

My eyes catch on the little photo paper-clipped to the folder. "Who's that?" And why…something unsettling sits in my chest at the sight of the pretty blond girl.

He huffs a breath, following my line of sight before turning the folder to face me. "Lindsey Prior, a twenty-four year old omega. She went missing a few weeks ago."

Mis sing. Right. So why…why does she look familiar? Did I assist her at the OMS at one point? That has to be it. But if that's the case…

"Does she have a pack that's looking for her?" I ask softly.

He shakes his head. "No. No pack, not much of anything, really. She had a job doing overnight commercial cleaning, and somewhere between one job and the next, she just…disappeared. We found her car, abandoned in the warehouse district."

She must not have clicked with any of the packs she got set up with, if she was by herself.

"She's the seventy-eighth omega to just…go missing off the streets in the last six years. No body, no evidence, no…anything. Just evaporated. Like she never existed at all."

He sounds so sad when he talks about them, and I don't know how he does it. I can hardly deal with the idea that I possibly could have had a hand in omegas not being happy with their lives, and here he is, with seventy eight lives riding on his shoulders.

He shuts the file with a sigh, and stands, stretching.

"I'm done for the day. Are you hungry? I was about to make myself some kimchi ramen for lunch.

Do you want any?" My brows raise. It can't be any later than one, and it's obvious he has more work to do.

But is he…is he actually trying to spend time with me?

"I have to admit, I've never had kimchi, but I'd love to try it," I hop down from my spot on the desk and follow him to the kitchen.

"It's a quick and easy meal when the kimchi is made, and I made a fresh jar before we moved in, so it should be perfect to eat now."

He's in a tight SCPD t-shirt and sweatpants, and I feel like an absolute creep watching him move around the kitchen. He puts the water on the stove for the ramen.

"So…your parents came here from Seoul?" I ask, needing to fill the silence.

"Ye ah," his back is still turned to me, " Eomma and Appa …or Seo-yun and Min-jun Song…they immigrated when she was around four months pregnant with me."

"Have you ever wondered why they didn't give you a more traditional Korean name?" Immediately, I wince, wondering if I've asked a rude question.

He just lets out a little chuckle though.

"No, because they've been upfront with me since I was little.

When they decided to move out here, they were very…

gung-ho about America. The 'land of opportunity'.

" He drops the ramen into the water. "They decided to completely immerse themselves in American culture, which means laying roots. So, instead of being named Hyun-Woo, meaning virtuous protector…I was named Hunter, which for two Koreans learning the English language, held very similar meanings. They still refer to me as aegiya in private, but to the rest of the world, I’m Hunter Song, the embodiment of the American Dream. "

"Hyun-Woo…" the name rolls off my tongue, Hunter stiffening for a moment before shaking his head. Like he had been caught in a sort of spell. "Where are they now?"

"They're still in Dry Creek, Idaho. Eomma is quite content to look after her garden—you remind me a little of her in that regard—and Appa will probably work until the day he dies, absolutely by choice. The accounting agency he works for tried to get him to retire five years ago, but he refused."

A small laugh leaves me at the image he's put in my mind, and he chuckles with me before turning back to making us lunch.

There's a question that's been gnawing at me, and I finally summon the courage to ask him what's been on my mind."Hey Hunter?" He pauses, turning to face me. "I…I don't know how to ask this without sounding…I don't even know. But…I guess I'm just going to come right out and ask."

He looks worried for a second, but nods anyway.

"So ," I take a deep breath, steeling myself, "I feel a true scent match connection with you, like I do with the others. I'm drawn to you, but…it's almost like you don't feel it? Is this some kind of weird one-sided glitch that you've felt too awkward to tell me about?"

"What—" he shakes his head, "Bethany, no. No…I feel it. I do." I feel myself sag in relief, but then…

"So…have I done something? Because you don't seem nearly as ready to rip off my clothes as I am to rip yours—" My mouth snaps shut in mortification. What the hell did I almost just say?

Hunter turns slightly red, and the image of this huge, burly alpha blushing at my words makes me feel a little better about myself. "I…shit. Bethany, there's something I need to tell you about me, and it's something I probably should have brought up before now…"

Dammit. He's going to tell me that he's really deep undercover…or something, and we can never be together because of…reasons.

"I don't feel…sexual attraction the same way the rest of the guys do."

The same way? What could that possibly mean? "What…like you're only attracted to feet or something?"

He barks a laugh, shaking his head as I mentally curse my word-vomit.

"No, bluebell. I just…I can't be sexually attracted to someone unless I've formed an emotional connection to them first. It doesn't matter how breathtakingly beautiful I find you, or how Miles makes my heart beat faster just by looking at him.

Unless there's a very deep connection first… "

"How deep?" I ask on a breath, my heart rate picking up.

"In my past experiences…" he says slowly, walking over to me, "the actual desire to have sex comes right before I feel ready to say 'I love you'.

But, make no mistake, it's not like one day our connection passes over a certain threshold and the sexual attraction is s uddenly there.

It grows slowly, over time." He stops in front of me, looking at me with a furrowed brow.

"And right about now, I think I want to…

" he bends slightly, tipping my chin up to meet his eyes, not unlike he did yesterday.

My breath catches in my throat, my eyes fluttering closed as he lightly brushes his lips over mine, sending a shiver through me. "I don't…" I take a deep breath, opening my eyes. "I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

He gives me a small smile. "I very much wanted to do that, bluebell.

Just because I'm not there yet, doesn't mean I don't have affection for you.

And please don't take that to mean it won't ever be anything more, because I know without a doubt that once I get to know all of you, there won't be any stopping me. "

His words have me blushing this time, and I bite my lip, nodding. It is rather comforting to know that when he does dive into this, it won't be because of the true scent match, but because he'll feel a genuine connection to me.

"Well then, I suppose we should start spending some more time together." I grin, and he smiles back before turning to the now-boiling water on the stove.

"I suppose we will."