Page 15 of Primal

A storm of emotions crashes over me, too fast and too many to name, but denial—yeah, that one is sharp and obvious. It’s the only thing keeping me afloat, the life jacket I cling to in this emotional riptide. Without it, I might just drown, because if this healer is right…if Rennick is truly my?—

No.I can’t think that. Iwon’t.

I refuse to believe, even for a second, that Zora is right. That the bond between me and the creature sharing my soul is so fractured, we’re incapable of recognizing our own fated mate. Because if that’s true, if I’ve lost something that fundamental, that sacred, it wouldruin me.

And worse, if there’s even the faintest chance that Rennickismine, then somewhere in this house, he’s trying to make peace with the woman he’s already promised himself to—the same woman who overheard me inadvertently claim him as my own—and that’s a reality I don’t know how to face.

“You’re wrong. Whether I can sense my fated mate or not, I know for a fact Rennick Fallamhain isn’t mine.” I try to sound strong, but the tremor in my voice gives me away. I’m too shaken to hide it.

“And how can you be so sure of that?”

My trembling hand gestures around the quiet room we sit in. “Becausehe’snot here. I may not have full access to mywolf, butRennick does.If we were truly fated, he would have scented it.Felt it.And we both know if that were the case, nothing could keep him from me. But he’s.Not. Here.He’s with his betrothed,making things right with her.” My wolf isn’t just whining now, she’s howling, her agony almost too much to bear. “Which is where he should be. He chose her long before I showed up here and he was reminded of my existence. Talis should be his priority in every situation, no matter how unbelievably fucked it is. That’s how it needs to be between mates.”

“I think you’re underestimating how incredibly emotionally dense men are.” Zora makes an exasperated sound, shifting forward in her armchair. “I also think you truly believe the story you're trying to sell me, but even without my gift, I’d know you’re lying to yourself. The tears currently dripping off your chin are betraying you.” She gives me a pointed look, watching as I hurriedly wipe them away. I have no idea when I started crying, but I’d like it to stop. “You’re also purposely overlooking an important detail, dear girl.”

“And what’s that?”

“You heard him,” she says. “You heard his thoughts. You heard him say‘mate’. What does that mean to you?”

My head is shaking before she’s done asking her question. “I told you. It was nothing. Just my mind playing tricks on me. It was a slip of the tongue on my part.”

Deny. Deny. Deny.

Zora’s next attempt is cut off when a sound pierces through the tense air of the sitting room. She doesn’t so much as flinch, meanwhile I’m flying to my feet, eyes flicking frantically around as if searching for a threat. It takes longer than I’d like to admit for my frayed nerves to settle and for my brain to finally recognize the source.

My shaking and clammy hand yanks my phone from my pocket.

Fuck.

“I have to go,” I murmur, eyes skimming the alerts I’ve received from both Seren and the Craddock Pack’s Alpha, Lowri.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say our Alpha is going to want to have a word or two with you before you leave,” Zora warns me, but there’s no real heat behind it. She stands from her chair, stretching her back as she does. I didn’t notice how short she was when she was sitting. Her long skirt and oddly-shaped sweater helped conceal her frame. Now that I can take her fully in, I have no doubt this healer and charmer wolf is also an omega. Just like my mom was.

“I don’t have time to wait around for him.” I’m already moving toward the French doors Rhosyn had disappeared through many minutes ago, my wolf protesting every step, wanting to lay eyes on the Alpha again.Yeah, that’s not happening.

I feel guilty I’m going to leave without telling Rhosyn goodbye, especially since the poor girl held my bucket of puke. Maybe I can send her a thank-you note in the mail. A nice mini muffin basket, perhaps, for when she regains her appetite.

“I’m needed at home. I need to leave right now.” Phone already in hand and my car keys in my back pocket, the only thing I’m missing are my sunglasses, but I’m okay sacrificing them if it means I can get out of here as soon as possible. And ideally without too many eyes seeing me. A fast and easy escape, that’s what I’m in need of.

That knowing look, the one I really fucking hate, returns to Zora’s sun-weathered face. “Okay, I’ll show you the way out and run interference if I need to,” she offers easily. I’m already opening the doors and glancing down the seemingly empty hallways when she so casually adds, “We don’t want to leaveyour new omega waiting for too long. They’ll need you there to help them.”

Freezing in place, a fierce protectiveness washes over me. I turn back to look at the Truthscryer. “How do you know about?—”

“How do I know about the omegas you help?” she interjects, her thin brow rising.

There’s no accusation in her tone, or threat in her posture, yet it does nothing to settle the unease now creeping through me.

When your life is dedicated to protecting society’s most vulnerable members, you learn to watch for danger lurking in the shadows. There’s always something—or someone—waiting to exploit the weak. The omegas who find their way to us are usually running from something. Abuse from a parent or partner, maybe a past they can’t escape. It’s my job to give them a place to heal, to feel safe, and to start anew. Keeping our operation as secret as possible helps ensure we can safely offer them that.

I give her a stiff nod.

“Do you really think Thalassa started an underground sanctuary for omegas without having a system of friends and allies to help her? Who do you think are the ones covertly sending them to Ashvale? How do you think omegas know to find you in the first place?” She grips my shoulder, giving me a reassuring squeeze. “There’s so much you’ve yet to learn, Noa, but one thing you should know with absolute certainty is your mother always had a plan.”

Chapter 6

Rennick

“Iheard her say it, Rennick.” Talis, the woman I’m betrothed to, the one who is pushing twenty-eight years old, just stomped her foot. Lovely. “We all heard her say it.”

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