Page 12 of Dodging Bullets

The sudden shout made me jerk in Max’s arms, almost leaping off his lap. His arms tightened around me, and he let out a sound that was half put-upon sigh and half chuckle.

“I guess it’s time to introduce you to the loudest member of the family.” Shifting me gently to my feet, he kept hold of my hand and led me to a small room off the living room. Judging by the shelves, it would have been a storage room once upon a time. Now, it housed a giant cage and the biggest bird I’d ever seen in my life. “Paloma, this is?—”

“RUFIOOOOOO!”

Another sigh. “Yep. This is Rufio.” Max moved over to the bird, calmly putting his hand out like he wasn’t going to get torn to shreds by the sharp-tipped beak. “Rufio was one of OJ’s rescue animals. He’s… well, he’s not harmless, and I wouldn’t suggest you handle him until you have more experience with parrots, but he’s an?—”

“African Gray Parrot,” I breathed, stepping closer. I’d read about these birds, about their intelligence and their ability to interact and solve problems. They were highly intelligent. I’d thought they were extinct, much like everything else that wasn’t readily visible inside the walls of the Homestead. “I saw them in a magazine,” I added, as Max watched me closely. The parrot was also watching me, with eyes more intelligent than any creature should be.

Max stroked his head softly. “Rufio, this is Paloma.” Max met my eye and smiled fondly down at the bird. “I’m not surehe’ll be able to master the name Paloma, but he manages curse words like a pro. He was rescued from a crackhouse.” He saw the confusion on my face. “Uh, a place where people sell and take drugs. It means he has a very colorful vocabulary.”

The bird had moved to the end of Max’s arm while he was talking, his whole body leaning toward me. I watched him closely, fascinated and a little scared.

Max lifted him higher. “I think he wants you to scratch his head, but don’t feel like you have to. We can take it very slowly.”

No, I wanted to overcome my fears, and this bird seemed like a safe first step. Reaching up, I mimicked the way Max scratched his head, and all of Rufio’s feathers stood up as he tilted his head closer to my fingers.

Chuckling softly, Max held him closer. “Rufio, you charmer. You like the scratches from the pretty Omega, don’t you?”

The bird jumped suddenly from Max’s arm to mine with a small flap of his large wings. I froze, my eyes going to Max. He didn’t try to get him back, but I could tell he was watching the whole interaction closely. The bird climbed up toward my elbow, where he was definitely close enough to attack my face if he wanted.

“Hey, pretty bird wanna scratch?” the parrot whispered in my direction, but his voice was deep and came out kinda scary. His feathers were all fluffed up, and he looked at me kind of adoringly. “Scratch scratch?” he crooned at me.

Lifting my free hand, I did as he asked, and he turned his head this way and that, until I was getting all the good spots. I stared down at this wonder of nature on my arm.

Max was watching us closely. “He really likes you. He hasn’t taken to anyone so quickly. It took me a week to get him to sit on my arm. He still kind of hates Rio. I think his previous owners were Alpha males and kept him in a small cage.”

I looked down at the bird’s intelligent gray eyes. “We have that in common.”

Seven

August

It was quieter than usual at group therapy today, but it was bound to seem smaller without the large presences of Lance, Rio, and Max. I didn’t know where they were, but my Omega senses were tingling when those three went AWOL together.

I might have even worried, if I hadn’t gotten a message from Max during my clinic lunch break, asking if I could do an after-hours consultation. I didn’t even ask what for; I assumed it was for their Pack Leader, Llewellyn. Llewellyn Barrie had been the lead Alpha in the Barrie Pack at the time of Rio’s enlistment, and had been listed as the next of kin in his paperwork.

Somewhere during Rio’s tour of the Middle East, Llewellyn had lost his hold on his sanity and his Alpha. I had my professional opinion on why it had happened, and I knew the guys did too, but none of them were ready to face the hard facts so that they could truly begin to heal. They weren’t ready to poke at the wounds, if it meant that they could lose Llew forever. Instead, they were living this kind of half-life, particularly Llew.

I’d talked about it in one-on-one sessions with Rio, but he shut down at any mention of the Alpha. I never pushed—a sacrifice to maintain the connection we had established.

Sighing, I tried to turn my attention to the Beta who was currently speaking, but my mind kept wandering back to the Barrie Pack. I never pushed, because I didn’t want to lose my chance to see them once a week. I needed to hand off their case to one of the other psychologists, because I was more than a little in lust with two of the three Barrie Pack boys.

The Beta finished speaking, and I pulled my head back into group therapy. These vets deserved my full attention. I could daydream about the Pack that couldn’t be mine later.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I squeezed the arm of Trish, an Alpha female who’d lost her leg in an IED explosion a year ago, giving her a smile of support. “You’ve come so far already, but sometimes it’s hard to see that, when you’re slogging through every day. Lean on your support network—you would be there for them in times of need, so allow them to be there for you.” I said the words gently, because with these military types, any suggestion of weakness at the wrong moment could set them back months of recovery.

I smiled at Trish’s Omega and the other Alpha in her Pack as they came to collect her from the session. Giving them a quick wave, I hurried back into the poky little room that doubled as our meeting place. I packed up quickly, wanting time to run home and shower before heading over to the Barrie Packhouse. Max had offered to come and collect me, but while I trusted them implicitly, part of being a solo Omega meant that I needed to have my own means of transport whenever I went anywhere new.

I stacked the chairs and washed out the coffee pot, then it was finally time to head home. I was the only unmated Omega in our apartment block, but there were three Beta couples, a few single Unshown, and two completed Packs in the complex. I was as safe as I could be, and when my heats were due, I tended toeither take myself to a Heat Clinic or tough it out at the cabin I had out near Lake Norman.

Looking at the dark shadows of the VA parking lot, I wondered if I shouldn’t have taken Max up on his offer of a ride, but I pushed the feeling down. I wasn’t helpless. I wasn’t unsafe here. But still, I hurried to the car as fast as I could, my keys already in my hand. When I made it there, I locked the doors immediately.

Life as an unmated male Omega wasn’t dangerous, but I was coveted, I guess would be the right word. Omegas were respected, but not everyone gave a shit about the law, or ethics, or polite society. If we were attacked, it always came back to our biology, like we were some kind of honey trap for Alphas who just couldn’t help themselves.

Bullshit.I could manage to be surrounded by Alphas every day and not whine and try to climb onto their knots. Alphas could do the same, if it wasn’t so damn socially accepted that they were little more than animals.

I let out a frustrated noise at the injustice of it all and wove my way home. I had forty-five minutes to shower and get across town, so I had to hurry. It had me waving hello but not stopping when my neighbors shouted hello. I was in my apartment, already undressing in the hallway.

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