Page 106 of Stalked By the Alphas
I flip the top open and nod slowly, somehow not at all surprised to see the neatly stacked fifty pound notes.
“That is twenty thousand pounds, Hazel. Take it and tell Carter there is no future for you. Tell him to stop being silly coming up here and chasing you and to come back to his career, his home, and his family. Tell him to start a life with a suitable omega and to forget all about you.”
I meet her sharp, blue-eyed stare. “You really hate me that much?”
“I don’t hate you, Hazel,” she scoffs. “But this, whatever it is, has never been appropriate. It has never had a future. Surely you can see that?”
“So you are offering me twenty thousand pounds to tell Carter to forget about me?”
“I will do everything I can to ensure that my son has the life he deserves. Your parents agreed with me, by the way. I gave them the money to send you away to Mrs Schwarz’s Omega Finishing School in Switzerland. Money, I presume you then used to buy your little bookshop after they died.”
And… Just. Like. That… the mental box flips open, and the lies fly away like butterflies in a summer breeze. The mask comes down, and I smile.
It gives her pause. She tenses.
“You think you tell me something I don’t already know?” I ask casually, folding the top of the envelope back over and holding it out to her. “Too bad they died before they had a chance to ruin my life.”
She lets out a soft gasp, but she holds my gaze. If I didn’t know better, I’d say a fleeting moment of approval flashes in her eyes, but it’s gone before I can be sure.
“So, you can take your money back, Nancy. I don’t need it. I will tell Carter exactly where we stand the next time I see him. Rest assured.”
“Be sure that you do.” Nancy Richmond turns on her heel and marches out of the house, opening the door and closing it quietly.
I let out a slow breath and turn to the desk to throw the envelope down. It lands with a thump, and I stare at it for a moment, letting the memories wash over me. The intense fight with my parents after I found out they were planning to send me to omega finishing school. How furious I was, how enraged. It is everything Inever wanted, and it would’ve been torture for me, and they knew that. They knew I would’ve been cowed and miserable and a shell of myself if they sent me there. But they were planning it anyway. They wanted to get me away from Carter, Zach, and Noah, so they went to Nancy and Brett Richmond to do it. I willneverforgive them for that. I’ve played the dutifully grieving daughter for so long now it’s second nature.
“Fake it til you make it,” I murmur and turn my back on the envelope to head upstairs with a smile curving my lips that, for the first time in years, feels right. It feels natural. As I crawl into my nest and pick up the bear, drawing in the scent, I giggle, and I remember something so fundamentally crucial, like a baptism, it burns everything else away. I’ve spent the last few months being afraid of everything and everyone around me, but that was wrong.
Because they should be afraid of me.
60
HAZEL
True to their word,the alphas leave me to sort out my thoughts for two days. Not that I needed to do much thinking after Nancy stopped by. If anything, she made me see that I’m being a hypocrite if I continue to rake the alphas over the coals for all they’ve done.
I always wondered why we were such good friends. Why we understood each other so well. I thought I was a freak, a complete mess of an omega and a person, even more so after I made sure my parents would never send me away to that prison. I withdrew into myself, boxed the actions away like I did with the abuse. All these neat little boxes buried deep in my mind that are never thought about, never opened.
Until now.
It’s like these compartments are bleeding all over the grass as I walk across the park on this beautiful summer day, feeling lighter and freer than I have in years.
This is me.
Fucked up, damaged, but strong. So much stronger than anyone realises. I’ve survived things that would break most people. I’ve kept secrets that would drive others mad. And I’ve done it all while maintaining this façade of the sweet, innocent omega.
But no more.
As I approach the terraced house, I spot them. Carter, Noah, and Zach are standing together on the driveway, clearly waiting for me. Their postures are tense, eyes scanning the area until they lock onto me. I can see the moment they register my presence - their bodies go still, gazes intensifying as I approach.
I don’t hesitate or falter in my steps. I walk right up to them, my chin held high.
“Hazel,” Carter breathes, his blue eyes drinking me in.
“Happy Birthday, tiny omega,” Noah adds softly.
Zach just stares, his eyes dark and hungry.
I look at each of them, letting the silence stretch. I can smell their anxiety, their desperate hope. It’s intoxicating.
