Page 16 of His Bonded Omega Mate
Tate
“Wouldyoustopfussing,please?” Hiroshi let out a frustrated sigh from the kitchenette where he was making breakfast. I felt a prickle of annoyance in return. Looking out for him was my job. I was concerned he hadn’t dealt with everything that had happened. Instead, choosing to forget.
While I was grateful we’d been given sanctuary and their healer had finished fixing us up, I was sick and tired of being in the same little house with nothing to do. If I was occupied better, I wouldn’t feel so pathetic. My mind kept circling back to the same thought. I couldn’t stop Hiroshi from getting hurt. What use was I?
Once we’d arrived at the pack house that was now home, Hiroshi had snuck into the bathroom and finished out his heat alone and miserably using the toy Jared’s guards had given him. Asher had stood with me, feeling utterly useless and broken. We were lone shifters once more. Heatwave was no longer safe for us since the pack didn’t run it, so we were jobless, too.
The heat club had to be out of pack ownership legally, a new, frankly stupid, rule from the council, so that there were no chances of it being abused. Then look what had happened to it? Abused by alphas that had likely bribed other alphas into harming a precious omega. Heatwave was unlikely to reopen after what had happened to us.
It made me wonder, what did we bring our omega apart from pain?
The pack had dozens of little homes for omegas in a closely defended part of their compound. It was ingenious how they kept them together and safe. Only mated alphas were allowed in this area, so it was safe for single omegas to go through their heats there. Though it also meant we were isolated from the goings on in the pack and I was bored out of my mind after a week here.
“Tate… I know you love me. That you’re worried, but I’m going to be fine. It’s just a lot to adjust to.” Hiroshi circled his arms around my waist and pressed his head against my heart. “I’m just happy to be here with you.”
I relaxed. Holding him close always helped with the guilt over the choice that he’d had to make. If it wasn’t for me insisting that we wouldn’t be caught, Hiroshi would have just gone through his heat alone at home. He wouldn’t have had to choose Jared over the unthinkable.
Hiroshi growled. “Quit it!”
“I’m sorry. I just…”
“Think I should be a crying mess?” Hiroshi pulled away. “I’ve processed my feelings over it, but you haven’t, and you need to before you drive a wedge between us.”
“I think we all just need to get out of here for a while.” Asher played referee before I could get into another fight with Hiroshi. Asher kissed my lips and then Hiroshi’s cheek, making the omega smile.
He took over at the small stove, throwing out the overdone eggs, and searched the refrigerator for more. “We need to get some groceries.”
“We need jobs,” I reminded him. “We can’t rely on the pack forever.”
Hiroshi made a sound of distress whilst checking his phone, making me and Asher go to him. “Everything okay?”
“Um… we have a meeting today. In like an hour. With Alpha Blake. Alpha Logan will be there.”
I felt the color drain from my face. Was this Logan coming to take Hiroshi home? We’d been told that all of us were no longer part of the pride. The part of me where a pack bond used to reside was empty. Inside, there was a lack of the gentle hum of awareness that a pack bond caused. Was that only because we were so far away? Would we be allowed to return with him if he was going back?
My mind spun with all these thoughts and about a million more while we each got ready to face the alphas. My hands shook as I dressed in a borrowed shirt. None of the clothes I wore were mine. The pack provided everything. Even the clothes that we had arrived in were new after the thugs that beat us ruined our own clothing. We owned nothing.
We made our way towards the pack mansion with Sam, the beta guard we’d met that first night, leading the way, an elf at our backs. “Is that necessary?” Hiroshi asked.
Sam gave a pitying smile. “Things have been rough here. The alpha is making too many changes for some and after so many were sick, they see the pack as weak. We aren’t. If anything, we are stronger than ever.”
This pack was something else. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. They all seemed to adore the alpha pair. As outsiders, they didn’t mention the babies much around us, but I got that. Being suspicious of us was understandable. Babies were so rare and having had three at once was practically unheard of, so they had to protect them, whatever that took.
“This will feel a little strange, but once you enter the house, you won’t smell anything. We had a scent blocker put down so our people can’t be tracked. You can’t follow what you don’t know.” Sam beamed. “Magic is so cool.”
Sure enough, when we crossed the threshold, there was a stinging slap over my skin and all the scents vanished. I rubbed my nose, wanting to sneeze.
“Yeah, sorry about that. Takes a bit of getting used to.” Sam gave a sheepish grin. The beta was a sweet guy. Asher had struck up an easy friendship with him since he was the one that came to our house the most often to check on us.
The pack had assigned him to us as a sort of welfare officer. He would check in on Hiroshi and keep us up to date with as much of the goings on as he could. I liked him well enough, considering he was our babysitter.
“Will we get to meet the Alpha Mate?” Hiroshi asked.
“Ah —“
The elf stepped in to answer the question diplomatically. “The Alpha Mate, his guard, and parents are in the omega community center. I advised them to avoid this meeting. They hope to meet you soon. However, the stresses of new parenthood mean that they struggle to keep appointments. I hope you can understand.”
“Oh! Of course. I just wanted to say thank you in person for all the clothes and things that they’ve sent. The note, too, was lovely.” Hiroshi hid his disappointment well.
