Page 5 of Hangman's Knot
Until she had met Officer Brett on the first week of school one cool September day. School security had always been a joke, middle-aged men with beer guts who spent more time flirting with the cafeteria staff than breaking up fights. But Officer Brett was different. He was real police, not just some third-party outsourced rent-a-cops.
That was what first caught her eye. "South York Police Department" was emblazoned on his brawny chest. He had a police-issued weapon strapped to his hip that he always kept gripped in one hand, as if he might use it anytime, despite the fact that this was a grade school. He was big for a beta, broad-shouldered and square-jawed with dark brown slicked-back hair. He was young too. Probably close to her age.
The first time she saw him, he had stopped her just outside the library as she was accompanying the kids to their next period.
She had been wearing an old jean skirt that was fraying at the bottom, a coffee-coloured wool sweater than had a hole in the sleeve that she had tried to patch over with her own messy embroidery, and her favourite leather boots. She couldn't have been more invisible if she'd tried.
“Good afternoon,” he had said, his voice too casual, too practiced.
"Good afternoon," she had responded, keeping her head down and her focus on her students. "Thomas, get back in line please. Single file, everyone."
"You a teacher here?" Apparently, he wasn't going to take her attempt at dismissal that easily.
"A teacher's assistant," she had responded, peeking over at himquickly before turning back to her charges once more.
He had looked at her with an intensity that had chilled her straight to her core and she had frozen like a deer in the headlights, a prey animal. And he had noticed, responding as a predator.
"Hey, you, kid," he barked at Thomas. "Listen to your teacher, Ms.– what did you say your name was?" It was a pointless question, considering her ID badge was hanging from her neck.
"I didn't," she said. "It's um– North. Ms. North. But it's fine, really. Thank you, officer," she'd attempted to say in dismissal again.
"Ms. Eden North," he'd murmured, as if testing her name in his mouth and watching her go as she had herded the kids into the library.
He'd made a point to notice her since then. He seemed to be wherever she was, there first thing in the morning and the last to leave at night, his eyes tracking her movements. And she had attempted to be unbothered, avoiding him wherever possible, darting her eyes away from his gaze and pretending he wasn't there. Until it all changed one cold October day.
She had taken the time that morning to quickly dress into a plaid wool skirt that nearly reached the floor and a white long sleeved t-shirt underneath her yellow cardigan. She slipped on her black leather boots that had seen better days and then steeled herself against the weather. Just like any other day.
She ducked her head down as she passed the other people making their way to work in the morning. She'd learned long ago in the foster homes she'd grown up in to keep her head down, to move quietly and take up as little space as possible. That's how she survived. Be invisible.Don't let them notice you.
It didn't hurt that she didn't look like an omega was supposed to. She was chubby and always had been, with wide hips andachest that threatened to pop the buttons off her shirts. She was far from the petite frame that omegas usually had. Her honey blonde hair that reached her tailbone in tumbling curls was the only thing about her that was noticeable, and she kept that tied back in a low bun anytime she left the house.
She wasn’t the kind of girl who got noticed or followed or…hunted. She was just a teacher's assistant, with a two-year degree in childhood education, $42.73 in her bank account, and a scent that even she could barely smell due to the scent blockers and suppressants she took on a steady basis since the day she'd first perfumed.
It kept her safe. Until now. She should have known that day would go badly. She should have stayed in bed. It was the kind of cold, slushy fall day that threatened to set her bones to aching and make her wish she'd never left the safety of her nest.
"Ms. North," his voice was the same chilling rasp as she remembered, strolling into her classroom. Cornering her as she threw on her jacket to ward off the autumn chill that cut through the school's old walls. "Late night?"
It had been a long day and Eden wanted nothing more than to run home to her nest. One of her students had been sick and her mom hadn't been able to come get her until now. It was well past dark, and usually Eden wouldn't allow herself to be caught out this late, but the only other option would've been to leave Marissa alone.
"Y-yes," she stammered out, clutching her bag to her front, forcing her voice to be casual and offering him a strained smile. "One of my kids had to stay late. I'm just going home now."
He grinned, teeth bright and carnivorous under the florescent lights. “You should be careful walking alone after dark,Eden.”
The way he said her name, rolling it over his tongue, made her skin crawl.
"You've been avoiding me," he said then, strolling into the room and leaning his hip against the desk. Eden backed away to the other side, trying to make her movements seem casual, trying not to show her fear or weakness.
She forced out a chuckle but it came out high pitched and slightly hysterical. "I don't know what you mean, officer. I'm just leaving. I'll see you tomorrow."
"An omega wandering these streets alone at night isn't safe," he continued as if she hadn't spoken, and that's when she froze.
How had he known she was an omega? She didn't advertise it. She definitely didn't look like one. Omegas were usually model pretty and surrounded by wealthy packs, lounging around their mansions in namebrand athleisure. They weren't thequiet chubby girls in second hand clothes working as a TA at a bad school.
"I-I do it all the time. I can take care of myself," she stammered, trying to make her voice breezy and failing as she saw the way his eyes flickered over her body, lingering on her chest just a moment too long.
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Let me give you a ride—you can’t be too careful these days.”
“No, thank you,” she responded, forcing her voice to stay calm. “The bus stop is just out front.”
