Page 62 of Omega's Flight
After nearly an hour, though, words began to fail me and eventually I fell silent.
Cas looked down at his papers and shuffled a few of them around. It struck me funny and a small giggle escaped me. Cas grinned as he organized his paperwork and slanted a glance my way to acknowledge the unspoken joke. A kindness I wouldn't have expected, except that I was here in Mercy Hills, and I realized that I did expect it now.
"The pup, the one who saw this… how is she handling it?” Roland said when it became obvious that neither of us in Mercy Hills were going to say anything.
Cas stepped smoothly in. "She's understandably not fond of her sire at the moment and refuses to talk about him. Adelaide says that forcing her back to Jackson-Jellystone would be psychologically damaging to her." He paused, then in a more normal tone added, "I'm not sure you want an angry Pip bent on revenge running wild in the enclave."
That startled a brief snort of laughter out of the Jackson-Jellystone Alpha, then he sighed heavily. "I need time to consider this. It shouldn't have been done—" He broke the sentence off before he finished it, but I guessed he didn't want to admit that Degan had been in the wrong in front of us. I had to give him credit for being concerned for Pip's well-being, but I was starting to feel like a pawn.
Cas stretched and shoved his fingers through his hair. "We in Mercy Hills understand that you'll want to discuss this with people you trust and determine what your stand is. We also understand that you're hearing our side of it all and that you need to get the opposing side as well."
"I'll need a couple of days. This is no easy decision."
"Of course," Cas said smoothly. "You have Quin's number. Mine was at the bottom of the email I sent you. As well, Quin and Holland have opened an invitation if you wish to visit to observe the pups' situation here and inspect their quarters. We're a little short of space still, but we're moving the last of the omegas out of the guest quarters to a remodelled section on the floor below in about two weeks, so you have some time to decide if you want to make the trip."
"Thank you," Roland said slowly. I got the impression that his mind was in a whirl, the way mine went sometimes when I couldn't stay out of those dark places. My heart gave a bounding leap and I pressed my fist to my lips so I wouldn't make any noise and betray myself. This was...everything. The seed of everything, anyway, putting out its first tiny leaves into the spring sunshine. When had my life become an endless winter?
But I knew the answer to that. It was when I'd let go of all my hope. But now I had a new one, in the shape of Mercy Hills, in Quin and Holland and Bax and Abel. In this alpha here, with his strange-even-for-an-enclave name and his fierce words and the gentle, caring heart of the alphas of old.
And maybe, someday, I would fly. With their help.
C H A P T E R 4 5
T hings slowly settled into a routine and by a couple of weeks after Christmas, my little family was starting to feel like we'd always lived in Mercy Hills. And I was starting to hope we always would.
Roland had settled for video of our house and an opportunity to talk to the pups, rather than a visit in the miserable weather of winter. I'd expected Pip's insistence that she didn't like her Da anymore to be the turning point, but it was Ann's big eyes and excitement about being here that actually tipped the scales in favor of Roland forcing Degan to let us stay until summer. But my relationship with Roland was entirely destroyed in the process, and if I were ever to have to go back to Jackson-Jellystone, I would have to watch my back with him, I knew with gut-churning certainty.
All I could do was hope it never happened and right now I had hope to spare, so I put some of it to work on that.
Our trip back to Jackson-Jellystone, to be smuggled into the enclave by Quin and Holland, was uncomfortable but I didn't care. Our trip back out, with our legitimate tabs on our collars and paperwork in Quin's hands, was a joy that I was certain I'd never match the rest of my life. And on the way home, Holland told me a little about what they knew about omegas, what they suspected, and left me feeling like I'd fallen into a fairy tale.
I ran into Bax at the daycare one morning while I was dropping Henry off, not long after our 'official' move to Mercy Hills. My other two were already at school. Funny that—I had no trouble getting them to go here in Mercy Hills, when it had been a fight at least once a week to convince them that it wasn't optional. Even Ann, my little bookworm. Then again, the school building here was nicer than the one in Jackson-Jellystone, and they'd made so many new friends I could hardly keep them home now.
"What are your plans this morning?" Bax gave Taden over to one of the women in the toddler room and waved a smiling good-bye to him.
"I'm going to see what jobs are open in the pack," I told him as we walked down the hall to the older pups' room.
"I can go with you down to Personnel if you want."
I shook my head. "I think I'm fine on my own." I'd had a few weeks to settle in and recover, which I was grateful for, but now it was time to start contributing to the pack the way all the other pack members did. I didn't have many skills that the pack wanted, but a pack always needed someone to cook and clean for the elders or help keep up the common areas.
"Well, good luck." He hugged me and walked with me to the door. "Are you going straight there or heading home?"
"I thought I'd go to the library." I held my breath and smiled greetings as we passed by other parents dropping their pups off as well. Once we were outside, though, and away from interested ears, I felt more free to broach the desire that had been gnawing at me since I'd arrived and realized how much they intended to give me. "Louise said that there was a list of courses that I could take by distance, and others in the city. I thought, if I'm going to stay... I should be useful."
"Perfect! Yes, that would be a good idea. Have a look and see what interests you, and then we have the education council to pay for it."
I didn't even know what I wanted to do yet. "You think they will?"
He gave me a look. "Oh, yes. If we say so. But pick something the pack can use, okay?"
He meant the omega council, I was sure, when he said we. There were currents of change and power in Mercy Hills that I didn't understand yet, but if Bax knew how to swim in them, I'd just follow along and hope that he knew enough to keep us both from drowning. "I should get going," I said awkwardly, but it all fell away at Bax's smile.
"You know what, I'll walk you over. It's on my way, anyhow." He turned with me and we strolled across the grass between the daycare building and the main pack building.
It still impressed me, that building. Taller than anything I'd ever seen, even in Nevada Ashes. "Who built the pack office?" I asked, suddenly curious.
Bax smiled fondly. "Oh, that was Abel. He was really good at getting along with the humans, but he'd do things like this, rub their faces in it that they couldn't control everything we did. Quin is actually better with them. They like him more and respect his opinion and he's got a knack for presenting them with an idea and convincing them that the final shape of it was their idea. Holland thinks it's the military background." Bax laughed. "I never realized when I coaxed my mate into taking on my poor rejected cousin that it would turn into this."
