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He looks really thoughtful. I’m loath to interrupt him. His phone vibrates, and his eyes refocus on the here and now.
Locke swallows hard. “So, I have a confession.”
I groan. “You called Dad?”
“We agreed. Whoever finds you first will call Uncle Wayne the minute we know. Sorry?”
“How long until they arrive?”
Locke holds up his phone and shows me the message. “They’re here. But I have to go perform. I won’t be able to see you before I leave. They keep us pretty locked up.” He pauses. “Why did you leave? I never could understand why you left the farm.”
I stare at him, unable to answer.
He nods. “Must have been bad that you thought the world was less scary than what was happening at home. Out of my car, Cousin. Your parents are here to give you a talking to.”
I hug him again, kissing his cheek, and ignore the way he stiffens before he relaxes.
“I missed you, Locke.”
“I missed you, too.”
I get out of the car and turn, watching as my past creeps up on me. I watch their crying faces through the windscreen. My past.
My home.
My dad jumps out of the car before it even stops. He looks older, his face more lined, but he’s tall and lanky with a long ponytail of brown hair, a beard, and a wide-brimmed, tan-coloured Stetson hat. But my dad has my eyes. The clearest blue.
“Dad.”
He doesn’t answer me, just lifts me up and pulls me into a hug that steals all the air from my lungs.
Someone slams into me from the other side, and I feel Uncle Sol sniffling. A third presence has Dad and Sol backing off, and I look up to find Uncle Charles. He gently cups my cheek.
“Are you okay, my beautiful Bethany?”
My eyes fill with tears, and I shake my head.
He steps towards me and envelopes me in his protection. A moment later, I feel Aunt Auggie. I open my eyes to find her staring at me. The same beta who took care of me when I was sick, who taught me to cook, who loved me as if I were hers.
“Who broke my baby’s heart?”
I start to laugh, and then cry, and my family gathers around, holding me close. Forgiving me like I wasn’t sure they would. Letting me feel the pain and collapse in their arms.
I sit in thehotel room as I pick through the words to explain what I heard that night.
Dad stares at me, stunned. “We would never have forced you.”
“You wouldn’t have needed to, Dad. That was the point. I could never say no to Raider or you,” I half-shout, frustrated and upset that I’m causing him to hurt.
“But-”
“I don’t feel about him like that.”
“We thought you did. We were sure you did,” Sol says. He closes his eyes in pain. Sol has light brown hair and green-coloured eyes, but it’s the smile lines that make me feel like I’m home, that I’m safe. The other beta of the pack was always the person I went to when I needed to cry
“No, I’m not his omega. I always knew that. I loved Raider like a sister. And he was confused. It would have been miserable for all of us, and we,” I look at them anxiously, “we deserved to be happy. Didn’t we? Doesn’t Raider deserve a chance to find his scent match?”
“So, why not call?” Auggie asks flatly.
