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I bite my lip and look down. “I thought I could find them and bring them back and show you that it all worked out for the best. Maybe I thought it would be easy.” My eyes well with tears.
“But you met them?” Auggie asks as she grips my hand. She’s a petite beta with a larger-than-life personality and dark hair and eyes. Right now, she seems defeated.
“I did meet them. They helped me when I was in a terrible spot.”
“And?”
“They don’t want an omega.” I breathe it out, and the pain of that sentence is not going away.
“Oh, darling.” Charles smiles, when he does, it still manages to pack a punch. He’s a beautiful man, with Kelly’s golden colouring and the Raines blue-green eyes. He doesn’t bring out his alpha much, but we were all afraid of upsetting Charles. “They always say that at the start.”
I look up, confused. “What?”
“You think it was easy to win these three over? It took all my skills. They denied it, fought me tooth and nail. They did not want to be a pack.”
“This is true. Your uncle Charles learned how to farm to court me.” Auggie chuckles. “Those days were so much fun.”
“You can give up or you can show them what they’re missing and convince them.”
“Convince them?” I ask, but I’m listening hard. My heart’s racing, a second chance? I’ll take it.
“Absolutely. Court them, woo them, tease and tantalize them.” Charles nods his head and sits back with his arms folded over his chest. Oozing smugness. “But, first, let’s go check out this bar of theirs, and then I think you need to insist on the job they offered. You have nowhere to go, after all.”
My eyes widen. “Uncle Charles, you are diabolical.” Those blue-green Raines eyes sparkle at me.
“Locke will not make it. He tried, but it looks like Ryn is going to come down and help,” Auggie says with a smirk, looking up from her phone. “And Lia sends her love.”
I glance around the room, confused. “What’s that mean?”
“Wait and see,” my dad says with a wink.
Chapter thirteen
Saint
Four weeks.
It’s been four weeks, and each and every day, the pack is falling apart just a little bit more.
Crow has withdrawn into himself. Hunter is silent, but his temper is razor sharp. I can barely focus, and I’m exhausted from constantly trying to keep the pack sane.
At night, instead of sleeping, I read through the reports from the private investigators I’ve hired. I check in with the hospitals, police, and shelters. I ring all my contacts. It’s one big, continuous loop that has me falling into bed at ridiculous times in the morning or afternoon.
I blink at the inventory I’m trying to sort out, but I just can’t seem to focus. With a groan for my stiff muscles, I stand up, making a decision. I’m no good to anyone like this. I’m just goingto go out and get something to eat and sleep for a little bit, then I’ll start again.
I leave the bar and walk down the road. The lights of all the bars have turned the street into a neon wonderland. I find a junk food place and go inside. Maybe if I eat, I will be able to focus.
I order enough burgers for everyone, and then stand to the side, absently staring at the road. I see her face everywhere, the expression of pain when I tried to cut her off that morning. Her whimper. It replays all the time. Fury at myself claws at my insides. Is she okay? I need to find her! A streak of something tears me back to the here and now. I only see it for a second, but it’s our car, and the driver has white hair.
I spring forward and race after the car, but it’s gone in seconds. I stand on the sidewalk, staring down the street, my chest heaving. Jubilation fills me. She’s here, and she’s alive. I have to go back to get my keys, but it gives me hope. If she’s here, she can be found.
Bethany is alive, and she’s okay, and she didn’t leave. I repeat those words, over and over.
I stop my race back to the bar, staring where I saw the car last. I slam a hand over my pounding heart. Everything in me wants to keep chasing that car. It might be pointless. It might be the night we find her. Quickly, I return to the burger joint, grab the food, carry it to the bar, grab mine that I really don’t want to eat anymore, and then I get my keys, my car, and without telling anyone, I set off in search.
Maybe I’ll get lucky.
I drive for hours, ignoring my phone and the missed calls I have, but I don’t see the car again. I slam my hand on the steering wheel. Perhaps I imagined it. I sit at a park and get out, wandering around until I get to the swings. They aren’t in the best condition, but they are a hell of a lot better than the ones I grew up around.
