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I scowl, but my insides are roiling. What if they hate us?
“They already hate us, and yes, you’re talking out loud again,” Saint snaps.
Crow scuttles off the bed and rushes for the walk-in robes. I go straight to the shower and get in, trying to calm myself, but it doesn’t work.
I spend far too long trying to figure out what to wear until Crow takes pity on me and shoves my favourite jeans and a nice shirt into my hands with a snarled, “Hurry up.”
Bethany is sitting in the driver’s seat of Crow’s huge SUV when we get downstairs. I slide into the back with Saint, while Crow argues with her about who is the driver. She wins. I’d like to think Crow is off his game, but I think he surrendered because he didn’t have the heart to argue with her.
She drives us twenty minutes, and then stops at a gate to a reserve.
“What is it?”
“This is the Moore Reservoir. And we are going for a walk. It’s one of my favourite places.”
Before I can ask anymore questions and get to the bottom of why here because it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, her family rock up and pile out of the car, including a young woman with black hair and pale skin.
She looks us over, and then turns to Bethany with a huge smile. “Hey, cousin.”
Bethany hugs her tight and turns back to us. “This is my cousin, Auryn Raines. My Auntie Auggie. Uncle Charles, Uncle Sol, and my dad Wayne.” She turns back to her family with a brilliant smile. “This is Hunter, Crow, and Saint.”
They murmur hellos but look less welcoming than the omega we are getting to know.
I’m not sure why we’re here, but as we follow the Raines pack, it starts to become a little clearer.
I shake my head, chuckling. She is diabolical, and I don’t know if I should be terrified of her or applaud her resolve. She’s not giving up on us, and that makes everything wonderful. The happiness inside me has me smiling like an idiot.
She’s showing us what a pack looks like. She’s not giving up by any stretch, this is a diabolical plan, and I’m impressed despite myself.
I’m accosted by Auryn, who wraps her arm around mine, ignoring my snarls.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?”
“What?” I ask defensively.
“Seeing people who are so happy, who can trust so easily. My parents are not like this at all. Lia, Locke, and I were very unlucky when it came to which Raines were our parents, but no matter how much I idolise Aunt Auggie and Uncle Charles, Sol, and Wayne, I can’t see myself being that happy ever.”
“Why not?” I ask curiously.
“Why? Because my life is not like this. Because, to me, I don’t know how to be happy without also being guarded. When someone gives me a gift, I wonder what strings come with it. If someone does something nice, I wonder what the catch is. If they help me, I ask what it costs. Funny, isn't it, that we don’t know how ruined we are until we’re looking at the happiness we could have. The lens is broken.”
“She deserves better,” I say under my breath.
“Is that really your choice to make, though? Doesn’t she deserve to have what makes her happy, and if that’s you, who are you to take it away from her? I mean, no one’s going to care about her as much as her scent matches, so if even you don’t want her, what message does that send to a lonely omega?”
This beta turns her head, and I see Charles’ blue-green eyes that look so deep and pained in this small woman staring back at me.
“Do you need help?” I ask instinctively.
She laughs softly. “I hate to say it, but you aren’t big enough to save me from my monster.”
“Who is?”
Her expression gets wistful. “Fate.”
I’m baffled, but we continue walking in silence. Auggie is leaning against Sol as they walk, her hand in his back pocket, his in hers. They are talking with Saint and, by the looks of it, giving him something to think about.
I spot Crow walking with Charles and Wayne. He’s pale, and I wonder if I should rescue him, but then I spot Bethany twirling around in front of him. Her hair is loose, and she’s wearing a white dress that makes her look ethereal.
