as I walked down the stairs, my hand on the gold handrail.
It was cool and smooth under my palm. The house was magnificent with its open structure and tall ceilings.
“She’s here,” I heard Jatix say in a singsong voice. Jatix was dangerous to trust, but I started falling for him. My little omega heart wanted to mate with him, but I had to pull the reigns on it.
“Hi,” I said, stopping just outside the kitchen. Silus was sitting at the dining table, and Jatix was gathering forks. I wasn’t sure about Silus. He seemed distant and a little bit cold towards me.
Darius stood next to me protectively, his body close to mine.
“Come in!” said the one named Shawn in a booming voice.
“Am I allowed into the kitchen?” I asked. All the men stopped what they were doing, staring at me open-mouthed. Oh shit, did I say something wrong? I hope I didn’t piss them off so early already.
“Yes, of course,” said Shawn, looking at me with wide eyes as he carried the pot of spaghetti to the table. “Were you never allowed to go into the kitchen before?”
“My dad said it would bring out my nesting instincts,” I said quickly like it was common sense. But apparently, it wasn’t.
“Did he allow you to have a bed?” asked Jatix slowly. There was pressure in his voice, tension, and anger. I knew it was weird the way I lived. But I thought most omegas had to live the way I did.
“Well, not exactly. But I had a mattress, though,” I said.
“Blankets?” Darius pressed, cracking his knuckles.
Fear spiked through me at the intensity of the men around me. My omega nature wanted them to be calm. Naturally, an omega’s job was to please her alpha.
“No,” I whispered, staring hard at the vase of roses on the table. I wanted to look anywhere but at them. Without the pills, I could smell my orange scent permeating the room, getting stronger with my shame.
“There’s no reason for you to feel ashamed of anything,” said Shawn lightly, sensing my energy. He pulled a chair out. “Come and sit.”
Grateful to do something than stand there in front of their watchful gazes, I sat between Silus and Darius at the dining table. The last time I had a proper meal with a family was a long time ago.
The tomatoes and oregano wafted in the air as Jatix poured a heapful of pasta on a plate for me. I grabbed a fork and began digging in.
It tasted like heaven itself. The first bite melted on my tongue.
“Wow, Shawn, you can really cook,” I said around a mouthful of pasta. Shawn was watching me with satisfaction in his eyes, barely touching his plate. It made me feel a little self-conscious but also caused tendrils of arousal to rise in me.
“Thanks, Keera. I enjoy cooking,” said Shawn. “It’s my profession during the day, actually. Doesn’t do well for my belly, though.” He tapped his belly, which didn’t look that bad to me. Just a little chubby.
“And it doesn’t help me either,” said Silus. “This pasta is going to slow me down during my workout later. Why couldn’t you make something healthy?”
“Why don’t you fucking cook then?” said Shawn, waving his fork around threateningly. I couldn’t help but smile at the twins’ exchange. They were twins but so different in every way. While Silus liked to stay in shape and covered in tattoos- Shawn was more domestic and lighthearted. Silus was intense every time he looked my way, and when I met his gaze, I was always the first to look away. I didn’t understand Silus yet. And I didn’t know how I could make him trust me fully.
The dining room was quiet as everyone slurped up the pasta, devouring their plates. The chink of forks upon plates was the only sound apart from all the chewing and grunting of the males.
Jatix cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Tomorrow will be the introduction ceremony,” he announced, gently setting his napkin down.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“We are going to explore every crevice of your body,” he said like it was something normal that they did all the time. “Tonight will be your last night sleeping alone. After tonight you’ll always have one of us around you.”
“Umm, are you joking?” I asked.
“No, that’s what our pack does,” he said. “We are going to get acquainted with you. Before we impregnate you.”
“Get me pregnant?!”
“Yes, sweetheart. That’s how pack life works,” said Jatix. “You’re going to carry multiple babies for our pack, and our pack will be powerful.”
I took another bite of pasta to avoid replying to that. How would he feel if he knew my fertility could possibly be messed up? I begged my dad not to make me take so many heat suppressant pills.
“Mom would be happy once we tell her we’re in a long-term relationship with an omega,” said Silus.
“Have you ever been in a long-term relationship?” I asked curiously.
“Na, we went through females like candy,” said Silus.
“What?” I said, blinking. Was I just another one of those females to them?
“Yes, Jatix never looked for anything serious so we didn’t either,” explained Silus. “Commitment issues, that one.”
“It’s not like that,” said Jatix, his eyes flashing at Silus.
“May I be excused?” I said, getting up and carrying my plate. “I’m drained and would love to rest tonight.”
“Yes, of course,” said Jatix quickly, focusing on Silus. Darius looked equally pissed off.
I didn’t care how angry they were right now. I was angrier. Throwing away the paper plate, I quickly ascended the stairs. I needed to get away. To think about my situation and figure it out.
Once I was in the room that I was assigned, I didn’t dare look at the nest. I didn’t want to make myself comfortable at all here.
I dug around the drawers for something to wear and found a small pocket knife in the top drawer. That’s weird. I set it back down and looked in all the drawers for pajamas. I finally found a stack of them folded up. There were just sheer nightgowns and lingerie. I chose a red nightgown with the most coverage in case anyone came in. I removed my dress, pulling on the soft little gown that went down to my knees. It wasn’t the most flattering, but it was better than anything I wore back home. I wondered if my dad had already spent his auction money somewhere.
I turned the lights off and laid in the soft bed. Gosh, it felt so good. I stretched flat on my back, closing my eyes and feeling it. I had no idea how long this fantasy life would last for me.
The men had clearly never been serious about anyone before.
What reason did they have to respect me at all? On top of that, Jatix wanted someone to carry babies for him. I had no idea if I was capable of even doing that. As a doctor, I knew taking heat suppressants for a long time could prevent an omega from having babies in the future. Studies were done on omegas who had taken the pills until they were in their forties and had been rendered infertile later in life.
I took more than one a day, which was way more than the required dosage. I was twenty-seven, but that was still dangerous. It would be a dream come true if I could end up having a baby. Well, next to being a doctor, of course. But my happiness didn’t matter.
I was just a leftover omega purchased from an auction.
The following day, I rummaged around the room for a pair of pants. But, all I saw were dresses. Dresses made me feel open and vulnerable. Giving up, I pulled a black and white dotted summer dress from the hanger.
The house was quiet as I tiptoed down the stairs. I didn’t want to announce my presence, especially if the pack was still sleeping.
There was no one downstairs. I wondered where they all were. It was pretty early in the day, so that would explain it. They could be sleeping or at work.
I spotted a set of keys on the fireplace mantel.
They were the keys for Jatix’s car. His keys stood out with the little crystal moon he had attached to them.
I fantasized about taking the keys and running away. After all, this pack didn’t like me. They had tons of females before. What was I to them? Maybe Jade and her family could help me out if I left. They could pool together some money and purchase me away from this pack.
I carefully lifted the keys, trying not to make a racket of myself.
Walking to the front door of the house, I quietly snapped the locks open and walked out to the front to the sleek sports car of Jatix’s.
Razor focused, I twisted the key into the driver’s side and quickly hopped inside. I softly shut the door and placed the key into the ignition.
I nearly screamed when I felt a hand on mine, stopping me.
I looked to my right and saw Silus sitting there with a smirk on his face.
“What the hell are you doing here?!” I shrieked.
