I understand why she left—I really do. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
My mate left me, and fight as I may against my instincts, all my omega wants to do is build a nest in her bed before curling up in a ball and crying until she comes home.
If she comes home.
Nope. We’re not doing that.
Of course she’ll come home.
She wouldn’t actually abandon me, would she?
I swipe my hand over my face, trying to keep my emotions under wraps. I sense more than see my scent matches tensing up, which tells me I’m not doing as good a job as I’d like to think.
“Thanks, guys.” I force another smile, guessing it looks more like the grimace it feels like at the sympathy on Ruby’s pack’s faces. “I appreciate your help. I guess we need to figure out how to get you home. Plus, I still need to return the truck.”
Which is easier said than done, since Kiara isn’t here. I was supposed to drive the truck back while she followed me in her car. Then she was supposed to take me to her favorite restaurant. What was it called again?
Emerald? Topaz?
I know it was a gemstone.
Sapphire’s. That’s right.
But today is definitely not going at all how we planned.
“Don’t worry about us, Crew,” Christopher says with a shake of his head. “Or the truck. We’ll head to our place and grab another vehicle and then return the truck for you. You’ve been through enough today. There’s no reason for you to have to stress about either of those things.”
A growl fills the room, pulling a whimper from me as I momentarily forget how to breathe and slick gathers.
Mason prowls toward us, slipping between me and Christopher. “Crew doesn’t need your help. He has alphas—a pack.”
“Oh, knock it the fuck off, Mason.” Christopher scoffs. “I’ve given you a lot of leeway since you just found your scent-matched omega, but I swear to everything holy, if you come at me or one of my pack mates again, we’re going to take this outside and see who the strongest alpha really is.”
That has the opposite effect on Mason than what Christopher wants, so I reach out and lay my hand on his back.
His shoulders immediately droop as he glances over his shoulder to meet my gaze.
“It’s okay, alpha,” I assure him. “If they take the truck back, then I can spend time getting to know the three of you.”
“And we can figure out what the hell to do about Kiara,” Davis murmurs just loud enough for me to catch.
Mason sighs. “Fuck. Apparently, I’m going to spend the day apologizing. Christopher, I know you’re just trying to be helpful.”
“But we need to get the fuck out?” He chuckles. “Yeah, I figured that out. We’ll leave you to it.”
Pack Hart says their goodbyes quickly, leaving me alone with my scent matches in Kiara’s room.
I wrinkle my nose, heading for the door. I don’t feel right being in here with them when she’s not here.
Yes, it’s meant to be a room for the two of us, but… I don’t know. I don’t like it.
“Where are you going, Crew?” Alexander asks, voice soft.
“It doesn’t feel right to be alone with the three of you in Kiara’s room,” is all I say as I hurry down the stairs, ignoring the insistent need to go to my nest.
Until I’ve fixed things with Kiara, nothing in this place will feel like mine.
Because without Kiara, it’s not.