18. CAMILA

Chapter eighteen

CAMILA

My cheeks are on fire. If explaining things to Zana and Reid was awkward, doing the same with Violet is just short of embarrassing. I'm fiddling with my fingers in my lap as I twirl around in the chair beside my best friend, unable to escape the situation and start on my job of organizing the back rooms for the newest gallery showing this weekend.

"Mila, you're so red. God, it's fucking amazing. I can smell them all over you. Oh, no. You don't get to get all embarrassed now! Sofie might have been too drunk but I saw that guy steal you away, saw his fingers up your-"

I slap a hand across her face and glare at her. Our boss might be a little lax when it comes to our work ethics but not that lax.

She nods before tearing my hand off her mouth. "Look, I thought he was a Beta at first but that's Sasha. That was him, wasn't it? And then you disappeared." Her wild grin turns sour when I explain why .

"Teo caught me in the hallway by the bathrooms and then I was whisked up to their apartment. It feels like it's moving too fast and yet I feel like I've known them forever. It feels weird." I rub a hand at my chest, trying not to think too hard about how perfect it feels being in their condo or Sasha's nest.

" Embrace it ," Violet says. "That's a precious feeling and you deserve it. You deserve every last bit of attention that those three give you and I hope Teo sees and feels inadequate."

That brings a smile to my face just as my phone vibrates. I finally turned it on a few minutes ago and it was flooded with messages. Most of them were from Violet and a few from Zana and Reid. But the messages lighting up my phone now are from someone else entirely. Someone I no longer want to have anything to do with.

Teo

Bitch, you got me banned from Temple.

I want to text him something snarky, like ‘Did you just wake up?' but I'm not ready for the fallout of that question. I don't need to say anything though because message after message shows up, telling me just how pissed off Teo is.

I could lay you out for that.

It was my engagement party and you just had to ruin it.

I offered you a place in my pack, at my side but you declined.

Are you jealous of Penelope?

You can't be. You aren't an Omega.

Camila, when I see you next, you will apologize and explain that last night was your fault.

You aren't important enough to get me banned.

A few months ago, I might have burst into tears from Teo's harsh words but it's so easy to see them for what they are now. He's jaded that I rejected him and he's masterfully cut out the bits of last night where he was pleading for me to come back to him. Violet even mentioned that he was hanging off other women, drunk as a skunk. I feel a little bad for Penelope at this point but neither of them are my problem.

I shove my phone at Violet to read the messages and she starts cackling before I push to my feet to start my shift. "I'm not important enough to get him banned?" A chuckle falls from my lips. "Well, I am now." Mated to the owners, I probably have a lot more power than I'll ever be comfortable wielding. Sasha already wants me to help at the club, not that I have any idea what I would be good at doing.

Back in the stockroom, I start unpacking the new canvases, admiring the abstract spring colors splashed across each surface. It's some artist from out of town, one I've never heard of before but I hope he gets the recognition he deserves because his pieces are beautiful. My gaze drifts off to the few canvases in the corner, personal pieces that the boss has let me store here in the interim. They don't compare to this new artist but I dream one day of having my items hung on the walls, people offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to hang one in their home.

One day, Camila .

I haven't truly painted for nearly a year, not the way I used to. With my father's rude remarks weighing on my soul, I slowly turned that artistic part of myself off and focused on finding an Alpha my father would be proud of. Unfortunately, many of the men in the church are too weak to date the preacher's daughter or they have the same thoughts that Teo does. They want me as their pack Beta but not their Beta.

A heavy sigh falls from my lips as I wander over to the corner, running my fingers over the rough red and black lines, colors that somehow match my mates' entire aesthetic. I always painted my feelings, expressed my emotions and thoughts and everything that was muddled up in my head. Maybe my mind has always known where I fit and was just waiting for my body to catch up. One can hope that biology is that precise.

My phone buzzes again and I turn up my nose when I see Teo is calling. He knows I'm at work but apparently that doesn't matter. "What?" I hiss. There's no one here other than Violet and me. Our boss usually comes in closer to lunch to check on our work or heads straight to the office. After all, this is just a gallery and until the actual showings on the weekend, we're just glorified secretaries for the most part.

Granted, I am the one tasked with explaining the meaning behind the paintings, memorizing everything about the artist, and guiding patrons to finding a painting they like enough to buy.

"You ruined a good thing, Camila. A good, good thing." His voice deepens with more hatred than I've ever heard from him. I want to push him, to tell him once again that we're over, that his repeated attempts to contact me are doing nothing. Doing so will only make him angrier and I just really need him to go away. "Penelope isn't talking to me. Said that I needed to fix this. So this is me fixing it. "

I frown and pull the phone away from my ear, a little confused about what the fuck he's talking about. The call ends and I stand there, still trying to understand when Violet scurries into the back room and locks it behind her. She blows out a breath before turning to face me with a tight smile. "Hey, so, don't be alarmed but Teo is in the lobby. He yelled for you and then smashed one of the glass displays."

"What the fuck? Teo has never been violent like that before." I don't understand this drastic change in an Alpha I used to date. Before yesterday, Teo was a little forceful but never violent and never hurtful.

"He's never been denied something he wants. Camila, you're the perfect kind of Beta. You're smart and nice and so sweet it hurts. You have a little bit of a kinky side to you and who wouldn't want that? Teo wanted to own you, to command you and you told him no. He's not dealing with it well."

I snort. "No, I would say he's doing it rather poorly. Violet, you locked us back here. There's no escape."

She holds up the phone from the desk. "I'm not stupid. I called the police and our boss. I want to make sure she knows that I didn't trip and fall into the display and knock it over. I could have run out the back door but your phone never stays charged so I didn't know if you'd make it out. So, tadaa! We're here together until someone physically removes Teo."

"Did they give you an ETA?"

"It's Ansdale. It could be a half hour."

The officers here aren't amazing. A few of them are but a domestic call at an art gallery doesn't sound all that urgent. I hope Violet made it seem that way. Realizing that we'll be here for a little bit, I plop to the ground, Violet cozying up at my side. I should be out of my mind with fear, terrified at what Teo is going to do but there's a calm current running through me .

It takes me a little while to realize this emotion isn't mine. That the bond between me and my mates is much stronger than last night. This has to be Amiri's control that Sasha was describing because my emotions are in check. Even the anger threatening to bubble over is just simmering, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. The tendril of chaos is definitely Sasha but there's a little bit of crazy, a darkness asking to be let loose.

Kolsen.

I remember Sasha mentioning that the next time Teo tried something, Kolsen would gladly remove the problem. Some part of me knows that it's a terrible idea to involve my mates in this situation. The other part of me wants to see Kolsen pinning Teo up against a wall and growling at him until my ex pees his pants. When our boss arrives, she's going to fire us anyway. It's in our contract to protect the art at all costs. I've always known that if a burglary or something of the sort happened, I would be out of a job.

I'm not sacrificing my life for a picture.

I don't care if it's the Mona Lisa.

"What are you giggling about over there, Mila?"

"Nothing."

"Share with the class!" She looks over my shoulder and stares down at my phone as I dial Sasha's number. Just as I raise my hand to put it to my ear, Violet snatches the device and puts it on speaker. Her eyes flit between my phone and me and I see the anxiety creeping into her expression. She's more than worried about Teo's destructive behavior and this is the perfect distraction.

"Buttercup? It's not even lunch yet. Oh, did you want to go out to lunch? I'm thinking-"

"Sasha, I need you to listen for a minute. Where is Kolsen?"

Violet's eyes widen as she mouths ‘The big guy?' I nod .

Sasha grunts and then chuckles. "Currently sitting on him. Why? Would you like to sit on him? I can fetch you and we can spend lunch that way. Or we can eat-" His words cut off, the tone of his voice changing. "Something is wrong. What is it?" How he can tell, I have no idea.

"Teo is at the gallery and he's pissed, saying I got him banned. We called the police but you know how Ansdale is. It could be five minutes or thirty. We need Kolsen."

The voice through the earpiece changes, Kolsen's deep, unforgiving tone filtering through. "Love, are you safe?"

"Yeah, me and Violet are in the storage room. It's locked. It'll be a little while before he wanders back here. I hope." Shattering glass reaches my ears and I realize that Teo is much closer than he used to be. The spark of fear in my chest must translate to my mates because the growl on the other side of the phone is animalistic.

"Five minutes, love. And if he gets back there, you fight like hell. You don't stop fighting until I get there, do you hear me?"

I would have expected him to tell me to barricade myself and stay safe but hearing that he wants me to stand up to my demons means more than he'll ever know. "Yes, Alpha." I cradle the phone in my lap, neither one of my mates hanging up the call. Violet's anxious smile has softened, my friend finding comfort in the fact that Kolsen and Sasha are on the way.

I'm not too keen on anyone dying this morning but Teo should have never stormed in here the way he did.

Another crash sounds, way too close for comfort. Violet chokes on a nervous laugh. "We're so getting fired, aren't we?"

"It'll be worth it to watch Teo realize who my mates are. God, I hope he spends the night in jail or something." We share another laugh, huddling together, trying to keep our wits about us. It's then that I hear a humming sound through the phone. It's similar to an Alpha's purr but not quite as strong. My Omega is purring for me. God, I don't deserve them.