Chapter 5

Five

JACK

I t was the next morning, and Vanessa still hadn't woken up. I figured she might not be a morning person.

I waited impatiently in the living room, chewing on a blueberry bagel.

"We should be able to take a flight tomorrow morning," I told Liam and Ryan. Liam was slouched on the couch, typing away on his laptop as always, and Ryan was pacing around the living room watching the morning news.

"Do you think the plants will be boxed up and loaded by tomorrow?" Liam asked while furiously typing away on his story.

Deltas were known for constantly working out and being bodyguards for a living. They were coveted by the Royal Pack, but they threw me the one delta who loved writing instead. I admired Liam, but he wouldn't come in very useful if we were to fight against another pack. It's one of the reasons I wasn't ready to take on an omega into my pack. I needed at least a couple of other alphas to help keep an omega safe from other neighboring alphas. I needed to grow my pack before I even thought of getting an omega.

"Vanessa is taking forever," I mumbled, sipping my coffee. But I started to hear Gabe crying upstairs. "I need to let her know our flight plans for tomorrow before I oversee our human workers packing the plants."

"Why not just leave her here?" said Ryan. "She clearly built a life for herself. Why do you have to barge in and take over? Or is it your alpha nature?"

"She's one of our own," I said, annoyed that Ryan was entirely on her side. "We protect our own. If I left her here and something happened to her, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Plus, it's our civic duty."

"To the kingdom? Not everything they do is right," said Ryan. "You're way too loyal to them ever since they entrusted you with the Azatine plant."

He was partly right.

The Royal Pack entrusted me with keeping the Azatine plant location a secret. There were multiple locations where the plant was grown, but the supply was limited. It needed careful attention, and there was only one greenhouse on Howl's Edge protected by a strong force of security.

"The kid is still crying," I said, noticing Gabe's cries hadn't stopped. "I'll check on him and see if she's alright."

I stood in front of Vanessa's room door. Gabe's cries were still ongoing, but I couldn't hear Vanessa at all.

Cracking the door open, I saw Gabe standing on the bed, balancing precariously on the edge. Rushing over to him, I lifted him up before he could fall. He continued to freak out on my shoulder, furiously trying to pull away.

"It's okay, buddy," I said. Looking around, I didn't see Vanessa anywhere. I noticed a light coming from beneath her bathroom door.

She must be in there taking a bath.

"He's still crying?" commented Ryan from the door.

"Come here and fucking help out," I said. All of a sudden, Gabe stopped crying and looked at me curiously.

"Oh my god, don't curse in front of a kid," said Ryan like a mother hen. "I'll have the maid cook breakfast for him." Ryan turned and left, and now I was alone with this kid who was staring at me like a stranger.

"Do you like reading books?" I asked, grabbing a nature magazine from the nightstand I left for guests. I instantly saw the pile of crumpled papers scattered underneath the bed that Gabe furiously ripped from one of my favorite books. I tried to piece the shredded papers together but soon gave up. It was my fault for bringing him here anyway.

"I want mommy," he said, sucking his thumb.

"She's just in the bathroom and will be here soon," I comforted him. Then, opening the magazine, I pointed out the various giraffes and animals. "This giraffe is lonely because his neck is longer than everyone else." I was horrible at story-telling, but he was engrossed all the same.

"No friend for giraffe?" asked Gabe.

"Nope, but one day he does," I replied, continuing to make up a random story as we flipped through the pages.

"Time for breakfast," said Ryan, coming in with a plate of scrambled eggs and a waffle covered in syrup.

"Yummy waffles!" said Gabe.

"Good," said Ryan, plopping down onto the floor next to us. I was getting worried about Vanessa. She'd been in there a while without a sound.

"I don't hear anything from the bathroom," I said. "Ryan, watch the kid. I'll check on Vanessa."

Leaving the now-happy Gabe with Ryan, I walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door twice.

Nothing.

I twisted the doorknob, hoping it wasn't locked. It wasn't, thank god.

Peeking in, I saw her outline behind the white shower curtain sitting in the tub, her head slumped to the side.

My heart began beating faster.

"Vanessa?"

I rushed over and flung the curtain open. Her eyes were closed, and her face was pale, with tears streaming down her face. I noticed her ample breasts, her pink nipples round from the cold. I pressed my hand over her left breast and was relieved to feel her breathing. "Wake up, Vanessa." Then, placing a hand on her shoulder, I gently shook her awake.

Vanessa's eyes shot open in panic.

"What? What?" she asked, disoriented, looking down at her naked body in the tub. I let out a sigh of relief. She was alive and okay. "Oh, I must have fallen asleep."

"What's wrong? What were you dreaming about?" I asked, concerned. I wanted to wipe her tears away, but I didn't trust myself to touch her again. My cock was stirring to life at the sight of her like this.

"You know how everyone has that creepy alpha uncle?" she said slowly.

Dread filled my heart. I knew where this was going.

"What happened? Did he touch you?!"

"He did things to me that I can't even say," she sighed, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. "And my aunt despised me for it. She blamed me, actually."

"That fucker," I growled. "I will personally kill him myself when we're back home."

"He's not alive anymore," she said blankly. Her face not displaying a semblance of emotion at his death.

"Good," I said. "Were your aunt and uncle trying to set you up for the Omega Auctions?"

"No," she said and clammed up, looking away. She was hiding something from me, and I was going to find out no matter what. But she looked shaken right now from her nightmares.

"Gabe was crying, so I came up here to check on you," I said, my breath catching in my throat at the sight of her lean naked body under the water. The bubbles from the soap moved past, revealing her luscious breasts. I had to get out of here. I couldn't be here. But I was transfixed by the sight of her.

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "I wanted to bathe early and relax before Gabe woke up. But I didn't think I'd fall asleep."

"Hey, it's fine," I said, straightening up.

"Could you pass me the towel?" she asked.

"Of course," I said, turning to the towel rack and grabbing a freshly folded one. When I turned back, my eyes widened. Without any shame, she stood up from the water, fully naked and dripping in water. She rinsed herself off under the shower and turned to me. She reached for the towel, and I handed it to her, our hands brushing against each other. Electricity simmered between us at the touch.

My dick hardened as I watched her.

I remembered the lap dance she gave me. Our first meeting and the fireworks between us.

As she stepped out of the bathtub, she lost her footing, and I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around her warm, slippery body.

"Oh gosh, I'm so clumsy," she breathed her face inches from mine. Her lips were so close to mine, looking deliciously plump and pink. My nostrils flared at her omega scent hitting me all at once.

All reason went out the door.

I pressed my mouth against hers. Claiming her lips under mine. I heard her mewl ever so slightly as I tasted her lips. Her soft lips parted for me as she kissed me back. Then she suddenly pulled away from me.