28. Gryphon

Chapter 28

Gryphon

T he guys are too lovesick to see it, but I believe Mila is hiding something…

But I decide to keep my distance, waiting it out.

They most likely have put it down to her being nervous about being back, and I spy the guilt in their eyes whenever she hunches her shoulders.

But I know better, and it's a good thing I'm the only one who still has his head screwed on properly enough.

Yet I have no right to taunt her about it now. Not after the way I treated her the last time she was here.

I have the most making up to do out of the four of us, but I just can't bring myself to be a part of whatever this is today.

Mila is getting a nest, and it was a big moment when Oliver announced it over breakfast.

It sent shockwaves through the pack bond, and it's not every day you get to see an Omega accept another, let alone share the same space with his Alphas.

He even promised to make her nest bigger and better than the one we built for him, and I hope he knows what he's doing.

We all have to tread carefully here.

That is why I have taken it upon myself to seek her out in private to see if I can get a little confession from her.

I will go easy on her, and I will try my best not to intimidate her and make her feel unwelcome again.

I am not that Alpha anymore…

I find her in the scented candle section, and I almost choke on the myriad of smells.

It's all too much.

They have various Alpha scents here, like cedar, musk, and even petrichor, until I reach her side.

She's too lost in smelling a scented candle of campfire and marshmallow, and it takes me a moment to realize…

That's my freaking scent.

The realization takes me aback, and then I feel something primal deep inside me awaken as I watch this delicate female losing herself in something of my likeness.

What is happening to me?

Mine… it grumbles, and I have to take another step back.

Mine.

Through the myriad of smells, I can still sense her sweet gingerbread, and I latch onto that awareness, dragging myself away from the dark recesses of my mind.

Mine…

"You…" I growl, my voice coming out harsher than I intended, and she yelps, dropping the candle.

Luckily, I catch the candle by the base in the palm of my hand, and even my reflexes are sharper than usual.

I didn't want her getting cut by the glass now.

Startled green eyes find me, and they leave me speechless.

They really are green, and I try to find the best shade for them.

Sage? Jade? Emerald?

It's like being lost in a forest, one overgrown with moss and ferns, and I shake my head, clenching my jaw.

I have my pack to think of now, and I wonder how I am going to approach this without making her look like the bad guy.

The only bad guy here is me.

"Mila…" I repeat, my voice somewhat gentler now.

But those forest green eyes still regard me with terror, and now she steps back slightly like frightened prey.

Fight or flight.

I close my eyes, swallowing several times until I meet hers again.

She gazes at her feet now.

"Look… I know you don't like me, and that you wish to have nothing to do with me, and trust me…. you are fully justified in those feelings, but… something is bugging me… and I can't quite put my finger on it…"

Her eyes remain downcast, and I hate making her look like this. Especially when I know there is fire in this Omega.

She is no delicate flower. A natural-born fighter.

"Look at me. Please…" I add, trying not to sound like a complete asshole.

Finally, she peers up, and I see it at last. The utter helplessness of feeling trapped, leashed…

The way I felt under Lily's command.

It wasn't until I learned to show her my teeth that I finally managed to loosen that leash a little.

Mila is working for someone… and it doesn't take me long to figure it out.

My throat bobs, when I say, "What… what did she offer you?"

Mila flinches and her eyes go to the floor again.

"I… I don't know what you're…"

I step into her personal space, blocking her path, and I'm not going to let this one go.

I will get answers.

Even if I have to become the asshole for a few moments again.

Only because I want to help her. I know what it is like being under that Alpha's command.

It's terrifying and lonely. And nobody else quite understands how hard it is unless they've fallen victim to her curse themselves.

"I would recognize the scent of that fear from anywhere, Mila… I know she has something on you… what is it?"

Mila's lower lip wobbles. "N-not here… p-please…"

I get it. She thinks Lily is watching us right now, but I made sure that our lips are carefully hidden from any camera.

Poor thing probably thinks Lily can read her mind though.

I try to figure out what Lily could have offered her, something enticing enough to make her face the pack who betrayed her again and left her alone.

Her father is dead. So, what could the offer be?

What does Lily have hanging over her?

Mila really is small. Her head only reaches my chest, and the juxtaposition between our heights does strange things to my body.

She's not at all like Ollie.

Who knew female Omegas could be so tempting?

Well, at least where this one is concerned, and I feel this strong urge to protect her now.

It's the same urge that took over back at the academy, back when I saw that brutal security guard put his hands on her…

I became a lion protecting his pride…

Now I rest my palms on the shelf behind her, caging her in with my arms, and now she has nowhere to run.

"Tell me…" I almost whisper.

She starts breathing heavily, and I lose myself in her sweet gingerbread scent, and it takes everything in me to hold back and not fuck her against the shelf.

Her heat is close, and I finally understand why Lachlan and Barret are getting bent out of shape over her.

Her scent is intoxicating to me right now, and my mouth salivates.

She opens her mouth, about to confide in me, and I focus on her lips.

What would they feel like against my own?

"Gryphon?"

I straighten at the voice, and now I step away from the Omega, peering around to find Oliver behind me.

He only has eyes for me, and he's pissed. Whether because I am cornering Mila or the fact that I am stealing her away from him and keeping her to myself, I can't tell, but my Omega acts differently when she is around.

Almost like an Alpha.

He glances back and forth between us, and when he finds nothing untoward, he relaxes, but only slightly.

Now his gaze falls on her, and I'm all but forgotten.

"Mila? Are you okay?"

It takes her a moment to gather herself, but when she does, she wears a faux smile. "I'm good, Oliver. Gryphon was just helping me pick a candle for my nest."

I'm still holding the campfire and marshmallow-scented candle, and I pass it to her.

"Here. Good choice…"

Finally, I walk away, leaving the two Omegas alone in the scented candle aisle.

But Mila and I are not done yet.

I will find out what Lily has on her.

And then I will do everything in my power to free her from that Alpha's grip.