40. Belle

Icarry the washing basket down the stairs, determined to give back to the pack in any way I can.

Without them, I wouldn"t know where I would be right now, and I owe them so much.

Especially Rian.

So, when I told him that I wanted to start doing some chores, he refused.

But I was adamant that I wanted to help out around the house.

I will not be a freeloader. I will earn my keep.

In the end, he caved, and that is why I am carrying all of their dirty laundry to the washroom.

The fact that he trusts me enough with his Alphas" dirty laundry tells me so much.

Most Omegas are possessive of anything that smells like their Alphas, but not Rian.

He knows I won"t steal away their dirty shirts and hide them in my room.

Though I am tempted.

Yet, little does Rian know, that I have been stealing his shirts instead...

My little secret.

The majority of them are out of the house.

Leo is setting up traps in the woods, and Rian has joined Jeremy at work.

So, it"s just me and Troy…

The pack trusts him enough to leave him alone with me, but I still don"t feel comfortable around him.

He doesn"t even acknowledge my presence anymore, and sometimes, I wish he would.

I wish he would go back to growling and threatening me. At least then he looked and talked to me...

But now he gives me nothing.

I may as well be invisible.

It"s ridiculous. Troy has been nothing but spiteful and cruel, yet I still crave his attention.

Even if it is negative.

But I can"t help but be worried about him.

He is spiraling, and it"s all my fault.

I was the one who ruined his relationship with Rian, and I bet that is why he doesn"t so much as spare me a glance these days.

Not even a glare.

There has to be something I can do to help.

A way I can get him and Rian to talk again.

I just don"t know what to do.

I"m useless at this kind of stuff.

As I pass through the hall, I pause outside his room, spying that pile of dirty laundry waiting for me on the floor outside.

I can"t help but smile a little.

It"s silly, but it kind of feels like a small olive branch.

I"m surprised. I thought Troy would refuse to let me touch his clothes, but it looks as if he is starting to come around.

But it"s obvious he is just doing it for Rian"s sake.

After all, Rian is the one he loves.

Not me.

I have seen the way Troy looks at him, and I know what it"s like to pine for something.

I just wish that Troy could see that I mean no harm. I would rather hurt myself before I hurt Rian or the pack.

When I bend to pick his clothes up off the floor, I pause, inhaling through my nose.

A familiar scent lingers on his shirt, and my heart thuds against my chest.

It"s the same shirt he was wearing the night Rian kicked him out of the nest.

It"s a papery and bland scent, and my arm shakes as I drop the shirt and the rest of the laundry onto the floor, gasping for breath.

That is Francis"s scent.

Somehow, he has found me, and I don"t understand…

Why is his scent on Troy"s shirt?

Surely, Troy would never collude with that Beta, right?

I know he hates me, but I never would have assumed that he hated me that much.

No. My mind is probably just playing tricks on me.

Of course that wasn"t Francis"s bland old scent.

So, I take steady breaths as I pick up the mess I made on the floor, arms trembling as I make a point of ignoring his shirt.

As I finish piling the dirty laundry into the basket, the door opens ahead of me, and our eyes meet.

Troy just stares at me, his expression blank and unyielding as he gives me nothing yet again.

Not even a growl or a snarl, and my lip shakes.

Somehow, he is more frightening when he is cold and emotionless.

"S-sorry… I was just…"

His blue eyes have lost all their electricity, and it"s all my fault.

I swallow a lump in my throat, hating myself for what I have done to Troy and the pack.

I have torn them apart.

Troy passes me in the hall, and I freeze up the moment his coffee scent washes over me.

Then he stops, and my blood roars in my ears.

Now all is silent.

He doesn"t speak as he hovers above me, fisting his hands at his sides.

I lower my gaze, using my hair to hide my red cheeks.

Things are still so tense between us, but I don"t want them to be.

But I still resist the urge to reach out and grab his hand, telling him that I would never hurt him or Rian.

Troy bends, and I flinch when he hands me one of Leo"s smelly socks.

He drops it onto the pile, then moves down the stairs.

It"s a while before I can breathe again, but when I look at the sock, I can"t help but smile.

An olive branch.

Troy doesn"t hate me.

Well, not entirely, and I can"t believe I ever thought he would befriend Francis.

I must have imagined that Beta"s papery scent, and now I carry on through the house to collect the rest of the guys" laundry.

I"m already finding my place in the pack.