25. Hazel

HAZEL

It was strange having Remy in my space, not to work but just to…be there. He clearly felt it too, slipping off his shoes and jacket before hovering awkwardly near my hallway table. I snorted when he went to high-five my porcelain lucky cat with his fingertip and accidentally knocked it over.

I'd missed him, I realised.

And it had taken everything in me not to pull his head down to mine and scent mark the shit out of him the very second that door had opened.

I wasn't really sure what to do about the bag of chocolate he hurriedly pressed into my hands when I answered the door. I settled for squashing it tetris-style in my pantry.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I offered him as he shuffled his way over to the other side of my kitchen counter.

"Yeah. Please. Water is fine."

I slid a glass towards him.

He had a small smile as he set it back down.

"What?" I prompted.

"It's like I can hear my aunties telling me off for drinking fridge-cold water."

"Oh my god, I knew you had to be Asian," I burst out and Remy laughed. It had been bothering me from the moment I saw him — a familiarity I couldn't place. "You're half, right? Half what?"

His crooked grin taunted me. "Guess."

"Fuck off, don't do that to me."

Remy's eyes twinkled. "Malaysian."

"Ooh." I nodded discerningly. "I can see it now that you've said it."

He took another sip and I swore he was doing it more erotically somehow. Was it the eye contact? The way he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand after?

Good god, woman, get a grip.

"You could've just asked, you know." He looked amused that I had been wanting to know for so long.

"I know, but you're not meant to," I complained, making a face.

"You gotta channel your inner Asian aunty, Hazel. Boundaries? What boundaries?"

"So instead of saying hi, I'll just tell you that you got fat?"

Remy didn't miss a beat, pulling up his shirt and showing off his six pack. "Did I? Want to check?"

I snorted. "Put those away," I demanded and tried to yank his shirt back down. He dodged my attempts, laughing as he wiggled his stomach tauntingly at me. I finally resorted to hiding behind my own hands and he relented.

"Come back, Pink," he said softly, his large hands covering mine as he lowered my makeshift shields.

"I'm not really pink right now, you know." I flicked my gaze up at my hair.

He huffed. "Well, I'm not going to call you Black, Hazel."

I lost it, finding it so ridiculous it circled all the way back to being hilarious. "Do you want a snack?" I offered between wheezing laughter. "You can think of a new nickname for me while you eat, how about that."

Compelled to be a good hostess, I rummaged around in my cupboards and unearthed some mixed nuts and white rabbit candies (the chocolate was not for sharing). There was something satisfying about seeing his eyes light up as he popped an almond in his mouth. Probably something to do with an omega nurturing their alpha.

I didn't want to think about that too hard.

Remy selected another nut and tossed it in his palm a few times. "Maybe you should be Nut," he grinned, throwing it in his mouth before going back for more.

"Excuse me?"

"You know, like Hazelnut."

"My god. You've constructed the shortest bridge in the world. Well done."

"And you also make me nut."

I stared at him for the longest time. He didn't look away, grinning that stupid grin and eating all my snacks.

"Call me that again and die."

"Noted. Back to the drawing board then."

I unwrapped the blue and white wrapper off a creamy milk candy and offered it to him, hoping the chewiness would shut him up for a while. His eyes lit up as he ate. "Can't remember the last time I had these."

"They get stuck in my teeth but I can't help it. Been eating them since I was little and can't stop." I admitted ruefully.

"My mum's sisters used to bring us some when they visited from Malaysia." Remy looked wistful. "Didn't happen very often."

I balanced my chin on my hands. "So your mum's Malay then? What about your dad?"

His expression shuttered. "My dad's from here. Mum's an omega and she pretty much does whatever he wants. Always has." A nervous laugh followed as he looked away.

My omega instincts immediately rose up wanting to ease whatever complex emotion he was dealing with. "Tell me about her," I asked him simply.

"She came here as an international student when she was just 19," Remy began slowly. "Awakened and met my dad within the span of three months. They claim to be scent matched so of course they were bonded like that." He clicked his fingers loudly, and shook his head. "She never even finished her first semester."

His hands fiddled nervously with his candy wrapper, tearing into a long snake-like piece.

"Must've been hard. Moving to a foreign country, thrown into the deep end of an entirely new culture," I sympathised. "You barely know who you are as a person at 19. And then suddenly her life was just wrapped up in her alpha."

"Yeah that's…that's exactly it. He's…not good to her, Hazel. Or my little sister. The way he'll bark just to get his way and won't respect that Gray just…" His voice tightened, unable to vocalise what had to be years of history. "But sometimes, I get mad at my mum for staying. For defending him. And it makes me feel so fucking shit because I know she's a victim too."

Remy's hand jerked a little too roughly and tore his handiwork in half. I reached over and gently took it from him. His green eyes held mine. Waiting, hoping for something he couldn't put a name to.

It felt right to lean in and press my cheek against his, scent marking him. A soft sigh puffed from his lips and I felt the taut energy in his body loosen. The acrid smoke of his scent abated, the roaring flames settling into a soft crackle.

"Our parents are meant to protect us. It's ok to feel betrayed when they let us down."

It all hit a little too close to home. I quickly shoved thoughts of my own parents to the side, away, back — anywhere but the forefront of my mind.

"You can only do so much, Remy. Make sure she knows you will always be there if she needs you." I regarded him solemnly. "The rest is up to her."

Remy let out a shaky breath. "You're right."

"And your sister knows you're in her corner, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, I hope so."

I could feel how much he cared. My hand came up to lightly clasp his cheek. "She knows. You've never struck me as someone who doesn't fight for the ones he loves."

I wasn't sure what possessed me to say that.

He looked embarrassed and slightly confused when I pulled away. Like he'd just witnessed a magic trick he couldn't figure out.

We both jumped as my phone rang. Aleks' name was stark white on my screen. I'd told him to let me know how he went with moving his grandma into Willowbrook today.

"Sorry, I gotta get this," I apologised to Remy, tapping my phone. "Hey," I answered softly.

"Hazel."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

"What's wrong?" I demanded.

I could hear him walking, the hard slap of shoes against the pavement. "He kicked me out, Hazel."

"Your dad?"

"Said he didn't need me anymore now that my grandma was being looked after elsewhere."

What a fucking tool.

Aleks sounded so lost. "I-I don't know what I'm meant to…"

"Do you have your things with you?" I cut in.

"No, I…" he laughed incredulously. "I threw his beer in his face. It didn't end well."

I glanced at Remy who was watching me curiously. What's going on, he mouthed at me.

Ordinarily I would've never done what I was contemplating. Aleks' business was Aleks' and Remy's was Remy's.

But something told me to let Remy know.

"Aleks." I hesitated despite my instincts urging me forward. "I'm with Remy right now."

The lightness in his voice was forced. "Oh well, I'll let you go then—"

"No," I pushed on. "Can I tell him what's going on? Maybe we can help you."

Aleks was quiet. "I'm not sure what he can do, but sure."

I turned to Remy. "Aleks' dad kicked him out of the house. Without any of his things. He's been caring for his grandma for years and the day she moves into a care home, this asshole decides Aleks needs to move out."

Remy's eyes blazed. "Ask him if I can go help him get what he needs."

"Aleks. I'm sending Remy to you. He'll get you back inside long enough to get what's important."

"Hold on a minute, you don't have to—"

Remy grabbed the phone from me. "Mate, trust me when I say putting a shitty dad in his place is exactly what I want to be doing right now." He pressed the phone back into my hands. "Tell him to send me a pin of his location. I'm on the way."

I passed on the message while Remy shrugged his jacket back on before hanging up.

"You want me to bring him here?" Remy asked, picking up his keys.

My heart was thumping so loudly in my ears. "Yes," I whispered.

He lifted my chin and kissed me lightly. "Ok. I will."

"Be careful," I called after him as he opened my door. "Don't get hurt."

"Worried about me?"

I crossed my arms. "Well, yeah."

"That's sweet, kitten."

"No on ‘kitten'," I said automatically.

His crooked smile made my belly swoop. "That's fine. But I'm not going to stop until we've found something that works."

I was afraid of that.