Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

It still didn't make sense. I fought with myself as I drove the whole way there.

She thought to call me.

Me. The omega asked Rylan to call me.

That was after she left the house and decided to run away, but she still let him call me instead of Omega Services. Of course, that now meant even more people knew about her and our connection to the omega...

I couldn't figure out why, but it didn't matter.

My alpha insisted on the fact of how the only thing that mattered was one thing and one thing only. Getting to her.

I parked the car against the curb, not bothering to look if it was legal before I was jogging through the doors of the Prestford University library. Once upon a time when I was in school, I spent way too much time in the library in between classes. Since then, they updated the inside and now the only time I ever went to the library on campus was for meetings or when I was tracking down my beta like the other day when he was with her… Ella.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered myself as much as I could before I made it the rest of the way back towards Rylan's corner office.

He stood directly outside the small corner office. Did he leave the omega inside alone?

I glanced towards the window where I saw a strand of messy dirty blonde hair. "What's going on?"

"It's okay," said Rylan. "My omega, Lidya, is inside my office with her. She was upset, like I told you on the phone. I didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable."

After a second, I nodded.

Good. That was… good.

I reached for the door handle.

The office smelled like tart berries and sweet cream.

My heart stuttered in my chest.

Rylan was already looking at me, something akin to amusement at my reaction. "I thought she was messing with me for a second until you answered the phone."

I shook my head, pushing past him until I could see her. She was sitting in the chair near the back of the office next to the other omega I met the other day, just like Rylan said.

"Congratulations on your omega. I didn't know from the last time we talked that your pack added another member."

That's because we hadn't.

"Or are considering?" he corrected himself.

I didn't need to answer him.

I cleared my throat again and stepped past him. I was unable to stop myself until I was in front of the omega. I knelt.

Immediately she cringed back further into the chair. Her eyes were averted down towards her lap, not looking at me.

She looked exhausted. Marko carried her into the house a few days ago and she looked half dead.

Now, she didn't look much better.

We needed to make her better.

Shaking myself out of my alpha that felt like it was about ready to burst out of my skin and do anything to make sure that the omega in front of him was alright, I forced myself to focus on the matter at hand. When Rylan called, I should've just let him call Omega Services, but I didn't.

I could blame it on Cal or Demetri or even Marko who looked like he was developing a soft spot, but now looking at her…

"Ella," I said, my voice soft as I studied her closer than I did before.

I had seen this omega before. I had seen her more than a few times too though I never even looked her way until now. I ran into her on the stairs and swore I smelt that tantalizing scent. It was the scent that was on the tip of my tongue. I couldn"t get the feeling of it off my mind for the past two weeks, bothering me like a bad rash. She was what I needed to figure out.

It was her.

She was the thing I felt like I was forgetting—missing for nearly the past month.

My shoulders slumped. I breathed her in again, my alpha taking over for a second as I assessed the information. I looked at her from her black flats up to the crown of her head where her hair lay flat in desperate need of a shower.

The other omega next to her narrowed her eyes at me as if taking stock of her own.

I narrowed my eyes on her until I heard Rylan make a sound behind me. With a roll of her eyes, the other omega stood and moved away. I didn't bother to notice when Ella was sitting in front of me looking undeniably pitiful compared to the girl Cal raved about.

So smart.

So witty.

So brave.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry with her.

"Ella–"

"I didn't want to call you. I didn't know what else to do," she whispered quickly, cutting me off. "My phone isn't working and I didn't know any other numbers, but I figured since you worked here at the university they'd know..."

Smart girl.

"They took my job. I've always been so good at my job," she hiccupped. "They're taking everything."

I spoke carefully. "Rylan told me. You shouldn't have tried to come into work."

"Because there was no point?"

That was only part of the reason. I shook my head. "You know why."

"Because I'm stupid?"

Anger rose inside of me, unbidden. "Don't you dare call yourself that. You really scared Cal and the rest of the guys when they realized you were gone."

"Everything is going wrong." She shut her eyes and took another deep breath with me. "I thought I could make it longer. Now everything Peter did for me was for nothing."

"Peter?"

"It doesn't matter," she argued.

It sure as hell mattered to me. Who was this Peter? Was he one of the alphas that hurt her?

"I ruined it and everything is falling apart."

The desperate ache in her voice steadily hit me in the chest. God, she was trying so hard to hold it together.

"Now you're just being dramatic."

She glared at me. "Dramatic?"

I nodded, understanding. "It's going to be okay. Calm down."

"You all need to stop telling me to calm down."

For some reason, I wanted to bark a laugh at that.

"You don't even want me."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, though maybe she was more perceptive than I thought.

"Because you snapped at me in the hall that day–"

"That was because I thought you were a student about to fall down the stairs," I said, astounded she was bringing this up right now.

"And because I heard you," she whispered. "Back at the house. And it's fine. I don't want to stay. I need to leave now. I need to..."

"To what, Ella?"

"I need to be safe."

"How do you feel right now?" I asked.

"What?"

"Do you feel safe with me right now?"

Her eyes widened as if she hadn't even thought about it until I brought it up, an alpha sitting in front of her alone.

"I can get Cal or someone else to help you, omega, but it's time to go. I won't unless you feel safe with me though," I said.

"You promise you won't do anything."

I didn't even want to know what she thought I would. "I'd never."

"Promise."

"Promise."

"I feel safe. I don't know why."

My alpha settled just enough that I could drop my hand from my chest. "Good. That's okay. Neither do I right now. Let's get you up and back to the townhouse."

"I don't feel good. I feel hot and terrible."

"That's okay," I said carefully as I guided her to stand with only a light touch she didn't seem to notice.

Her eyes closed as she took in a deep breath. She teetered into me.

"We're going to make sure you feel better soon," I added another promise to the list of them I seemed to be making.

She pressed her forehead against my chest. I didn't want to admit how good it felt as I maneuvered us out of Ryan Wolfern's office where he and his omega stood off to the side.

"God, you smell good," Ella exclaimed loud enough to make Rylan smirk.

"Thank you," I said, moving past Rylan.

Of course, my little possibly hallucinating omega in my arms right now thought I was talking to her, her voice attracting a few eyes in the quiet library.

"You"re welcome. Like a sweet and spicy chai latte. I think I had your sweatshirt on before," she said.

I guess that's where my laundry went after I caught Demetri in my room last night. The idea that she liked my scent though made me want to puff out my chest like a caveman over an academic.

"I miss it."

"I'll make sure you get another one when we get back to the townhouse," I assured her.

She still didn't open her eyes. "I'm a little dizzy."

"We're almost to the car."

She shivered. "You're just taking me home, right?"

"Back to the townhouse."

After a second. "I want to go back to my apartment."

"Cal and Marko and Demetri are back at the house worrying where you went. I promise that they're safe too," I said, as I held the passenger door open to the car. After a second, studying me, she got in. I wondered if that was what it was all about. Her worry shook her the moment I turned the key and pulled away from the curb.

I had her now. Everything was going to be ok. "Cal's been trying to call you."

She glanced down at her bag, pulling out her phone. "Dead."

I huffed, taking it from her hands before she could yell at me and plugged it into the charger between us.

"Take a left," she opened her eyes though she was still squinting when the sun came through the windshield. At least her scent calmed down and her face pinched as if she was gaining a new sense of control compared to a moment ago. Her eyes were less glazed as they pinned into me.

"That's not where the house is."

She shook her head. "My apartment."

"You wanted me to keep you safe."

"I want to go to my apartment. At least– At least let me get my things."

I bit my tongue before I could ask her what she could need that I couldn"t get her back at the townhouse. "What do you need?"

"I don't know. Just, please?"

I huffed and took the next left.

She visibly relaxed at me listening to her.

It made my alpha hum with pleasure already inside of me, easy to please. For now. "Fine. We'll stop at your apartment."