33. Amaya

33

AMAYA

T his is so embarrassing. At least I think it is, I don't know. I'm still lost in the nightmare that woke me up screaming.

It was brutal the way my childhood friends told me all the reasons they would never mate with me. They tore me down, then came the physical attacks. That's when the dream truly turned into a nightmare. Piece by piece, each of my fated mates tore flesh from my body. Then went shreds of my heart, and shards of my soul.

Phantom pains threaten the food still in my stomach from dinner. No, I will not puke. I refuse. I just won’t. I haven't since I was a child, and there's no fucking way I'm starting now because of something that wasn't real.

The thing is the horror and pain of that nightmare was exactly what my omega is feeling on the inside. My mates have ruined the warm fuzzies that used to come with thoughts of our childhood together.

All I feel is pain when it comes to them.

The heat of Vincent's hand rubbing my back is the only thing keeping me here. Maybe a bit of irritation over my front door still being wide open and blinding me with red and blue flashing lights too.

Without my alpha and the annoyance of the people in my space, I might float away in a cloud of exhausted dust.

As comforting as it is to know I have neighbors who would call for help if I really were in trouble, I just was to curl back up in my nest. My nest, which is far more exposed to the elements than I would ever allow if I were of sane mind.

This is the first time I've disliked the layout of my new house. The kitchen straight off the entryway, and the living room to the left when you walk in make for no damn privacy when the door opens. And I'm pretty damn sure it's been open for at least twenty minutes now.

There are way too many people who can see my nest right now, and it's making me spiral even further.

God, I hate that I woke everyone up like this. It must have been terrifying for my alpha to wake up to my blood-curdling scream bursting his eardrums. From now on, I refuse to sleep on him, or near him. I feel so bad.

"...father."

I frown into my cozy sheet, hearing the officer mention Paul.

"I'll call him myself," Vincent responds.

"And the support person?"

A low growl rumbles my back where Vince holds me. "I have it handled, officer."

I shiver, my body enjoying my alpha's protectiveness in such a vulnerable moment. My mind, on the other hand, feels scrambled and like I don't deserve for him to be treating me so well.

The officer should be annoyed with me. He rushed over here just to find an adult woman freaking out about a damn nightmare.

Yup, I'm embarrassed .

"Vince," I whisper, lifting my head, but before I can peer behind me to see him, movement draws my attention to the door.

Everything and anything I might have said to my alpha explodes in my throat at the sight of the man who's supposed to be my beta.

Like the pieces of my soul, Oliver's knees slam into the floorboards of my porch at the same time my glass of water shatters at my feet. Then, similar to my anguished scream that probably brought him to my door, I feel his roar rattling my throat.

"EMMETT!"

Unbidden, tears burn tracks of sorrow and longing down my cheeks. The horror in his eyes steals my breath and shoves it backwards into my chest, making me ache and splutter out a sob.

My omega slams against my breastbone, yearning for the mate on his knees before us. I can't contain her when Emmett comes to a screeching halt behind Oliver. With one final quake, my knees give out as a whine rips from the depths of my soul.

They're here! Why are they here?! They shouldn't be here!

My thoughts ping-pong around until my omega chokes on the realization that Samuel isn't here too.

' Mate?'

“No, no, no," I whimper, curling in on myself only to realize I'm sitting on a chair and the calming heat of Vincent is gone.

"YOU!"

Cold seeps into my bones with each inch of space Vincent puts between us.

"LEAVE!"

I'm frozen trying to hold my pieces together, but it’s impossible not to feel rejected by the one mate who has wanted me from the beginning.

' Alpha, come back,' my omega whimpers for her mate. Not Emmett. Not Oliver. But Vincent.

' Need him .'

I watch, completely stunned, as his fist flies into Emmett's face. A phantom pain strikes me in the face and hand, my system reacting to the physical blows my mates just received. Then his foot shoves Oliver onto his back and my breath puffs from my lungs.

I don't know what to do or how to feel. I only know one thing, and it's what my omega needs.

"Vincent," I whine. Shock fills me when the piercing omega instinct rises an octave higher than I've ever heard.

Everyone stiffens, even the officer currently rushing the guys on the porch. To my utter confusion, Emmett and Oliver don't fight Vincent. Nor do they rise to his challenging growl.

"If I ever see you again, you'll be dead before you can even utter my mate's fucking name," Vincent warns.

"Alright, gentlemen. Break it up before I have to file another report," the officer grumbles.

Fear pierces the ball of stress in my throat, making another whine slip free as I stumble to my feet. No, Vincent can't get in trouble for me!

"Omega!" Vincent gasps, turning his back on the men who have done nothing but break my heart. Then I'm wrapped in my alpha's soothing lemon scent. "Shh, little mate."

"Ama—"

I hear the officer tsk at Oliver's attempt at gaining my attention. "Off the property, boys."

The door closes with a click that ruins the meager amount of emotional control I have. I break, once again, because of the mates who I thought would always love me.

And the one to catch me is the alpha I only recently met. The one I'm falling for. The only man who will ever hold my heart and my trust ever again.