âYou spent the night there again,â accused my aunt as soon as I strolled into the trailer around four p.m. The entire morning, I had gotten to know the alphas more, and it was hard for me to finally leave for the day.
âI know. Iâm sorry,â I said, rubbing my neck but secretly trying to hide the mark that Zaff left on me while knotting me last night.
âPlease sit down, I need to talk to you,â she said, and I groaned internally. âYou know I hated trying to discipline you or anything like that your whole life. But this time, things are going too far, you know?â
âI know Auntieâ¦â
âNo, let me finish,â she said as she closed her book and sat across from me. âI want you to be free and do whatever your heart is set on, but you need to be responsible.â
âI know.â
âYour safety is the number one thing on my mind since I took you in,â she continued. âI just want the truth. Are you sleeping with your new boss?â
âWhat?â I said, trying to sound shocked, but it came out as confirmation of her suspicions instead. âI mean, itâs just a fling with him. A rich old man.â
She started to laugh, and my face slowly cracked into a smile.
âI raised you to be hardworking, but I guess whatever brings in the dough, right?â
âIâm responsible, Auntie,â I said. âBut I couldnât help it, and Iâve never had a boyfriend before.â
âThis may seem all exciting in the beginning, but trust me, it will all come to an end,â she said. âBut I will support your choices no matter what. Just donât keep hiding things from me.â
For some reason, it made me feel even more guilty when she offered to support whatever relationship I chose. But if she knew that my boss was an alpha, I had no idea how she would react.
Zaff
I couldnât concentrate on my job.
I was supposed to email a new manager the list of repairs that he needed to look into one of my restaurants, but my mind was stuck on one thing only.
The mysterious maid, Breanna.
Closing out the email, I decided instead to do a little research on her. Maybe if I could find out who her father was, then I could take care of him. And it would be guaranteed that he would never hurt my Breanna again. However, upon searching for her first name and the last name she provided, I couldnât find anything in the database.
Maybe I was spelling her last name wrong.
Still, nothing pulled up.
I knew humans kept a record of every baby born, and I was confused as to why she wasnât showing up in the system. Did she lie about her name? There was no reason for her to lie about anything, and I couldnât imagine her committing some kind of felony. She was too innocent and pure to do anything horrible.
But doubt started to creep into my mind.
Getting up from my chair, I walked to the living room to join the rest of my pack. Chad and Ruston were playing video games in a lackluster manner.
They were playing as if they were drained of all energy.
âWhatâs wrong with you guys?â I asked, plopping onto the couch and rubbing my forehead in agitation.
âIt sucks when she leaves,â said Chad.
âTell me about it,â I said, also feeling empty without her. I had never felt this attached to anyone, and it was starting to worry me. âI couldnât find any information about her online.â
âWhy does it matter?â asked Ruston.
âIt matters because she could be lying about who she is,â I said.
âUnless sheâs really an omega,â suggested Oscar. âAnd really good at hiding her scent.â
âNo, thatâs just wishful thinking,â I said. âI donât think itâs worth it for us as a pack to get too involved with her.â
âWhat the fuck do you mean?â asked Chad.
âSheâs clearly lying about who she is,â I said.
âYouâre scared of getting attached like usual, so you sabotage it,â said Ruston, setting down the game controller. âJust let it happen.â
I closed my eyes and sighed. Breanna was everything to me right now, but I was too invested in her while she was lying to me. Pulling my phone out, I stared at her name in my contact list.
âDonât do it,â growled Oscar, watching me.
âIâm sorry, guys,â I said. âI need to do it before itâs too late, and weâre all bonded to her forever. Hopefully, she can forgive us over time.â
My entire pack was watching me, knowing they couldnât stop me as I was the pack leader. It felt like a dagger to the heart, and I knew they were all feeling the same thing. Our hearts were one as a pack and a collective. When one alpha felt strongly about someone, we all felt it.
âFuck it,â I said, typing out the text message. I couldnât tell her the contract was over in person. It would be too fucking painful.
Breanna
âYou burnt the rice,â I complained, trying to separate the burnt pieces from the rest on my dinner plate.
âJust eat it,â Aunt Julie said nonchalantly as she scooped up a hefty amount and put it in her mouth like there was nothing wrong with it. âItâs extra flavor.â
Instead, I ate the chicken quarter, annoyed that my aunt wouldnât let me buy food for the fourth day in a row. She was all about saving money, even though I brought in a whole lot more than usual.
âDo you ever feel lonely without a pack?â I asked her out of the blue, and her face twisted in disgust.
âNope, Iâm busy raising you,â she said.
âIâm not a child anymore, so you should really look into it,â I said. âI canât imagine since youâre an omega and all.â
âThere are no good alphas here,â she said. âThey are on Howlâs Edge Island, where we originally came from. The ones here are a bunch of crooks who worked for Henry.â
âThen we should go one day,â I suggested, and she looked at me thoughtfully.
âIf we could somehow scoop my sister out of here, I would do it in a heartbeat.â
Suddenly, my phone dinged, and I looked down at it and saw a text from Zaff. Oh, he was probably missing me already, I thought, smiling.
But when I opened the text message, my heart began to sink:
Good evening, Breanna. Something came up recently after you left, and I wanted to let you know that the contract is void now. You are free to live however you see fit, but we are no longer needing your assistance. I appreciate all your hard work, and it was great meeting you.
I had to take a moment to process this.
âWhatâs wrong?â my aunt asked.
âI canât believe it,â I said slowly. âI donât know what to say right now.â
The first thought that came to mind was that the alphas must have found an omega and that our connection was instantly broken. My heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces, and I felt like hiding in a corner to cry.
âWhat happened?â
I looked up at my aunt and decided I was done telling lies. I had to come clean.
âDo you remember when I told you I was sleeping with my boss?â I said. âWell, he dumped me.â
âOh wow,â she said. âIâm so sorry, but itâs also a good thing.â
âBut thereâs something elseâ¦â
âOkay?â
âHeâs an alpha,â I said without looking at her. I couldnât face her disappointment and shame in me. And when I looked back at her, I was right.
She covered her face with her hands in shock.
âWhy didnât you tell me?â she burst out. âYou put us in danger by not telling me! Breanna, Iâve never been so disappointed in you until today.â
I sat there silently, trying to process the text from Zaff and at the same time, taking the heat from my aunt.
âIâm sorry, I donât know what to say,â I said. âI knew youâd stop me.â
âDamn right, I would,â she said, huffing as she stomped to the little kitchen and furiously washed her plate in the sink. âWeâre going to leave tomorrow morning as soon as itâs light. Weâll hook up the trailer to the truck tomorrow.â
âOkay,â I said in a low voice.
âTonight, weâll secure the furniture and the dishes,â she said without another word as she washed the burnt pot. I sighed and tried to pick at the rest of the chicken, but my appetite was gone.
It was mainly confusion within me as I stared at the text message. Why would he do this out of nowhere? Did I say something to turn him off?
A part of me desperately wanted to go back to his house. But the rational part of my brain knew this was a good thing. They would eventually find an omega and get rid of me anyway.
That night, around ten p.m. I received another text from Zaff while my aunt was sleeping.
Please come outside. I have the rest of the money I owe you.
Itâs okay, keep it
Iâm already here, or else Iâll come inside to give it to you.
Just wait there then
Sighing, I slowly tiptoed out of the trailer and walked toward the side of the road, still wearing my pajamas. I didnât want to see him ever again after that horrible text. Deep down, my heart was flipping with excitement upon seeing him leaning against the car in the dark with an envelope in hand.
âHey,â he said when I approached him. I didnât say a word as I stuck my hand out for the envelope. I was too angry at him to pretend nothing was wrong. Theyâd played with my feelings. âBreanna, please donât make this harder than it is.â
âHow else do you want me to react?â I retorted, my heart pounding as I looked at him in the face. âYou lied to me.â
âNo, you lied to me,â he said.
âWhat do you mean?â
âI couldnât find you online with a simple name search,â he said. âYouâre lying about your name.â
âI lied about my last name, yes,â I said, rolling my eyes and sighing. I didnât want to admit the truth to him. âBut it doesnât matter now.â
âIt matters,â he said darkly, grasping my wrist and making my heart palpitate. âWhy did you lie, Breanna?â
âBecause Iâm not one hundred percent human.â
âWhat? What the fuck are you talking about?â