by Joyee Flynn
“Why were you working with a psychologist?” He relaxed a bit as if guessing the answer and feeling better that there was hope now.
“I think you know why.” I stared at him and he nodded. “You’re not the only Omegas who’ve been abused but there is life and hope past that. I’m with a good inner circle now who really care for me. We won’t let anyone else hurt you.” I turned to see the adjoining doorway filled with more of them. Damn. They were just everywhere.
I’d learned from Azyle that there was indeed a cook at the Alpha house, so that would be a big help in feeding fifteen extra mouths. They all seemed in good shape, wearing new clothes, and not just having been stuck in these rooms and forgotten.
“What’s your name?” I asked the one who’d talked to me.
“Brody.” He leaned in and whispered to the group huddling around him for protection. Since he was about my height, maybe an inch or so taller and bone skinny, he’d be about as effective as a wet towel in a fight. They probably just gravitated to him as the oldest. “He’s one of us, guys. I say let’s trust him.”
“He’s pretty,” one of the youngest ones replied. I couldn’t help but smile.
“We think so,” Tag said quietly from the doorway. “Dewey’s one of the sweetest men I’ve ever known. He kept me sane when my old pack was drugging me so I couldn’t fight the abusive Alpha that was hurting him.”
“They got you too?” that same boy asked with wide eyes. “But you’re huge!”
“Doesn’t matter when it comes to bad people,” Tag explained. “How about a snack before the party tonight and we can all get acquainted? I know I’m going to have to talk to the cook about meals because I’m a really picky eater so maybe you guys could tell me what you like as well and we can add it to the list.”
“Lunch sucked ass so none of us really ate,” he replied as he took a step out from behind Brody and moved to Tag. “You’re not going to hurt us or make us call you Daddy, are you?”
“No, munchkin,” Tag whispered with tears in his eyes as he ran his hand over the boy’s hair. “We’ll keep you safe and be a real family if I have to fight every person on the planet to make that happen.” He glanced at Percy and Azyle, who nodded. “There was a big mess to clean up here but now that your Betas brought us in to help and take care of the pack we’ll set things right.”
Slowly they all moved away from Brody as the others came in from the adjoining room.
“I keep a secret stash of ice cream in the extra freezer I’d be willing to share,” Percy offered. The man looked scared and out of his league, but I loved him for trying.
“That’s sounds great,” Brody agreed with a smile, helping us try to bridge the gap. Everyone followed the Betas out of the room as Tag and I hung back.
“I’m Connor,” one boy announced as he pulled on my shirt.
“Hey, Connor, it’s nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and he looked at it funny before slipping his small hand into mine. We shook and his mouth broke out into a grin. “I don’t have to go back to my ma, right? She’s mean because my dad left her and she hates all wolves.”
“No, Connor. You’re staying with us.” He launched himself into my arms and hugged me.
“I’m glad you came here, Dewey. We need you.”
“I’m glad too, buddy. We’ll figure this all out.” I cleared my throat when I started to get choked up with the overwhelming emotions I was feeling. “You better go get some ice cream before it’s all gone.”
“Okay.” He let me go and kissed my cheek before racing from the room. We waited until we heard his steps on the stairs.
“Talk to me,” Tag said gently as he knelt in front of me and took my hands in his.
“We can do this,” I declared, feeling a confidence like I’d never experienced before. “We can help them and give them what they need. I know we can.”
“It’s a lot to take on, baby.”
“Is your point that we should hand them over to the High Council? I saw the way that boy affected you.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I just, I don’t know, needed to say it out loud I guess.” He leaned over and laid his head on my lap. “I want to help them too, show them what a real family’s like. We can do this.”
“Yeah, we can.”
“Well good thing we love you guys because real families should have lots of love,” Azyle said from the doorway. Tag’s head popped up so fast that he almost crashed into mine.
“I wasn’t expecting that reaction,” Percy mumbled as he glanced from me to Tag. “Don’t hit Dewey because we admitted that.”
“I wasn’t going to, you dork,” Tag chuckled as he stood and helped me to my feet. We walked over to them, not sure what to do. “Really?”
“Well, yeah. Don’t sound so shocked. You’re both really loveable. I think we loved Dewey from the first time he smiled at us,” Azyle answered. Then things got tense. “Are we alone in this?”
“No,” I admitted nervously as my cheeks heated up. I glanced to Tag who was smiling. “You’re good with that?”
“Yeah, baby. I love them too. They make us a family.”
“Sweet. So we’re not in trouble for forgetting to tell you about the Omegas?” Percy’s face was pale and I realized he thought this was a deal breaker.
“No, but we love you anyways,” I said honestly as I hugged him. His arms moved around me as he leaned over and pulled me closer. “We’ll figure this out, okay? I think we can help them and show them what a real family is like.”
“Sorry we didn’t handle this the best. There was a lot to do with the High Council when the true nature of our old Alpha was revealed,” Azyle admitted. Tag pulled him into a hug and then joined with us into a big group hug. “We were out of our league with them. I didn’t realize we were treating them like adults until Dewey got upset.”
“It’s all good,” I said quickly, feeling how sorry they were from their swirling emotions. “We just go forward from here and nothing else matters other than what we do now.”
“Well said,” Tag agreed with a smile.
And that’s what we did. We moved into the master suite, a loving foursome. Azyle and I worked together to get each of the abused Omegas their own rooms or bunk beds for those who weren’t ready to be on their own. The cook jumped on board with making more “kid-friendly” meals instead of all the old Alpha’s likes that the kids kept not eating.
The Elder, Francis, ended up being a reliable source of help, working with the High Council when we needed a hand. George was coming next week to start talk with the Omegas and start them in therapy.
It turned out Tristan and Carson had no clue there were fifteen Omegas that the old Alpha had collected. They worked with the High Council and got our pack named as a sanctuary pack as theirs were.
And the pack themselves? They were some of the most wonderful people I’d ever met. They were a little gun-shy for a while, as were we. But everyone was eager to help and do whatever we needed to benefit the pack.
Several of the men who tried to fight the old Alpha and were friends with the Betas who had mysteriously disappeared were now guards for our house. It was just an extra security measure considering that the fifteen Omegas, plus myself, in the house are worth millions to predators who might stop at nothing to get at them.
And I’m happy. We’re all happy and in love. Signing the contract and deciding to become a part of this pack and this inner circle was the best decision of my life. And Tag’s an amazing Alpha. I’ve never seen a pack that loves their Alpha like they do him.
Just not in that way. I may share him with Percy and Azyle as we all do each other. But that’s it. He’s ours.
And he, nor I, would want it any other way. Thank the heavens for that because my men hold my heart and they take good care of it.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joyee dreams of one day living on enough land to have a few horses, and find a
couple of cowboys or pool boys of her own. A lover of men, Joyee is all about them in any form in her books; vampire, werewolf, shape-shifter, military . . . It’s all good! She loves to get lost in fantasy that only books can bring. Her wide interest in reading is reflected in her writings, whether short stories, romance, or mystical. Currently Joyee lives with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series.
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