The Omega's Heart (Wilde Creek Four) (6 page)

“I like you too, Kam.”

She smiled sadly. “We’re not mates,
though.”

It would be easier if they were, maybe. She
didn’t seem to care that he couldn’t shift. In the long run,
though, it didn’t matter. She’d stated it simply enough — they
weren’t mates.

“Maybe I won’t actually get a mate since I
can’t shift. I might just have to find someone the old-fashioned
way.”

“Internet dating?” she quipped.

He tweaked her side and she giggled, hopping
out of reach.

“You deserve a really strong male anyway,
Kammie.”

She glanced at his chest with an arched brow.
“You’re really strong.”

He snorted and leaned down, brushing a kiss
to her cheek. “You’re sweet. I might be strong in my human form,
but I’m at a disadvantage against a shifting wolf. A she-wolf needs
to know that her mate can protect her in both forms. I’m only half
a man.”

Her sad smile returned and she squeezed his
bicep with her small hand. “Someday we’ll both find mates who don’t
think our faults make us non-mating material. I promise.”

He liked her enthusiasm, but he didn’t
believe her. Still, he wasn’t going to rain on her parade. Kammie
had some issues with the scars on her body, left by her nutcase
uncle, who’d tried to beat her to death more than once. She never
shifted with the other wolves, always hiding in the trees and
shifting alone. The she-wolves gave her a hard time for hiding
herself. Saying goodbye, he headed outside and called Adam to let
him know that Kammie was going to pitch in for the evening if he
needed the help, and then he went home. He didn’t have plans, but
maybe starting to pack was a good idea.

Chapter 6

Monday afternoon, the wall phone rang shrilly
and Honey went to answer it. “Hi, it’s Mia. I wanted to invite you
to dinner at the alphas’ home.”

“Oh, are you sure that’s okay?”

“Yes, Brynn asked me to call you. She would
call herself, but Acksel keeps her pretty
busy
the day of
the full moon, if you know what I mean.”

Honey chuckled. “Sure, what time?”

“I’ll pick you up about five. We’ll have a
light dinner and then head out for the hunt. Ren said your car was
fixed?”

“Yeah, I apparently didn’t do too much damage
when I was pulling wires.”

“Well I guess that’s good news and bad news.
I’m going to be sorry to see you leave.”

“Thanks, Mia, I’m going to be sad to leave,
too.”

She was used to just walking out of her
father’s house, stripping, shifting, and going hunting with the
males that her father chose to accompany her. Other females went
hunting in groups, but Honey had never had that luxury. For
whatever reason, he wanted her watched over when she was in her
shift. Then again, he’d always seemed to be watching her. She’d
never paid much attention to it, but after reading Stacy’s diary,
Honey was beginning to see her father in a new light. Stacy wrote
about her worry that he would betray Honey and that he would use
her for his own gain, but she never said how that would happen. It
made her glad she wasn’t still living at home.

When Honey and Mia arrived at the alphas’
home, she hung up her jacket and sniffed the air. “Wow, something
smells good.”

“The omegas probably cooked a feast,” Mia
said.

Brynn came to them and greeted them both with
big hugs. “I’m so glad you could join us. How was your day
today?”

“Good, thanks,” Honey answered as Brynn led
them into the family room, where males and females were milling
around. She made the introductions. “You know my mate and Ren, of
course; this is Nila and her mate Malachi; Eveny, Acksel’s sister,
and her mate Luke; Sam our theto; Dade my future father-in-law; and
Hollis, one of our elders.”

Honey greeted the people in turn and then
joined Mia and Brynn on the couch. She sniffed the air again,
finding a delicious scent that made her whole body light up. It was
sweet and spicy, like brown sugar and cinnamon mixed together.
Looking over the trays of food on the coffee table, though, she
couldn’t figure out where the scent was coming from. Maybe there
were desserts in the kitchen. Honey helped herself to a sandwich
and listened to Mia and Brynn discuss the pack while everyone
ate.

When they were done eating, Honey wanted to
ask about the sweet smell she still couldn’t identify, but Acksel
said, “It’s time to call your father, Honey.”

All thoughts of the delicious smell fled as
dread pooled in her stomach. Her father would not be happy to get a
call from her. A normal father might be happy to hear that their
only child was safe and being looked out for; her father was
anything but normal.

Acksel handed her his cell and she took it,
glancing around the room as everyone stepped back to give them the
illusion of privacy, which was silly considering all the wolves had
excellent hearing.

Dialing her dad’s cell, she brought the phone
to her ear and hoped he would let it go to voicemail. Maybe he’d
gone out early to hunt. Maybe…

“Williams here, how did you get my private
number?” His voice was deep with annoyance.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing
came out but a squeak.

Acksel took the phone from her and identified
himself. “Your daughter’s car broke down in my town. While it was
being repaired, she stayed in an apartment and requested being
allowed to hunt on the full moon. I agreed.”

She could hear her father’s voice on the
phone and he sounded downright agreeable. “Thank you for your
hospitality. I’d like to speak with my daughter, please.”

Acksel held out the phone to her, and she
hated that her hand trembled when she took it. “Hi Dad,” she
said.

His agreeable tone was gone. He practically
growled the words as he spoke. “You will come home as soon as the
full moon passes.”

Her voice fled again.

“I know what you did,” he said slowly, “and
you will be punished. If I have to send Shred to get you, you will
not be happy with his methods.”

She shivered so hard she almost dropped the
phone.

“I’ll be gone by sunrise,” she said, trying
not to let her fear come through her words. If Shred came for her
and found her, she’d be in big trouble. He wouldn’t think twice
about hurting her in the process of getting her back to her
dad.

“See that you are. You will purchase a phone
and contact me when you are on your way. You will contact me every
hour.”

“It will take me a few days to get home,
Dad,” she protested.

“I know where you are, little girl. Did you
think the phone was the only way I watched what you did? You
will
have no trouble making it home Wednesday afternoon if
you take a straight route instead of driving erratically and
stopping to rest as you did.”

The thought that he’d been aware of what she
was doing made her feel like her stomach was filled with lead.

She asked the question before she could stop
herself. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

He chuckled darkly. “I don’t care about the
full moon. The only thing that matters is that you return home
Wednesday and you check in as I told you. If you don’t, I will send
Shred for you and I will approve of any tactics he uses to get you
back to Wyling River. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Why is Wednesday
so important?”

“I’m done talking to you,
daughter
.
Put the alpha on the phone.”

She handed the phone to Acksel, her whole
body numb with fear. Mia grabbed her as her knees buckled and
helped her to the couch. Brynn sat next to her and picked up her
hand.

“I don’t hear as well as the wolves do, but I
can tell by the look on your face that something is very wrong.
What’s going on?”

Tears slipped over Honey’s cheeks and she
rubbed at them with her free hand. “I’m an idiot. I thought he
wouldn’t know where I was. He said he’s been aware of my
whereabouts the whole time and that if I don’t come straight home
after the hunt, that he’ll send his beta to get me and that guy…”
She let the sentence drop as fear slithered over her.

Brynn put her arm around Honey’s shoulders
and squeezed. “It’ll be okay. You’re not alone right now.”

But soon enough she would be.

* * * * *

Mia stood in the bedroom with Brynn, Acksel,
Ren, and Sam.

Acksel said, “Ren, did you find any tracking
devices on her car?”

“I wasn’t looking,” he said, shrugging.

“After the hunt tonight, I want you to check
for one. Her father told her that he was aware of her whereabouts,
and since she left her cell, that points to the car.”

Ren nodded.

Brynn said, “Acksel, why can’t we offer her
sanctuary?”

Acksel looked down at her. “Sweetheart, if
she was unhappy with her pack life, she shouldn’t have run away,
she should have left through proper channels.”

Brynn grimaced. “I think she would have if
she thought she’d be allowed. Something is very wrong in her pack;
we can’t send her back.”

Mia felt the same way. She felt bad for
Honey. She was a sweet girl and seemed so lost. But Acksel was
alpha and she couldn’t argue with him without Ren getting in her
face, so she chose to keep her mouth shut and let Brynn do the
arguing.

“Ren will find the tracker and remove it, and
then she’ll leave town. If she doesn’t go to Wyling River, that’s
not my problem.”

Brynn shook her head. “It seems callous to
just let her go like that.”

Acksel let out an aggravated sigh. “If she
had found her mate in one of our pack members, then I’d offer her
sanctuary, but she didn’t. We can’t offer sanctuary to everyone
that feels like they want a change of pace.”

“Acksel,” Brynn said, “it sounds like things
are dangerous for her at home.”

Acksel’s lips pressed together into a thin
white line as he stared down at his mate. Mia would have definitely
been worried to have that look directed at her, but Brynn was
anything but worried. “I’m done talking about the she-wolf. After
dawn she is no longer our problem. Am. I. Clear?”

Brynn’s eyes narrowed significantly.
“Crystal.”

Mia could tell that Acksel knew he was in
deep shit with her. He practically snarled his next words. “Honey
needs to hunt with an escort. Sam?”

Ren answered instead, “I’ll do it.”

Acksel’s brow rose. “You will?”

Ren shrugged. “She needs a guard, she’s been
living at my shop for two days, and I volunteer to also make sure
she leaves town at dawn.”

Mia snorted. “You’re volunteering?”

Ren snarled and took a step toward her. “Do
you have a problem, she-wolf?”

Brynn cleared her throat and Ren stopped
snarling. “I agree. Why are you volunteering? Do you like her or
something?”

Acksel snorted. “It doesn’t matter, she’s
leaving at dawn. If Ren wants to take her hunting, then so be
it.”

“I’ll do it,” Mia said. “I like her. It’s
going to be hard enough to say goodbye to her, I don’t want to
think about her having to fend you off in the woods.”

Ren’s eyes narrowed. “She’s attractive and
single. There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of a mutual
attraction.”

Mia inwardly snorted. Ren seemed awfully
certain that Honey thought he was attractive. He was good-looking,
but he was just such a dick sometimes it made him less drool-worthy
and more vomit-inducing.

Brynn said, “I think Mia should do it. Honey
won’t feel any pressure from anyone, and if something
does
happen then that’s okay, too, but at least it won’t feel
contrived.”

“Whatever,” Ren said, and then seemed to
realize he’d just been disrespectful to Brynn and tacked on, “as
you wish, Alpha.”

The males left the room and Brynn said, “He’s
such a dick.”

“I was thinking the same thing. I wish Acksel
would let her stay.”

“Me, too. That’s the point of sanctuary.
According to the laws, we can take in a wolf that is in danger and
give them the protection of the pack. I don’t know why he
won’t.”

“Maybe because he doesn’t want to go to war
over a stranger with no ties to our pack?”

“I wish she’d found her mate here. That would
have made her part of the pack whether her father liked it or not,
and Acksel wouldn’t force her to leave.”

Mia walked out of the room thinking that life
wasn’t fair. For a lot of people.

* * * * *

Honey wasn’t surprised when Mia invited her
to hunt. She’d overheard the conversation the pack members had
about her, even though she hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop. She
thought Ren was a nice male, but she wasn’t attracted to him. She
would hate to have to be rude and turn him down when he’d been so
kind to her.

“Come on, let’s go hunt,” Mia said.

“Is there dessert?” Honey asked, still
wondering about the delicious scent.

“We had apple pie earlier.”

“No, that’s not what I’m smelling,” she said,
casually sniffing the air.

“You sound disappointed.”

“I smell something sweet. I just thought it
was an extra dessert.”

Mia sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything
but the roast beef sandwiches we ate. Maybe it’s an air freshener
or something.”

“Maybe.”

They walked out on the back porch and found
the pack had gathered in the backyard. They were milling around in
the snow, most of the men with only pants on, and no one wearing
jackets. Wolves weren’t as affected by the cold as humans were.

“I’m sorry you have to leave,” Mia said as
they walked down the steps.

“It’s not fair to your pack for me to stay.
The guy my dad said he’d send after me is bad news wrapped in a
nasty package. I’d feel terrible if someone got hurt because of me.
It’s better to just go home and face the music.”