The Rise of the Tribrid

Chapter Seven Naomi

Naomi had managed to remember to teleport back to her bedroom. Her means of survival was in her packed bag. She could hear Winter moving around downstairs but couldn’t bring herself to tell her what happened. To tell her she was leaving and, in the process, stripping the pack of much needed finances. It wouldn’t affect her though; she would be leaving with Gentry. She will be taken care of. That was now the least of her worries though. Had she known Dean would reject her so callously, she would never have agreed to the date. At least Winter would have some idea of what had happened. At least she had had the forethought to inform Winter of her plans with Dean. Thank goodness Alpha Titus had seen what she had not and had prepared her for the inevitable. She could see that now. With the way Dean had always treated her, she should have known that he would never accept her. Not even a mate bond could change how little he thought of her. A moment of weakness hit her. Why couldn’t she have been mated to the future Beta? Omar Jones. He had always been kind to her. Spent time with her just hanging out when he wasn’t busy. He was her friend. The only one she had. He would have accepted her no matter what anyone had to say about it. He was a good man. If there was any reason to regret leaving, it was him. She would miss him terribly, but there was no way she could inform him. He would be obligated to tell Dean.

Naomi stood in the middle of her bedroom. Tears ran down her cheeks as it finally dawned on her what she was losing. No matter how hard it was for her in the pack, her home had always been a safe haven. Winter had created a home full of love, hope, and endless possibilities. She glanced around at the childish posters on the wall, at the lilac-purple comforter with white flowers. She remembered the floral phase that she went through. Winter had hated it but obliged her anyway. A bittersweet smile crossed her face. She would miss this too. Her stability; her home. Grabbing her bag, she glanced around again. Then…disappeared.

Appearing at the border, she was more than surprised. To her knowledge, no one really patrolled this area. She came face to face with Isiah, Omar’s brother, though. He knew exactly how close they were. He knew exactly how Omar felt about her. “Naomi,” he questioned cautiously. He took a step forward. She took a step back. “You need to come back onto pack grounds.”

“No.” He frowned as he took in her expression. She looked desolate.

“Naomi, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I have to leave Isiah.”

“Have you talked to Omar? Did you even think to tell him you were leaving?” Her mouth opened and closed. There was no way she could tell him. He would try to convince her to stay. She couldn’t risk Dean finding out before she was gone. It would be his duty to tell him. She panicked as she saw his eyes glaze over.

“No,” she shouted. She whispered words under her breath that blocked his link to the pack. His eyes cleared and he made eye contact with her. He stumbled backwards. Completely shocked at what he saw. Her eyes were silver opaque.

“What the…”

“I can’t let you tell him or Dean.”

“But…”

“No,” she screamed. Isiah stood stock still at the rush of air that blew past him. His eyes grew large as he stared at Naomi. He watched as she started to pace.

“You don’t have a wolf. Naomi, how are you…”

“You don’t know s**t!” Isiah’s heart started to race. That wasn’t Naomi’s voice. Those eyes definitely were not her eyes. Red eyes. She was no rogue. The only other species that had red eyes were…Vampires. He visibly gulped. Amina had made her presence known. She decided to allow Naomi to be present. To calm the boy, she thought. He watched as one eye slowly cleared and turned back to blue.

“Isiah, I’m sorry,” Naomi said in a rush. “But you can’t tell Dean.”

“Why Naomi?”

“Because he is the reason I’m leaving.” Isiah just stared at her in confusion. Naomi held her hands out as she looked around her. Looking for help and support that she knew wouldn’t come. “He rejected me.”

She saw the instance acceptance hit him. At one time, he was the one who had to accept a rejection. He knew the pain that came with it. Just as he knew that there was no way to stop her and now, he would no longer try. He rushed to her all of a sudden and wrapped his arms around her. Naomi held on to him and accepted the unexpected support, the unexpected rush of love.

“Go. I’ll tell Omar. I’ll make sure he won’t look for you.”

“Thank you,” she said in a daze. Confused as to why he was doing this for her. The two of them had never been close.

“I’ve always thought of you as an annoying little sister.” Surprising herself, she huffed out a laugh.

“Since when?”

“Since forever. Omar loves you. Therefore, I love you. It’s that simple.” He stopped and pushed her away. They both heard the trampling of leaves and branches as paws hit the ground. “They must have heard your scream.” He grabbed her bag and shoved it into her chest. “Go!”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I reject the Howling Wolf Pack.” Isiah stumbled as he felt the bond break. They both heard the despairing howl of a wolf. Dean. It was too close. They were almost there. Isiah watched in stunned silence as she vanished. He instinctively knew that the Howling Wolf Pack had lost its treasure.