The Orphaned Omega

Chapter 12

[Dorothea’s POV]

It was a small mercy that we did not have much time left in the car together. Before much longer, the dirt road turned to looser gravel and huge wrought iron gates emerged up ahead through the trees. I could make out beyond them a beautiful home on the horizon. As we got closer, I could see more and more of the landscape that awaited. The gates were at least twenty feet tall and connected to brick walls that were just as tall. Flowering vines grew up the walls, which gave the fences a much more inviting and charming look rather than imposing and menacing. It almost seemed as if the forest had lovingly enveloped the area and accepted it.

The car paused in front of the gate, and I could see thin wires crisscrossing along the gate. When Ian rolled down the window to reach out to the keypad box, I could hear the soft buzz of an electric current. Evidently the gate was electrified to help keep unwanted guests from thinking they could slip through the gaps. There was a loud beep and the gate opened up with a creak, slowly parting to allow the car through. Ian drove through the gates and up the long gravel path toward the mansion at the end of the drive. The property was absolutely massive, with a well-maintained lawn and large willows lining the driveway. I could see what I thought may be a koi pond out in the distance on one side of the drive. It had some more weeping willows around the pond and my eyes followed a line of slate pavers heading up to the house. On the other side were gardens with every kind of flower and hedge you could imagine blooming, and I could see the peek of a gazebo’s roof somewhere hidden within the garden. If I thought the territory on the drive was picturesque, it was nothing compared to this property. This was breathtaking. I felt like I could spend a lifetime here, and never tire of its beauty.

Ian drove the SUV right up to the steps that led up to the large wrap-around porch, the car circling around a massive fountain with four different tiers. It had golden crescent moons and stars lining the edges and silver-blue tile work. The last rays of the sun glinted off the water as we drove. He came to a stop and looked over at me expectantly. Still, he said nothing. I hurried to get out of the car, grabbing my backpack.

“Thank you,” I said quickly, closing the door behind me. No sooner had the door shut was the SUV rolling down the driveway again. I breathed in the air, grateful that the summer breeze diluted Ian’s scent. I felt my heart begin to slow back to a normal pace and my body relaxed with him gone. I looked up at the large home in front of me, taking in the beautiful plantation-style detail. There was a massive wrap-around porch with dark wooden floors and white railing. There were rocking chairs set on either side of the door; I also saw swinging benches further down the porch. I stepped up onto the wooden front steps and began toward the door.

The front door swung open and the screen door on it squeaked as Bailey pushed it open. She was smiling from ear-to-ear. “Thea!” she shouted. “You’re here!”

I nodded, smiling up at her. I tried to quell the surge of nerves that came on suddenly. “I am. Thank you again for inviting me.”

“Oh, my Goddess, obvi!” she said, ushering me inside. Her blonde ponytail swished behind her as she twirled around. “Come in, come in. Come meet everyone!”

I walked up the last few steps and followed her into the house. The front foyer was huge, and I could see straight to the back of the home. The entire back wall of the house was floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. It allowed for a perfect view of the shining lake in the back of the property, the sun glinting off the dark water. I wanted to run out there and soak up the view, but I forced myself to look away and focus on Bailey as she started to lead me through the house. The hardwood floors creaked quietly under our feet. We walked into the large living space in the back of the home, where a large dark brown leather sectional sat over a bright cream rug. Several girls were spaced out on the couch or on the fluffy looking rug in the center of the room. There was a fireplace in the corner of the room, with candles glittering in the hearth instead of a fire.

I saw Mallory glance up and wave at me, smiling. Her golden-brown eyes were filled with warmth. I waved back, a rush of relief hitting me. I figured she would be here, but I was definitely happy to find I had been right. It meant I knew at least one other person aside from Bailey wouldn’t mind that I was here. Bailey turned to the room and clapped her hands once to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay, girls!” she said. “I want you all to meet Thea. She’s a new friend of mine!”

Bailey looked over at me. “You already know Mal,” she said. “But next to her in the red is Reina, and then Jess, Tori, and Emma.” She pointed to each girl in turn, going around the room in a counterclockwise pattern.

All of their eyes turned to look at me, and most of the girls I didn’t know smiled at me and gave a short wave. But a pair of crystal blue eyes narrowed, and the dark-haired girl got up. I had known who she was even before Bailey introduced us. Her resemblance to my least favorite person was easy to see. She had the same slim build and shiny dark hair that Kelsey had. She had slightly more tanned skin than her porcelain cousin and her hair was naturally curlier. But still…when she sneered at me, it was like staring at Kelsey. This was Emma Thorpe, Kelsey’s younger cousin. Somehow, it hadn’t quite crossed my mind that she may be here.

Emma sauntered around the couch to stand by us, and she crossed her arms. “What is she doing here?” she scoffed.

Bailey rose an eyebrow, also crossing her arms to face off with Emma. “She’s here as my guest. Because I invited her.”

“Yeah, but why?” Emma pressed. Her eyes glittered with malice when she looked at me, and she barely glanced at the Alpha’s sister. She lowered her voice and leaned in like she was sharing some secret with Bailey. “She’s an omega.”

“So?” Bailey said. Her voice was hard. “She’s also my friend.”

“You can’t be serious,” Emma said, finally looking at Bailey.

“I-its fine, Bailey,” I said softly, moving to put a hand on Bailey’s shoulder. “I can just go. I shouldn’t have intruded.”

“You aren’t intruding,” Bailey said to me while glaring at the other girl. Her shoulders were tense, and her expression had a dangerous quality to it. For the first time ever, I could see the power of an Alpha brewing below the surface. “And why, pray tell, can’t I be serious?”

All of the other girls had stopped whatever it was they had been doing and were looking over at us. They all looked shocked to see this stand-off. I felt like I could cut the tension in the room with a knife. I didn’t know what to do. Emma glanced between us, and she looked uncertain momentarily. But that was replaced with another sneer in my direction. “She’s beneath us. Beneath you! You shouldn’t be hanging around with an omega, especially not one with her blood.”

Bailey shifted her body just slightly, but I could tell she had positioned herself as if she were about to pounce. Her eyes flickered between blue and gold – her Lycan was pushing toward the surface the angrier Bailey got. I felt my heart starting to beat faster and panic started to raise within me. I couldn’t believe this was happening right now. No one had ever stood up for me the way Bailey was, but I didn’t feel right about it. Emma was right. Bailey shouldn’t be slumming it with the likes of me! I didn’t want to come between Bailey and her friends. I wasn’t worth that. I tried to calm her down again, reaching over and giving her elbow a slight tug. “Bailey, its okay. It’s not worth it.”

Bailey glanced at me only briefly. “It’s not okay. But I agree, she isn’t exactly worth it,” she snapped. She looked back at Emma, and then the room as a whole. Her Alpha aura released and permeated the room. Everyone dipped their heads slightly at the feel of it, averting their eyes from her.

My breathing quickened, and my hands felt clammy. “Bailey, really, it’s—”

“Shhh!” Bailey snapped at me again. I shut down immediately, my jaw clamping closed.

Emma, to her credit, had the good sense to look nervous. But she forced her shoulders back and chin up. She just kept going, instead of backing down. “She’s a traitor’s daughter, Bailey. She can’t be trusted; don’t you see that? Not to mention, she’s a weakling! A werewolf! She isn’t even full Lycan.”

“I see one thing, Emma,” Bailey said, her voice cold and venomous. “Your true colors. If you have a problem with Thea being here, you are welcome to leave. Not to mention, Emma, you don’t even have a rank. Who are you to be talking like that?”

Emma’s lips parted in shock, her mouth forming a small ‘o’. “Excuse me?!” she shrieked.

“You heard me,” she said, voice even. She didn’t so much as blink.

“You’re going to pick that lowlife over me? Your best friend?” Emma was getting furious.

“First of all, you are not my best friend,” Bailey said. “Secondly, I didn’t want to have to choose between you. But you are giving me no choice. You can either stay and lose your attitude, or you can leave. If you find it ‘beneath you’ – as you say – to hang out with Thea because of her status, then I think you’ll find the door is just behind me.” She cast her gaze to everyone else in the room. “That goes for all of you. You have one chance – if you have anything against my friend simply because of her status, then you can walk out of this house right now.”

Emma recoiled as if she had been smacked in the face. I could do nothing but stare on in shock that things had escalated like this. No one spoke for quite some time. Emma and Bailey stared each other down. The blonde girl looked every bit the Alpha female she was. She did not flinch or look away – she held Emma’s gaze without fail, shoulders squared. The minutes ticked by in this tense standoff before Emma finally looked away. “Fine,” she muttered.

“What was that?” Bailey said, tilting her head to the side and pursing her lips. We all knew that she had heard Emma just fine. She just wanted Emma to repeat it. It was a show of power.

“I said fine,” Emma repeated a bit loudly, sounding resentful. “I will stay.”

“Good,” Bailey nodded. “Now apologize to Thea.”

Emma snapped her gaze back up to Bailey, then looked at me. She ground her teeth together and glowered at me. If looks could kill…

“That isn’t necessary,” I said quickly, hoping to smooth things over a tiny bit.

“It is if she wants to stay,” Bailey said. Her tone left no room for argument. She hadn’t taken her eyes off of Emma once, or relaxed her stance at all.

I sighed, looking down again.

“Sorry,” Emma ground out. She didn’t offer anything else, and she stormed back into the living room to her seat.

I let out a slow breath and was glad that the room’s tension eased a little bit. I followed Emma into the room and settled onto the couch on the far side of the room as Emma. I tried my best not to look at the other girl, but I could feel her eyes boring holes into me. It felt like she was trying to burn me alive just with her gaze. I didn’t dare talk. Not yet. The other girls slowly resumed their previous conversation and were quicker to re-include Emma than try to include me. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, stomach churning with anxiety. I felt like this was going to be a long weekend.

Mallory reached out and pat my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said softly.

I smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Bailey finally rejoined everyone in the living room, settling crisscross on the rug. “Well,” she said, looking at me with a smirk. “That was certainly interesting.”

I let out a shaky laugh. My gaze flickered to Emma nervously. “That’s one word for it.”

“Oh, ignore her,” Bailey said, rolling her eyes. I let the topic drop, not wanting to talk more on it. I got the feeling there was more to her spat with Emma than just me arriving at Girls’ Weekend though. The blonde Alpha looked at the rest of the room. “Shall we play a game?”

“We should play a drinking game,” Reina suggested, grinning.

“Ohhh, I like the way you think,” Bailey laughed. She got to her feet again. “I’ll grab everyone some drinks. I’m thinking….Never Have I Ever?”

“Yes!” Reina said, gleeful.

Tori and Jess both nodded. “Yes!” they chorused at the same time.

Mal laughed. “Sure, why not.”

Emma remained quiet, but she nodded her head. I did the same. I didn’t really know what this game was. I was nervous to get drinks in me, especially considering the last time I’d been drunk I’d ended up in Ian’s bed. What if I drank so much I started spilling my secrets? Or rather, my one, singular, glaring secret?

Bailey came back and handed out what appeared to be beer bottles, but on closer inspection they proclaimed to be Mike’s Hard Lemonade. I sniffed it, and the scent was sweet and syrupy. I had a feeling I’d probably like it, but if I drank too much of it, I could see myself getting sick.

“Um, how do you play?” I asked quietly.

Emma snorted, rolling her eyes. But she didn’t say anything.

Reina smiled kindly at me. “You’ll start with five points, counting on your hand. So, everyone will take turns thinking of something they have never done. Like…never have I ever been skinny dipping. If you have done it, then you put a finger down and take a drink. Last one with fingers up wins! And obviously, the spirit of the game is to not lie. Besides…we’d probably know if you lied anyway.”

“Oh,” I nodded. That sounded like a possibly dangerous game. I didn’t have much to hide, and I wasn’t that exciting, so I didn’t think I had that much to worry about. But I knew I’d have to work hard not to give away any tells if I did have to lie. “Easy enough. Thanks.”

She nodded, her red curls bouncing with the motion. “Yeah, of course!”

“Okay!” Bailey said, gathering everyone’s attention. “I’ll go first.” She thought for a moment, making a soft humming noise, and tilting her head back and forth. “Okay, okay. Never have I ever…sexted someone.”

Tori poked out her lip in a pout, folding her thumb down and taking a large swig of her drink.

“Oh, my Goddess, who?!” Reina shrieked, looking at Tori with wide eyes. “When?”

Tori’s cheeks turned bright red, and she looked at her lap. “It was Logan, like sophomore year.”

“You dirty girl,” Reina snickered, playfully punching Tori’s shoulder.

Bailey laughed too. “Didn’t think you had that in you, Tor.” She swiveled her gaze to look at me. “Your turn, Thea! You go!”

“Uh…okay,” I nodded. I cast my gaze around the room, thinking of what to say. I wanted to try to move away from the whole ‘s*x’ topic. That was the one secret I had. I figured I’d ask a potentially useful question, giving me more information on who I was in a room with. “Never have I ever met my wolf or Lycan.”

“Dammit!” Bailey huffed, putting her thumb down and drinking.

Emma also put a finger down and took a swig, along with Tori and Reina. It looked like just me; Jess and Mallory hadn’t gotten their other half yet.

“Hmmm,” Mallory said. She grinned at me, giving me a wink. “Never have I ever taken down Javier!”

“Oh,” I squeaked, looking at my lap. “I…I still think he let me.”

“Oh, please. You gave me a concussion in a millisecond. Pretty sure you could beat his ass.”

I snorted. “No way! He is a fully trained warrior.”

Mallory just shrugged. “Okay, maybe with more training you could.”

“Doubtful,” Emma scoffed, rolling her eyes again.

Mallory was about to say something when Jess piped up. “Wait, what happened?”

“You didn’t hear?” Mallory said. “A few weeks ago, when we were starting sparring in gym, we were paired up. She flipped me over without even trying and then she faced off with Javier and she brought him down too!”

“No way!” Jess said, looking at me with a newfound respect.

“I really don’t think it was that impressive,” I said, tucking my thumb down and taking a drink.

“Well, it was,” Mallory said. I felt like she was laying it on thick and had just said this for my benefit so the other girls wouldn’t see me as just some weak omega.

“My turn,” Emma said sharply. She smirked. “Never have I ever been an omega.”

I rose an eyebrow at her for a moment before deciding to let it go, taking another drink and tucking my pointer finger under my thumb.

“Cheap shot,” Mallory rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, Emma,” Tori agreed.

“What?” Emma scoffed. “The whole point is to win!”

All the girls rolled their eyes. Bailey spoke up. “If you say one more word about Thea’s status, Emma, I will throw you out of here. Let it f*****g go.”

Emma narrowed her eyes but grew quiet. Everyone took that as agreement, because Jess continued with the game by admitting she had never been kissed. Everyone’s fingers went down, including mine. That was innocent enough to admit.

“Ohhhh, Thea, really?” Bailey asked me.

Crap. I hadn’t counted on anyone caring that I had kissed someone. I gave a shrug, trying to look nonchalant. “Yeah.”

“Who!” Bailey crowed.

“Just, some guy. I was kinda drunk, it was stupid. We don’t talk anymore or anything. I don’t even remember his name.”

“Oh,” Bailey pouted. “Dang.” She swung her head to look at Mallory. “And who did you kiss, Miss Waiting For Your Mate?”

“I said I was waiting to have s*x, not that I was a complete bore,” Mallory laughed. “It was Todd, from math. We’ve hung out a few times.”

“O.M.G!” Reina grinned. “He is so cute. You two would be cute as mates!”

“You think?” Mallory smiled. Her cheeks tinted pink.

“Definitely,” Reina nodded. “Guess you’ll know in a few months!”

I relaxed in my seat, grateful that the heat of the questions was off of me. If they kept grilling me, I was afraid I would somehow c***k and give myself away. Luckily, the rest of the game ended up going by without too much I had to skirt around. I ended up winning, only putting down one other finger for ‘never have I ever had a job’. Surprisingly, Jess and Reina also both had jobs. Jess worked at the pack movie theater, and Reina worked at her mom’s apothecary.

By the time the sun had gone down, we were all a bit giggly, and I felt much more relaxed with some alcohol in my system. Bailey started some pizzas in the oven for us and we settled in to eat our weight in pizza, popcorn, and candy while we watched some movies. I had to admit, despite the rocky afternoon, I was enjoying myself. I felt…normal. It felt good to be around girls my age, interacting in a normal way. It felt even better to not have to worry about chores or worry about running into Ian. Maybe it would be a good weekend after all.