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He pointed at Elias and then at Mr. Callahan, who was still hiding at the other end of the room. They quickly nodded their agreement.
Robert slowly lowered his gun and released my hair. I let out a breath of relief. My whole body shook like a leaf as I scampered away. The chain at my ankle didn’t allow me to go far.
“Perfect,” Robert said. “Let’s go.”
Waylen followed Robert to the stairs, pausing at the bottom to look back at me. “I’ll be back.” His tone was far gentler than I was expecting for someone so terrifying.
“Don’t you worry.”
Robert and Waylen were gone for almost an hour. During that time, Mr. Callahan took it upon himself to untie Mitchell, throw him over his shoulder, and haul him upstairs.
Mitchell struggled the whole time, screaming, saying that he wouldn’t leave me, but he was no match for Mr. Callahan’s strength or the duct tape he put over his mouth.
Before leaving, Mr. Callahan explained to Elias that it was best to separate me and Mitchell before Waylen came back.
Given my birth father’s tangible fury when he found out Robert was planning on gifting me to the alpha, I supposed they didn’t want him in the room for whatever was going to happen next.
But I don’t think that was Mr. Callahan’s only motive. He never came back, despite Robert ordering him not to leave my side. I would have bet money he wasn’t even in the house anymore.
He didn’t want to be around for the moment when shit hit the fan.
I couldn’t decide if it was cowardly or smart.
It was hard not to spiral after that. Mitchell and I might not have had the greatest relationship, but his presence had been the only thing keeping me sane.
Ace’s voice had stopped too. I hadn’t heard from him since I’d fallen asleep earlier.
Maybe I should’ve been relieved that I no longer had to worry I was losing my mind but, instead, I felt alone.
When it was impossible to hold back my tears, Elias tried to console me by telling me that Mr. Callahan was probably just putting my father in a guest room upstairs and that I’d see him again soon.
But he didn’t sound convinced by his own words. In fact, he seemed worried, repeatedly glancing at the stairs as if praying for Mr. Callahan’s return as much as I was praying to see my birth father.
Elias seemed even more unsettled when Robert and Waylen made their way back downstairs. He stood at my side, white-knuckling his gun while Waylen approached me with a stoic expression.
Elias shifted and looked at Robert, waiting for him to tell him what to do. It reminded me of how young Elias was. No matter the son’s tough exterior, he still looked to his father for direction.
Waylen moved cautiously as he came to a stop in front of me and then slowly crouched down as if to be careful not to scare me.
I fought to move away from him nonetheless, the cuff around my ankle jingling obnoxiously. Robert remained a few feet behind Waylen, his face intense.
As I looked up at Waylen, the first thing I noticed was that his eyes were no longer black. They were hazel now…and much less scary.
“Hello, little one.” Waylen’s eyes moved down my battered form, his jaw clenching a little. “I wanted to start by telling you how sorry I am that you are in this situation.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that nothing else bad happens to you.”
My throat was too clogged with fear to respond. I was certain I had never met a more intimidating man in all my life.
Robert scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I thought omegas were supposed to be naturally trusting of alphas,” he sneered.
“Once they get to know them,” Waylen shot back over his shoulder. “They’re naturally intimidated by them at first. Submissive.”
He focused his gaze back on me. “It’s all right if it takes a second for me to earn your trust.”
I regarded him warily. It was going to take longer than a second. I also didn’t appreciate him calling me submissive. Creepy much?
“Robert has offered to let me take you with me in exchange for information,”
Waylen continued. “I’m willing to do this, but only if you are okay with it. I wanted to speak with you before agreeing.”
I swallowed. “I-I don’t understand. Take me with you?” I didn’t like the sound of that. I didn’t want anyone to take me anywhere unless it was to my home. Or to Ace.
“You don’t have to look so worried, my dear.” Waylen gave me a comforting smile.
“It’s not what you’re thinking. I’m a happily mated man. Plus, you’re younger than my daughter.”
His attempt to reassure me had the complete opposite effect. I never thought he was interested in me. It had never even crossed my mind.
But now that he had mentioned it, how could I not worry? This man was one of the largest people I had ever seen. If he wanted to do something to me—to hurt me—I would be helpless to fend him off.
Waylen continued. “I don’t think I’m phrasing this well. I only mean to tell you that I won’t hurt you. Rather, I want to help you. I want to get you out of this situation and to somewhere safe.”
There was no way in hell I was going anywhere with this random man. He was insane for even asking.
“I want to go home,” I practically croaked.
Waylen’s shoulders softened. “Of course you do. This must all seem so confusing.
I’ve been informed you don’t know anything about the werewolf world. Is that correct?”
Slowly, I bobbed my head up and down. “I didn’t know they existed until this morning.” I studied him. “Are…are you a…werewolf?”
After all, I’d heard them referring to him as an alpha. People called Ace that too. It had to be a wolf term.
“Yes,” Waylen said, looking like he was gauging my reaction. “I am.”
My heart jumped. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Well, would you like me to prove it to you?”
Before I could answer, Waylen’s eyes changed from their natural hazel color to the pitch-black color they had been earlier.
I gasped and jerked back. I had seen Ace’s eyes do the same thing more times than I could count, but I’d always convinced myself I’d made it up.
Waylen’s eyes returned to normal. He held up his hands to show me he meant no harm. “You have nothing to fear from my wolf. He would never cause you harm. He only wants to protect you. As do I.”
“That…that was your wolf?” I asked.
“Yes, my dear. That was my wolf looking at you through my eyes. I could shift so you can officially meet him, but I’m afraid that might overwhelm you.”
Robert scoffed again from behind Waylen. I could only assume he was mad that Waylen was being so nice to me. Robert had made it clear he didn’t think I deserved kindness.
“Ignore him,” Waylen said to me. “He doesn’t understand that this sort of conversation is going to take a while.
“I can only imagine how hard it must be for a human to learn about the werewolf world for the first time. It is a lot to take in, but I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.”
“You called me an omega earlier,” I said, jumping on the opportunity to get some answers finally. “I’ve heard a lot of people call me that.”
Waylen nodded. “I’m sure you have. You’re a hard little omega to miss. Your scent is particularly strong.”
My scent? Ace said the same thing. ?“What does that mean? What’s an omega?”
“Every wolf has what we call a mate. A soulmate, in other words. Our perfect match. It’s someone chosen for us by the moon goddess to be with for the rest of eternity.
“Being an omega, even if you are human, means you are destined to be mated to a werewolf.”
Waylen shifted. “I hesitate to explain the specifics, but it also means you’re capable of having extremely powerful children.