Beautiful Omega

Eight

There would be no war. For now, at least.

Several weeks had passed since that meeting, and even though we slept within the same house, I couldn’t help but feel that a barrier had arisen between the pack and me. Cole assured me it was nothing, but the constantly averted gazes said otherwise. Even Aaron seemed hesitant to spare me a glance...

For the first time in my life, I felt truly lost. No chores were waiting for me before the sun rose. No orders barked or beaten into me as I shuffled along with my head down. There was just me, alone and drifting about like a ghost within a strange manor in a far-off land.

I could only busy myself within the study Myu had taken me to before. It was a somewhat small room tucked into the space along the hall between the war room and kitchen. Bookshelves dominated most of the space, with a formal desk within the center.

A single window faced the back patio, where I would often watch the pack interact without them being able to see me.

They laughed and jostled each other like buddies who had known each other forever. They were more handsy than my former home, sparing not a second thought as they tossed an arm on someone else’s shoulder or curled against each other in wolf form during a short break from patrol.

Sometimes I would hear them from down the hall when they were eating, and I took my meal in the study. The familiarity, I wanted to be a part of it. Yet I knew it was not for me; it was just a reminder that I did not belong that I had gotten too comfortable.

I wanted to skip my meal today, but Saad was adamant I eat.

"At least eat for your wolf."

The plate still rested on the desk, a single cut of salted beef with a soft buttered roll to soothe the tongue. It was gone within a moment as hunger took me, and I returned to my moping by the single window.

“Oh, sorry.”

I turned to see Camry in the doorway, wearing a grey hoodie and satchel over his shoulder.

“I’m just here to pick up something. I’ll be gone in a second.”

He moved quietly into the room and towards one of the bookshelves, his fingers sliding across their aged spines. His hood was partially drawn, still allowing a view of his golden curls and long lashes nearly grazing his cheek.

I watched him from the corner of my eye as he moved, the only sound being the brush of his fingers and the pack still having dinner.

“Are you not eating with the others tonight,” I asked suddenly.

Camry glanced at me, the first direct gaze I had received in a while, before returning to the books.

“No. Myu has something waiting at the library for us.”

Myu? At the mention of his name, my mind went back to the inquisitive man who had pushed against Grey’s demands and had interrogated me in this very room only days ago.

I could still feel his presence, pacing back and forth on that very rug beneath our feet.

“There’s a library?”

“Yeah, an old one left behind by humans. Myu’s family took over its upkeep when they came,” Camry replied, lifting a book to scan its cover.

“He has a house, but he prefers to stay there.”

It seemed rather cliche, and every enthusiast’s dream to be inquisitive and live within a monument built to knowledge and entertainment crafted from word and ink. Myu seemed every bit the type to indulge in such a fantasy.