All the Things Between Us

Chapter 22

After calling her she invited me to her place to talk in person. She lives in a smaller apartment than what I would expect for a doctor. It's a nice place though a little on the barren side. The most notable thing about the place is how immaculate it is.
She returns from the kitchen where she'd gone to get us some wine and sits down next to me on the couch. She hands me one of the glasses and I take a sip.
"So, you mentioned on the phone that you're having trouble adjusting", she starts.
"Yeah this is all just a lot for me", I say, "that and considering my relationship with Apex it's not going great". She frowns at me.
"What's going on with you and Apex?", she asks. I launch into an explanation of the last two months. By the time I'm done talking we've both finished our second glass of wine and have already poured third. When I'm done, she nods thoughtfully.
"I wish I could say that I didn't, but I get how you're feeling", she tells me, "I've been in a similar situation". I look at her in disbelief. She's so perfect, how could she have gone through anything?
Noticing my disbelief, she starts to explain, "I don't know if you realized yet, but I am a werewolf myself. I can't shift a whole lot because my wolf is too weak. You see wolves live in packs; they're hierarchical societies. At the top is an alpha. Following them is a second in command called a beta. Then there's the rest of the pack which are just ordinary people. In most packs that's it, however in rare cases there may be omegas. Omegas are practically slaves to the pack. They are the lowest of the low and while it is widely considered unethical, an alpha may force someone into this position if they deem fit".
She pauses to let me take in all the information before continuously, "sadly my pack made me one. I didn't do anything to deserve it and I'll never understand why they did it to me. I was young when it happened, and I can't remember anything from before becoming an omega. I don't really know what happened to my family in all of this or if they cared, but no one stopped it from happening to me. I was abused by my pack and forced into constant labor. It was nearly unbearable".
"I had no idea", I say. I know I must be wide eye staring at her, but she smiles sadly at me.
"I'm sure you've heard of mates, right?", she asks. I nod in response.
"Well the thing about them is girls realize who theirs are at sixteen while boys can't find theirs until they're eighteen", she says, "which for me meant I realized mine about six months before he knew. I would have of told him, but he was my pack's alpha and he hated me. I was sure he'd reject me".
"What is that?", I ask. Apex had mentioned the term before.
"Rejection is something mates can do to sever the bond between them", she says, "however, it's extremely painful and after the rejected mate accepts it, it becomes permanent. It's an extremely rare thing to happen and most anyone who's ever done it regrets it. It's especially bad because once your soulmate is gone you don't get another". I pause to consider this. Maybe I could reject Apex and just end this whole thing.
"Oh don't you dare", she says seeing the look on my face, "Apex isn't the best by any means and you two have a ton of work to do, but from what I can tell he is trying to change and he does love you". I sigh at her words, but don't completely dismiss my thoughts or her opinion.
"So what happened between you and your mate?", I ask.
It's her turn to sigh, "when he finally realized who I was I was so convinced that he wanted to reject me. He didn't though so I thought that maybe he wanted to and just felt too guilty to. So, I did it for him. At the time I thought that's what he wanted and that's he'd be ecstatic. He wasn't though, he was miserable. I'd never considered the idea that he'd want me. He spent the next month or two trying to make it all up to me". She stares sadly down at her hands.
"So what happened", I ask, "where is he?".
"I had to leave him", she says, "he may have stopped hurting me, but he turned his temper to others. He'd never change, he'll always be the same violent man I always knew". She looks like she wants to cry.
"I know I had to leave, but I still miss him, and I know that he's still looking for me", she says. I put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. I'd never have thought that such thing happened to her. She looks so perfect. A pristinely dressed blond girl with such a polite manor is the last person I'd think of in such light.
"I'm sorry Hope", I tell her.
"It's okay", she says nodding. We both take another drink from our wine.
"You know you're going to have to go back to him, soon right?", she asks. I look at her inquisitively.
"Why would I do that?", I ask her.
"Your heat is going to come every month now and you really could die without him", she says, "it's going to keep happening until you finish the bonding process".
"How do I do that?", I ask.
"Well you have his mark so you're already halfway there", she says, "no you would just need to um, consummate the bond". I widen my eyes at the implication.
"I can't do that!", I say, "I can barely drink coffee with the guy".
"Well if you don't, you're going to be doing the same thing you did last month for a long time", she tells me sympathetically.
"Well what do you do?", I ask her.
"I take a ton of sleeping pills to avoid it however, the amount it takes to accomplish that would kill a human like you", she says.
"What do I do?" I say mostly to myself, "isn't there any other way?".
"I'm afraid not", she says, "I'd suggest you have a conversation with Apex".