Page 21 of Shattered Trinket
He’s been waiting a long time for an omega. Manny and I putting it off once we’d formed our pack had hurt him, but we wanted to be ready, to be able to provide for our omega completely before finding them. He understood, but it didn’t make it an easier pill for him to swallow.
I glance over at him, noting the pained expression he wears as he looks down at the table. Zeke is a massive man, much taller than Emmanuel and me, but the gentlest of giants. You’d think a man as large as him would be a bit of a tool, but he’s actually the nicest fucking guy I’ve ever met—something that used to irritate me when I first met him. He’s always been almost too perfect, but knowing him all these years, knowing how muchhe’s idealized his parents and been waiting for a love like theirs, his personality makes sense. Especially after we met them.
Unlike me and Manny, Zeke has refused to sleep around, spouting that he’s saving himself for our omega. Although we used to tease him about his virgin status at his age, he never faltered, telling us about how both of his dads had waited for his mom with no regrets. Growing up knowing that, he’d decided at a young age that if he presented as an alpha, he’d do the same. And he has, holding tight to his conviction while also not faulting us for not choosing to do the same.
The back door slides open, and we all turn to look in that direction, Zeke and I holding our breaths as we wait to see if it’s her and deflating with disappointment when Pops steps out instead, closing the door behind him.
“Damien. Is she okay?” Ma asks him nervously as he comes over to the table and sits beside her.
“She’s fine, my love. She didn’t seem too bad off when she found me and told me the boys were here. Maybe a little spooked, but more confused at not being completely terrified of these two,” he tells her softly, nodding his head at Zeke and me.
“Good. That’s good,” Ma says, closing her eyes and sighing in relief when he wraps an arm around her shoulder to pull her into his side and kisses the top of her head.
“She’s making progress. Give her a little credit. I know it’s hard with everything she’s been through, but you can’t keep treating her like broken glass. I don’t and I think that’s why she feels comfortable with me, even if she doesn’t realize it. You’re all handling her with kid gloves, afraid to break her any more than she already is, while I’m letting her be and giving her the chance to see for herself that she’s stronger than she thinks.”
Ma groans, burying her face in his chest, and mumbling, “I don’t like it when you talk sensibly.”
He barks out a laugh, hugging her to him as he glances across the table at us, his dark eyes heavy with seriousness.
“Your mom told you? About what she’s been through?”
I nod numbly, my chest wanting to crack open to spill its contents all over the table for everyone to see, and he roves a critical eye over us both before he exhales.
“A little.”
“She’s your scent match, yeah?” he asks, his eyes softening marginally at speaking out loud what we have yet to voice.
Ma gasps, nearly breaking her neck when she looks over at us. I clear my throat, eyeing Zeke out of the corner of my eye and seeing his throat bob as he tries to swallow.
“Ay, I think so,” he says hesitantly, his brows furrowed.
Ma’s mouth drops open in shock, her eyes wide on the two of us.
“How did you know?” I ask, needing to know how he came to that conclusion.
Pops rolls his eyes, pushing on Ma’s chin with his index finger to close her mouth.
“Well, let’s see. It could be the kicked puppy expression you’re both wearing after what you’ve learned about her. Or it could be the confused frown Cozette had worn when she found me and told me about running into you both. She might not use her words much, but she says a lot with her eyes. And the look in her eyes, hidden underneath all the fear she holds inside, told me something was different when she saw you. That alone is big for her, to not have been completely terrified of either of you. I can’t think of anything that would soothe the fears in that omega’s heart, other than a scent match, even if she doesn’t realize that’s what it is.”
“A scent match,” Ma whispers, still in shock.
“It seems the powers that be brought her to us for more than just safety, my love. But the question remains, will you three bewhat helps her completely break free, or will you be what sends her further into hiding? There’s also the possibility that you three aren’t her only matches,” Pops says with a frown.
“What do you mean?” I ask in confusion, my stomach twisting with nerves.
“I don’t know, but something tells me that your pack isn’t complete. Not yet.”
And something tells me he knows more than he’s letting on, but he’s keeping the knowledge to himself. He glances down at Ma, and they share a look of understanding that only serves to confuse me more, until Ma glances at us with a wry smile.
“Aunt Rya’s alphas thought they were complete with Jerome, Max, and Tate before they met her. Only for her to find two more alphas that were also a match for her years after they’d bonded. It was a fluke that Jackie and Aiden were at the same charity event she was because they’d originally planned not to attend. Neither of them had been looking for an omega, but they found one that night. One that already had a pack,” Ma snorts.
I didn’t know that. Aunt Rya is Pop’s sister, someone we don’t see much because they live overseas, but I’d always assumed her alphas had always been a pack before meeting her the few times we’ve seen them.
“And they just… accepted them into the pack after that?”
I can’t help the incredulous look I throw at my parents, because it just seems unfathomable to me.
Zeke and Manny have been my pack brothers for years. We’ve built a life together to prepare for the omega we hoped to one day find. The three of us together, it always felt natural, our instincts telling us we were meant to be a pack. Perfect compliments to each other.