Page 9 of Shattered Trinket

And the next time I saw her, she was with another omega.Heromega according to everything I’d learned. It was then that I knew I couldn’t do it. Watching them together, though the dynamic was so different, made me think of what it would look like when I finally freed Cozette.

And then I thought about what I’d look like if someone took her from me. How far I’d be willing to go to find her and make sure no one ever made the mistake of taking her from me again.

I had the momentary thought that Cozette had made me soft, and maybe she has. And yet, after I had that thought, I wondered if it would be such a bad thing.

Cozette once told me she sees the man beneath the mask I wear. That she sees the good in me, despite my past crimes.

I’ve committed nearly every sin there is, and that omega still sees the boy I was before I became The Ghost. I’ll never be able to fully cleanse my soul from my wrongdoings, never not be tarnished by what I’ve done, but Cozette makes me want to try to scrub off every bit of filth I’ve accumulated just for her.

To be the alpha she deserves, and that deserves her.

If she can see something in me worth saving, something worth her love, then I want to preserve that. I want to fucking gift wrap it and give it to her to keep.

Victor is dead.

My eyes pop open and my lips curl upwards as I crank the truck and back out.

There’s nothing keeping me from her now.

Time to go home.

It takes over a week to find out exactly where she is when I make it back into the city, my usual contacts getting antsy the longer they made me wait. I can’t stand incompetence when it comes to something this important, though, so I ended up needing to call in the best damn hacker I’ve ever met. And the beta wasn’t too happy about it.

Probably because the last time she helped me, it’d been to save my ass, which almost ended up withherass in a prison cell. But she didn’t, so I figured she’d gotten over that by now.

Apparently not, because she’d cussed me out well and good through my phone speaker when she finally called me back, her cajun accent getting more pronounced the louder she got. I’d had to pull the phone away from my ear when she’d started hollering down the line in Creole, promising to send her ancestors to rip me a new asshole or… something along those lines, though I only understood about every other word.

Eventually she gets me Cozy’s location, after charging me a hefty fucking fee that made a hell of a dent in my nest egg, but my omega is worth every penny and more, so I didn’t complain like I normally would have.

I switch out the truck for something quieter, opting for a small black SUV, and wait until it’s dark and everyone should be in bed before I make my way out to where she is. The roads are quiet—nearly empty at such a late hour—as I make my way out of the city and into the town where she’s staying. My gut clenches the closer I get to her, the anticipation of seeing her again making me feel out of control.

Parking far enough away and under tree cover, I leave the SUV and keep to the shadows as I make my way down the road until I reach the long driveway of the house, moving quietly and noting that the closest neighbor is probably a mile away if not more. When I’m close to the house—but far enough away that if anyone was to come out for any reason they won’t see me—I crouch and examine my surroundings.

Windows are the first thing that I notice. And not just a few. The entire front of the house seems to be completely covered in windows with no curtains on the lower level, meaning I can see nearly everything inside.

And the occupants inside can see everything outside.

But all seems quiet as I scan the area. The property itself is surrounded by trees, giving it a peaceful air to it. Something Cozette deserves after everything she’s endured.

But is she finally safe? Is she being taken care of?

These are the things I need to know to settle the alpha in me. Because not knowing anything about what’s happened, not knowing if she’s cared for and happy… It’s killing me.

Until her, I never cared about anyone but myself. I’ve always looked out for me and only me, damn the consequences and who I hurt along the way. But she makes me want to be better, to become the alpha she needs and deserves. I just haven’t quite figured out how the fuck to do that after so long.

All the lights in the house are off, except in one room, and my heart clenches in my chest as I wonder if that’s where she is. If that’s her room now.

I know I shouldn’t get too close. I know nothing about the property or if they have alarm systems in place, but the need to see Cozette with my own two eyes is greater than my concern about being caught. I’m confident in my skills, knowing I didn’t earn the moniker of The Ghost for no reason. And that’s what has me moving across the yard towards the light like a moth to a flame.

I bend to pick up a few pebbles along the way, and when I’m close enough, I toss the first one up, hitting the window with a softclink. After a minute, there’s no movement, so I throw another, and when I see the shadow of someone, I move behind a nearby tree and wait.

My lungs seize when I catch sight of her, peering out with furrowed brows. She pushes the window open and pokes her head out, her eyes sweeping across the yard. When she sees nothing, she bites her lip before sighing and sitting on the open windowsill. Turning her face up to peer at the moon and stars,her features relax as she stares up at the night sky and takes a deep breath of the fresh air.

From where I’m standing behind the cover of the tree, I take her in, noting the subtle differences in her now.

Her hair is longer, her copper curls reaching well past her shoulders now and seeming to shine in the room’s light. I can tell that she’s gained weight—despite the oversized shirt she’s wearing to sleep in— and looking a hundred times healthier than she had when she was locked in Victor’s hideout, her face no longer gaunt and shadowed. There’s a certain calmness about her I can see even from where I’m hidden, her fears and worries forgotten about for the time being, and I begin to wonder if she’s thought about me at all since gaining her freedom back.

Does she miss me the way I miss her? Does she even want me, the alpha she grew close to during her imprisonment? Did I imagine the bond I felt growing between the two of us during our secret visits? If I come back into her life, will I set her back and be a reminder of every nightmare she had to live through?