Lola & the Millionaires: Part One (Sweet Omegaverse #2)(47)
I sucked in a deep breath. There were worse ways to start the story, after all, and after this morning and them opening their home to me, I kind of owed them the truth.
“No, it was a different pack,” I said, watching as Leo parceled out cloth napkins hastily wrapped around silverware to each of us. “She met the beta of one of her alphas there. Seth had his alpha’s scent mark on him, and he was there to discuss a truce between the two packs. He smelled Baby, and she smelled him and that alpha scent and…knew immediately, I guess. He figured out what was happening, and he took her to the Omega Center.”
“Aww. And then she ended up with his pack? How cute,” Rake said. He cracked open a box of ravioli and took a deep breath before releasing a moan.
I glanced at Leo and found his eyes on me, watchful and waiting as if he knew what I would say next.
“I didn’t realize she was perfuming, and I’d hugged her and then went to dance. That was the night I met Buzz.”
Both men were quiet, and Rake lowered his fork back down into the pasta. Dumb. Should’ve waited until you were done eating. But I wasn’t sure I could keep food down and tell the story at the same time.
“Um…I was…I was kind of always trying to chase after alphas back then,” I said, voice thinning to a whisper. “And I didn’t know about the perfume that night. It was just the first time an alpha had responded to me in that way, with so much focus and interest. I don’t know what he thought, that I’d bought a hit of perfume or whatever, but…he kept me around for a few days. And it was kind of exciting, and mostly he was…not sweet, but he was intent. And then one night, it just stopped and he told me to leave and went to look for a new fuck buddy. I saw Baby’s text on my way out and realized what happened.”
“This is the asshole that texted you?” Rake asked, brow furrowed. “What a dick.”
I shook my head and forced myself to breathe through my pounding heartbeat. “I went to see Baby as she was packing up her apartment, and she… I asked her for her sweatshirt and she let me take it. I figured Buzz knew I wasn’t an omega, it wasn’t like I was trying to fool him I just—”
“Oh, gorgeous, hey,” Leo murmured, pushing the tray aside and crawling forward to wipe away tears I hadn’t noticed running down my cheeks.
“He didn’t bother playing nice after that, and I don’t know why I was so determined to stay,” I said, high and breathless.
“Lola, alphas have a pull. I’ve been there,” Leo said, putting his hands on my knees and giving me a comforting squeeze.
“Wes will find him,” Rake said to reassure me.
“No. Buzz is dead.”
“What?” Leo asked, leaning back, face paling with shock.
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. Rake’s palms settled on my shoulders, cupping them gently.
“When I tried to get Buzz’s attention again, he… He was the president of his motorcycle club, the Hangmen. He said he wanted to watch me with Indy, his Vice President. The pair of them…they called it sharing, but it was more like taunting and I…I just put up with it. The whole time. I was basically living there, begging them to be awful to me,” I pushed my hands back, holding my hair away from my face, but I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with either Rake or Leo. “They wanted me to see Baby again. I think they wanted to know if I could get her to come back to their clubhouse, but she was already with her pack so they made me go with them to see her.”
“What happened?” Rake asked.
“Lola, you don’t have to—”
“We went. I…hated being there. Baby stayed with her pack. I left with them. They were angry, one of the Howler’s betas had pissed Buzz off. He left me with Indy and…I think someone spiked my drink. I—” I couldn’t tell them everything. I didn’t remember, I didn’t want to remember that night. “I left the next morning. A few weeks later, the Hangmen were raided by the police. They’d been trafficking women out of the city and when the police caught up to them, Buzz was shot. Indy disappeared. He’s the one who texted me.”
I sat up straight, and Rake’s touch slid away. There, that was done. It wasn’t everything, but it was the shape of it and…
“Lola, gorgeous, look at me,” Leo said, waiting through a long silence before I could bring myself to raise my eyes. His hand came up and cupped my chin to hold me under the gentle pin of his stare. “You are safe here. You are safe with me and Rake. You’re safe with our alphas too; they won’t ever touch you like that. Those men, those complete scumbags? They’re not going to ever touch you again at all. We will make sure of it.”
“It’s my own fault.”
“No, it’s not,” Leo said firmly.
“I took Baby’s scent.”
Leo’s eyes rolled lightly, but it was Rake who spoke. “You think betas haven’t grabbed hugs from me and tried to catch an alpha’s attention? An alpha can tell the difference. Those guys were predators, plain and simple.”
“If I hadn’t been such a desperate wh—” I said, my fingernails digging grooves in my palms as my fists tightened in frustration.
“Hush. No, Lola.” Leo rose up on his knees, scooting as close as my folded legs would allow. “I know what you’re thinking and I’ve been there, I have. But this isn’t about designation, I promise you. You gave those fuckers something they didn’t deserve, and they abused the opportunity. That’s not going to happen again, okay?”